Paint wizards and female catfolk are coming in FF14 Dawntrail
Plus, two dyes on one outfit.
Final Fantasy 14's annual fan event was in full swing yesterday, and the announcements of new features—and trailers—from the Dawntrail expansion were coming pretty fast. The new Pictomancer was on display, the mystical painter joining FF14 as a magical ranged damage job.
The intelligence-based Pictomancer isn't just pure damage, however, and has some abilities that buff its party members. Some players are comparing it to the magical counterpart of the physically-oriented Dancer class. It will have the ability to paint the creatures it faces, landscapes, and weapons—all of which are implied to take a bit of time—complimented by a limited selection of instant-case powers.
The Pictomancer will be available at level 80 if you own Dawntrail, allowing you to immediately use it as your primary class for the expansion story. The trailer for Pictomancers, released yesterday, shows off an array of splashy, over-the-top paint-based effects.
An aside during the larger presentation also showed off a feature letting players use several dye colors on a single set of equipment. Examples shown included a leather outfit where the underlying clothing could now be dyed, and a suit of armor with cape and skirt that previously only allowed the cloth to be dyed, but now let the armor itself change color as well.
Much to the excitement of players, the inclusion of playable female Hrothgar catfolk is now fully and officially confirmed—so yeah, those people going on about that pair of legs were right. The lionesses will arrive with Dawntrail, but for now you can just watch a nice trailer showing off their animations, athletics, some stretches, and various other goofy emotes.
There are currently eight playable races in Final Fantasy XIV, and the Hrothgar were the only one locked to a single gender. The other species once locked to a single gender, the rabbit-eared ladies of the Viera, had their boyish bunny counterparts released in 2021.
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail is set to release in Summer 2024.
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Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.