Good bard guide?

[cadman]

I've been playing a bard a lot lately, but I get the feeling I'm utilizing about 10% of his abilities. Does anyone have a link to a good Bard guide that's relatively current? I don't even know what the heck to spend aa's on now that CS/CA are maxed.

I realise that I should have played it from 1-100, but since I started at around 85 thanks to it being a friends' account, I am playing catchup.

For clarification, currently using bard for /twisting some songs, badly pulling, and occasional mezzing.

Oh and selos. God I love selos.

 

[riot]

The best advice I can offer you on playing a bard in a group is to find a hobby or try to break 1 million points in /gems

/twist # # # #
/afk

is about as useful as I've found a bard to be other than pulling. In fact, that's all my bard does. pulls, waits for aggro on tank, runs to safe spot and twists dps songs for casters. when his mana disc is up he pops that after tank gets aggro.

 

[cadman]

The best advice I can offer you on playing a bard in a group is to find a hobby or try to break 1 million points in /gems

/twist # # # #
/afk

is about as useful as I've found a bard to be other than pulling. In fact, that's all my bard does. pulls, waits for aggro on tank, runs to safe spot and twists dps songs for casters. when his mana disc is up he pops that after tank gets aggro.

So it's NOT just me? Good. Thanks bud.

 

[Rooster]

usefull tricks that bards rarely need these days, how ever good to know if you find yourself in the need...


Pulling out of a crowd of mobs, say a ph or named, group up the mobs, mez the ph and then train away adds run back and tag the ph.

If it's a named, carefully circle mobs and use highsun to send it to spawn and fade immediately to run back and tag on bard without adds. Use deftdance if you need to do it quicker due to spell dmg ae's etc from named.

Isn't much a bard can't do with a little room, saves clearing 10 mobs for a named.


Also, for AA... there isn't much to spend AA on that is incredibly usefull.

Song range boosts passive a long with defensive passives including the increase chance AA to reduce being snared/mezzed/charmed makes handy for pulling.

Then activated support dps AA like quicktime and fierce eye and their hastened lines.

It's amazing there is many bard mains around these days, so boring. Rarely need for real pulling tricks.

 

[PumpThump]

usefull tricks that bards rarely need these days, how ever good to know if you find yourself in the need...


Pulling out of a crowd of mobs, say a ph or named, group up the mobs, mez the ph and then train away adds run back and tag the ph.

If it's a named, carefully circle mobs and use highsun to send it to spawn and fade immediately to run back and tag on bard without adds. Use deftdance if you need to do it quicker due to spell dmg ae's etc from named.

Isn't much a bard can't do with a little room, saves clearing 10 mobs for a named.


Also, for AA... there isn't much to spend AA on that is incredibly usefull.

Song range boosts passive a long with defensive passives including the increase chance AA to reduce being snared/mezzed/charmed makes handy for pulling.

Then activated support dps AA like quicktime and fierce eye and their hastened lines.

It's amazing there is many bard mains around these days, so boring. Rarely need for real pulling tricks.

You forgot Fading Memories AA. Definitely a must have.

But yeah, it's sad what bards have been reduced to

 

[Quackanator]

/melody
/aura
/afk
and FE/QT/Spire on a hotkey activatable via event "CLICK AA YOU STUPID BARD"

Most consistently productive member of the party .... yes they can do so much more. But they can do so much more afk than any other char can and make a great low AA low maintenance char that dosent need gear etc

No offence to people who actually play bards.. pretty sure they are fantastic and can walk on water and what not, but really for a boombox, it really dosent need to

 

[rackarn]

/melody
/aura
/afk
and FE/QT/Spire on a hotkey activatable via event "CLICK AA YOU STUPID BARD"

Most consistently productive member of the party .... yes they can do so much more. But they can do so much more afk than any other char can and make a great low AA low maintenance char that dosent need gear etc

No offence to people who actually play bards.. pretty sure they are fantastic and can walk on water and what not, but really for a boombox, it really dosent need to

So true

 

[Rooster]

usefull tricks that bards rarely need these days, how ever good to know if you find yourself in the need...


Pulling out of a crowd of mobs, say a ph or named, group up the mobs, mez the ph and then train away adds run back and tag the ph.

If it's a named, carefully circle mobs and use highsun to send it to spawn and fade immediately to run back and tag on bard without adds. Use deftdance if you need to do it quicker due to spell dmg ae's etc from named.

Isn't much a bard can't do with a little room, saves clearing 10 mobs for a named.


