I like the battle system in this one, it works well and is streamlined which I like.

It's good at what it does but it just kinda feels off a bit sometimes. I don't know, I can't really explain it so my point isn't really valid at all. 
 
Anyway, Yeah it's a fun combat system and you can really get into the mood watching the stylish combat sequences while drooling and or fapping to such material.

Is there any trick to timing your paradigm switches to allow you to attack sooner?  Sometimes I feel like constantly switching back and forth between two allows you to attack sooner.

I liked it, but there's definitely something off with it too, I enjoy it for the fact that there're different roles to be played and some characters get some spells earlier than others, which brings a bit variety to what character I used or bring along with, but at the same time there really aren't much variety within the combat itself most of the time once you chose what you want, at least interms of story bosses, not only due to the fact the characters are on AI, but I'm not sure what is it that's off, since this is FF in a nutshell, you're just doing a certain list of commands in a fight. 

Perhaps it is the enemies design and skillset is what I don't like about it, for example, for the last boss, while there are certain buffs and debuffs you could use, there were little to nothing to do other than switching paradigms and do the exact same 3 spells the entire fight: attack > heal > esuna on lightning. I played as Sazh and other characters through out the entire game, and there're a little more to do because I could control what buffs to use, and what spells to nuke with (which also helps crowd controls), but outside of that, it's pretty mind numbing and mainly just switching paradigm the entire game. 

I don't mind the combat, I had fun with it, there were also some small annoyances like no templates saving for your characters, but it could use some improvements, though since it's pretty fast paced, I'm not sure what they could do other than adding customization within the menu for AIs, but even that, the battle will play out in a similar fashion.

I absolutely love the new battle system. It sucks for the first 10 hours or so... but once the game gets a little more challenging, it becomes super rewarding when you use it right.

"

Perhaps it is the enemies design and skillset is what I don't like about it, for example, for the last boss, while there are certain buffs and debuffs you could use, there were little to nothing to do other than switching paradigms and do the exact same 3 spells the entire fight: attack > heal > esuna on lightning. I played as Sazh and other characters through out the entire game, and there're a little more to do because I could control what buffs to use, and what spells to nuke with (which also helps crowd controls), but outside of that, it's pretty mind numbing and mainly just switching paradigm the entire game. 

I don't mind the combat, I had fun with it, there were also some small annoyances like no templates saving for your characters, but it could use some improvements, though since it's pretty fast paced, I'm not sure what they could do other than adding customization within the menu for AIs, but even that, the battle will play out in a similar fashion.

"

I'm enjoying it though there are times when I feel I am doing something wrong and ending up doubling the estimated time to complete the battle. Not everywhere just in places.

If I had to rate the game solely on combat I'd give it a 5/5. 
 
Seriously I've had so much fun with it from the start, I can fully understand how folks using auto-battle from the start and not trying things themselves found it to be slow but going the other route I've noticed so many small details which is what I really like about the system. There are so many little things on how battles can flow I love sitting there managing everything myself. My only problem is how much positioning can effect things but you are given no control on moving your characters. But given how much fun I've had with the combat it isn't a huge deal. 
 
What is a big deal though, is how fast I've almost maxed out my dudes crystariums. This is one of the first games I've played in a long time where I want to grind. I have so much fun randomly wandering around Pulse killing shit I just don't want it to end yet, however, about 2 days of grinding (about half of I didn't even have the growth egg believe it or not) I am almost maxed with every character. Kinda makes me sad that I will stop randomly killing dudes soon (guess it's good I own both versions of the game though amirite), heck I only need 1 more trap and I believe I am done with that as well. On the flip side though I have only done about 30 missions so still plenty of those to do. I had actually planned on going back to it before I maxed out every character.... but I was just so compelled to grind because it didn't feel like a grind, it was fun. 
 
It's been a longgggg time since I've loved a battle system as much as I do 13's. There are plenty of games with combat I liked but it has been a while since I've put over 50 hours into a game without getting bored of its combat.

The combat system is definitely my favorite of all the FF games I've beaten.

I like it for gameplay, yet too much grinding and boss battles are too difficult without a walkthrough.

