since i get no response on the bard boards figured id post hear.
my question is what does a bard do in grp most of the time i know they are a jack of all trade but what do they usually do and would like to know how they go about fufilling these jobs if u oculd be so kind
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whats a bard doFollow
there is no usual for a bard.
they can do everything, and are frequently called on to do so.
they can do everything, and are frequently called on to do so.
Most common bard tasks are pulling, healing/mana regen, resists and assorted buffs.
Mainly, you see what roles are missing from your group and you probably have a song to fill that role. No snarer? Bards get a snare song. No slower, bards get a line of slows (not as good as most but 30% beats 0%). No crowd control bards get a line of mez songs to freeze mobs in their tracks. Bards can haste, buffs stats, get songs that can affect entire raids for resists and mana regen, etc.
As pullers, bards excell. Early on, it's fairly dull using mainly your lull songs. Later, you learn to pull using your mez's, special "alternate advancement" abilities, a song that can teleport mobs back to their spwn point, etc.
The main trade off is the short duration of the songs. It means that you will constantly be working the keyboard to keep your songs active. It also means you need to be choosy in what you pick because you can't just cast Snare on a mob and it's snared for five minutes -- you have to be singing your snare song on that mob every eighteen seconds. So, depending on what roles you need to fill, song selection can be something of an art (or something of a no-brainer such as singing resists on a dragon raid). It can be a difficult class and it doesn't always have a lot of flash since bard melee output bites and there's no dramatic nukes or anything but I find it to be the most flexible and unique class in the game. Actually, in any MMORPG I've played.
Mainly, you see what roles are missing from your group and you probably have a song to fill that role. No snarer? Bards get a snare song. No slower, bards get a line of slows (not as good as most but 30% beats 0%). No crowd control bards get a line of mez songs to freeze mobs in their tracks. Bards can haste, buffs stats, get songs that can affect entire raids for resists and mana regen, etc.
As pullers, bards excell. Early on, it's fairly dull using mainly your lull songs. Later, you learn to pull using your mez's, special "alternate advancement" abilities, a song that can teleport mobs back to their spwn point, etc.
The main trade off is the short duration of the songs. It means that you will constantly be working the keyboard to keep your songs active. It also means you need to be choosy in what you pick because you can't just cast Snare on a mob and it's snared for five minutes -- you have to be singing your snare song on that mob every eighteen seconds. So, depending on what roles you need to fill, song selection can be something of an art (or something of a no-brainer such as singing resists on a dragon raid). It can be a difficult class and it doesn't always have a lot of flash since bard melee output bites and there's no dramatic nukes or anything but I find it to be the most flexible and unique class in the game. Actually, in any MMORPG I've played.
Belkira wrote:
Wow. Regular ol' Joph fan club in here.
Czae and Joph pretty much hit all the biggies. All classes require some experience in order to play them "well", but the bard class is one of special note. Many people don't really understand what a bard can bring to a group, they just know they want one. That's because having a good bard in your group can make it seem like the group is much more powerful then it really is. If you pay attention, you can fill the role of ALMOST anybody in the group that may go down for whatever reason. There will be many times you'll save the group, but not necesarrily by tradional means. If the tank goes down, you probably won't be able to jump in and tank in his place, but you will be able to keep it mezzed till the tank gets rezzed and rebuffed, or kite it around, or maybe drag it to the other side of the zone so the rest of the group can zone out, or highsun (gate it, as Joph said) it to buy everyone some extra time... the possibilites are almost limitless.
In order to excel as a bard, the most important thing you can do is LEARN what your songs do. Don't just have a vague idea. KNOW them. After your 30's you start to get a lot of "combo" songs that do more then one thing. KNOW which songs stack so you can get the best bang for your buck. KNOW exactly what each song does so you don't get undesireable side effects. Sure, Song of Midnight is an AE fear, but it sucks when you realize that you forgot that it also SoWs the mobs as they're feared and puts a minor DoT on them as well making them unmezzable. KNOW YOUR SONGS.
Other then that, one of the things I like to do when I'm grouped is "just have fun". I know that's always the goal, but it can mean something completely different for a bard. People get nervous when I get bored. I start pulling 3 or 4 mobs at a time, seeing how well I can time the mez breaks to get them staggered and all into camp at various intervals. Or, if they're charmable, I'll charm kite while people are AFK. Or I'll play hide and seek with mobs just to see how they react to being pulled (that actually helps when you go to pull them for real). Most of the time, you won't have time to play around a lot because you'll be so busy with your songs and pulling, but when you have a solid group... why not
?
In order to excel as a bard, the most important thing you can do is LEARN what your songs do. Don't just have a vague idea. KNOW them. After your 30's you start to get a lot of "combo" songs that do more then one thing. KNOW which songs stack so you can get the best bang for your buck. KNOW exactly what each song does so you don't get undesireable side effects. Sure, Song of Midnight is an AE fear, but it sucks when you realize that you forgot that it also SoWs the mobs as they're feared and puts a minor DoT on them as well making them unmezzable. KNOW YOUR SONGS.
Other then that, one of the things I like to do when I'm grouped is "just have fun". I know that's always the goal, but it can mean something completely different for a bard. People get nervous when I get bored. I start pulling 3 or 4 mobs at a time, seeing how well I can time the mez breaks to get them staggered and all into camp at various intervals. Or, if they're charmable, I'll charm kite while people are AFK. Or I'll play hide and seek with mobs just to see how they react to being pulled (that actually helps when you go to pull them for real). Most of the time, you won't have time to play around a lot because you'll be so busy with your songs and pulling, but when you have a solid group... why not
?What ever the **** they want to!!!!
Jiggidyjay of the Seven Seas wrote:
but the bard class is one of special note
Nice pun there :)
typically as a bard people want you to pull and then when meleeing they want haste, manasong and maybe a slow on the mob if no one better is in group.
Bards are truely a unique class in EQ. They do any support everything really......They are the best pullers in the game, they can CC as well as any chanter, they add god-like hp/mana/melee buff songs and they don't do bad DPS later on.
Twist in your haste/overhaste song to keep your rogues happy :)
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