Combos

[ArianeEwah]

Gonna be the devils advocate and say that in a vacuum turning combos into 1 sequence buttons is neither good nor bad. It depends on whoever is working with it, and the actions, the jobs whole toolkit all around it - in this case SqEx.

And for the most part, I don't believe it's in the right hands. Over the last 6 years, I've seen them removing more actions/buttons than adding into the game (aside from PvP). Take MCH's removed actions e.g. Rapid fire, Reload, Quick reload, Blank, Heartbreak, Bishop, Gauss Barrel, Dismantle, Arm graze, Palisade (Refresh and Invigorate), and for that we got: Drill, Bio blaster (same CD, could as well be just 1 action), Chain saw, and Auto crossbow... MCH has one of the most empty hotbar of all jobs. SMN was another victim, but I don't think I have to list everything here, you get the point.

1 button combos in itself is a great idea, and would open up slots for more actions with more flavour or gimmicks. But I don't trust SqEx to put in enough thought to create something interessting! Ofc they don't wanna make use of it, otherwise it would make them seem incompetent. Remove 2-4 buttons, but add nothing of value.

However, I don't agree with their reasoning. If merged combo buttons would be too simple and easy, then why tf do healers (and SMN kek) have 3-4 damage buttons? 1 dot, 1 single target spell, 1 aoe spell, maybe 1 other for flair. (And yes, SMN is probably second just after healers with 2 constant pressed spells, 1 occasionally Astral Flow, and the rest is pressed once every minute) For most jobs, it would free 2 slots. On NIN e.g. I wouldn't mind having 2 free slots, on WAR or MCH on the other hand... not so much, they already feel empty as they are.

In a parallel world combo sequence buttons would be a hit, and a great addition to the game to fight button bloat. In this world however, we are struggling to even fill our hotbars.

[Brightamethyst]

If merged combo buttons would be too simple and easy, then why tf do healers (and SMN kek) have 3-4 damage buttons? 1 dot, 1 single target spell, 1 aoe spell, maybe 1 other for flair.

And healers almost universally hate it. Healers used to have more DPS buttons but SE removed them, and now "too boring when not healing" is the single biggest complaint along all healers.

[ArianeEwah]

And healers almost universally hate it. Healers used to have more DPS buttons but SE removed them, and now "too boring when not healing" is the single biggest complaint along all healers.

Of course they do, that's what I am saying. SE's response is contradictory to their design philosophy.
Combos skills? No, that would make it too simple!
Healer dps is too simple? Just wait until Ultimate!
...what?!

I repeat, I am not saying they should implement combo skills asap; in fact they should not!
What I am saying is that the idea itself is fine, while some here try to mark it like it's the plague. Combo skills wouldn't lower the depth of a job, they would reduce the necessary space on your hotbar only, that has nothing to do with complexity (*pressing the same buttons in sequence over and over isn't more profound than pressing 1 button). The root of the simplification-illness lies anywhere else, but not in combo skills. In FFXIV current state, they are not a great addition, on that I agree with you. Then again, neither is the current state of healers which has been going on for years. Time and time again we hear the same quote over and over: "wait until Ultimate!"
Those tackling and clearing ultimate content wouldn't mind having a more in-depth dps rotation. However, we are cursed to live with a water-down job design on 99% of combat content with casual engagement design.

That's why combo skills do not fit into the current state of FFXIV. They would if the combat design was more advanced, e.g. at least 3 combos per job plus gauge/CD/dot actions, and tons of buttons are filling the hotbar. Yet, looking back all those years of... "development"... I highly doubt, we will ever reach that point.
You don't have to burn it! Put it into a drawer, lock it up, and only open it in case of unexpected events.