How do you play Pictomancer in FF14? Dawntrail’s Pictomancer job is a caster, meaning players will need to learn how to position themselves while waiting for a cast to complete in addition to practicing a brand new rotation. This guide will give you an introduction to the job, how to unlock it, the basic principles to understand, and which spells you should keep within easy reach.
Because the FF14 Pictomancer is a caster, you should know how to slidecast and you may need to learn specific fights to master your positioning if you’re doing high-end content. Unlike melee or physical ranged jobs in the MMO game, such as the new FF14 Viper melee DPS, you need to stay still in order for your cast to complete.
How to unlock Pictomancer in FF14 Dawntrail
In order to unlock Pictomancer in FF14 you’ll first need access to the Dawntrail expansion. Then, you need to have a Disciple of War or Magic leveled to 80 or higher. After that, you can pick up the quest “The Joy of Pictomancy” in Old Gridania (X: 8.0, Y:10.3) from the Cheerless Hearer.
Completing this quest will get you everything you need to begin your journey as a Pictomancer. If you’re keen on having the best gear going into the questline, pick up the Cryptlurker level 80 gear from the Crystarium.
How to play Pictomancer in FF14
The Pictomancer job has some resource management to keep in mind, but it has a big payoff during its burst. The first spells you’ll want to get familiar with are the aetherhue spells that make up your light paint combo. Fire in Red, Aero in Green, and Water in Blue are the main 1-2-3 combo, and finishing it will grant 25 Palette Gauge, and one charge of White Paint. The AoE versions of these spells all have the same name, but with a II after them. The White Paint resource procs Holy in White, which is an instant cast GCD that hits multiple targets.
Palette Gauge
Palette Gauge is the Pictomancer job gauge. It will show all of your White Paint (and Black Paint once you level the job up). This gauge will also display a squiggly, colorful line with a number under it, which indicates how much Palette Gauge you have. You can spend 50 Palette Gauge on Subtractive Palette, which allows you to cast dark paint spells. It also converts one White Paint into Black Paint when used, granting the Comet in Black spell, another potent AoE.
Subtractive Palette grants Monochrome Tones, which procs your dark paint spells and their AoE counterparts. Blizzard in Cyan, Stone in Yellow, and Thunder in Magenta are all able to be cast once when under Monochrome Tones. The cast times for these spells are all longer than the light paint combos, but have a higher potency to them.
Canvases
Pictomancer’s weapon is a paint brush, so it’s no surprise they need to paint in order to bring their spells to life. The Canvas job gauge is where you’ll be able to see your Creature, Weapon, and Landscape Canvases. Each one has a different function and use.
Canvases are set up by painting motifs. Then, those Motifs can be spent on Muses. Motifs take a long time to cast and do nothing other than put the Motif onto the Canvas. Muses are instant-cast oGCDs, meaning you only need to worry about cast time when setting up your Canvases.
The Creature Canvas
The Muses for the Creature Motif have three charges and are on a 40-second cooldown. There are four possible Creature Motifs, which should be created in the same order in your rotation: Pom, Wing, Claw, and Maw. Once you create these Motifs, you can use Living Muse, which grants three charges for Muses.
Using Pom Muse and Winged Muse paints a Moogle Portrait, which grants Mog of the Ages, a high-potency AoE. Then, the Claw and Maw motif paints a Madeen Portrait, which has an even higher potency Aoe.
You can see which Muses you have created at the top of your Creature Canvas. The last Muse, Fanged Muse, will clear your Creature Motif to start the cycle from the beginning.
The Weapon Canvas
The Weapon Canvas uses Steel Muse to bring its Motifs to life. This Muse only has two charges and is on a 60-second cooldown. Steel Muse becomes Striking Muse, which grants three stacks of Hammer Time. Under the effect of Hammer Time, you can cast Hammer Stamp, Hammer Brush, and Polishing Hammer.
Your Landscape Motif indicates your burst window. It changes into Starry Sky Motif. This ability paints a circle on the ground and does a large number of things. It serves as your party buff, allows you to cast Starry Sky and Star Prism,grants a resource-free use of Subtractive Palette, and also grants the Inspiration buff, which reduces cast and recast time of certain spells while in the circle.
In addition, Starry Sky gives players five stacks of Hyperphantasia, which are consumed by using aetherhue spells. Using all five stacks gives you the Rainbow Bright effect, allowing the AoE spell Rainbow Drip to be cast instantly.
Pictomancer basic rotation
In general, Pictomancers will want to cast their Motifs outside of damage buffs and during downtime. Outside of your buff window, use your Motifs in addition to your aetherhue combos, but be aware of when that buff window is approaching, and prepare high potency abilities like Motifs and Portraits to execute after the buff window begins.
You’ll also want to be aware of overcapping the Palette Gauge. Manage your resources so that you are never reaching the cap, but do your best to have it as high as possible when approaching damage buff windows.
In addition to knowing your rotation, being able to manage your resources and predict when the best times to use long cast spells will ensure you’re a master Pictomancer in no time. If you’re having trouble accessing the game, check our FF14 server status and maintenance times guide to make sure there’s no downtime ongoing. Similarly, make sure you’re in the know on how and when to enter your Dawntrail early access codes so your access isn’t restricted.