Shield of song? Or more mana?

[jazzman_so_fresh]

What should bards sing when your group has pulled too many, and people's homes is getting to 60%?

I do cantana because that's 20hp+12mana per tick, but what do you sing in between cantana refreshes? If you spam your mana song, that's 5 mana, which converts to about 15hp (clerics heal at about 3hp per mana). So wouldn't it be better to sing shield of song? That's a 40dmg absorption (regular guitar), plus extra if the mob is a caster.

Those numbers seem like a no brainer, but how come people keep asking me for mana song? Is it because there are other casters in the group?

Thx

[Legidias]

Are you twisting your cantana cantata or w/e with actual mana song? They stack. The hp / mana one is like clarity and gives mana per sever tick, while pulsed mana "heals" mana.

For max mana, you would do 1 hp/mana regen with 3 pulsed mana.

[TomisFeline]

Great question.

Consider maths more:

6 ppl in group.
1 or 2 getting whacked?
Shield of song: working on one or two ppl.
Are 5 ppl damaged in general?
How many have Mana?
How many are <100% Mana?
Does shield of song have any effect if no dmg is absorbed?
Player always getting hit within SoSong tick? SoSong tick always refreshing within interval?

Truth is, if things are getting out of hand, slowing the mob or agro kiting if single, cc'ing extras, charming add for massive dps increase, managing pull cadence, etc will all likely have a better net impact than shield of song vs one more Mana pump.

Examine situation. Mostly, is just something bards play because group members think if they don't see 4 songs in their buff slot bard is not playing optimally.

Fact you care at all puts you as one of the better bards on the server!

[fastboy21]

shield of song is great with shaman who is canni'ing. otherwise almost always better to go mana song (mix the pulse and cantana).

[Kealenfists]

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

What should bards sing when your group has pulled too many, and people's homes is getting to 60%?

I do cantana because that's 20hp+12mana per tick, but what do you sing in between cantana refreshes? If you spam your mana song, that's 5 mana, which converts to about 15hp (clerics heal at about 3hp per mana). So wouldn't it be better to sing shield of song? That's a 40dmg absorption (regular guitar), plus extra if the mob is a caster.

Those numbers seem like a no brainer, but how come people keep asking me for mana song? Is it because there are other casters in the group?

Thx

I'd say both are viable options but it really depends on the control of the mobs and the type of healer youre using. I'd also like to point out that mezzing the mobs is probably your best option as a bard, allowing you to pump mana to the healer who can resolve the situation.

Ducke

[fastboy21]

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

What should bards sing when your group has pulled too many, and people's homes is getting to 60%?

I do cantana because that's 20hp+12mana per tick, but what do you sing in between cantana refreshes? If you spam your mana song, that's 5 mana, which converts to about 15hp (clerics heal at about 3hp per mana). So wouldn't it be better to sing shield of song? That's a 40dmg absorption (regular guitar), plus extra if the mob is a caster.

Those numbers seem like a no brainer, but how come people keep asking me for mana song? Is it because there are other casters in the group?

Thx

Your math is only partly right. You mana song combo does what you are describing PER PERSON who uses mana. If you have 3 casters in the grp multiple your mana utility by all three people UNLESS they are sitting at full mana.

For shield of song apply the same logic. How many folks are actually getting hit? In most solid exp grps it is only the tank. For heal songs, same logic. Multiply the utility by the number of folks UNLESS they are at full HP.

Specifics matter (group composition and camp), but generally you'll be getting more utility from giving everyone full on mana then giving everyone shield of songs.

Typically, I switch up my twist depending on my role in the grp. If folks are getting whacked alot then heals and shield of song have more utility. If folks are sitting are full health, but not full mana (which is more often the case) then full mana combo is more utility. You can also mix it up depending on how the fight is going, if the shammy is canni'ing, or switching to the full mana twist between fights.

All of this also has to take into account what else you are doing. Are you pulling? CC'ing? Do you need to keep lull up? Do you need to keep charm up? Snare/Slow? Hastes? etc. There is a stock set that I use, but it really does depend on the group, camp, and your role when you set your songs up.

Honestly, bard songs are actually relatively complicated compared to other classes. On p99 I have played many casters to 60 and bard is the one that always makes me really think about the most utility line up for my gems.

[jazzman_so_fresh]

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

I'd also like to point out that mezzing the mobs is probably your best option as a bard, allowing you to pump mana to the healer who can resolve the situation.

Ducke

I was grouping in hands, and the mezzes weren't sticking. I figured at that rate, people would die before I got them controlled. So I wanted to lessen the impact of the damage.

[TomisFeline]

That dmg reduction is negligible compared to 1 out of 5 mezzes landing

[Terrel]

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

That dmg reduction is negligible compared to 1 out of 5 mezzes landing

Well, except the mez resists will generate aggro, and if it didn't already pull the mob on the bard, the second surely will. So in that scenario, I wouldn't continue to attempt to mez.

It really depends on the group, at that point. If you think they can eke that out, then you play Cantana, Niv's for extra regen, and either haste or mana pulse, depending.

If it looks like they ain't able to handle that, then you probably play selo's and help them get outta dodge w/o casualties.

[Troxx]

I rarely use shield of song because it doesn’t stack with Nivs preservation - also modified by strings with a base regen rate of 5 a tick. With my lute that’s exta hp per tick on all 6 that stacks with the 28/tick regen on 55 Cantana.

1 nivs with a good lute gives 12hp x 3 ticks x all 6 people. It’s imo better than SoSong even for shaman in that it will always be evenly applied if sham isn’t full health. If the shaman is busy casting or meditating, the rune gets lost if they don’t canni while the buff is up. Additionally nivs has a spell based rune I shaman does canni.

If you find that your haste isn’t needed and you can’t reliably mez, using primary regen (hymn of resto if under 55) + Niv + 2 mana pulses is always a good idea.

(13 + 5) x string mod for 3 ticks to whole group is a lot of healing.