FFXIV’s Viper and Pictomancer Jobs, Explained

There are many things to look forward to with a new Final Fantasy XIV expansion. Awesome raid bosses, an engaging story, and a beautiful new location to explore. Dawntrail will be no different as it’s poised to be the biggest Final Fantasy XIV expansion yet. One of the most exciting parts of Dawntrail is its two new Jobs: Viper and Pictomancer.

Viper and Pictomancer join a massive catalog of already established jobs including Dancer and Astrologian, with those established jobs all getting exciting new abilities and balance updates. Well, except for Summoner with its underwhelming changes and additions that leaves it mostly the same. For disenchanted Summoners or anyone looking for a new job, the Viper and Pictomancer jobs will definitely be worth a look. What is there to know about these new Final Fantasy XIV jobs, and what are some fast ways to level them up?

What Is The Viper Job?

The Viper is a Melee DPS Job joining the Lancer/Dragoon, Pugalist/Monk, Rogue/Ninja, Samurai, and Reaper. Similar to the Samurai and Reaper, the Viper has no prerequisite base class. For those who have Dawntrail installed, the Viper Job can be acquired in Ul’dah, one of the main starting locations in Final Fantasy XIV, by speaking to the Worried Weaver found in Ul’dah – Steps of Nald with coordinates (x9.3, y9.2). This will begin the “Enter the Viper” sidequest. Because the Viper begins at Level 80, the player must be at the same level or higher in a Disciple of Hand or Magic.

The Viper is a sweet snake-inspired job that utilizes dual-bladed weapons. The two blades are utilized both separately as two-handed weapons and combined as a single-handed double-edged weapon, like Darth Maul’s lightsaber in the Star Wars prequel movies. The Viper is a fast and agile job specializing in close-range combat while buffing the player and debuffing the enemy. It’s selfish, like the Samurai, in that it lacks party buffs. In general, the Viper uses Dexterity as its main damage-dealing state and uses “of Scouting” and “of Aiming” equipment.

As the Viper, players will be doing a three-step combo where the Actions they take are designated to the left and right blades. The left blade starter is Steel Fangs, which has a damage potency of 200 while the right blade starter is Dread Fangs, which has a damage potency of 100, but adds Noxious Gnash to the enemy. Noxious Gnash increases the damage an enemy takes for 20 seconds, so always ensure this is active for maximum damage.

On the second step, the left blade gains the Hunter’s Sting ability, which adds a damage buff for 40 seconds while the right blade gains Swiftskin’s Sting, which adds Haste for 40 seconds. Players can pick either, regardless of their choice in the first step. For the final step of the Viper combo, there are four options: The left blade has Flankstring Strike and Hindstring Strike while the right blade has Flanksbane Fange and Hindsbane Fang. Flank moves deal bonus damage to the enemy’s flank while the Hind moves deal bonus damage when attacking the enemy’s hind. These will naturally alternate as Flank moves enhance the Hind moves of the following combo and vice versa.

Overall, this is much simpler in practice as the game guides the player through the combo through dotted borders on the Hotbar and the dual-bladed Vipersight HUD meter, which indicates which combo finisher will have higher potency. Below the Vipersight meter are three red diamond-like shapes. These are Rattling Coils. These are built up and can be spent on Uncoiled Fury, a ranged AOE attack that’s best used in between combos.

The Viper also has another HUD indicator, which is the round orbed Serpent’s Ire. Specific moves in a combo will hill the Serpent’s Ire meter. When that meter hits 50, the player can activate Reawaken, which has drawn comparison to Dragon Ball Super’s Super Saiyan Blue transformation. Below the large orb is a series of five smaller orbs. These are the Anguine Tributes. When Reawakened, the player will do more damage and add AOE damage to attacks as well as having access to new high-potency special moves. These moves are First, Second, Third, and Fourth Generation and become more powerful when used in numerical order. These cost an Anguine Tribute to use, so the Serpent’s Ire HUD serves as a guide in that regard.

The Serpent’s Ire Action, unlocked at Level 84, automatically adds a Rattling Coil as well as Reawaken Ready for 30 seconds, which provides quick access to Reawaken and is most effective at the beginning of the fight. At Level 96, the Viper unlocks Orobourous, which is Reawaken’s big finishing move and ends the Reawaken state. At Level 100, First through Fourth Legacy will be added to the rotation providing greater DPS opportunity.

What Is The Pictomancer Job?

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The Pictomancer is a Magical Ranged DPS Job joining the Thaumaturge/Black Mage, Arcanist/Summoner, Red Mage, and the limited Blue Mage. The Pictomancer has no prerequisite base class. The Pictomancer Job can be acquired in Gridania by speaking to the Cheerless Healer found in Old Gridania with coordinates (x8.0, y10.3). This will begin the “The Joy of Pictomancy.” sidequest. Because the Pictomancer begins at Level 80, the player must be at the same level or higher in a Disciple of Hand or Magic.

Unlike the Viper, the Pictomancer has already been introduced in Final Fantasy XIV’s story as Krile picked up the ability in hopes of being more active in battles and not spending time on the sidelines. The Pictomancer is a colorful Job that uses art, through painting, in order to fight. This is based on Relm Arrowney’s fighting style in Final Fantasy VI. In Final Fantasy XIV, Pictomancer was conceived by the Archon Relm as a nod to this. As a Magical Ranged DPS, the Pictomancer uses Intelligence as its primary stat. For both armor and accessories, the Pictomancer requires “of Casting” equipment.

