You’ve hit FFXIV Level 100 on Pictomancer, the party’s newest paint-slinging caster, and now the real fun begins. Raids ask for tight execution: aggressive two-minute bursts, clean movement, and zero drift on your big buttons. This guide breaks down a practical, no-fuss Pictomancer rotation for raids, from the opener to sustained loops, with clear priorities so you can keep pace with the meta and your party’s buffs without feeling overwhelmed.

What’s New At Level 100

Key Additions And Trait Upgrades

Level 100 rounds out your kit with stronger payoffs in two areas: prepped burst and fluid movement. You’ll enter raids with more potent finishers tied to your prepared motifs and a smoother way to weave oGCDs without clipping. Your primary single-target filler feels snappier, your motif-based spenders hit harder, and your capstone tools slot neatly into the two-minute burst window most parties build around.

You also get quality-of-life traits, shorter recast alignment, improved proc uptime, and cleaner gauge flow, so you’re not fighting your kit to hit raid buffs. In plain terms: more damage when it counts, fewer awkward gaps between casts.

How These Changes Affect Your Raid Planning

Level 100 pushes you further into a strict two-minute cycle. You’ll prep motifs early, stash your biggest hits for the coordinated buff window, and then settle into a predictable filler loop until the next burst. The end result is a Pictomancer rotation that’s easy to plan for: prepare, burst on two, stabilize, repeat. Expect to hold a spender occasionally for party buffs, without overcapping, because raid damage is about alignment as much as raw potency.

Job Fundamentals And Priority System

Resource And Gauge Management

Think of your kit in two lanes: preparation and payoff. Preparation is your steady filler that builds access to motif actions or charges. Payoff is the big, instant or near-instant casts that you cash in during burst. Your number one goal is to never overcap on any motif-related resources. If you’re sitting on maximum charges and your next raid buffs are more than a few GCDs away, spend one. Conversely, if buffs are seconds out, delay a spender so it lands fully inside the party window.

Lucid Dreaming is still your safety net. Use it proactively during long, movement-heavy phases where you’re forced into more instant casts: being starved when the burst window opens is the worst-case scenario.

Buff And Debuff Uptime

Pictomancer slots neatly into the two-minute meta. Keep your personal damage buffs rolling (and refresh them inside raid buffs where possible), and contribute your party raid buff on cooldown with alignment in mind. If a phase transition would clip your buff, drift a few seconds so your next use re-syncs with the group. It’s worth more to be late and with the party than on time and alone.

Debuffs are simpler: maintain any raid-relevant debuff your kit provides without losing casts, but don’t chase seconds at the expense of a full GCD. If the boss is jumping in three seconds, finish your current cast and hold the refresh for the re-opener.

Proc And Cooldown Priorities

Procs smooth your movement and raise APM during burst. Use them before they fall off, but not at the expense of clipping your next high-potency window. For cooldowns, follow this order of thought: raid buff alignment first, gauge overcap prevention second, potency-per-GCD third. In downtime-heavy fights, it’s fine to bank an instant proc for movement or an upcoming mechanic, as long as it won’t expire.

Opener, Two-Minute Burst, And Timeline Planning

Pre-Pull Setup And Party Coordination

Coordinate with your party lead on the buff timeline. Most groups run a standard two-minute loop, so you want your big spenders and your party buff landing 5–10 seconds into the pull once everyone’s debuffs and buffs are active. Pre-pull, prepare your motifs so you’re not burning early GCDs on setup. Use Sprint and position where you won’t be forced to move during the first eight to ten globals.

Confirm who’s potting on the first burst (many groups potion at two minutes rather than at 0:00). If your party is delaying potions, save your strongest combo for that window and treat the pull as a “half-burst.”

Standard Opener Sequence (0–2 Minutes)

• Pre-pull: finish a full cast that lands exactly on the pull. Immediately begin your preparation sequence so that your first payoff GCDs align under early raid buffs.
• Weave your party raid buff the moment the majority of group buffs are up (typically around GCD 3–4), then unleash your first motif spenders back-to-back, double-weaving oGCD nukes where possible.
• Prioritize any instant-cast motif finishers inside this opener to keep your GCD rolling and create space for weaves. If you have a high-potency, longer-cast nuke, fit it just before the main buff stack ends.
• After your initial burst string, settle into filler while ensuring you don’t overcap on motif resources.

By the 1:50–2:00 mark, you should be ready for the first full two-minute burst: party buffs, personal buff, potion (if your group opts for an early pot), and your strongest sequence in a tight package.

Double-Weave Windows, Drift Rules, And Potion Usage

Your best double-weave windows are the instant casts created by motif spenders or procs. Use those to slot in your party buff, personal buff, and any oGCD nukes without clipping. If you’re forced to weave during a hardcast, single-weave only, clipping during burst is more costly than delaying a lower-potency oGCD.

