FFXIV’s Black Mage job is losing its ‘flare’ among players as Pictomancer paints a bright future for itself

Each time a new expansion drops in Final Fantasy XIV, the dynamics of the game's two dozen or so combat jobs continue to evolve and change in order to maintain balance, and Dawntrail is no exception. Both Viper and Pictomancer have entered the fray, and while the dual-sword DPS is already facing some contention, the magical Pictomancer is already in the Eorzean stratosphere in terms of both power and popularity.

In fact, Pictomancer has already proven itself so powerful that long-standing magic DPS heavyweight Black Mage seems to be facing a potentially bleak outlook for future content in FFXIV. One of the very first mage jobs added in the game during A Realm Reborn, Black Mage earned a reputation over time as one of the strongest damage dealers, bar none. They could rip "aggro" off of tanks with ease and often sat at the top of the DPS list regardless of battle content.

That reputation, which has stood the test of time in every expansion, now has some cracks visible thanks to Pictomancer, a unique mage (originating in FF6) that wields mixed aether and a paintbrush rather than a staff. Since arriving with the launch of Dawntrail, the Pictomancer job has been excitedly embraced by countless FFXIV players and is showing clear staying power so far for multiple reasons.

The introduction of Red Mage (Stormblood) and now the ability to unlock Pictomancer has players welcoming magical DPS classes with unique skill sets that harness both ranged and melee DPS abilities. In other words, mobility and flexibility. On top of that, Pictomancer's unfettered DPS output is currently putting almost every other DPS class in the game to shame, to the point that Black Mage has now effectively been benched.

A recent Reddit poll posted by user 'Biorockmanx' (seen above) asked fellow FFXIV players which magical DPS job they've been enjoying so far in Dawntrail, and the results, well, painted a very clear picture. Pictomancer surged past Black Mage with 153 votes, while the latter received a meager 36 votes (48 meanwhile said 'Neither').

If that wasn't enough, as posted recently by Reddit user 'Piratoz' and further clarified by 'Kaurie_Lorhart' (seen below), the recently released Arcadion Savage Raids are seeing a high degree of participation from Pictomancer players, while Black Mage ones are virtually nonexistent. Of all groups that have cleared the inaugural tier of Arcadion Savage, only two single Black Mage players are among those DPS ranks, seen dead last at the top of this tiered list.

Granted, as noted by some posters in the Reddit thread, Black Mage is not necessarily always used for initial "prog" in challenging content like Savage Raids, again due to its lack of efficient mobility. Reddit user 'sstromquist' also makes a strong point when saying this current Arcadion raid tier features a significant amount of movement-based mechanics that probably make using Ley Lines feel moot. Either way, it still lends enough to the argument that Pictomancer is proving to be a popular and suitable replacement for this scenario.

On top of all that, the 7.05 patch released on July 30 (seen via The Lodestone) brought more adjustments to various combat classes, including some downgrades in attack potency for Black Mage. Meanwhile, Pictomancer remains entirely untouched, which is quite surprising since Viper has already gotten somewhat of an overhaul, for better or worse. Both new classes have even already gotten first dibs on new weapons from Ultimate Raids.

This means that Black Mage faces a very uncertain future in the world of FFXIV, particularly when it comes to hardcore content. If Pictomancer faces a reckoning of sorts at some point that would deflate its DPS output, the tables could turn yet again back in Black Mage's favor. For now, however, players seem to be hanging up their staves more and more as magic-based combat continues to evolve in the game. Y'shtola, the figurative mascot for the classic mage class, will have to hold the line.

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