The Pictomancer is a magical ranged DPS job introduced in the Dawntrail expansion. This job is unique, focusing on the art of painting magical motifs that come to life, providing both offensive and defensive capabilities. Here's a detailed guide to help you master the Pictomancer, shared by Megastar on his YouTube channel. Meanwhile, if you want to level up your Pictomancer, MmoGah provides a shortcut by allowing you to buy Final Fantasy 14 power leveling services fast and securely!
How to Unlock the Pictomancer
1. Ensure you have the Dawntrail Expansion.
2. Reach Level 80: You need to have at least one Disciple of War or Magic job at level 80.
3. Head to Old Gridania. The coordinates for the quest giver are X:8.0, Y:10.3.
4. Speak to the Cheerless Hearer NPC, who will offer you the quest to unlock the Pictomancer job. Follow the questline and complete the quest.
5. Equip the Pictomancer Soul Crystal: Once you complete the quest, you will receive the Pictomancer Soul Crystal. Equip it to officially become a Pictomancer.
Main Spells and Aetherhues
Every time you cast one of your main DPS spells as a Pictomancer, you'll gain Aetherhues. Each color of Aetherhues will change what spell you cast next.
Without any Aetherhues, you can cast Fire in Red; with green and yellow Aetherhues, you can cast Aero in Green; with blue and magenta Aetherhues, you can cast Water in Blue, which will increase your Palette Gauge by 25 (The Palette Gauge is a resource system that fills up as you perform specific actions and combos. It can hold up to 100 points and is essential for executing powerful spells and abilities.), and give you one White Paint, which is used on Holy in White, an instant cast spell.
The AoE versions of your Aetherhues are the same, except they have the number two in their name, like Water II in Blue.
Subtractive Palette
When your Palette Gauge hits 50, you can use Subtractive Palette. This will give you three stacks and swap the Aetherhue colors, which will allow you to access the other spells. Each of these spells has a slightly longer cast time and recast time but does a lot more damage. Without any Aetherhues, you can cast Blizzard in Cyan; with green and yellow, you can cast Stone in Yellow; with blue and magenta, you can cast Thunder in Magenta. Thunder in Magenta will give you another White Paint.
At level 90, using Subtractive Palette will give you Monochrome Tones, which will change one white paint into one black paint. Black paint can be spent on Comet in Black, which is stronger than Holy in White and is also an instant cast spell.
Motifs
Pictomancers also have access to canvases, which is where they paint motifs. Each Motif can be cast instantly outside of combat. However, in combat, they have a 3-second cast time, so always make sure to prep your motifs before entering combat. There are three motifs: the Creature Motif, the Weapon Motif, and the Landscape Motif.
Creature Motif
The Creature Motif has a few parts to it. Whenever you start a fight, your first Creature Motif will be a Pom. When you have the Pom Motif ready, you can use Pom Muse, which will render the Motif to life and do a bunch of damage. The Pom will then be stored on the canvas.
Afterward, your next Creature Motif will be a wing, and using Winged Muse will render it and add a Moogle portrait to the canvas. This Moogle will allow you to use Mog of the Ages, which is a line cleave that does a lot of damage. This will then reset the canvas back to being blank and allow you to paint the Pom and Wing Motifs again.
However, at level 96, you get two additional Creature Motifs. After painting and rendering the Wing, your next Motif will be a claw. Using Clawed Muse will render it and add a claw to the canvas along with the Pom and Wing.
Then, you'll have your last Creature Motif, which is Maw. Using Fanged Muse will render it and add a Madeen to the canvas. This Madeen will change Mog of the Ages to Retribution of the Madeen, which is another line cleave that does an insane amount of damage. From here on, you can keep casting the different motifs in order.
Weapon Motif
For the Weapon Motif, there's only one, which is the hammer. Using Striking Muse will give you three stacks of hammer time, which you can use on Hammer Stamp. Although you are holding the hammer, you do not need to be in Melee range with it. Hammer Stamp will also always be a Critical Direct Hit, and it's AoE.
At level 86, when you use Hammer Stamp, it'll change to Hammer Brush, then Polishing Hammer. You can use each of these moves at range as well. They're also guaranteed Critical Direct Hits and AoE.
Landscape Motif
There's only one for Landscape Motif, which is the Starry Sky Motif. Rendering the Starry Sky Motif with Starry Muse will give you and nearby party members a 5% damage buff for 20 seconds. Starry Muse will also give you a buff called Subtractive Spectrum, which allows you to use Subtractive Palette without any cost of the Palette Gauge.
At level 82, whenever you use Starry Muse, it'll give you five stacks of Hyperphantasia and will make a big ring on the ground. With these five stacks, you can cast five spells with 25% reduced cast time, but only when inside the ring. If you move out of the ring, your cast time will return to normal. Once you use all five stacks, the ring will disappear.
At level 92, you'll get Rainbow Drip. Whenever you use all five Hyperphantasia stacks, you'll be able to use Rainbow Drip as an instant cast spell. It normally has a four-second cast time, and it'll also give you one white paint when you use it.
At level 100, when you use Starry Muse, you can use Star Prism, which does a lot of damage and also heals yourself and your party members for a little bit.
Other Abilities
Pictomancer also has their own personal shield called Tempera Coat that lasts for 10 seconds. If this shield breaks, it'll reduce the cooldown of Tempera Coat by 60 seconds.
At level 88, you can spread your shield to other party members by using Tempera Grassa. If this shield breaks, it'll only reduce the cooldown by 30 seconds.
For more abilities, you can refer to this page. Hope the guide helps.
Related Link: https://www.mmogah.com/news/ffxiv/ffxiv-dawntrail-viper-beginners-guide