Also, for AA... there isn't much to spend AA on that is incredibly usefull.

Song range boosts passive a long with defensive passives including the increase chance AA to reduce being snared/mezzed/charmed makes handy for pulling.

Then activated support dps AA like quicktime and fierce eye and their hastened lines.

It's amazing there is many bard mains around these days, so boring. Rarely need for real pulling tricks.

You forgot Fading Memories AA. Definitely a must have.

But yeah, it's sad what bards have been reduced to

Lol, I completely forgot specifically about that since it's like a normal class ability, like a rogues backstab

 

[Zemetor]

What songs in particular are to be used by a boxed 100Bard supporting a group of meele and casters?

 

[PumpThump]

What songs in particular are to be used by a boxed 100Bard supporting a group of meele and casters?

Depends on your situation and types of casters. What is your group make up?

My bard runs as a back-up slower and primary CC in a group of mostly hybrid melee. As such I have the following Twists.

Protan's Melodic Binding (AE slow as I do multi-pulls often)
Resounding Barrier (defensive stun proc if doing tough content) or Pulse of Selarra (regen)
War March of Protan (Melee Haste, DS, Atk, ETC)
Kaficus' Song of Suffering (Massive Melee proc buff)

On a multi-pull, I add in a Wave of Quietude for AE Mez and then Twist the same 4 above.

This is highly tailored to my group makeup. If I know your specific classes then I can help you come up with a twist.

Also, my bard does NOT just sit and sing. She only averages about 3k-4k DPS at level 100 w/ 4500-ish AAs, but every little bit counts! Also, that insures that the songs are always landing on my melee pack. If you run a caster group, that may change.

 

[SiegeTank]

Kaficus' Song of Suffering (Massive Melee proc buff)

I've wondered about this song. What exactly does it do? The Lucy and Allak descriptions are kinda vague.

 

[fenzurdapanzer]

the "of suffering" spells just add a weapon proc. Like the shaman proc buff.

 

[PumpThump]

the "of suffering" spells just add a weapon proc. Like the shaman proc buff.

The Song of Suffering line is amazing if you have 2 or more melee in the group. It gives all melee a proc that can go off up to 3 times per song pulse for about 6.4k, which can crit and is modded (by what I don't know) and can hit upwards of 15k on some toons. So, essentially it adds a minimum of about 1k dps per melee it lands on.

 

[aCunningGnome]

A well played bard may not do a lot of personal dps, but they can really push the right group way past its limits. Sometimes we bay life it with 6 or 8 mobs in the camp--several mezzed, several tanked--dps cranked wide open. Quicktime and bard epic with pure dps is stupid.

To answer OP. Not many buttons to press. Mezzing and pulling are most difficult parts if you want to even utilize that.

 

[htw]

I miss the concert hall at nostalgic times.

htw

 

[Quackanator]

What songs in particular are to be used by a boxed 100Bard supporting a group of melee and casters?

Pretty much every melody should have Aria/Haste as they stack with everything for every class.
1 Aria +42% spell damage, 25% v3Haste, Triple attack +39%, Flurry 6% pet 33
2 Haste Haste 60%,Minimum Damage Modifier +37% Damage Modifier by +4% STR 238 ATK =141DS 101

Third slot imho should always pulse as it stack with everything and decreased downtime
3 Pulse Healing 11%, HP +151, Mana +100, Endurance +15

I use a SK, Wiz, Mag so depending on which spell set I memmed
4a Melee/Caster Arcane Aria Proc +992
4b Melee Suffering +6770 Melee only
4c Caster Wiz/Mag Gosik's Aria: Fire Damage +1348
4d Caster Siavonn Fire/Magic Spell Damage 1330

 

[eqitchy]

I miss the concert hall at nostalgic times.

htw

Yeah no kidding

 

[NinjaDave]

I personally thought this write up was pretty good. Guide To Playing a Bard - Wandering Around Norrath - Pak'Cafan

 

[esadair]

I preferred Fansy THE FAMOUS BARD

but that is just me.

 

[stacks3]

Should be able to twist 5 songs without needing to use Tune AA. Occasionally one will drop for a second at most.

Bard is the only char I manually control of my group unless raiding. From trying to automate it in the past it has never worked nearly as well as other classes. Pull using mez and fade, tag add(s), repeat until you have however many you want to bring to camp.

I /twist 1 2 3 4 2 5:

1 Warsong
2 Aria of Va'ker
3 Pulse
4 Spry sonata or Gosik's
2 Aria again, to refresh
5 Suffering