Picto makes the game less fun

[Sequora]

The real issue is that we just have way too many motifs, and a good option could be to cut them down back to no charges each, but that would remove a big part of the job's flexibility. On the other hand, a lot of other jobs don't have that luxury and have had to content with not drifting important GCDs. Still, redistribute the potency all across the board without making the motifs an actual damage loss, and remove 1 charge from the creature one would be a good start in my opinion.

And frankly I know it's gonna make people laugh but you don't even need ultimates to already see what the math and experience shows, and what you can already see in dungeons when it comes to downtime. Ultimates have rarely been very well balanced. For instance, DSR was an absolute joke of balance back then between jobs, and they didn't bother adjusting for it.

I worst decision the balance team could make would be to add clunkiness to the job. Removing charges? Really?

Many jobs from the ARR honestly need at least medium sized reworks.

We shouldn’t be making well designed jobs feel worse because old jobs are janky after several expansions worth of additions.

[Sequora]

Seconding this. I would be very disappointed if they changed how motifs currently work and/or cut their number down. Managing them, their spenders and building paint inbetween while preparing everything for your burst is what makes this job so fun to play. It's the job that makes me feel the most engaged in terms of actual thinking/planning (even if it's just a little).

I do absolutely not want the gameplay to be simplified or streamlined or any of that.

(And in terms of job fantasy it does feel a little like "prepping" all your tool and colours
meticulously for your painting which I think is a neat little bonus.)

Motifs needing a target makes no sense to me tbh. The whole point of them is preparation before you actually attack. Why should you need to target an enemy to execute a target-unrelated skill when you are not actually attacking them. What makes motifs interesting is finding the right moment to commit to their long cast time in preparation of a future attack.

I can live with nerfs to numbers but I also agree with Supersnow, picto is not the core of the problem and changing it won't really fix the underlying issues other jobs have.
You'd put a bandaid on a bullet hole so to speak.

The problem is that a rigid 2 minute meta actively counters true job variety. If you try to make jobs unique then some will inevitably not fit the strict meta mold and lose out.

I'd rather prefer a system where you can approach casting from two different angles without one style being so blatantly favoured by the meta mold. I love that BLM does not have a strict burst window but in picto's case it's the whole burst and the extensive build-up that I love and don't want to miss.

Naturally you'll never be able to balance jobs perfectly and some will always have a (small) edge but flat damage profiles and burst-reliant profiles should not be (dis)advantaged over each other in principle/across the board due to meta restrictions.

I just find it fascinating that someone doesn’t like the fact that their main job isn’t fun for them this expansion, and rather than fix the issues with said job, they would rather make a new job that many people are enjoying less fun to play.

[Ramiee]

I just find it fascinating that someone doesn’t like the fact that their main job isn’t fun for them this expansion, and rather than fix the issues with said job, they would rather make a new job that many people are enjoying less fun to play.

Its understandable because Endwalker and Dawntrail have had the worst job design in the series for two expansions in a row, so when PCT comes out and its by far the most interesting and fun new job we have got in the game since like SAM people get annoyed that its also performing far better than any other job (because the raid buff meta is broken) and demand it to be dragged down. Its simply crab mentality and I used to do it too, when SCH/BRD was ruined in SHB I wanted SGE/DNC to become the worst job in the game because I hated what happened to my main jobs, it was a bad mindset and even though its happened twice again for me (SMN/BLM) I have learnt to just move on and not grow attached to jobs.

[Valence]

I just find it fascinating that someone doesn’t like the fact that their main job isn’t fun for them this expansion, and rather than fix the issues with said job, they would rather make a new job that many people are enjoying less fun to play.

If you mean literally changing the job's gameplay, definitely. If however you just mean readjusting the damage output (a simple nerf), I'd retort that some people need to get a reality check if the fun they get out of a job is being ahead of every other.

[PercibelTheren]

If you mean literally changing the job's gameplay, definitely. If however you just mean readjusting the damage output (a simple nerf), I'd retort that some people need to get a reality check if the fun they get out of a job is being ahead of every other.

I remember being really baffled when I saw a discussion about every job being buffed to PCT levels. Most people were claiming it was the best possible decision because nerfs "make jobs less fun". I can't fathom how. Unless people are parsing, I doubt many would even notice their numbers being slightly toned down.

[PercibelTheren]

I just find it fascinating that someone doesn’t like the fact that their main job isn’t fun for them this expansion, and rather than fix the issues with said job, they would rather make a new job that many people are enjoying less fun to play.

I don't want PCT to be less fun but I've developed a fear of "fixing the issues". Most Dawntrail changes to jobs are absolutely baffling and make the jobs worse to play. I understand BLM players being annoyed that PCT is the new favourite child now.

[Eraden]

I don't want PCT to be less fun but I've developed a fear of "fixing the issues". Most Dawntrail changes to jobs are absolutely baffling and make the jobs worse to play. I understand BLM players being annoyed that PCT is the new favourite child now.

Is worse than just PCTs doings more DPS than BLMs. If that all that happened then Mao wouldn't mind so much. Devs actually went out of thems way to WRECK EW BLMs. Thems ruined Mana regen. Thems made rotation sooper rigid with crappy capstone spell. Thems wrecked Thunder. Thems even stooped so low as to weaken standard Fire and Ice AoEs. Assuming thems know what the heck thems doings, Mao HAS to assume that thems sabotaged BLMs to makes sure PCTs has ZERO competitions. Is all Mao can thinks of is that thems wanted thems precious new job to has no competitions. Mao paid 60 bucks to go BACKSWARD! THAT why Mao so angrys and THAT why Mao gonna quits game unless is some improvements made to BLMs in next few patches.

[bp_isa_ff]

Honestly, I have tried since launch to wrap my head around the balance decisions regarding this Job, and I simply cannot. Was the intention to phase out Black Mage altogether?

The damage output for Pictomancer is comparable to what EW non-standard Black Mage rotations would be doing, if they had survived into Dawntrail. So, my personal theory is that PCT was balanced around non-standard BLM first, then they decided later in production that they would remove / heavily nerf non-standard (and either overlooked the need to give PCT a compensating nerf, or didn't realise just how damaging the BLM nerf was)

[Supersnow845]

Which is my point, you’ve basically described situations where they have enforced a 2 minute meta by alternating downtime with burst phases, the “uptime” is never filler in these types of situations. PCT can further benefit from this because it gains free potency from targetless downtime but this type of design is always going to benefit jobs that run on CD’s rather than gauge generation and will always benefit burst profiles more heavily. Remember when BLM needed non standard just to even be half viable in EW ultimates because it’s flat damage profile was useless

Like you can nerf PCT but that doesn’t change the fact that the current design just so overwhelmingly benefits burst jobs and constrains design and retrofitting wonky bursts to non bursting jobs like with RDM just makes the jobs feel bad to fit a meta they weren’t designed around

[Supersnow845]

Nerfs are fine but it’s the way of suggested nerfs that’s the problem

I have less than zero problem with 1-200 potency being shaved off the creature motif or crit fishing being cut off by auto direct critting starry muse and rainbow drop, I have serious problems with them changing the way motifs work because they created a 2 minute buff focused Meta and now can’t balance the flat damage profile jobs to give a damn