Ok.

So after months of research and careful planning SE gives us the start of it's fix for FFXIV. For roleplayers who keep up with tabletopping, I think the most accurate description of this patch is FFXIV 4th ed.

Everything's nerfed. Why? Because if everyone could spam light attack then "obviously" the skills weren't useful enough.

Now let's walk through the changes (please note I play lnc so this is from that persprective):

Auto-Attack:

Now I don't know about you, but ever since I picked up the alternate attacks I almost never used light thrust. Never. It was a waste of an attack that could either bind, up my tp or hit multiple foes. Auto-Attack for me is downright incovenient. It complicates targeting, disrupts my feints, is slower than my hand hitting the attack, and takes away from my customized fight style. Actually, the auto atack does not take from my fighting style as much as the ridiculously long wait times between the "custom" tp builders (Heavy Thrust, Full Thrust and Pierce). All of this is contributing to me dying against creatures level 33 when before the patch I could defeat them at 38.

No Stamina Gauge:
Given the choice between the stamina gauge and the current timers I choose the gauge, but overall it's disappearance is not affecting me. I think if they cut the times for the non-tp moves in half it would work more like players intended. (As a side note: don't you think it's funny that the makers of MMOs can never quite see the difference between how they design the classes to play and how people actually play them? Prime example: FFXI's Blink Ninja Tanks.)

Visible Emnity:
It's useful if you don't feel like figuring it out the long way, but if you've been playing since launch, give or take these patches you shouldn't really need it.

I wont even go into the individual skill changes because that would take too long, but it boils down to, if you can do it all yourself, you don't need anyone else, but some of the changes might be overkill (looking at the new mp cost for cures).

So in conclusion, I think everyone who has been playing will have to readjust and SE will have to tweak the new auto attack/targeting. But for the most part, if you've hung in there this long then the changes are a good sign, especially with SE's receptiveness to feedback.

Now if you solo, (I mostly do because all my friends are waiting for PS3 release) my advice is to refocus your skills for less variety and more of what you do (dd, tank, etc.)

Oh and if any of you know the right tags for this I'd like to add them.