Area of Effect: Display Markers

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Knowing where you're casting your AoE and being able to manually target a location adds skill, not takes it away. It gives you more freedom and control.

I disagree.

Scenario 1: No AOE Marker
Through trial and error, you learn to gauge distance and develop an intuitive "feel" for what or who your AOEs will affect if you cast them from any given spot. You're likely to make mistakes, but you learn from those mistakes and, over time, you become proficient, at it and it becomes almost second nature. There's a tangible sense of growth and improvement in your skill as a caster.

In the case of dealing with mobs with AOE markers, same thing. You develop an intuitive sense of where the damage radius is through practice and experience.

In terms of having an aoe range marker for targeted spells, I would agree only in so far as choosing where the center-point of that spell is, not for its full radius.

Scenario 2: AOE Marker
You select your spell, a marker shows up letting you know exactly where the spell will affect. No intuition required. No guesswork. No chance of making mistakes or misjudging... nothing to improve in because the game is telling you exactly what's going on. For offensive creatures, the marker shows you precisely where you need to be, there's no work, no learning the radius. Everything is displayed for you. Training wheels.

I understand how some would feel about the boss AoE radius being marked, but at least it would remove doubt as to whether or not you really got out of range or not. I can't tell you how many times at Ifrit where I saw "WTF I wasn't even standing on it!"- Sometimes the graphics are very vague as to what they are affecting.

The problem with getting out of range in FFXIV has nothing to do with a lack of a visual. It has everything to do with the lag/latency in the current server and engine tech. Having a marker on the ground would make absolutely no difference. You'd simply see a marker on the ground, with you outside of it and still taking damage. ARR is (ostensibly) addressing this.

They could always make it an option such that you can turn it off if you feel it unduly takes challenge away.

True. They could.