How do you best optimize playing with the PS4 controller?

[Niwashi]

If you are playing Dps on ps4, do 2 things:

1. go into the character customization menu -> hotbars and change your l2/r2 settings to toggle or mixed.
2. forget the d-pad. once the hotbar is active (no need to hold it, see item 1) use l1/r1 to target.

Seriously, its targeting easy-mode. Satisfaction guaranteed.

That works well enough if you're never going to do anything other than DPS. Personally, I prefer the greater flexibility of "Hold" mode with d-pad targeting. L1/R1 targeting is locked to always be enemies only, regardless of any filters you set up, and it's locked to only hard targeting. Using the d-pad lets you alternate between several different targeting filters according to what you're doing at the time, and lets you choose when to hard target and when to soft target.

If you're ever going to heal, use targeted support abilities, do leves that require interaction with an NPC while mobs are also in the area, or even wander around town and inspect the player who walked by in cool-looking gear to see what that is he's wearing, then you'll want targeting abilities other than just cycling between enemies.

(Oh, and the L1/R1 targeting is also available with the controller in "Hold" mode. It's just that with Hold mode, it becomes (either L2 or R2) + (either L1 or R1). I've never used it much, though, since it's just a subset of what the regular d-pad targeting can do.)

[radioactive_lego]

That works well enough if you're never going to do anything other than DPS.

Tank and DPS. The few times this seems "inconvenient" is with PLD where I want to Cover or SS someone on the team. But in 99.5% of situations, TNks an DPS are focued on mobs. even in situations where you have to deactivate the hotbar to "eat" something, it's no more inconvenient than what you proposed.

Reduce and remove the clutch folks. You are making the gamepad way more busy than it needs to be.
Oh and i heal like this too. My hotbars are almost always active, because i like being able to defend myself.