Quote Originally Posted by Valkyrie_Lenneth View Post
I'm sorry, but I disagree with this completely. If rotations were so simple and obvious, you wouldn't have so many people failing to do the most simple of DPS checks.

It's easy to say the game is easy and the rotations are simple when you don't do anything more than dungeon content.
I'd suggest that in either case, people still aren't 'thinking' about what they're doing. They're executing a rotation from muscle memory - sometimes it's the optimal rotation, and sometimes it's a crappy one.

I also think it's easy to make the case that FFXIV's GCD is still too fast to really put thought into it. I mean we've got, what, 25ish skills per Job? With 2.5s to decide which one to use? Yeah, there's not much conscious thought going into that. For FFXI, a case could be made - people could often see their moves coming from several seconds away, giving them time to both figure out which ability to use and ready it - but not FFXIV.

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I'd still argue that a faster GCD wouldn't matter, though. As long as optimal performance in combat relies on what is, in essence, a pre-determined rotation best committed to memory, the combat is going to be boring, at least for me. There absolutely has to be some decision-making element involved, and I don't think it can be purely movement-based. I think had SE presented me the template for the combat back in 2013 - active and dynamic movement with pre-determined ability rotation - I'd have considered it an idea worth trying, but today, I'd say it didn't work out, and a change needs to be made. Monster mechanics simply aren't random and dynamic enough to shoulder 100% of the responsibility for keeping me reacting in combat, for keeping me entertained.