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Bards effectively have 2 different types of mana regen songs.
Category 1:
The single level 32 song Cassindra's Chorus of Clarity.
https://wiki.project1999.com/Cassind...rus_of_Clarity
This does NOT have have a buff Icon. It does NOT provide "mana over time" in the classic sense, rather it gives single pulses of mana every time it is cast. Unlike the other mana songs which you cast once every few ticks to 'keep it up', this one you can spam every 3 seconds for massive pulses for nearly twice the return if you're fast on recasts. If you just fire and forget you only get one 'hit' per 6 second auto sing. It caps out at 7 mana per pulse (just under 14 mana per 'tick' if spamming it at 60). The range is not great so mana users have to stand relatively close to you to benefit.
Category 2:
Literally the rest of them. These give you a temporary buff that give you 'per tick' regen. Highest level is Cantana of Replenishment with 12 base hp and 13 base mana per tick at level 60.
https://wiki.project1999.com/Cantata_of_Replenishment
IMPORTANT NOTES: No modifications (either singing mod from epic for the level 32 song or strings for the rest of the line from category 2) will modify the amount of mana regen you get from any of these songs.
Generally accepted practice for routine play 55 and up is just play 55 Cantana. Since the 32 song 'stacks' with literally everything else, however, there is value.
If you are having down time and want to maximize mana regen over all else consider the following:
Continuously singing 55 gives you a flat 13 mana/tick sustained over time.
Singing 55 followed by spam pulses of the 32 until the 55 needs refreshing looks more like (per tick): 13 + (13+ 14) + (13+ 14) + (13+ 14) + 13 ... repeating. It's labor intensive but well worth it if the team is badly hurting for mana. I think the highest I could push/sustain reasonably was pumping about 21 mana/tick to all group members.
Regarding Healing:
The strings modifies the healing component of the Cantana line as well as some other songs. Though it doesn't affect the mana regen, it is WELL worth it depending on group make-up and circumstance if you have a good lute. On that note this song:
https://wiki.project1999.com/Niv%27s...f_Preservation
The healing component
stacks with 55 cantana. It also uses a string mod so no instrument swapping required for lazy but impressive healing. Twisting the 2 effectively gives you a base heal of 21hp/tick to the whole group BEFORE strings kicks in. With a good lute such as Maestro's lute from hate that cracks the healing up to 50hp per person per tick with 2 songs and 1 lute (close to 1/3 of a celestial heal for each member of the group per tick indefinitely). In scrub places like KC a single bard can effectively handle pretty much all the healing most 6-man mouth-breather groups will require. Even in higher level places like Seb, DN rats, etc ... it cranks out enough healing that any cleric you're with may fall asleep and/or start nuking more.
Bard melee dps is pathetic. At least until you have valuable procs like on Epic or very high end weapons, contributions from melee are pretty laughable. Even with great weapons it's a drop in the bucket most of the time. As such, I spent a big chunk of the time just focusing on the aforementioned string combo, twisting in mana pulses, and doing aoe cc with the (also string modified) lv 54 snare/slow song +/- haste as the group needed. Weapons of course would come out and songs would change if the group simply didn't need the extra overkill.
https://wiki.project1999.com/Selo%27s_Assonant_Strane
Bards are the WD40 of Everquest. A well played bard just makes everything glide along so much more smoothly. Good bards play like mobile, armor plated casters focusing on their songs and only pull out weapons when there is group redundancy. Bad bards have their weapons out 24/7 and have the cantana line as the 3rd or 4th song in their "twist". Prioritize cantana song as 1st in most groups (2nd if you're the only person to provide haste maybe).
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Cliff notes: At your level it is Cantana of soothing (lv 34) for base and pulsing Cassindra's Chorus of Clarity (level 32) for the extra pulses. Once you get 55 .... well that song is just the bees knees.