Pictomancer is a bit more complex than the Viper or an established Magical DPS like the Summoner. To start, there are three basic combo attacks: Fire in Red, Aero in Green, and Blue in Water, which will be activated using the same button in sequence. These add White Paint up to five to the Palette HUD, which can be used to perform the Holy in White attack. Completing a basic combo also fills the Palette Gauge by 25. Once the Pallette Gauge is at 50, players can use the Subtractive Palette, which grants access to a stronger basic combo attacks: Blizzard in Cyan, Stone in Yellow, and Thunder in Magenta.

Finishing a combo here also grants White Paint. Subtractive Palette also converts one White Paint into a Black Paint and is activated as soon as the player has a White Paint, whether it’s right away or after finishing the next combo. Black Paint is used for the Comet in Black attack. The Subtractive Palette-based attacks, including Comet in Black, are slower to cast. Keep that in mind when facing an enemy that requires fast and immediate movements.

So what about the Canvas HUD? On the Canvas HUD, there are three canvases where players will be painting their motifs. On the left is a Creature, in the middle is a Weapon, and on the right is a Landscape. Creating each painting takes drawing a Motif before rendering them with a Muse ability. Afterward, the player gains access to a finisher move for that painting. For example, the Creature Canvas utilizes four components: the Pom Motif, Wing Motif, Claw Motif, and Maw Motif, which will cycle in sequence.

Start by painting a Pom Motif, then render it with the Pom Muse. These renders will appear on the bar above the canvases. Then move on to the Wing Motif and the Winged Muse. After two Motifs are rendered, players can activate the Mog of Ages ability or work on completing the other two Motifs for the Retribution of the Medeen. Both do high-potency damage to nearby enemies. Each motif takes time to cast in battle but is instantly cast outside of battle.

The Weapon and Landscape Canvas are more straightforward with not as many components as the Creature Canvas. The Weapon Canvas produces a comically large hammer that can do heavy damage, while the Landscape Canvas produces individual and party-wide buffs so long as players are standing in a designated area. The Landscape Canvas should be a priority early on given its strong buffs.

The Pictomancer also has a barrier ability in Tempura Coat as well as a dash ability in Sludge. Overall, the Pictomancer is a complex Job, but a fun one both visually and to execute.

What Are Fast Ways To Level Up The Viper And Pictomancer?

Leveling Methods:

• EXP Boosting food and accessories
• Leveling dungeons
• Completing Challenges
• Wondrous Tails
• Previously incompleted side quests and role quests
• Play MSQ if just starting Endwalker

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With both jobs starting at Level 80, what’s the easiest way to level them up to 90 to start Dawntrail? In general, the process of leveling up Viper and Pictomancer will be the same as any other job. There are no special methods specific to these jobs. If a player has already spent the time and effort of leveling up other jobs, then simply continue the same method here.

Dawntrail may introduce new methods over time, but for players wanting to play the entirety of the Dawntrail MSQ with one of the new jobs, then they’ll need to stick to the tried and true methods. It’s worth noting that the Dawntrail MSQ will reward enough EXP to get any one job from Level 90 to Level 100. For players who have yet to start Endwalker, simply pick up the desired job before starting that expansion and just play the MSQ as those quests begin at Level 80.

First things first — equipping an EXP booting accessory and consuming EXP boosting food will help, even marginally. That bonus EXP adds up. Completing Challenges can also grant a large amount of EXP, so explore the Challenge Log and find easy-to-do challenges. Doing daily leveling/roulette dungeons provides a big boost toward a level-up as well as completing previously incompleted side and role quests.

One great way to gain EXP in Final Fantasy XIV is through the Wondrous Tails, which can be found in Idyllshire from Khloe after completing the Level 60 side quest “Keeping Up with the Aliapohs.” By filling out the journal through completing nine objectives, players can receive a half bar of EXP, so completing it twice gains a level. A journal will last for two weeks and new ones are available weekly. Once nine objectives are completed, wait to turn it in until equipping the job of choice. Then the player can immediately obtain another journal and work on that. This is a great method to supplement other leveling methods.

Yes, this all still takes time. Remember, the MSQ is not going anywhere and players are encouraged to take their time enjoying it. Aside from Wondrous Tails, there’s little a player can do to prepare before Dawntrail releases. It doesn’t hurt to spend the Early Access period and the first few days of full release focusing entirely on leveling up the Viper and Pictomancer. For those waiting, take the time to read up on both jobs before committing to the Viper, Pictomancer, or any other prospective job.

In any event, the Viper and Pictomancer jobs both look like loads of fun and an excellent addition to Final Fantasy XIV’s catalog of jobs. These two will definitely be fan-favorite!

Final Fantasy 14

Platform(s)

PC , PS3 , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

August 27, 2013

Developer(s)

Square Enix

Publisher(s)

Square Enix

Genre(s)

MMORPG

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Engine

Crystal Tools

ESRB

T for Teen: Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Metascore

90

Platforms That Support Crossplay

PC, PS4 & PS5

PS Plus Availability

N/A

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