Bard help

[alWald0]

Made a bard today, but really i have no idea how to play them. Anything for tips and tricks? Like song weaving or whatever its called. Much appreciated!

[Mcbard]

Twisting? Uhh it's pretty simple.. you start one song, and then as soon as it lands you stop it and start another. Should have no problem keeping 3 or 4 up at a time. You get your first ae dot at 2 and selos at 5 so while you can technically start ae kiting then you might want to wait until 18 when you get your second ae dot and your selos is a little faster. Purchase a Drum, a Mandolin, and a Horn from the bard guild as these instrument often modify the songs that correspond with their abilities.

[alWald0]

Dont you need instruments to play most songs though?
Yea, newb question

[Rhambuk]

Instruments only increase a song's effective, there are only a few songs that actually require an instrument to play.

[john_savage1982]

A bard is unlike any other class in EQ. Their "spells" are songs, all songs have the same cast time, a few songs use mana (most don't), and some songs require a certain instrument to play while many can be played "singing" but are more effective when using the appropriate instrument. The level 5 speed song is an example of this - it is much faster with a drum than without.

A bard solos just as well as any melee up into the teens. Their strategy must start changing (as with most classes) when approaching level 20. You can look into AoE kiting at this point.

In groups Bards play regen, snare (best snare in game), slow, debuff, mana regen, lull, speed, tracking, dps, mezz. The central play-style of a Bard is adapting to the situation by using appropriate songs. It is very easy to gauge the skill of a bard because to be a good bard you must be very observant and react quickly to what's going on. Tread lightly if you wish to master this class.

The function of a bard increases each level as you get a new song every level (instead of spell levels). So as you level you have more ability to adapt to situations. This not only increases your utility in a group but opens you up to more solo methods.

[Lazortag]

Most songs don't require instruments. The Levitate, Invisibility, and Group-Dispell songs (3 total) require instruments in order to work, but that's about it. There are many songs that are associated with an instrument because using an instrument to play the song doubles the song's effectiveness. So, if you use a drum while playing selo's accelerando, you go twice as fast, but if you don't use a drum, the song still works - you just don't speed up as much. However, if you're wielding a non-flute while trying to use the group-invis song, for example, you'll get a message to the effect of "this song requires a wind instrument". Hope that helps.

PS: only a few things can modify "singing"-type songs - there's no instrument associated with singing, but the Bard epic makes "singing" more effective.

edit: someone already posted it.

[Pescador]

Make sure to add your primary and secondary slots onto your hotbar, as well as the bag you keep your instruments in. That will make swapping instruments and weapons infinitely easier!

[Mcbard]

There are many songs that are associated with an instrument because using an instrument to play the song doubles the song's effectiveness. So, if you use a drum while playing selo's accelerando, you go twice as fast, but if you don't use a drum, the song still works - you just don't speed up as much.

Hmm I'm pretty sure this only works this way if you're using an instrument with a skill modifier of 20, and for each 1 point of modifier higher it equates to a 10% increase in effectiveness. I.e. Selos with a Mistemoore battle drums (modifier 21) is actually 110% faster than with no drum. Selos with naggy drum (modifier 24) is actually 140% faster than with no drum.

[Lazortag]

Hmm I'm pretty sure this only works this way if you're using an instrument with a skill modifier of 20, and for each 1 point of modifier higher it equates to a 10% increase in effectiveness. I.e. Selos with a Mistemoore battle drums (modifier 21) is actually 110% faster than with no drum. Selos with naggy drum (modifier 24) is actually 140% faster than with no drum.

I was just giving a basic explanation. Obviously I know how modifiers actually work - have a little faith :p

[alWald0]

This all helps, would you say Bard is one of the harder classes to play or no?

[john_savage1982]

I was just giving a basic explanation. Obviously I know how modifiers actually work - have a little faith :p

No bard on bard hate. We need a tighter community of Bards on P1999.

[Mcbard]

I was just giving a basic explanation. Obviously I know how modifiers actually work - have a little faith :p

Clarifying for the nooby.

I would say the bard is as hard as any other class to play pretty much.

[falkun]

I can't say that a bard is HARDER than other classes to play, but I would say that a bard, played well, will probably be doing more than any other class at a given time, so don't expect to have a lot of free time to /g chat.

