The identity of Pictomancer is being destroyed

[Nasigno]

Eh, it's fair of players to express disappointment. My issue is the lack of nuance.

Like look at this thread, "The identity of Pictomancer is being destroyed". This, in a vacuum, sounds as if Pictomancers just lost all color from their animations, and no longer equip a brush to fight. What it actually is about is that if you don't skip odd-minute hammer, you suffer a 1% loss to damage assuming there's absolutely no situation where you can utilize the flexibility of hammer and it's a pure-uptime fight with essentially no fight mechanics.

I'll throw in, Pictomancer by design was to compete with Black Mage and Melee for DPS. This has been reiterated in multiple patch notes and letters from the developers. So I'll stretch it has lost its core purpose as much as design with this revision. Measurable metrics right now put it barely performing above Summoner and Red Mage.

It was too much, the revision was a snap reaction and now it's not able to even do what they wanted it to do in the first place. Maybe it'll reverse course but I'm sure that'll not be for another 6 plus months leaving it in the rather worrisome state it is in now.

[Supersnow845]

It is a bit odd the tier made casting harder then they buffed melee because of melee uptime concerns

Like what is it about the current tier that’s challenging melees more than casters

[Sarantserel]

It is a bit odd the tier made casting harder then they buffed melee because of melee uptime concerns

Like what is it about the current tier that’s challenging melees more than casters

I'm playing RDM this tier and went into M5 last night and started looking at M6 and I'm kind of baffled about the "melee need buffs cause of downtime, nothing for casters" while Arcadia Night Fever 1 and 2 are extremely stressful for me and the two healers, especially the 2nd one where I need to slidecast through the in-out part so I have a melee combo to handle how fast the frog cleaves are. The waves are also very awkward because I need to go stand in the outer line as a 2min window is coming up. I basically need to stay in melee range till the last second to not just delay my burst or interrupt it with weaker cast until I can get back in melee range

Then looking at M6, my most powerful AoE attacks are gated between 3 melee hits, but I also have to stay near the wall and bait puddles and the lava phase has me completely cut off from melee range for a full minute. I'm sure I'll find some way to not overcap on gauge once I actually get in there, but it sure seems like a lot more hoops to jump through than the melee DPS. The melee DPS barely need to disconnect from the boss in M5 (I think Frogtourage with the spotlights is basically the one time) and the boss gives them free positional during arcadia night fever.

Them making PCT's main movement tool worse in the same tier where they require so much movement out of casters is certainly strange.

[Wayfinder3]

It is what it is now until it's my class that gets reworked.

I’ll be fine then too because ultimately, that’s what there vision for the classes is. If they rework my class, I play it or I don’t. So they can’t really hurt me with a rework. I’m at most ambivalent to their modern class design, I don’t care about simplicity or complexity, I just want it to be fun and engaging enough for me and for others to be able to grasp its gameplay enough to not sand bag parties.

They could give Red Mage a full rework and I’d just play it or play something else.

[Wayfinder3]

I'm playing RDM this tier and went into M5 last night and started looking at M6 and I'm kind of baffled about the "melee need buffs cause of downtime, nothing for casters" while Arcadia Night Fever 1 and 2 are extremely stressful for me and the two healers, especially the 2nd one where I need to slidecast through the in-out part so I have a melee combo to handle how fast the frog cleaves are. The waves are also very awkward because I need to go stand in the outer line as a 2min window is coming up. I basically need to stay in melee range till the last second to not just delay my burst or interrupt it with weaker cast until I can get back in melee range

Then looking at M6, my most powerful AoE attacks are gated between 3 melee hits, but I also have to stay near the wall and bait puddles and the lava phase has me completely cut off from melee range for a full minute. I'm sure I'll find some way to not overcap on gauge once I actually get in there, but it sure seems like a lot more hoops to jump through than the melee DPS. The melee DPS barely need to disconnect from the boss in M5 (I think Frogtourage with the spotlights is basically the one time) and the boss gives them free positional during arcadia night fever.

Them making PCT's main movement tool worse in the same tier where they require so much movement out of casters is certainly strange.

Ive noticed this too about red mage, the job isn’t compensated for its forced ranged mechanics with its melee combo properly at all.

Ride the waves in m5s comes up in a 2 min and RDM can’t do its full burst with some funky party considerations that might be fun in a static but may serve to make the job weaker than it already is because it drifts its burst out of buffs

[Azurarok]

Last I heard weren't their caster/healer designer the same person, while tank/melee are handled by another?

[Sequora]

I'll throw in, Pictomancer by design was to compete with Black Mage and Melee for DPS. This has been reiterated in multiple patch notes and letters from the developers. So I'll stretch it has lost its core purpose as much as design with this revision. Measurable metrics right now put it barely performing above Summoner and Red Mage.

It was too much, the revision was a snap reaction and now it's not able to even do what they wanted it to do in the first place. Maybe it'll reverse course but I'm sure that'll not be for another 6 plus months leaving it in the rather worrisome state it is in now.

Came here to say this. The balance team is a joke and clearly just favors melee jobs.

We deal slightly more damage than RDM and SMN and have no raise. Why would a static want a PCT (or a BLM for that matter) when they can have a SMN or more likely, a RDM?

We likely will not see any changes until at least 7.3, if at all. Weird that melees got buffed so much. These fights are still very friendly to melee.

[MrJPtheAssassin]

I just look at the logs to see what ppl are saying are true and damn PCT fell so much this patch...I was afraid this would happen when everyone asked for PCT to be nerfed for FRU. Now PCT been banished down to RDM and SMN levels of DPS when all it has is a buff and a team shield. Like Sequora said, why would anyone want a caster who has no rez and only does slightly more dps than a rdm on their team? You'd better off bring a smn or rdm for the caster spot for that rez and a BLM or a 2nd melee for the flex spot. It's just like I said in all the threads that were asking for PCT nerfs, if PCT was nerfed to be near the rez casters, you are basically killing the job, and that is what is happening here. I hate to say it but I told you so... RPR I guess Im coming back home to you. Yet another caster ruined for me...

[Supersnow845]

Can’t wait for the “destroy PCT at all costs” crowd to jump on the ridiculous dominance of the melees in the new tier

VPR is now 12% ahead of every other job in M6. Obviously it’s time to nerf it apparently

[Sequora]

Don’t worry, melees are fine. Encounters are designed with the idea that melees have to move out of range and will lose damage. -Someone on the balance team.