In Neptune's defense, I don't usually see him so hostile. I understand why this is a point of frustration.

It's not only a problem with FFXIV, but FFXI didn't even implement a windowed mode for years, so if you wanted to do any internet research you had to have a laptop next to you or use a 3rd party windower. Roll that frustration into FFXIV, a game that is supposed to be a next gen MMO. And you get people who defend the game by saying, "Well, at least this game came with a windowed mode..." Really? Should our standards be this low?

Here's the problem. Even with all the extra graphical options to turn down the settings, the optimization on this game is horrible. If your rig still has a problem running the game, you can get better performance playing in full screen.

Plus, windowed mode was not implemented well (at least on Windows 7). It still cuts the very bottom of my screen off.

But, if you want to be able to do all that 3rd party research this game forces you to do (and all the white knights who simply say, "It's all on the Lodestone/internet" when you point out that text commands and recipes aren't anywhere to be found in the game)... you have to play in Windowed mode. Which is, frankly, a load of BS.

I hate windowed mode. I always play my games in full screen, because they look and perform better. And in a game that values aesthetics so much, you would think they'd realize the value of full screen functionality.

Plus, I wish I could just say that playing in windowed mode alleviates any alt+tab or window key mishaps. But, no. I can tell you that in Windows 7, while playing in windowed mode, if I'm doing too much multitasking, the game will randomly lose DirectX and shut down.

In a game where any kind of disconnect causes you to automatically fail a guildleve? Unacceptable.

In a game released in 2010 that is supposed to be a next generation MMO? Unacceptable.

Yes, this has already been brought to the dev's attention. And they've responded that addressing this issue will take time. But it remains a point of frustration.

Alt+tab or pressing the windows key while in full screen should not crash the game, it should minimize it.