They are such fundamentally different classes. It really depends on what you want.
Tanking: bards do it more effectively. Higher ac. Comparable defensive skills in total but favors the bard. Both have trivial aggro. Ranger will contribute more damage in this role but bard brings on demand (not proc) slow and bard adds more to the group total in the form of OP health/mana regen. For this it’s a toss up.
Pulling: if outdoors ranger harmony is almost game-breakingly overpowered. Bards pull equally well in all environments. They do fine outside and equally fine inside.
Offense: ranger is going to win. A bard CAN twist very solid dps on normal targets with dots but only does so at the expense of giving up everything else good about the bard. If the group has no sham or ench a bard will add more total dps to the group than a ranger by adding much needed haste. Rangers generally just dominate bards here. Bards are poor melee dps and twisting dots for medium tier damage output negates what bards actually do best. It’s just not worth it.
Group support: in general, this favors the bard. Mez/lull/snare/charm/haste/hpregen/manaregen ... the list goes on and on. Rangers bring some notable stuff that bards just don’t like longer duration snare/DS and sow. It depends on the group but in general the bard wins out mightily.
Solo: whether aoe dot kiting or charming, bards are amongst the fastest solo levelers. From 55 up to 60 I could chain charm for an hour or more before oom. Depending on the number of mobs it’s possible to tread water and not lose mana. If charming I’d usually just plan on a really long afk periodically to get mana back. Rangers are capable soloers but it’s going to involve down time. If it summons or you can’t snare/root it you’re stuck with what you can reliably survive toe to toe.
Gameplay: ranger are simply fun all day long. It’s as hardcore or as relaxed as you want to play and always a blast. Bards are fun too ... but it’s very ... very busy work. If you’re boarding well you’re always doing a thing and hat can get tedious. Have a relaxing alt to play on standby.
It’s hard to answer this question. Though there is obvious overlap the actual purpose for each is so different that you can’t compare them directly.
What do you want to accomplish with this toon?
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