I just came to this forum to make this exact request. Coming back to FFXIV after an extended break touring other MMOs, I have noticed the severe awkwardness of the manner in which Area Creating Actions are controlled and activated is a distinct downgrade in the comfort of controlling my actions.

I would be satisfied with having access to options similar to Guild Wars 2:
  • Old / outdated: Current system: activate skill, then Left Click the ground location.
  • Double keypress: Press the action hotkey once to activate the Area Creating reticle. While the Area Creating reticle is active, press the action's hotkey a second time to confirm placement.
  • Hold and activate: Hold down the action hotkey to activate the Area Creating reticle. While the Area Creating reticle is active, release the action's hotkey to confirm placement.
  • Instantly activate: As soon as the action's hotkey is pressed, automatically create the action's Area Effect at the current location of the user's cursor. No Area Creating reticle is displayed.

I would also appreciate another feature that other modern MMOs have implemented for Area Creating Actions: an option to limit the Area Creating reticle's placement distance to the boundaries of the ability's range limit.

In other words: If an Area Creating Action has a range limit of 20 yalms, then while the Area Creating reticle is active, the user's cursor will become 'locked' or 'bounded' such that it cannot be extended beyond the Area Creating Action's range limit. So, the user cannot encounter the red 'out of range' color, or receive a range error when clicking.