I think its fun once it all comes together. I lack of control is a let down sometimes. Two examples:
 
1 - in the paradigm Combat Clinic, with med/med/sen. If you take a hit and one med goes down. instead of reviving the other med to heal the group up faster. the med will heal party members till everyones in the green then revive. 
 
2 - AI casting buffs is annoying, sometimes want them to cast enfire damn it! want are you waiting for.

I like it.

It was the only thing in the game I actually enjoyed.

I really enjoyed it, but it definitely has room for improvement (though given the nature of the franchise that probably won't happen.

@Zenaxzd said:

" If I had to rate the game solely on combat I'd give it a 5/5. 
 

Can't wait until the price drops or a sale. I want to get it, but I can't spare $59.99.

I have to say. for what it tries to do I love it.  It does get very samey during the back-end of the story but once you go post-game and unlock more roles for each character it does get much better and more tactical.

@Teran said:

I'm not sure where the complaint is here.  The entire system is built around shifting paradigms.  Every fight in the game revolves around you trying to counter boss strengths and while casting the same basic sets of spells and abilities changes each fight it's a little odd to complain about just that one fight in particular.  The idea behind the combat is having an effective paradigm deck and managing your party.  I personally played as Lightning during the entire portion of the game where you could choose who lead and I enjoyed her as leader being a great ravager, good commando, and decent medic in a pinch.  The fact that you aren't utterly gimped without the ideal party or playing as the ideal leader speaks volumes about how well done the combat is done in the game.  I do agree with you on some level though... there were times when the combat did just feel a bit off and once in a blue moon the ai would mess up big time... had a particularly annoying point where my medic kept healing my sentinel and letting the party leader die but this only happened when a specific set of unusual circumstances came together in a specific boss fight and extremely rarely during a trash fight. "

The last fight was just an example, most of the battles play out about the same during the second half, I agree that paradigm shift was a pretty good idea and I like the party management, that's the most fun I had with the game, I'm one of the few people who actually enjoy the splitting off party part because the game encourages you to tackle fights differently with a different skill set, but towards the end I just find myself doing the same routines once the crystarium opened up, I guess it really not a complaint towards the core combat system but I think more variation and management option could've improved it, well there were actually options in the crystarium and customization but the extra roles costs a bit too much for me to mess around with.

Edit: By second half I mean after gran pulse, I enjoy most of the boss fights and enemies encounter before that.

I would prefer a FFX style battle system, Streamlining is nice but its going too overboard. A lot of games these days are being watered down for the masses.

Unfortunately i don't share your opinion on the battle system . I really didn't like it as i didn't really feel in control of what was going on .

The combat is really involved and fun, i still preffered FFXII's combat system though.

I'm enjoying the combat, but I would give just about anything to be able to load 8 or 10 paradigm decks.  Of course, if you realize you started a fight without the right paradigm/party combo, it's not too time consuming to start over.  The forgiving continue system is very nice.
 
As for the fighting it's self, I admit, I liked the control of the earlier games (Up to X anyway), but this was a nice way get a good fast paced game going.  The AI is good at doing what it should be doing in each of the roles, although I do wish it would recast debuffs as saboteur more often...  And it would have been nice if there was something that a Synergist could do once all of his buffs had been cast.  But those issues are solved by planning the paradigms and switching when appropriate.  I just hate to have to devote 3 settings to Syn+Sab, Syn without Sab (At least this makes sense with a Medic in the mix), and Sab without Syn.  Doesn't leave a lot of room there.  In fact, I'm running Snow as leader now, and I really think I should have more sets with him as a Sentinel, but even my main healing set doesn't, because I use it for quick bits, and I need to keep my chain gauges up.
 
I guess the fact that I've sunk THAT much thought into it means it's all quite effective.

It's a fine battle system but if you compare it to previous battle systems, it's a little too "streamlined". I like the fast pace but it's one of the simpler battle systems and doesn't leave as much room for strategy. I'm really enjoying the game even into the post-game, but the battle system wouldn't be one of the major reasons.

Best battle system in the series imo

It's probably my favorite battle system in any RPG.

