Quote Originally Posted by Gumbercules View Post
Just out of curiosity, do you try to use macros for your oGCD skills? the macro system in ff 14 is pretty bad and doesn't "queue" skills so if you try to use them they can easily add a sec per skill to your reaction time. Admittedly im mostly just used to bard, but it can be pretty double oGCD heavy cuz of bloodletter and it seems to go well overall. When i used to use macros though it was considerably more sluggish and they would get clipped alot.

On the "more action" approach, I do not think it is the right move for FF 14. Legion for WoW imo has kinda moved to a arpg's pace of action and quite frankly i did not enjoy that change. And while i do enjoy BnS and BDO on their combat system, it is also something that works well there, but doesn't automatically mean it would transfer well. (and i do tend to find them tiresome on longer play sessions) To me FF 14's combat feels like an interesting take on the active time system ff games are known for, and I quite enjoy that. XD
I do not use macros in combat and likely would not even if the macro system were perfected (or, simply put, if they weren't purposely hamstrung), though I would probably use stacked slots or auto-advancement for combos if given the option. I find there to be too much nuance available to afford macro-usage. At present, I have no issues with the button count; I simply find it insultingly inefficient (especially, again, in regards to combos).

I'm not sure what you mean by Legion having an ARPG pace, though; its GCD hasn't changed since launch outside of DK changing from a 1s GCD only in Unholy Presence to at all times (UHP instead providing added haste) and certain abilities becoming usable even while casting/channeling another spell (which still had no effect on APM, only on convenience). Has Haste become a more desirable stat and scaling turned ridiculous again?

BDO and BnS both have elements of what I would call "action" combat to a degree, but the parts I tend to look at are the enhancements in button efficiency, in the first via paired movement and skill activation and in the second via conditional states, single-key combos, and stances. To me, the ability to create synergy and nuance through things like movement pairings, a greater range of conditional states, hit timing, positioning (beyond mere 45 to 135, 135 to 225 or 315 to 45, and 225 to 315 degree front, flank, and rear sectors) are what makes a game active; there's more there that matters. Just as in a FPS, the minutia take effect too.

You can consider it being a process of integration, opposite to macros' derivation. Rather than a series of click-and-watch "abilities", you have a series of rearrangable routines made up smaller skills that can appear as those packaged abilities, but are far more fluid and adaptable and therefore can appear in various other forms, priorities, and rotations as well. If the skill-set lacks the capability for longer-term nuance, it falls short in tactical feel, in addition to requiring more mechanistry. If it lacks short-term nuance, even macro-less gameplay feels like another game's macros. Ideally, I'd like to strike a balance between the two, neither quite alike to either end of the spectrum (taking BDO/BnS as one side and FFXIV as the other), but hopefully proffering the benefits of each.

I hope to make this more clear when I can complete my simulation to be placed in post slot #2.