*This article contains spoilers for FF14 patch 6.55 “Starting Point of Light Part 2.”
Held from January 7th to 8th, 2024“Final Fantasy XIV (hereinafter referred to as FF14)”event of“Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2024 in Tokyo”Now, the additional job “Pictomancer” has been announced in the new expansion package.
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Pictomancer is a remote magic DPS that wields a magic tool called a “brush” that resembles a paintbrush, uses its refined magical power as “paint,” and fights by embodying its imagination. It is known that Krul, a member of the Akatsuki Clan, will be in charge of the job, but there is only fragmentary information and we have to wait for the release of “Golden Legacy'' for detailed performance information. I'm really curious about what kind of job it is…!
So this time, I'll be able to think about things as I please, and this will be Pictomancer's first appearance.“Final Fantasy VI (hereinafter referred to as FF6)”While looking back at Realm, I tried to imagine what kind of job it was.
◆What exactly is Pictomancer?
In the first place, many people may not be familiar with the Pictomancer job, but the only time this job appeared in the Final Fantasy series was in FF6, and Golden Legacy marks the series' reappearance for the first time in 30 years. It becomes.
In FF6, the job was set for Relm, a girl who likes to draw, and was able to use a special command called “Sketch.” When used on a monster, a technique set for each enemy was activated, but it could be said that the command was a little unstable as it sometimes failed.
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When implementing Pictomancer in FF14, it would be unrealistic to set up skills for each of the huge number of opponents. There is a way to learn skills by sketching a specific enemy, such as the blue mage's “Learning” method, but this is a feature of limited jobs with limited content, and if introduced to regular jobs, the usability will differ depending on how the player progresses. It would be difficult to think of this because there would be too many.
Therefore, while the act of “drawing pictures'' remains part of Pictomancer's individuality, we believe that its performance itself will be different from FF6. However, if you ask me if there is any connection at all, that's not the case, and I think the background of the Pictomancer job is taken from FF6.
◆The name “Relm” appears in “FF14” patch 6.55 “Start of Light Part 2”
In FF14 patch 6.55 “Start of Light Part 2'', where the last main story update for “Finale of Dawn'' was made, Krul changed her job to Pictomancer as an announcement ahead of “Golden Legacy''. Since he appeared in an event scene, we couldn't see the battle, but you can see him drawing Moogle and defeating the enemy.
And in the event that followed, there was a statement that you couldn't miss: “Relm, the Twelve Sages.” In “FF14,'' a character named Relm spreads Pictomancer's magic, so it clearly follows “FF6.'' By the way, there are currently four known Twelve Sages, including Relm. For example, the sage Nyunclef, who is said to have built the prototype of Sharlean, is mentioned many times in subquests of Old Sharlean.
If the setting of “Golden Legacy'' is the continent of Toral, the connection between the Pictomancer job and the continent of Toral also becomes vague. In the first place, Relm's sketch in FF6 was inspired by the blue magic of her grandfather, Stragos, and it can be said that the Pictomancer in the FF series is based on a blue mage.
The blue mage in FF14 is a job added in patch 4.5 of Crimson Liberator, and the job quest says that blue magic has its roots in the magic used by the Waraki tribe, a minority tribe living in the new continent in the west. It's being talked about. When investigating the continent of Toral in the main story of patch 6.55, it was discovered that the new continent to the west was the continent of Toral. In other words, there is a high possibility that information about blue mages will be delved into in “Golden Legacy'', and at the same time, I think that Pictomancer, who has a strong relationship with blue magic in “FF'', will be deeply depicted in an imozuru style. .
Additionally, Alphino and Zenos/Zero are in charge of the additional jobs “Sage'' and “Reaper'' in “Finale of Dawn'', and the jobs are also described in the story. Pictomancer is also held by Krul, the main character, so it would be natural in a sense to delve into the background of that job in the scenario. In the FF6 homage, it may be possible that the Twelve Sages Relm's discovery of Pictomancer's magic comes from the blue magic of the Toral continent.
◆About Pictomancer's performance predictions
When predicting the performance of Pictomancer,Japan Fan Festival keynote speechLet's organize the information that has already been announced.
Remote magic DPS with caster frame equipment
It requires chanting time to draw a picture, but it has chantless magic and abilities to make up for it.
You can embody the creatures, weapons, and scenery you draw.
Acquire magic to strengthen the party, but no resurrection magic
It's not a support job, but it's not a specialized attack job like a black mage.
There is very little material to speculate about, but if you look at the job introduction video, you can see that red paint creates a fire effect, purple paint creates a thunder effect, and yellow paint creates a stone effect. The use of this wide variety of magic is reminiscent of the use of casters, especially red mages. At the same time, there are descriptions of him “embodiing drawn creatures, weapons, and scenery,'' and of summoning Mowgli, as shown in the story by Krull, so he seems to have some aspect of a summoner.
As for the ability predictions, it is necessary to paint multiple colors over and over again to draw a picture, so for example, the painting (ability effect) will change depending on the order of the activated paint skills, like a ninja seal, or a dancer. I think that by successfully applying multiple paint Procs in a row, the painting will be completed and a powerful effect will be activated.
Renzi's “Bard'' and “Dancer'', who are famous for their buff roles, and Pictomancer have the same “art job'' in common. Also, it is said that “Learning magic to strengthen the party'' is “not a support job,'' but it seems that the role of a supporter is strong even though it is not specialized in support.
Also produced by Square EnixA job with the same name also appears in “Bravely Default II”However, this is a debuffer that weakens the enemy at will. There is also a possibility that it will be a debuff role in FF14, but if that is the case, the job introduction will probably be phrased as “obstructing the opponent'' rather than “strengthening the party,'' so it is more likely to be used as a buffer. Probably.
From the above, I think it is not a job that is extremely differentiated from other jobs, but an all-purpose job that combines the abilities of caster and ranger, such as red mage & summoner + dancer & bard. . As a caster, you will be required to perform magical attacks while considering the casting time, and in between, support your allies like a ranger.
I don't know if I'll end up with poor dexterity or if I'll end up thinking, “I guess I can do it all by myself,” but as I wrote at the beginning, now is the only time to think about unimplemented jobs, so I hope everyone will too. Why not try making some predictions? I’m looking forward to its implementation in “Golden Legacy.”
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