Gamepads, new actions coming in heavensward, not enough room for all of them.

[BrielleBeaudonet]

For combat, I get by on two hotbars and using the expanded L2+R2 controls so I never have to tap between them. Very little on my WAR set is macro'ed; just Thrill of Battle + Convalescence and Unchained + Berserk in the same slot.

I have inefficiencies, though. Markers 1 and 2 are part of the expanded hotbar; I could easily remove one or both of those. Defiance, my mount, and STR potions are also on the expanded set; easy to move elsewhere.

I would say it's just important to look for those inefficiencies and make decisions once we actually know how important/good the Heavensward abilities are.

[Waliel]

Keyboard and mouse has the same issue, it's already hard enough to fit everything you need to be conveniently accessible, unless you buy a set designed for gaming.

I've managed to keybind every skill easily on every job with a 5-button mouse and a vanilla keyboard, though. There's even room for growth!

[Mishini_Dracoto]

So, For DoW/M I pretty much exclusively play WAR. It's fun, has low queue times, and I can wear DPS gear and DPS (outputting similar numbers to DPS classes, albeit a little low) if I turn Defiance off. I also Craft & Gather, I have all DotH @ 50 and am working on getting all of my Lucis still.

Really people are having problems with crossbars? Can't say I have. I mean you need an extra one just make one more crossbar non-shared and you have a ton of extra as well(only my sch and smn use it atm but I assume by lvl60 this will increase to all of them). Be smart about laying stuff out as well not just dump skills wherever.

This

How do you manage your PvP actions? ^^;

So, there's a thread already in a different subforum about managing actions on console/with gamepad, here's a short summary of mine.


Cross HOtbar 1&2 are shared. Common Generic actions used by most/all classes. Summoning my Chocobo mount / a different mount (In case mine is stabled) Gysahl Greens, Chocobo stances, Teleport, Return, Limit Break. etc etc. (Yes, Limit Break is on my first cross hotbar, where Auto Attack isby default. auto Attack is completely useless, but it's always available in case I need to LB.

Onward:

For most classes, I will use Cross hotbar 3 & 4. I have Never spilled into more than two cross hotbars. If I filled up two, I quickly realised that there are some actions I always group together, and I have since Macro's them. berserk / internal release / bloodbath. Convalescense & Thrill of Battle. etc etc.

PvP: I use Cross Hotbars . . . 6 & 7 I think? R1+Down The Hotbars are setup similar to my main hotbars, but include extra actions. The new PvP Actions I typically macro in behind regular actions. Fracture & whatever the DoT ability I get is. Group likes with likes to double stack them. I don't evenknow if it's optimal, but it seems to really work for me. Or at least it did the last time I was really active in Frontlines.

Nowadays, I typically PvP as MRD, so it's a non issue. I unequip my Soul Gem and my hotbars all reset to MRD, and I don't MRD anywhere except PvP, so my hotbars can be set up only for PvP.

Side note, That also means I'm taking in a tonne of extra actions from jot having a soul gem, and I'm taking in actions such as Blood for Blood and Raging Strikes, which are also scripted into the same macro's I previously referenced.

[Gramul]

I am given 2.5 seconds to swap to the hotbar I need for any given battle action. It's honestly not that hard. But I'll support making it easier.

[Iskander]

I main a DRG, and I think I'll be alright. Right now I keep 3 buffs skills and 2 DOT skills on my main cross bar, and keep maybe 4 skills I rarely use on a second cross bar. I can easily move these 5 skills over there and just switch back and forth between the two bars. I'll have plenty of room then. It's all about management. As for SCH and WHM, start macroing your skills. Then you can start making space. I can't say much for tanks since I don't have a tank to 50 yet.

[giantslayer]

I am in the same boat as the OP as a scholar. As a PS4 player using a controller, I have 32 slots that I can access without having to switch bars. Scholars have it tough due to pet commands. Here is what we currently have to fit into 32 slots:

18 class actions
5 job actions
5 cross class skills
2 generic actions (sprint + limit break, which is arguably non-essential)
4 pet abilities to manually command
3 essential generic pet commands (heel, place, obey)
37 total for 32 slots.

I can banish summon 1+2, protect, and obey to a separate hotbar. This brings me down to 33 for my 32 slots.

I have created 3 more slots by combining multiple abilities onto a single macro: swiftcast/res, energy drain/aetherflow, and heel/place. That gets me to 30, so I have two slots.

So how many more abilities will they give us? If they follow the old pattern, we will get:
- 1 job ability per 5 levels.
- 1 class ability per 4 levels
- 1 pet ability per 20 levels
- 1 cross class slot per 10 levels.

That would mean 6 more abilities needing slots. I have 2 slots open. I could save two more slots by combining Rouse into Whispering Dawn and Embrace into Physick/Adlo. That would still leave me 2 slots short. At that point, unless anyone has any clever ideas I haven't thought of, I have to start making some genuine sacrifices. Limit Break and Ruin 1 are probably the things I could most easily live without.

[Whiston]

I honestly would have thought everyone would be used to swapping hotbars by now.
Every single class I have battle specific skills across 3 hotbars, and regularly cycle 4 or 5 for marking, limit breaks, etc. I used to use mainly two hotbars on some classes, but purposefully spread them out among three for room to expand.

Controller players have a total 144 slots across all the hotbar combinations. Requiring more than this falls into the laughable realm of the guy who needed more than 100 macros for battle classes.

I feel if you can't handle more than a single hotbar, you will only get more and more disappointed as the game progresses.

[Wildsprite]

Scholars have it tough due to pet commands. Here is what we currently have to fit into 32 slots:

18 class actions
5 job actions
5 cross class skills
2 generic actions (sprint + limit break, which is arguably non-essential)
4 pet abilities to manually command
3 essential generic pet commands (heel, place, obey)
37 total for 32 slots.

see now this is the exact reason I adapted to using the controller along with the keyboard/mouse. I couldn't play this on the PS3 as I use hotbars it doesn't have.

[SekhmetM]

I only use two crossbar pages for all of my class and job skills and i repeat skills to make it more intuitive. It's really not a big deal.

Do you really need protect, stoneskin, shield oath, sword oath, defiance, and other buffs alongside your attack skills? No.

The only people worried about new skills are the people who don't know how to organize skills.

I am in the same boat as the OP as a scholar. As a PS4 player using a controller, I have 32 slots that I can access without having to switch bars. Scholars have it tough due to pet commands. Here is what we currently have to fit into 32 slots:

18 class actions
5 job actions
5 cross class skills
2 generic actions (sprint + limit break, which is arguably non-essential)
4 pet abilities to manually command
3 essential generic pet commands (heel, place, obey)
37 total for 32 slots.

Pets get their own crossbar page. They don't count.

You don't need summons, protect, and stoneskin on active abilities.

You only need two pages. Stop wasting space with actions you only use once per run.

[giantslayer]

Pets get their own crossbar page. They don't count.

You don't need summons, protect, and stoneskin on active abilities.

You only need two pages. Stop wasting space with actions you only use once per run.

As I explained in ample detail in the rest of my post, I have already relegated summons and protect to another bar. I keep my faerie on Obey, so I need to have access to her cooldowns. I keep stoneskin around because it comes in handy in battle once in a while and I have the space for it. It wouldn't be a big loss to move it off if I needed the space. Everything I need in my 32 fits nicely right now with room to spare, but I can't say with confidence it will all work post-expansion without knowing how many new abilities they are adding.