How are Bards?

[Crone]

So in reading these forums, I know there are quite a few bard enthuisiasts out there. I first played a bard in PoP, so I'm curious how they fare in Classic - Velious?

Example, for Warriors lets say, is they are a little under par right now, but in Kunark, due to discs, really amp up.

Are there similar things for the bard? I know Fading Memories were their glory days as pullers. What are their strong points now? Do they get significantly better later on with expansions?

Thanks for any info.

[Teseer]

I've never had as much fun playing EQ as I have stoned playing a Bard

[Crone]

I've never had as much fun playing EQ as I have stoned playing a Bard

Can you elaborate as to why? I appreciate it.

[Contact]

Mostly because he's stoned.

[guineapig]

I would say speed of travel, not having to worry about mana (in most cases). Fast regen. The ability to solo but also being a vital role in raid situations. Bards have a lot of perks.

Also bard is one of those classes wheer you can truly tell the good from the bad just from grouping with one for a little bit. Good bards get noticed!

Finally, bards pretty much stay solid all throughout classic. What you can do now, you can pretty much do through Velious. The only exception is that our ability to charm is basically capped now and we will not see an enhancement on this server.

[Henini]

I played a bard in classic, was fun.

I made a bard again on p99, then realized I can't even chat with people with out dropping songs, so I retired him.

twisting under 3 songs would mean your are a very crappy bard, twisting 3+ songs means your never stop, not even to chat like everyone else in a group, or solo.

Bards get pretty nice in Velious.

[Ishio]

I played a bard in classic, was fun.

I made a bard again on p99, then realized I can't even chat with people with out dropping songs, so I retired him.

twisting under 3 songs would mean your are a very crappy bard, twisting 3+ songs means your never stop, not even to chat like everyone else in a group, or solo.

Bards get pretty nice in Velious.

Does "/melody 1, 2, 3" not work?

[Crone]

I would say speed of travel, not having to worry about mana (in most cases). Fast regen. The ability to solo but also being a vital role in raid situations. Bards have a lot of perks.

Also bard is one of those classes wheer you can truly tell the good from the bad just from grouping with one for a little bit. Good bards get noticed!

Finally, bards pretty much stay solid all throughout classic. What you can do now, you can pretty much do through Velious. The only exception is that our ability to charm is basically capped now and we will not see an enhancement on this server.

What vital role do bards play in raid situations? Is it the resist songs that are so important?

For experience groups, are bards usually the pullers? Or does that not happen until much later when (and they won't on this server) get Fading Memories?

[Dr4z3r]

Does "/melody 1, 2, 3" not work?

/melody is definitely not classic.

But being a bard in classic is sweet. Selo's is awesome, pulling is challenging and a lot of fun, and as a bard you can heal/buff, tank, cc, dps, and pull in a group, or swarm-kite solo (if you can find a nice, wide-open, spot).

The only real issue is the exp penalty

[Ishio]

/melody is definitely not classic.



While it's not classic, it's in the client, and I didn't know if it could still be used.

[Messianic]

So in reading these forums, I know there are quite a few bard enthuisiasts out there. I first played a bard in PoP, so I'm curious how they fare in Classic - Velious?

Example, for Warriors lets say, is they are a little under par right now, but in Kunark, due to discs, really amp up.

Are there similar things for the bard? I know Fading Memories were their glory days as pullers. What are their strong points now? Do they get significantly better later on with expansions?

Thanks for any info.

Mobs have a larger hit box and move a little faster on this server than on classic, so swarm kiting is slightly harder, but still viable.

They still rock in every other way that they did and do on live.

[Dr4z3r]

While it's not classic, it's in the client, and I didn't know if it could still be used.

Good point, and it is indeed disabled on P99.

[Mcbard]

I love playing a bard because of their utility and the fact that they are great both solo and grouped. I've heard people tell me horror stories about their group experiences with bards who throw up regen song and go afk, but I think as a bard if you are not a slack ass and half way decent you should be the busiest person in the group which I enjoy. I don't think I could ever play a class that turns autoattack on, hits taunt and sends tells during battles, wouldn't hold my attention, so as a bard you're constantly doing something.

The downsides of a bard: you're constantly doing something (it's a delicate balance), the hitbox here kind of blows (after kiting the last 10 or so levels this is now a complete non-issue, but sure makes for a much steeper learning curve when swarm kiting), and the exp penalty sucks but I guess I'm not in a hurry to get anywhere or I would have made a halfling rogue.

The only 2 classes I really played a lot of (50days+) are Bard and a Necro, so I think I'm a bit biased towards utility classes that have an "I can do it by myself if you don't want to help me" attitude. If you want versatility and a character you can really make your own based on your personal play style I would highly recommend it.

[Pescador]

Swarm kiting with charm doesn't work on this server. Soooo they are much less powerful solo than they were in classic. Also, the mob speed and weird hitboxes make aoe kiting a lot less forgiving (and impossible for some mob types). Finally, the resist system still seems a bit "off", since I can play my MR song and get to 150ish MR and still get charmed / feared frequently by green mobs like evil eyes.

Overall, though, it's pretty similar to how bards were in classic, and I'm enjoying mine a lot.

[Messianic]

Swarm kiting with charm doesn't work on this server. Soooo they are much less powerful solo than they were in classic. Also, the mob speed and weird hitboxes make aoe kiting a lot less forgiving (and impossible for some mob types). Finally, the resist system still seems a bit "off", since I can play my MR song and get to 150ish MR and still get charmed / feared frequently by green mobs like evil eyes.