Drift is a tool, not a mistake, when it preserves alignment. You can drift a party buff or big spender up to a few seconds to catch the two-minute window, provided you won’t lose a full use over the fight’s duration. Timeline planning matters: if the encounter ends at 7:55, drifting your six-minute-use ability by 10 seconds at four minutes might cost you the last use. Check enrage timings.

Potions: align with the raid’s densest buff window. Many groups potion at two minutes and again at six minutes. If your first pull is rough or your raid wants a later-phase check, hold your first tincture to match the plan. Inside pot, front-load your hardest-hitting GCDs and oGCDs: avoid drifting casts during the potion window unless a mechanic would force a drop.

Sustained Loop, Movement, And Downtime

Filler Priorities Between Bursts

Between two-minute windows, your Pictomancer rotation is a steady cadence: keep building with your filler, spend to prevent overcap, and maintain any personal buff. If you have two spenders available with the next buff window 20+ seconds away, use one now and hold one. If buffs are within 10 seconds, hold both and prepare to unload under party buffs.

Slidecasting, Instant Casts, And Gap Closers

You don’t have a true gap closer, so you live and die by slidecasting and planning. Start moving just before each cast finishes: you can consistently scoot a step or two without dropping a cast. Bank instant procs for predicted movement, not for “just in case.” Swiftcast is your emergency button, reserve it for heavy movement or to salvage a kill target before it disappears. Surecast protects you from knockbacks and lets you keep a cast rolling while mechanics go off.

Re-Openers After Invulns Or Phase Changes

If a boss goes untargetable or the group forces an invuln window, treat the return as a mini opener. Refresh personal buff if needed, re-establish motifs if any fell off, and front-load your highest-potency spenders as soon as party buffs are up again. Don’t dump everything the instant the boss lands: wait a GCD or two for raid buffs unless your timeline demands immediate damage to push a check.

Multi-Target And AoE Rotations

Two To Three Targets: Split Vs. Focused Damage

On two targets, focus on single-target filler with cleaving or shared-damage spenders where available. It’s usually better to tunnel a priority target if mechanics favor burning one down, because your motif spenders still scale best when they land under buffs on a single boss. On three targets, begin mixing in your AoE tools if their potency-per-target overtakes your single-target options. Avoid spreading thin if adds die at different times, wasted damage is no damage.

Four Or More Targets: AoE Priority And Cooldown Timing

At four+, swap fully into your AoE kit. Build with your fastest AoE filler and spend motif-based AoEs on cooldown, but save at least one big AoE for party buffs if a large pack will live 15+ seconds. If the pull will evaporate in under 10 seconds, don’t over-prepare, spam your quickest AoE GCDs and weave only the oGCDs that won’t clip.

Raid Adds And Dungeon Pulls: Burst Planning

For structured raid add waves, plan the same way you do for bosses: hold a major AoE spender and your party buff to land inside the group’s two-minute burst on the wave spawn. For dungeons, your value comes from front-loading AoE and keeping the tank safe via mitigation while you keep casting. If a pull is staggered, don’t burn all cooldowns on wave one: stagger them so each wave gets at least one strong AoE payoff.

Utility, Optimization, And Troubleshooting

Party Mitigation And Addle Usage

You bring Addle, Swiftcast, Surecast, and a personal defensive, Tempera Coat, to the table. Addle should hit predictable raidwides, tank busters that include magic damage, or heavy magic cleaves during prog. Tempera Coat is your “I will live through this and keep casting” button: pair it with movement-heavy mechanics or when healers are taxed. Call your Addle usage in voice if your group is mapping mitigations.

Common Mistakes And How To Fix Them

• Overcapping motif resources because you’re waiting too long for buffs. Spend one early if the window is far out.
• Clipping GCDs by forcing double-weaves on hardcasts. Create instant windows with spenders or procs before weaving.
• Desyncing your party buff from the two-minute cycle. Drift a few seconds after downtime to re-align.
• Burning Swiftcast on low-value fillers. Save it for movement or to secure a big hitter under buffs.
• Panicking during mechanics and stopping casts. Slidecast in small steps: trust your timing.

Log Review, Buff Alignment Check, And UI Setup

After raid, review your logs with a focus on two things: are your biggest hits landing under raid buffs, and are you avoiding drift that costs a usage over the fight? Check your potion timing and see whether you front-loaded potency properly inside the tincture window.

For UI, track: party buff timers, your personal buff, motif resource counts, and upcoming proc expiries. Add a prominent two-minute timer so you start preparing 15–20 seconds before the window. If your group uses a set mitigation plan, anchor your Addle and Tempera Coat to those markers. Small UI tweaks are often worth more damage than a fancy new opener because they prevent human error.

Conclusion

At FFXIV Level 100, your Pictomancer rotation is all about clean preparation and ruthless alignment. Build steadily, avoid overcap, and unleash your motif finishers under the party’s two-minute buffs. Plan movement with slidecasts and instant procs, reserve your safety tools for real threats, and treat every re-opener like a condensed opener. Do that, and you’ll look less like a caster dodging for dear life and more like an artist landing every brushstroke exactly where it needs to be.