Mandatory Combos

[Vespar]

You are missing the point: those are not combo actions you seem to describe. Warriors, Dragoons, Paladins, those are combo actions, and they are not "added benefits". Using those actions without the combo is always a self-dps nerf. Repeating Heavy Swing over and over non stop will always be superior to ever using one of the Warrior combo "boosted" actions out of combo.

So wait. you want for example WAR's 1-2-3 actions to be removed in favor of just mashing 1 button for Heavy Swing, etc? So... like what they are going to do with PvP in 4.0?

So you want the game to become a mindless button masher? I hope you have a mechanical keyboard because that poor '1' key is gonna need replacing alot.

And the combo actions weren't meant to be used solo. Thats how XIV has been since release. Why are we griping about that now? That being said, I dont think it needs to become mash 1 > 1 > 1 > 1 > 1 repeatedly until our eyes bleed from it. I like how the combos work. I already have seen plenty of people who dont read their tooltips or set up their bars properly, spamming actions out of order. Mashing 1 over and over may make it easier for some of them sure, but its still not going to make them a good player. All it will do is make the rest of us bored as all hell.

It sounds like to me the real issue here is players not READING and organizing their bars in a way that favors using their "combo".

[Ogulbuk]

So wait. you want for example WAR's 1-2-3 actions to be removed in favor of just mashing 1 button for Heavy Swing, etc? So... like what they are going to do with PvP in 4.0?

No. I said it in my OP, and added another possible approach in replies to you:

Either
A) make it so that the activation of a combo action step requires the combo action to validate (2 wont even be clickable if 1 wasn't the previous action)
B) Make it so that there is a reason for using 2 outside a combo (additional effects should not require combo action, only the damage increase should.)

So you want the game to become a mindless button masher?

The more I read this, the more I think it may as well, if replies are going to mindlessly reply to posts...

Also, I was unaware that just using Heavy Swing over and over on WAR was superior. I dont play WAR but that seems pretty boring as hell if you ask me... How's that work out for you holding hate over AOE classes like SMN?

You need to work on your reading abilities, or maybe my English just sucks and I cant communicate this properly. A perfectly valid possibility, the later.

Heavy Swing > Heavy Swing > Heavy Swing
Will ALWAYS be better than:
Storm Path > Heavy Swing > Heavy Swing

Because Storm path out of combo potency is only 100, while Heavy Swing potency is always 150.

At no point will using Storm Path outside of a combo be a thought. It's not a choice. You either use it in combo, or never use it because it's useless otherwise. It's not the same as deciding to time Straight shot.

[Vespar]

Either
A) make it so that the activation of a combo action step requires the combo action to validate (2 wont even be clickable if 1 wasn't the previous action)
B) Make it so that there is a reason for using 2 outside a combo (additional effects should not require combo action, only the damage increase should.)

My apologies for misunderstanding you and I updated my previous post accordingly. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough before you responded to it.

I atleast get this much. Mayhaps you should try out MNK as it does kind of force you to use a combo in the way you describe (or atleast to some degree). But that being said, I dont feel like every job that uses a 1-2-3 combo-style needs to have this method of execution. The combo actions already light up in "glowing ant trail" you described. So, it should be somewhat visually obvious what to do next.
Really, it mostly sounds like you want people to learn to read their tooltips and perform their combos like they should. I firmly believe this should be up the player to know what their actions do and adjust accordingly. XIV does not need to be a mindless button masher just to cater to the folks who already dont care enough to read.

[Powercow]

A) make it so that the activation of a combo action step requires the combo action to validate (2 wont even be clickable if 1 wasn't the previous action)

The reason for that is the entire reason video games rely on failstates to BE a video game. If someone literally can not make a mistake, then the game is boring. It's like saying a shooter shouldn't let you fire unless your crosshairs are over the enemy and the shot will hit.

B) Make it so that there is a reason for using 2 outside a combo (additional effects should not require combo action, only the damage increase should.)

This would require an insane amount of rebalancing of abilities and jobs in general. The idea that, yeah, you CAN'T just throw up Storm's Path whenever you feel like it on your first hit makes it more important that you keep it up by doing the entire combo. It's a much greater investment of time to actually land Storm's Path if it's at the end of a 3-chain combo. In the case of warriors specifically, it's impossible to keep up the slashing debuff, storm's path, AND do your highest damage/threat combo regularly.

[Burnharts]

I dont think he is advocating for making all jobs a 1 button wonder. Dragoons have a couple "combos" that can get hectic when trying to keep buffs and debuffs up as well as making sure you are following mechanics of the fight. I know my fingers sometimes jump the gun and will hit the 2nd part of a combo, rendering far less damage and having the whole rotation get fubared. Its more about making those parts of a rotation easier to do. I main a bard so this is not an issue, but when I play my dragoon I struggle with this.