[Arrisard]

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

1. More curiosity than anything, since I don't think my L18 bard is going to be getting his epic any time soon, but is the epic primary only? Not being able to use the Breath of Harmony would suck.

The Singing Short Sword can be equipped in both the primary and secondary slots. The innate instrument effects will only be utilized when equipped in the primary slot until just a bit before Luclin when it can be held in either hand and still have the instrument bonuses applied.

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

2. My bard has been using Kelin's AoE Mez to do some ridiculous shit. But the duration seems really horrible - maybe 1 tick instead of two? If I am mezzing, I cannot twist ANY songs. If I am tanking/mezzing and I get bashed, it's open season on me. Any suggestions? Or does this mez just cap at L30 like the wiki claims and everyone uses the single target one?

No idea what the actual level cap may be on it, when it was changed I was already 60 and never looked into it.

Kelin has always had a short duration around 3 seconds. Barring resists, you could lock any number of mobs down but you'd have to constantly manually reapply it. It was a dangerous song to use, though, as you mentioned. One resist could ruin your day proportionately to the number of mobs you were mezing. The resist factor is by design, there's a thread around somewhere for it, but it's intentionally useless, to sum it up. If you're still at a level where it's reliable, have at it because it won't last.

Otherwise you'd have silly situations, like oh say, pulling VS to the zoneline and having 2 bards control the entire train/zone with no real danger. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

3. What are some standard group twists at L20-30? I've been doing Anthem, Regen, Chords mostly. Is guardian rhythms worth it? Seems to be just a bit of MR/AC.

What you're fighting and who you're with will determine ultimately what you will be playing. I know that's a bit of a cop out answer, but it's true, even with the greatest hits like regens and haste. The more you level, the more songs will have overlapping effects with not only your groupmates' buffs/debuffs, but your own songs as well. Just know your songs and trust your judgement.

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

4. Looking ahead, is it just me or is the 32 bard mana song really crappy? It seems to be a pulse of mana, so if I am not tanking (been tanking a lot recently, <3 fungi) and doing a 3-4 song twist that's 1 mana pulse every 1-2 ticks, or clearly worse than clarity.

It is what it is. Stacking the pulses, it's better in mana regeneration than clarity (actually better than C2 at it's leveled max), but obviously you can't play anything else in that circumstance which is more for downtime unless you're super caster heavy. In a 4 song twist, one pulse of CCC out of four is still around 2.5 mana per tick at base value. I really don't like to say it's better or worse, since it stacks - infact it "stacks" with everything, which lets it stay relevant even after you get the 55 upgrade.

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

5. The server ticks don't seem synchronized like they used to be. Like a year ago I had a different bard (never mind) and when I would use Chords I would get like 5 lines of aoe damage spam at once. Now it doesn't happen that way. This makes the Kelin's problem worse because the mobs will break mez at different times and I will just get chain bashed for 10 seconds.

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

6. It seems like bash interrupts my songs even when I'm not stunned? WTF is up with that.

Yeah, those suck.

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Also I just found out the Psalm of Warm and Elemental Rhythms don't stack. So what do you guys play for resists during dragon raids?

The Psalms don't really truly become relevant until you get your hands on an SSS, to be honest. Pre-epic it was pretty standard, though, with the rhythms set and a drum. As for which songs I play during which dragons - again, it depends. The particular effects of certain AEs like dispelling, rune components of certain songs, buff/debuff order on myself/groupmates, and song range order are the biggest concerns that have to be considered.