As far as learning to bard, there are 2 pretty good guides on the P99 wiki I recommend you read through.

http://wiki.project1999.org/index.php/Astuce_Bard_Guide
http://wiki.project1999.org/index.php/Cribanox_Bard_AoE_Kiting

After that, get out there and do some barding. Here are places that I did my leveling, with a lot of it being AE kiting, starting around L7. Its not meant to be definitive by any means, but it should provide a basis for you to do your own leveling from.

http://www.project1999.org/forums/showpost.php?p=248109&postcount=8

[Darian]

This all helps, would you say Bard is one of the harder classes to play or no?

If you're doing it right, they're one of the hardest, but that could depend on your definition. One of my old guildmates used the expression "Warrior with a jukebox" as an example of how NOT to play one.

Tactics like AE kiting are very high-risk, high-reward, and I'd say crowd control is the most challenging role in a group, but it's a ton of fun if you're good at it. Only downside to twisting that much is constant fear of carpal tunnel syndrome :D

[Dr4z3r]

#1 MOST IMPORANT thing about being a bard is having the following macro for each of your 8 songs:

/stopsong
/cast #

Replace '#' with '1' for your top spell gem, and continue through 8.

[William_Munny15]

A druid's snare is better than a bards, That is all.

[Dr4z3r]

A druid's snare is better than a bards, That is all.

Costs mana, can't run while casting, etc. etc.

[Felizcat]

#1 MOST IMPORANT thing about being a bard is having the following macro for each of your 8 songs:

/stopcasting
/cast #

Replace '#' with '1' for your top spell gem, and continue through 8.

Actually, I tried a macro like that on multiple occasions and regularly went back to double tapping. Which makes a full 4 song sequence go like this: 1, 2 2, 3 3, 4 4, 1 1, 2 2......

Maybe it was burnt into my brain or my fingers already and couldn't be changed, but that's how it turned out.

On macroing bard songs and sequences, don't overdo it. It will take away your flexibility and adaptability. You won't have a macro for every situation that comes up, but your fingers will always find your 8 song hotkeys.

[canardvc]

Actually, I tried a macro like that on multiple occasions and regularly went back to double tapping. Which makes a full 4 song sequence go like this: 1, 2 2, 3 3, 4 4, 1 1, 2 2......

Maybe it was burnt into my brain or my fingers already and couldn't be changed, but that's how it turned out.

On macroing bard songs and sequences, don't overdo it. It will take away your flexibility and adaptability. You won't have a macro for every situation that comes up, but your fingers will always find your 8 song hotkeys.

Maybe I don't read well, but to me the macro quoted above does the exact same thing as double tapping, but you just have to tap once. Nothing to do with several song under the same macro or anything.

Though, /stopcasting isn't working for me, I use /stopsong and it works just fine

[Felizcat]

Maybe I don't read well, but to me the macro quoted above does the exact same thing as double tapping, but you just have to tap once. Nothing to do with several song under the same macro or anything.

That is correct. The macro does the same thing. But I've always found it hard to single tap after years of double tap training. That's all I am saying.

[Lazortag]

A druid's snare is better than a bards, That is all.

In some situations? I guess? The point was that the Bard's snare makes the mob move slowest of all the snares, which I think is true.

As for whether Bards are hard to play relative to other classes, I'd say yes, but that doesn't make Bards necessarily more skilled. It definitely takes a lot more effort to keep 5 mobs on lockdown with a mez that only lasts 3 ticks, or to be able to solo 30 mobs at once, or to constantly twist 4 songs at once, but that doesn't take that much "skill" - it just means you can't be lazy.

[john_savage1982]

A druid's snare is better than a bards, That is all.

Bard: No mana to cast, lasts 18 secs, can move while casting, best snare
Druid: Mana, lasts a long time, can't move while casting, less snared than bard

There are trade-offs. I like being a bard because I don't have to sit and med, can still use "magic", and don't have to stand still while casting. So much more fun.

[Mcbard]

Actually, I tried a macro like that on multiple occasions and regularly went back to double tapping. Which makes a full 4 song sequence go like this: 1, 2 2, 3 3, 4 4, 1 1, 2 2......

Maybe it was burnt into my brain or my fingers already and couldn't be changed, but that's how it turned out.

On macroing bard songs and sequences, don't overdo it. It will take away your flexibility and adaptability. You won't have a macro for every situation that comes up, but your fingers will always find your 8 song hotkeys.

I too am a double tapper. :)

[baalzy]

I too am a double tapper. :)