Game Mechanics: Instrument modifiers aren't applied if the Bard zones.

[Lazortag]

If I use a DOT on a mob on my Bard with a MM drum equipped, and it does 54 damage per tick, when I zone the DOT's damage will go down to 26 damage per tick (the unmodified amount that chant of Flame/Frost do at level 50). The modifier should still stay on even if I zone.

[gerlon]

It seems that songs of a specific instrument type inherit the with/without instrument status of the last song of that instrument type played. Example:

> Sing Tuyen's Chant of Flame without drums
some mob is hit for 24 damage (from Flame)
> Sing Tuyen’s Chant of Frost with drums
some mob is hit for 50 damage (from Flame)
some mob is hit for 50 damage (from Frost)

So it appears that Tuyen's Chant of Flame just got upgraded to playing with an instrument (even though it wasn't). I also tested this with brass and successfully used Angstlich's Appalling Screech to upgrade Denon's Disruptive Discord from non-instrument to using-an-instrument level of damage. It looks like each instrument type keeps a flag of what the last instrument used was and applies it to all active songs of that type. And from what lazortag said, it appears the flags gets cleared when the bard zones.

Now I didn't play a bard on live so I can't be sure this isn't classic, but it seems suspect to me. Can any classic era bards weigh in on this?

[Lazortag]

Some of what you mentioned is classic. From your example, if I play the Fire dot without a drum, let it do 26, then switch to a drum and use the Ice dot, then so long as I have the drum equipped, both dot's will do 57 (since i now have sharkskin drums) the next tick. However, if I replace the drum with another instrument or unequip it entirely, I'll do 26 damage and 57 damage the next tick. This is classic.

What I mentioned is presumably not classic. When you zone you should still do double the damage. I'm not sure if this was fixed or not, I seem to be getting mixed results from what I've seen.