Square Enix has revealed Final Fantasy XIV will be introducing two temporary jobs: the Pictomancer and the Beastmaster.
Of course these are both classic jobs, or classes, in the Final Fantasy franchise, that get different forms of expression or interpretation in different games. While one may question why it took them this long to add these jobs, there is certainly no lack of content from the franchise’s legacy to pull from even now for the titles’ next five or so years.
The Beastmaster, also sometimes known as trainers, are invariably known for taming wild animals. In this regard, they get the ability to control beasts that are fighting the party, in the middle of combat, and even turning them around to fight other enemies.
The Pictomancer is a mage who uses brushes to paint spells into being. Both the Pictomancer and the Beastmaster are similar to each other and the Blue Mage, who only learns spells cast by enemies. All three are jobs with limited, albeit very useful, abilities.
In Final Fantasy XIV, all three are limited jobs. This means players can pick them up for the purpose of replaying some content, while others are off limits or provide no benefits to those jobs. Blue Mage is already available as a limited job.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Square Enix gave a detailed explanation of what the Pictomancer can do in Final Fantasy XIV:
“Pictomancer is a magical ranged DPS job that works in the medium of mixed aether, wielding a specialized brush to render their imaginings reality.”
As reported by Siliconera, Square did not have as much to share about Beastmasters, but series producer Naoki Yoshida mentioned that the studio is working on a collection ability for it. This implies that you will be able to go around collecting beasts you fight. That’s definitely a huge motivation to pick this job up and repeat some levels and content.
Square Enix also shared a description of the new race being introduced called the Hrothgar:
“The Hrothgar people hail from Ilsabard. A Turali people with shared ancestry, The Xbr’aal, call Yak T’el home. Females number relatively few among the population, but are readily identified by their lithe, muscular forms. Equally distinctive is their predisposition for leadership.”
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail, the long running MMO’s latest expansion, is launching this summer 2024, alongside the title’s debut on Xbox consoles. There will also be an open beta on Xbox next month.