ffxi gameplay was not slow

[Altano]

Dear god a 5member pug-alley party has kept me on the edge of my pants while I swap from my blm spells to heals. Almost every time survival is decided by split second decisions and ability to smoothly chain a spell combination in the right order.

XIV? a spamfest.

I will agree with you there. As a mage in XI, the battle speed could be fast to the point of driving you insane. Here...notsomuch. But the melee speed is so much faster (and, IMHO, better) in this game.