Viper is not hard, and does not need simplification.

[Myon88]

As I see it, the issues with viper are exacerbated by how its basic combo finisher further splits into four, of which you'll be presented with two options at any one time. While you may know which positional is needed, you also need to know specifically whether it's e.g flank1, or flank2, that you'll be constantly cycling between.

Unless you keep a mental note of what your last finisher was 3 gcds ago, you'll need to rely on the UI to tell you which one it's gonna be - be it the gauge or your hotbars. Neither of these are very appealing options to me, and both impose a burden on your mental stack that other jobs in the game are not subject to.

So I can't agree that it takes less work to pilot than other jobs. I think some people have internalized playing the game at a certain reduced level of capacity for awareness. People who play the game with their eyes glued to their hotbar will understandably find viper straightforward to play - it is, if you're willing to make that concession.

Like I said, I don't consider that normal though, that's dangerously distracted driving. It's good that you bring up fundamentals because I care about them greatly too. I just think I have higher standards which is probably why I notice where viper's design chafes.

[Rhael]

People who play the game with their eyes glued to their hotbar will understandably find viper straightforward to play - it is, if you're willing to make that concession.

Out of every job in this game, viper is one of the ones that requires me to look at my hotbar the least, and I don't even use the vipersight gauge outside of tracking Uncoiled Fury charges. The mental load of doing little more than alternating between the positionals is really not that high, and even then - you get a buff icon that tells you which positional you will be doing three gcds before you even get to it. This issue really is with an understanding of game fundamentals, not viper's design. Paying attention to your buffs and debuffs is an incredibly foundational skill, which viper's design - as with many job designs - assumes the player understands. Changing the job's design to account for a lack of fundamental understanding regarding how the game itself works is, at best, extremely misguided.

Like I said, I don't consider that normal though, that's dangerously distracted driving.

Keeping track of your rotation's current state is more analogous to keeping track of your car's current state - your speed, positioning, managing blinkers, etc. That's not distracted driving. That's just driving. If someone needing to remember to use their blinkers or watch their speedometer is too much of a mental load, then maybe they shouldn't be on the road.

[Virnea]

Unless you keep a mental note of what your last finisher was 3 gcds ago, you'll need to rely on the UI to tell you which one it's gonna be - be it the gauge or your hotbars.

Keep a mental note?... why would anyone struggle to remember something they did 5 seconds ago? what in the world am I reading???
Guys is this the kind of people the devs are trying to accommodate? at this point just delete 90% make the entire rotation a single button so they don't have to think anything. They don't want to engage with the combat system, they just want the easiest way to play around. Never forget guys, we finally had ONE job to have fun, while they had 20 that are easy to play but that wasn't enough. We couldn't have a single job to finally have fun.