How to recharm as a bard

[Splorf22]

I asked this question in the forums and didn't really get a good answer, either because the people I asked didn't quite understand or because they found it too obvious. I finally figured out how to do and thought I'd post it because let's face it I like hearing the sound of my own voice.

The key to understanding Bards is understanding the server tick. Every spell with a duration is updated every 6 seconds. This is why when you stack multiple dots on a mob they all "tick" at once and you'll get 3-4 of those "x has taken y damage from your z dot" and then nothing for 6 seconds and so on. Now the key here is the relative time between your spell landing and the server tick. Lets say we have a spell that lasts two ticks, and lets call t=0 the first server tick of the mob in question. Let's see what happens if we land our charm/mez at each second:

Charm@ t1=1, tick1@6, tick2@12, tick3@18: 18-1 = 17 second charm
Charm@ t1=2, tick1@6, tick2@12, tick3@18: 18-1 = 16 second charm
Charm@ t1=3, tick1@6, tick2@12, tick3@18: 18-1 = 15 second charm
Charm@ t1=4, tick1@6, tick2@12, tick3@18: 18-1 = 14 second charm
Charm@ t1=5, tick1@6, tick2@12, tick3@18: 18-1 = 13 second charm
Charm@ t1=6, tick1@6, tick2@12, tick3@18: 18-1 = 12 second charm

So if we can cast our bard spells immediately after a mob's tick timer they will in effect last longer: in this case 17 seconds instead of 12. In fact this true for all spells but for an enchanter getting an extra 5 seconds on a 1.5 minute cast of Dazzle isn't nearly as important as a bard.

Now the last piece of the puzzle is how can we find out a mob's tick timer? When charm breaks. What this means is that when you get good and you are recharming quickly you get longer charms. If you can recharm 1 second after charm breaks, you're getting 5 seconds before the first tick. 2 seconds after charm breaks gives you 4 "free" seconds. With that being said, here is the algorithm:

1. Get GamTextTriggers and setup a key for "{s}'s eyes glaze over." Make it an 18 second timer.
2. The first time, start casting charm with about 1.5 seconds left. Whenever you reach halfway through the casting bar, start casting again.
3. When you recharm, mentally add 3-your time to your timer. So if you got it immediately after, wait till the bar disappears, count to 3, and start your recharm. If you got bashed or whatnot and needed 3 seconds, you'll need to start casting as soon as the timer finishes. If it was a real mess, go back to step two.

It's possible to get most of your charms within 1 second solo with a bit of practice. Grouping is harder because its just a mess. I'm hoping this all makes sense. I've tried to explain this twice ingame without any success.

[astuce999]

I'm glad to see you progressing as a bard [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Re-read my other threads on the server tick and tell me if you think I'm still crazy!

'stuce