Quote Originally Posted by Azurarok View Post
it wouldn't feel nearly as "bad" if raid buffs weren't all on the 2min and pressuring us to pack in as many attacks as we can into that 20s window
As plenty MMOs other than FFXIV (and that itself) have shown, this situation will always exist no matter what. Players want to optimize their damage output, so they'll find out which abilities to pool/withhold and which buffs to align for optimal overall damage output to make the fights as short as possible. You can sort-of work against it, but only if you're willing to massively embrace RNG-based combat mechanics, in particular relatively rare procs and non-reliable gauge generators and consumers, which in turn makes stacking buffs and abilities flat out impossible to achieve. But also robs the player of all agency in such regards, of course (that's kinda the point, granted).