Gm4him, I hear your argument and I think it is perfectly valid for SP. The issue is MP. Arguably MP would most likely be with players already knowing each others. And therefore be tolerant and patient. However, I cannot emphasize how great it is that larian is trying to improve the flow to allow a faster resolution of encounters. Swarm AI is a great start.
I hope they would find something for reaction. And I really like the auto/targetted solution. If then can give a full control option for the popup lovers even better.
To me a nightmare scenario would be playing with someone halting on every possible steps and reactions (if you played magic the gathering you know what I mean) so I really hope they would have something that flow well. I see the fact they acknowledge the problem a big win already.
I hear ya. That's why I've been trying to help develop a preset system.
Larian loves spellcasters way more than Tactical Adventures. I imagine end game mind flayers. 4 mind flayer spellcasters. You have Gale and Wyll, both with Counterspell. All 4 mind flayers casting spells. First casts something stupid like Levitate. Popup for both Wyll and Gale. Counterspell? No. No. Second does the same. No. No. 3rd casts Blur. No. No. 4th casts Lightning Bolt. Ah. Finally. Yes for Gale. He has more spell slots. No for Wyll.
That would kinda be annoying, to be sure. Still... It literally could make or break the encounter if you didn't have that kind of control. When fighting mind flayers, EVERY decision matters. If you have a preset that caused you to counter Blur and you didn't want it to, spell slot that you might need later is lost. Could be the difference between success and failure.