Isn't "Artist" a better name?

[vexis58]

Astrologian is a pretty weird name for a fortuneteller.

Sage is easy to remember, but doesn't tell you anything about their role, weapon, or even class flavor. Medic would have been better, but they wanted to use a "classic FF" job name even if it has zero in common.

I would have picked Painter over Artist, to be more specific about what kind of art, but Pictomancer is fine since it's what the class was called before. It's a mage class. It can't use the same rules as physical ranged Dancer/Bard.

[Absurdity]

if anything i think Dancer/Scholar needs a different name more befitting the combat role it actually is

More befitting their role in combat? Get ready for Broilomancer and DPSpaddomancer.

[Mostly_Raxus]

Faecaller and flinger maybe <3

granted there is a simple elegance to DPSpaddomancer that i am drawn too uncontrollably

[Gemina]

In the game menu when you select Relm it has her job title "Pictomancer".

Is this the SNES version? I don't remember their jobs actually being listed in the main menu.

I was around 10-12 when I played FFVI (it was FFIII at the time here in the US). The game did not use the classic job system like FFI and FFIV (this was FFII here in the US). My friends and I would refer to the characters of VI based on their weapon, unique skill, attire, or just their name. Our history with the franchise was in the very early stages as the actual other FF games (II, III, and V were not released in the US at the time), so we related the characters to what we knew, which was things like D&D, Conan, LoTR, etc.

Ceres was a knight
Shadow was a Ninja
Cyan was a Samurai
Locke was a Thief
Terra was an Esper because the game specifically refers to her this way
Strago was a Mage

Iirc characters like Setzer and Gau were ambiguous and we just referred to them as their names. However, what I know for certain was that we did not refer to Edgar as Machinist or Relm as a Pictomancer. These job titles came about after the release of FFVI. I honestly didn't know Relm was a Pictomancer until recently because I had no idea this title even existed.

I'm not stating any of this as fact and just going off of memory.

[Atelier-Bagur]

Has any Final Fantasy game ever actually called it "Pictomancer" in the English version? I definitely don't remember Relm being called a Pictomancer back in the day. Maybe I'm just old and don't remember

yes, the original Japanese naming for Relm's class in FFVI is ピクトマンサー Pikutomansa aka Pictomancer. The class names only existed in the original JPN version. The NA SNES release omitted the job titles in the menu and even omitted the feature of renaming Cyan's Bushido skills using kanji.

[MikkoAkure]

Is this the SNES version? I don't remember their jobs actually being listed in the main menu.

This is the Advance version.

[Cynric]

It doesn't really matter what they call the job. That being said Lost Ark already has an artist so maybe there's at least a reason to just keep the name pictomancer.

Either way I don't care what they call the job I care what it plays like.

[Eisi]

so then the little ladies day dancers are not dancers or are they dancers? and what about the sharlayan scholars, are they or are they not scholars?
so did Alphy change jobs to artist in ShB? or is that something else?
if you want to argue semantics be my guest

You wanna argue.

Nobody in the history of the universe ever confused DNC for a little ladies' day dancer. Or a SCH for any other kind of scholar.

That's my entire argument - semantics don't matter. So you can just call it Artist. Nobody will be confused.

[RitsukoSonoda]

Artist is someone that makes art.

Pictomancer is someone who attacks with art.

I however am a neckwearmancer...

[kaynide]

You wanna argue.

Nobody in the history of the universe ever confused DNC for a little ladies' day dancer. Or a SCH for any other kind of scholar.

That's my entire argument - semantics don't matter. So you can just call it Artist. Nobody will be confused.

+1,

Like, Leonardo da Vinci was an artist. Banksy is an artist. They are not the same by any means, but nobody is confused that they are/were artists to some degree. Same way a modern Marine (the soldier) not confused to mean some kind of oceanic adjective.

That said, Pictomancer is very evocative, and has game history…specifically “-mancer” giving a clear image of “this is some kinda mage”.