Pictomancer is absurd

[Bonoki]

you are wol
i am wol
we are all wol
meteor/hiroshi/derplander is our generalised standin.
throw all the players in pot, stir very hard and make smooth paste out of us. that's him

- but surely not negligible slice of us want to play casters? ruin your dungeon run by dressing up as piggy/tonberry/fat chocobo, spam /paintyellow?
...

then there is marketing.
their analysis and diagramns and research perpetuates the idea that to SELL
our standin must be melee/tank appearing fella. which is just smooth pastefied version of us.
we are all wol.
but none of us is really made of general paste only.

dont. play. pictomancer. if. it. hurts. so. much.

You were making some solid points in your post until the final sentence came across as a bit passive-aggressive. It's important to remember that everyone is entitled to their opinions, and the forums are a place to express them openly. Additionally, it's worth acknowledging that even those who aren't fans of Pictomancer might still play it due to its integration into the game, complete with achievements and rewards. So, discussing ways to improve the experience for everyone is more constructive than dismissing differing opinions with a "don't like it, don't play it" attitude.

[Ardeth]

If people like it, they like it. It's like when I explain why I don't like Dancer and people get all up in arms, and that's before I get to the goofy animations.

[Asterden]

You were making some solid points in your post until the final sentence came across as a bit passive-aggressive. It's important to remember that everyone is entitled to their opinions, and the forums are a place to express them openly. Additionally, it's worth acknowledging that even those who aren't fans of Pictomancer might still play it due to its integration into the game, complete with achievements and rewards. So, discussing ways to improve the experience for everyone is more constructive than dismissing differing opinions with a "don't like it, don't play it" attitude.

I don't think anyone is saying you shouldn't voice your opinions. What people are saying is that if the job aesthetic isn't for you then don't play it. I don't think that's very hard to understand or do. You can say it's ugly, garbage or whatever, and people are allowed to say the opposite. However, what I am seeing is a lot of people that dislike the job are arguing that pictomancer is somehow a flaw in game design or a stain on the game's image. How is ONE job affecting YOUR experience? Saying "don't like it, don't play it" isn't dismissive, it's a valid solution to your problem. This goes for everyone and not just you. There are jobs in this game that I will not play because I just do not care for them. I really don't like the aesthetic choices for reaper, samurai, or dark knight for example, and I am free to express those opinions, but what I am not gonna do is claim that these jobs "don't fit" in FFXIV. Like, what makes the job or theme of pictomancer, "less" FFXIV than the other jobs?

Personally, I think it's mighty self-righteous for some players to dictate what is or not aesthetically acceptable in MMO that's heavy in the RPG.

[Turtledeluxe]

I have never heard of an instance where the developers have changed a job in a stylistic sense meaningfully based on player feedback.

So it's definitely a don't like it, don't play it scenario. I mean to be clear it's not like that means the situation can't be changed tomorrow, it's just that 10+ years of data and yeaaah, I am going to assume these animations are set it stone.

[Gemina]

After the shirt reveal at fan fest there were several threads about speculating on the job and people were talking about green mage, geomancer, and pictomancer.

That's wonderful. In a previous post I stated that the rise in pictomancer discussion is recent, i.e. as a result of the Yoshi's shirt hinting at the job and the job reveal itself a little later. Those discussions, be they positive or negative, would fall under that umbrella. Am I not being clear when it comes to the timeline involving these discussions?

And a whole thread from 6 years ago:

Wow... six years ago. Bravo. No, seriously you have my commendation for digging this up. I asked you to provide a receipt and you most certainly did that. You're someone I would want on my side if I ever go through a tax audit. Unfortunately, you're still missing the point. You even admitted it yourself that we're basically stuck with this job design choice from the dev team. That you would choose something different if given that choice, and that is my point. I am really not sure what it is exactly you take issue with. Is it the fact that some people, myself included simply do not like this job? I'm quite sure many players will think, "Well, you don't have to play it then." And they're right. I don't have to play it, and I don't have to like it either.

I don't even know where to start with this or what "NPC mindset" is supposed to mean.

