The Pictomancer is a new job that will be added to Final Fantasy 14 in the upcoming Dawntrail expansion.
Along with fresh information on Dawntrail, the news was made this past weekend during the Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival in Tokyo.
Regretfully, the expansion’s release date beyond “summer 2024” is still unknown. Producer and director Naoki Yoshida said that an internal goal date exists, but it isn’t available to the public just yet since the release of the last expansion, Endwalker, was delayed. “We don’t want that to happen again, even if it’s just a few weeks,” he said.
During his keynote address, Yoshida provided further details on the new Job and unveiled the Dawntrail’s expanded trailer, which you can see below.
A pictomancer: what is it?
As a hint to the next two Jobs, Yoshida may have worn a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt at the Las Vegas Fan Fest. At the London event, Viper was the first to be shown. Since the Turtles are named after well-known painters, Pictomancer is the second.
The magical, ranged DPS Job known as Pictomancer uses a paintbrush and palette in combat. The job came from Relm’s ability to sketch enemy techniques in Final Fantasy 6. Painting sceneries, weaponry, and animals expands the talent set in Final Fantasy 14.
A video of the Pictomancer in action demonstrates more complex effects along with a variety of colored instant-cast powers; at one point, the figure calls forth a Moogle. The job is not just a support job; it will also have magic to enhance the celebration.
In the narrative, the Lalafell Krile (top picture) will serve as the Pictomancer’s representative and will now participate in Duty Support.
This job, which starts at level 80 in Gridania, the initial city, will not need any classes. And no, playing won’t need any creative talent on your part.
The Job’s vivid neon paint effects are ready for the next Dawntrail graphics upgrade (upgrade 7.0).
Better Images
As previously mentioned during Fan Fest events, upgrade 7.0 will include a graphics upgrade for the first time. Yoshida demonstrated advancements for every playable race in turn in Tokyo.
The textures have been finely developed, and the lighting, shadows, and definition of the muscles have been improved somewhat. Overall, there is a noticeable difference; darker skin tones seem more toned and natural. Gamers will get a fantasia in case they need to improve their character.
In the future, armor will also have two dye channels, allowing players to further customize their appearance.
The PC system requirements for Windows 7.0 are as follows:
Hrothgar, the female
Finally, players will be able to assume the role of Hrothgar’s female. In the past, this race of characters was exclusively male; female Hrothgar are uncommon in the narrative. Players will be able to access these powerful and elegant lioness ladies via Dawntrail.
According to Yoshida, they represent the last racing additions to the game—at least for the time being.
A brand-new NPC will play the role of Female Hrothgar in the narrative. She is the daughter of the Tural land’s current monarch. She will be introduced to players in Patch 6.55 part two, which is scheduled for release on January 16.
The vast Tural
Dawntrail is predicted to occur in Tural’s western section. More of the area was unveiled by Yoshida during the Tokyo Fan Fest.
First, the plot is divided into two arcs that span both the previously seen south and the northern portion of Tural. Overall, Tural seems to be influenced by both North and South America, with Tuliyollal, the capital city, located in the middle (much like Mexico).
Scenes from all across Tural were shown, including vibrant tribal communities, hazy tropical rainforests, glowing woods, and a mining town reminiscent of the Wild West.
Solution Nine is a hyper-futuristic cyberpunk metropolis that resembles something from Blade Runner and is far more fascinating. This is a brand-new player center built by a civilization distinct from Tuliyollal; maybe, the narrative will reveal more.
A different metropolis, named Heritage Found, was shown, bursting with lightning energy, purple levin streaks, and sun-blocking thunderclouds. In concept drawings, a steam locomotive and a big futuristic building with a purple and black backdrop were shown. It looks to be heavily influenced by Final Fantasy 7.
Additional updates
Yoshida also revealed a couple more significant changes.
Updates to the Blue Mage Job, more Hildibrand adventures, new ideas for Deep Dungeons, an upgrade to Gold Saucer, a PvP update, and new Variant Dungeons are all part of the 7.X series of patches.
In the later half of 7.X, in addition to Viper and Pictomancer, a new restricted job to complement the Blue Mage is also planned. This will be the Beastmaster, along with a function for collecting beasts.
Cosmic Exploration, a new lifestyle game that will let users explore other worlds, is coming soon. While it’s meant to be played together, it may also be played alone. Although Yoshida remained silent on what to anticipate from each planet, it seems that this is an expansion of Endwalker’s Island Sanctuary.
Yoshida has revealed concept art for The Shadow Lord, the Alliance Raid from Final Fantasy 11 that will join Final Fantasy 14 in Patch 7.1. In other news, The Arcadion, an eight-player raid with artwork resembling the inside of a GPU, will launch one month after Dawntrail, while Ultimate Raid Futures Unwritten will debut in patch 7.1.
Last but not least, the Final Fantasy 16 crossover questline The Path Infernal is scheduled for early April, while an open beta for Final Fantasy 14 on Xbox is scheduled to start around February 21. Could this be related to The Rising Tide, the second DLC? even a release for the PC?
Yoshida unveiled brand-new Dawntrail artwork that included every character as the speech came to a close (see below).
The Tokyo Fan Festival’s whole day is available to watch on YouTube. Do you anticipate this next expansion?