Overall, though, it's pretty similar to how bards were in classic, and I'm enjoying mine a lot.

A friend of mine who was a hardcore teir 1 guild raider up to PoP said he used to kill entire zones at once on his bard...So they're just not THAT powerful here...

[knottyb0y]

Take it from me, playing a bard is AWESOME

I played a warrior and shaman to 65 on live, quit shortly after pop. I've done my share of alts but none (with maybe exception of warrior but i'm crazy about them) has been as awesome as my bard

Bards require skill, and knowledge to play well. I have only grouped since level 5 and I do not regret it. Bards are versatile, we can solo, but why would you? Grouping as a bard is amazing. Why? Because we fill so many roles. A bard can run Crowd Control using mez, and off-tanking abilities. We haste our group and slow the enemy. We have the ac to tank (not as effective as a war/sk/pal but it works) and holding aggro is a cake walk. We can dps effectively if you twist your dot songs, and Bruscos(dd) while dual wielding. We cut the downtime of a group nearly in half (especially post manasong). We make great pullers. We can buff the crap out of a group and make them all better. No other class can fill so many roles (CC, Tank, DPS, Buff/Debuff) you just have to be adaptive. In one group i'm running CC by myself. In another I'm backing up the enchanter by AOE slowing so she/he doesn't take so much damage when mez breaks. In another I'm pulling and tanking until we find a full fledged tank. The beauty of a bard is that we make everyone better. We don't do anything the best, but we do everything well enough. As long as a group has a dedicated healer there is room for a bard.

It is true however that a bad bard is easily sniffed out. Being a good bard is not always about "how many songs can he twist". It is about understanding your role in your group (which changes from group to group) and filling that role with expertise. Singing the right song at the right moment, and augmenting everyone in your group all at the same time.

You are like the Maestro of the group your job is to make sure every person blends together as best as possible. I have enjoyed every moment as my bard, definitely the most interesting class i've played.

[Crone]

They still rock in every other way that they did and do on live.
Didn't play one on live until PoP, so was looking for perspective on how they are in Classic - Velious. Sounds like they do pretty well though. Thanks!

Overall, though, it's pretty similar to how bards were in classic, and I'm enjoying mine a lot.
I never had the classic perspective, so that's what I was going for.

Bards get pretty nice in Velious.
What improvements do they get that makes them better than they are now?

But being a bard in classic is sweet. Selo's is awesome, pulling is challenging and a lot of fun, and as a bard you can heal/buff, tank, cc, dps, and pull in a group, or swarm-kite solo (if you can find a nice, wide-open, spot).

The only real issue is the exp penalty
Selo's would be sweet. I did always enjoy running around at the speed of light. lol. So in groups you are considered the puller, even though we don't get FM until much later? What makes us good pullers? I didn't think we were that great until later. Thanks.

[oldhead]

i cant stand all the button mashing and instrument/weapon swapping

bards in Vangaurd are the best bards of any MMO made.

[astuce999]

Bards are great pullers because of Lull (lvl 8 song). Just be ready to have as much charisma as possible, it really makes a difference.

You can't pull Fire Giants (belly casters) until they fix our mez song (the push component), and in a lot of cases in Plane of Fear the aggro range of mobs is bigger than the song range of lull.

Plane of Hate, Kedge, solb, guk, and the rest is a field day for bards, lots of fun.

Did I mention you need a lot of charisma? :)

cheers!

[Pescador]

You won't get fading memories at all on this server, so bards are never going to be the best pullers. What makes bards good pullers, however, is the lull song, as well as mez / charm to CC a bad pull, and enough ac to survive a couple hits before a heal. Monks are way better though.

[Dr4z3r]

Selo's would be sweet. I did always enjoy running around at the speed of light. lol. So in groups you are considered the puller, even though we don't get FM until much later? What makes us good pullers? I didn't think we were that great until later. Thanks.

In your standard 4-6-person xp group, bards make excellent pullers. Just like Pescadore said: You get lull to make pulls easy, you have snare and mezz for when you have to bring 2 or 3, and you have the AC to take a few hits when things go wrong.

EDIT: DISREGARD ABOVE. BARDS ARE TRASH. JUST GIVE ME ALL YOUR BARD GEAR NOW KTHX.

[Teseer]

Can you elaborate as to why? I appreciate it.

My bad. I typed up a reply, alt tabbed and left work without posting.

The post pretty much mirrored what everyone else is saying :)

[Nytch]

does anyone know when /melody was implemented into the game? And when we might see it on p99?

[guineapig]

What vital role do bards play in raid situations? Is it the resist songs that are so important?

Not sure if anyone else answered this yet. Yes, the resist songs are huge. When taking on raid bosses I am using a drum and twisting resist songs and AC/ATK/stat buffs in the tank group. With a bard in a raid group (combined with some decent resist gear) you can essentially resist anything that isn't un-resistable that raid bosses throw at you. Bard turn most encounters into a basic tank and spank.




For experience groups, are bards usually the pullers? Or does that not happen until much later when (and they won't on this server) get Fading Memories?

I would say that monks with sow are better raid pullers simply for the fact that they have a reset button in classic. A bard accidentally chain aggroing in Fear either leads to a dead bard or the raid being trained.

Bards on the other hand make the best raid kiters, which also comes in very handy.

Some lesser knows benefits of bards that often get overlooked are out damage and spell damage absorption songs. While the rune effect isn't that large it's persistant and mana free and they can be combined with health regen songs. If you are a number cruncher you will see your healing efficiency go through the roof over the course of a raid with a bard grouped with your tank.