I don't know what else to tell you other that "cartoony" stuff has already entered the game. You can get turned into water imps, frogs, green chicken, or even paint the floor in a raid like was brought up above. You can go to a casino that is in the shape of a giant cactuar covered in domes, filled with bunny girls, and hop in a tiny plane to shoot cartoony balloons. You can summon a cartoony rabbit on your head if you mess up mudras or summon a bright neon glowing cat-rabbit thing that does gem magic. While none of them had cartoony effects as core to their content and this is certainly an escalation, it's at least not alone.

So what? Whoever I said I'm in favor of that crap as well? You need to understand that this isn't an argument. If I directly ask you why you feel Pictomancer is good choice to bring into the game, and your response is, "We already have silly stuff in the game." You are admitting the choice is silly. You have already made valid and strong statements why Pictomancer can work in FFXIV, and you did it without resorting to the nonsensical word salad in this quote.

It's fine to have fun, cute, and cartoony stuff in the game. That within itself I do not take issue with. However, the jobs in FFXIV take on a more serious approach. I am not saying that Pictomancer doesn't have a place among them. I am saying that based off of what I have seen thus far, it has missed the mark. I am saying they could have done a better job crafting this new job in a manner that fits the overall aesthetic of FFXIV jobs. The cartoony battle effects does not line it up with the other jobs, it lines it up with the cutesy crap in the game we don't take very seriously for obvious reasons. Hopefully that can put it into perspective why this argument is weak and doesn't help you. They are also not your own words. You're just regurgitating them.

[Sjol]

That you would choose something different if given that choice, and that is my point. I am really not sure what it is exactly you take issue with. Is it the fact that some people, myself included simply do not like this job? I'm quite sure many players will think, "Well, you don't have to play it then." And they're right. I don't have to play it, and I don't have to like it either.

...snip...

The cartoony battle effects does not line it up with the other jobs, it lines it up with the cutesy crap in the game we don't take very seriously for obvious reasons.

I think part of the problem is that SE is running out of design space and that covers mechanics, visual art, etc. They probably also have only a handful of serious designs already lined up and they need at least one for Meteor to take on each expansion.

In terms of visual space, while I personally minimize other people's effects, not everyone does and having something visually distinctive helps a lot. I did appreciate the broad slicing effect of Reaper, but since that's already taken a gloppier slower effect gives it some distinctiveness. You've got literally about 600 battle effects give or take maybe 50. Adding another 50 battle effects on top of that that all need to be distinctive and it's getting kind of difficult to make abilities that look like a particular job and not like the other jobs, so I'm going to give the designers a little slack on this and actually applaud them for making something really distinct. It may not be your preferred style, but it serves at least one job really well.

[Turtledeluxe]

I don't understand the argument that Picto abilities are out of place. There's literally paintbrushes in this game, paint effects in at least one main story boss I can think of, and moogles are an FF staple that's in XIV itself. So what exactly is out of place about it? The fact it's not an effervescent neon laser fest like most of our current abilities? If you've come to this conclusion did maybe not stop and think to yourself that doing something different was the entire point?

[Supersnow845]

I think the problem is that it’s another class like the healers, dancer and arguably bard that really seems like it will fit the game but it doesn’t fit the WOL per say

They have done a lot to characterise the WOL recently outside of meteor and the characterisation leans strongly towards the tank/melee/BLM favouritism that meteor himself also leans towards

Like for example my WOL is a healer but I’ve also had to held alot of his OC lore around making that fit, the canon WOL lore and personality really doesn’t fit these sorts of jobs

Don’t get me wrong I’m super excited for PIC but I think that’s white a lot of the complaints come from

[Truen]

I don't understand the argument that Picto abilities are out of place. There's literally paintbrushes in this game, paint effects in at least one main story boss I can think of, and moogles are an FF staple that's in XIV itself. So what exactly is out of place about it? The fact it's not an effervescent neon laser fest like most of our current abilities? If you've come to this conclusion did maybe not stop and think to yourself that doing something different was the entire point?

My complaint and opinion is that it looks cartoonish and rather dumb. Some are going to like it prob, but I doubt it'll be widely played because it's a literal eyesore. And for every Moogle fan I'd wager there's 5 or more that would drown their entire species in a river given a chance, lol. I'd rather they would keep the game thematically in-line with a more traditional, darker and serious tone but at this late stage in ff14's development cycle the well of ideas is probably starting to run dry. So, it is what it is. We embrace the absurd, try to ignore it, or go play something else.

[Duskane]