Final Fantasy 14 has introduced the second new class to be added to the popular MMORPG this summer during the fan festival.
The MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV will receive two new DPS classes with the expansion Dawntrail in summer 2024: a melee DPS and a ranged DPS. It has been known since October 2023 that the first new job, the melee class, will be called Viper. In this class, you use two swords in combat that can also be combined into a long sword.
What kind of new class will it be? The new class of Final Fantasy 14 will be called Pictomancer and will make you a kind of magical painter. You will use a type of oversized wand as a brush and attack your enemies with magical ranged attacks.
You start in Gridania, so you can begin your adventures right away in Dawntrail. You also do not need any other class as a prerequisite to use it. The starting level is 80.
In combat, however, you do not simply paint color on your opponent’s face with the Pictomancer. As shown in the trailer, you draw the respective attack, which then hits your target. In one scene, the opponent is hit by a giant ice block, and in another, by a rock.
You can watch the trailer for the Pictomancer here:
What is known about the Pictomancer’s combat abilities? FFXIV Game Director Naoki Yoshida, known as Yoshi-P, describes the combat abilities of the Pictomancer as follows:
- “Works in the medium of mixed aether, using a special brush to bring his visions into reality.”
- “These creations [the drawings of the Pictomancer] include not only creatures and weapons but also landscapes.”
- “Since summoning such wonders takes time, the Pictomancer also has immediately usable abilities and spells.”
Yoshida also states that the Pictomancer is not as attack-oriented as the Black Mage, but it is also not a pure support class.
You start in Gridania, so you can begin your adventures right away in Dawntrail. You also do not need any other class as a prerequisite to use it. The starting level is 80.
New class evokes mixed feelings among fans
How is the Pictomancer being received by the community? The new class has left a mixed first impression on the community of the popular MMORPG. Some players are already excited to be able to play the magical painter. Others are disappointed with the animations and sounds or believe that the style does not fit the game.
- BunnyFaebelle via Reddit: “I will definitely play the Pictomancer. […] So many jobs are already dark and edgy, so it’s nice to have a cheerful class added.”
- More_Lavishness8127 via Reddit: “I’m not sure what to make of it. I guess I’ll have to see it in game. The animations and sound effects honestly seemed pretty silly.”
- mkflmngo02 via Reddit: “I mean, it looks cool, but at the same time, I think it clashes with the existing art style of the game. Anyway, I hope it’s fun to play.”
In summer 2023, many fans of the MMORPG speculated about what the upcoming class might be. Some suspected a class whose weaponry resembled the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ because Yoshida was wearing a TMNT t-shirt at the fan festival in 2023. In 2014, he teased the “Dark Knight” class in a similar way while wearing a Batman t-shirt.
Instead of the Ninja Turtles, which are named after famous artists, there is now a painter class.
