So, the button merging feature... did I get this right?

[Kohl]

We can have easier jobs.
We don't need to simplify the living hell out of everything.
''Don't use it'' Is not a valid response when it's optimal.

"Don't use it" is a completely valid response. If the complaint is that the game becomes too boring for you personally, then don't play it on "easy" (if that is what you want to call it). Saying that everyone needs to have things on an "equal playing field" and ignoring equity is a weak argument. Should the options to change the screen settings for colorblind people be removed so they are forced to play on an "equal playing field"? You sound like you just want to feel elite and superior to other people, and if that is the case I do not find your argument compelling.

[mallleable]

I'm just glad we have the option to choose between condensed, and non condensed actions, and it's not being forced on everyone.

[GoatOfWar]

"Don't use it" is a completely valid response. If the complaint is that the game becomes too boring for you personally, then don't play it on "easy" (if that is what you want to call it). Saying that everyone needs to have things on an "equal playing field" and ignoring equity is a weak argument. Should the options to change the screen settings for colorblind people be removed so they are forced to play on an "equal playing field"? You sound like you just want to feel elite and superior to other people, and if that is the case I do not find your argument compelling.

And your comment makes you come across as someone who refuses to even try to learn something and wants to be given everything for free.

[justausername]

I 100% believe they mean you can put your 1-2-3 onto one button. They were talking about REDUCING button bloat. The way that twitter user explains it would only give the option to EXPAND button bloat, or keep it the same. Which based on what we saw with Viper and Pictomancer, is not the case. They also stressed that Viper and Pictomancer have the same number of skills as other classes, but the buttons are reduced because of the new system.
I do not believe for a second that they are giving us the option to UNLINK actions that ALREADY share a button, over COMBINING buttons to reduce them when the POINT is controlling button bloat, especially for controller players.

[PyurBlue]

@Invulnerability : Then you can't switch targets and do damage at all, if you can your combo finisher is still better, if you can't then you can't. Unless I'm misunderstanding.

@Too far: Then you get close enough to gap close? I'm not really sure either of these circumstances really change anything. Either you can switch targets or you can't switch targets but it won't change the math of 2 targets with a weaker skill versus a stronger one.

As for resources, combo damage takes resources into account so the math makes more sense when you account for them.

In the first case I was thinking of something like Omega M shielding Omega F. You can deal damage to one but not the other until the first one dies. Finishing the combo means opening on enemy 2 with a low potency combo starter. If finishing the combo also grants resources that can be used on the remaining enemy in this case then the loss from raw combo potency won't matter. That may be the common outcome but I'm not sure if it will always be the case with factors like enemy health pool, downtime, or resources that might expire.

When it comes to distance, depending on how many closers are available and how much time it takes to kill the mobs you might lose DPS to movement if you switch targets before finishing one. This is especially true if the time to kill these enemies is less than closer CD. You would move to one and then have to move back to the other.

These are very niche situations and I admitted that from the start, although I don't consider that to be a negative. I find circumstantial rotations more interesting than totally rigid ones.

[Raikai]

I honestly don't think combo merging (when applicable, e.g. not a branching combo) is a bad thing. People often brand it as 'dumbing down', but 1-1-1 isn't much less mentally challenging than 1-2-3.

Monk's combo is decision making. You need to gauge timers to see if you should branch or not - now that's the perfect justified 1-2-3 that actually have your brain and awareness working.

[Jirah]

How would this work for jobs with branching paths? The only jobs that are strictly 1-2-3 are tanks, RPR, MCH, and RDM laughable 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

[Cynric]

How would this work for jobs with branching paths? The only jobs that are strictly 1-2-3 are tanks, RPR, MCH, and RDM laughable 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Tbh looking over the footage again, It's hard to tell if they in fact did put a 123 on the "auto function". It appears to only apply to skills that have procs or buffs that allow them to be used. ie , Ikishoten -> Ogi , Devilment -> starfall dance, etc.

The only two examples that we were shown were viper and picto. But all of Vipers combo routes were done via buffs in the hud, not how typical combos are done, but more similar to procs. Pictos weaponskill combo was also a 3 stack buff.

So far from what I've seen Viper might not even have a typical 123 combo. The dual blade combo also wasn't a 123 , though they were placed on 123, the 1 gave a buff that opened up the other two abilities, when one of those abilities were hit they gave another buff that opened up other abilities, and their followups were via three skills that seemed similar to continuation on GNB

It is possible that they could move 123 combos to this system still, or that some 123s could be changed to be like Viper, but at this stage I'm inclined to believe that we don't have enough information and that the 123's might still be there, while proc based skills have been condensed to make more room.
The only reason to not use the system would be if you were scared of accidentally spending a proc/buff you didn't want to or something from what I can tell.

Overall it would seem like a good change to me.

[Kohl]

And your comment makes you come across as someone who refuses to even try to learn something and wants to be given everything for free.

ok, boomer

[Reimmi]

I think this is a good change only if they take into accoutn that all the combos are 1 button now for the sake of adding new stuff to jobs.
I think they had a number of like 26 or something for the max amount of buttons a job should have, hopefully combos count as 1 now

if they don't, oh well at least it's optional