I did love the battle system. You really have to know what your doing at all times and if you switch to the wrong paradigm at the wrong time you could end up dead.

For what it is, it works. I can't say I 'like' it, I prefer to have control over my party, selecting abilities over controlling 1. It was an ok experiment, I just like traditional mechanics. One part I hated was if your main character died, you lost the battle.

I really like the paradigm shifting stuff some of the bosses were very intense

i hate it... its like masturbating but..with no hands..
 
its just wrong.
 
More technical note. Pressing x constantly so that you dont have to think is not my idea of fun.

I think the battle system is well thought out especially the paradigm shift.  only having one character to control really helps in this situation.  While I tend to take the auto battle feature, having the ability to control all actions is very nice too.  I haven't gotten far enough to really utilize party management or more build/generate more shifts but am looking forward to it.

I like it, but I started to get really bored of it late in the game.

I do mostly enjoy the battles, but I have to agree that they get a bit samey. I find myself repeating the routines I have found most effective against certain enemies again and again... That combined with my ps3 freezing at the worst times results in a lot of controller-throwing.

the paradigms/ATB battle system is the best thing of Final Fantasy XIII

It's a battle system so dumbed down that I got scared for my A button half way into the game.
 
Also, it failed at making summons useful in any capacity, just like basically every FF game before it save maybe a couple.

It was fun enough to actually let me enjoy grinding.

Didn't like it at all, mainly due to the Auto-Battle feature resulting in the player repeatedly tapping X (or A). Admittedly that's not true for some of the later C'ieth stone marks, but I do not appreciate the removal of the MP system. The whole thing feels dumbed down and the Battle Rating system is the only reason for you to ever think your paradigms through (otherwise diversity would be the best paradigm in almost any situation!).

It is up there among my favourite battle systems in the series. I loved the mix of quick fast-paced battles that also still maintained strategy that didn't let allow you to fall asleep at the wheel, especially if you were trying to get the fastest time possible. That last part is probably what had me most addicted. I was constantly trying to outdo myself, in terms of how quickly I could slay a group of enemies and it kept me constantly playing around with party configurations and paradigm setups. Also made grinding a lot more entertaining.
 
About the only thing I would have really liked to have is the ability to actually go into the individual roles and configure the AI actions myself like in XII.

The battle system is fine.
 
The rest, not so much.

The combat is all kinds of fun, I had a blast after discovering I could use COM+RAV+SEN and Ruinga/Blitz (with Lightning main and with speed/ATB boosts after damage/kill) to kill off huge groups in seconds.

You should be able to cycle your main character mid battle.   Your main character can never really be a sentinel so it would be nice to cycle to someone else.  Alternatively, I would like it if I could customize the auto-battle FF12 style so I could automate when potions are used and things of that sort.

I actually prefer the gambit system from FF12. I also find it would fit this game as well since there are enemies in the wild. Plus it would cut out the whole loading the battle phase.

Love it. Intense and fast paced, but still heavily strategic.

I love it. It's streamlined strategic and tactical combat in one neat package. One annoyance is the involountary positioning of the characters though.

I really like it for nailing the easy to pick up / hard to master balance.  What I really don't like is everything related to the battle system. 
The inventory and upgrade system is just a clusterfuck and the crystarium is just plain retarded. The latter of the two is my single biggest gripe with the game.
 
The battle system itself, though, really is FF 13's saving grace. I'm still going back to it every now and then to finish the game. And once that's done I'll probably go back for the c'ieth stones et al.

whenever I first put the game in I enjoy it...for the most part.
 
however overall it's hardly the best...actually i'd put it towards the bottom of the list of FF games (and JRPGs in general)
 
why?
 
because I played for 3 hours straight while browsing the internet barely taking the time to look over once or twice just to be sure I didn't need to swap to a healing paradigm.....only time you really need to pay attention is on a boss fight or cutscene.....if you don't think there's something wrong with that I don't know what to tell ya

It makes a nice change from the turn-based system, even though it is rudimentary to most RPG's these days it gets a little boring. I wouldint mind seeing this battle system in future FF releases if not other RPG's