Can nothing but agree to this. Down to its core, it's the same issues that has annoyed me in practically every MMO I've tried apart from WoW: The gameplay is nowhere near fluid.

Sadly to me, FFXIV ranks at the bottom. During the times I've used a good VPN and gotten near acceptable ping, the clunkiness is probably right on par with how SWTOR feels, if you don't account for the frustration of getting your off GCD abilities off.

I don't really hold much hope things will change. These are all base framework mechanics in the game, yet to see a developer do something about such things. Both SWTOR and Rift remain clunky despite being active for years with supposedly large budget backing and/or dedicated developers. Yet the same, most basic things that turn people off at first sight are still there.

I've come to terms though. Appearantly fluidity is just very hard to get right as a developer. I enjoy the game at large and the gameplay isn't deterring me, even if I agree it can be a very off putting thing for a new player trying the game.