The old UI was just as bad if not worse and I never want to go back to that. The problem is using a hotbar design for the foundation of the UI.
Instead, a better solution would be a combination of 3 things:
1) Fixed buttons for universal basic actions (Dash, Disengage, Hide etc.) that all characters use. These buttons do not move and are always intuitively in the same place for any character you are controlling.
2) ABILITY BAR - weapon abilities, class abilities and abilities granted by items neatly sorted by class and color coded for Action or Bonus Action. Temporary actions like Activate Witch Bolt can also go here in their own place where they can always be found intuitively.
3) BUTTONS for major sub UI's that you can expand or hide.
a) SPELLS - opens up all memorized spells in a row sorted by level, with upcast option
b) ITEMS - opens up your consumable items
c) QUIVER - opens up your special ammunition
Tabs can be set to auto close after you cast a spell or use an item.
Possibly 4) A hotbar where you can drag your most used things for quick access.
+1 It seems to me like we are working backwords waiting for Larian to discover why RPGs UIs are designed the way they are for over 20 years
