So after playing FFXIV for 2 months now and using standard controls on PC, I had basically come to the conclusion that I was a bad player and had somehow lost my touch. I was constantly the idiot that would die first, or wipe the group, or just generally mess up every time. I was failing solo story instances. I was almost never able to dodge red circles or floor aoes. I was depressed about it because this was never the case before in any game, online or off, I was never the best but certainly above average. I went so far as to reconfigure my controls, test my ping because I thought it was lag, and practice on trash mobs out in the world zones. I was nearly ready to "retire" to DoH/DoL jobs only because I really enjoy the game but was struggling so much in fights.
I was running AK with a group and after failing 10 or so times on the wall (my fault usually) I was pretty much ready to quit because I decided I just didn't have what it took in XIV. I knew the pattern, but still couldn't dodge. As I'm bemoaning my inability to dodge, someone says "Switch to legacy." Not knowing this exists, I ask and then find it in menu, switch to legacy, and clear the wall immediately.
Needless to say, my mind was blown. Since then, I haven't had any problems at all. But I'm pissed off. WTF is this crap control scheme that has you pivoting, slow-walking backward, switching directions when casting spells and all kinds of just utter garbage that makes it near impossible to dodge in a game that focuses its battle mechanic on dodging????
tl;dr Switch to legacy controls as soon as you create your character