The identity of Pictomancer is being destroyed

[SalamanderIX]

I'd be pretty certain that they don't want any motifs to be a loss, since they designed the job around using those motifs in the first place.

So I would have to believe they will fix the job as time goes on, the balance team hates non-optimal play, for better or worse. It's likely the balance changes were just a crowbar before they'd get out the scalpel, or they just made a mistake.