There was a thread in the bard section talking about bard songs and there was a reply that had this in it:
The benefits are nice, but is it _really_ worth not having a real party member?
Of course there was more said and everyone has there own opinion, but being that not many people post in the bard section I thought I would bring it here to see what everyone elses thoughts were. In my experience playing as or with a bard in a party has made the party awesome reducing down time and keeping buffs and debuffs going non stop. Another benefit to a bard is they don't use mp so they don't have to rest to sing songs.
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Is a Bard a "real" party member?Follow
The few times I've partied with a bard have been awsom. I'm always very excited if I get into a party and they have a bard. Healing song is great, and I'm sure MP song will be just as good (when I start parting with lvl 25 bards.) Anyway, definitly a group class.
I plan on doing something with bard once I hit 30.
I plan on doing something with bard once I hit 30.
Scholar
20 posts
Much <3 for bards. They make your party go to 11.
Hmmmm...I dunno, but when I play as my bard, xps seems to roll a lot faster. 13->19 in one day, 90% of the time without a white mage. Sword Madrigal seems to make the fighters hit more often making them build TP a lot easier, Valor Minuet makes them hit harder. And Army Paeon I and II really reduces downtime.
But I also had a very sharp group of fighters around me too, and that definitely could have been the reason for it too. I'll have to keep trying this class to see whether the bard is really making that much of a difference or if I just had a VERY lucky day.
Binsa, LV31WHM/LV15BLM/LV19BRD, Bastok, Alexander
But I also had a very sharp group of fighters around me too, and that definitely could have been the reason for it too. I'll have to keep trying this class to see whether the bard is really making that much of a difference or if I just had a VERY lucky day.
Binsa, LV31WHM/LV15BLM/LV19BRD, Bastok, Alexander
Bards are awsome. Period.
There is one in my LS, and when I play with him I can enjoy
2 of the following (at different time during battles and between battles):
* def up , atk up for ALL pt members
* hp regen for all pt members - paeon II. Count how many hp
total the group gains with no mp spent hehe you'd be suprised.
* accuracy up - this is awsome, much less whiff whiff for each
members = more damage, tp increase, more skillchains
* waitin eagerly for mp regen
* more and more
I mean look at song list hehe
Yesterday I was in Sea serpent grotto and I could enjoy a japanese party exploitin bard capabilities of 2 songs in different areas (two for mages two for melees) THAT WAS SO AWSOME these guys were level 30-31 takin on skeletons at crabs there and their health never went less than 80% ever! I was so amazed.
Oh and to demonstrate my point: saturday my dark went from
13->19 in dunes in 6 hours WITHOUT A WHM (well we had whm for like 1/2 hour)
All people in pt including me were amazed at xp flow (some were 240+ and one record of 270 xp) and little downtime. I'm not saying whm are useless, dont get me wrong, I'm just saying bards are so awsome.
mauri
Edited, Wed Jan 21 15:18:10 2004 by Maurizio
There is one in my LS, and when I play with him I can enjoy
2 of the following (at different time during battles and between battles):
* def up , atk up for ALL pt members
* hp regen for all pt members - paeon II. Count how many hp
total the group gains with no mp spent hehe you'd be suprised.
* accuracy up - this is awsome, much less whiff whiff for each
members = more damage, tp increase, more skillchains
* waitin eagerly for mp regen
* more and more
I mean look at song list hehe
Yesterday I was in Sea serpent grotto and I could enjoy a japanese party exploitin bard capabilities of 2 songs in different areas (two for mages two for melees) THAT WAS SO AWSOME these guys were level 30-31 takin on skeletons at crabs there and their health never went less than 80% ever! I was so amazed.
Oh and to demonstrate my point: saturday my dark went from
13->19 in dunes in 6 hours WITHOUT A WHM (well we had whm for like 1/2 hour)
All people in pt including me were amazed at xp flow (some were 240+ and one record of 270 xp) and little downtime. I'm not saying whm are useless, dont get me wrong, I'm just saying bards are so awsome.
mauri
Edited, Wed Jan 21 15:18:10 2004 by Maurizio
I think at level 50 I'd take a good brd/whm over a rdm
so yes
so yes
IMO, a BRD will not turn a bad party into a good party, but they *will* turn a good party into a phenomonal XP'ing factory of doom. They can stack two buffs on the tanks and stack two different sets of buffs on the mages, and keep all four running at the same time. Yes, they are very, very real.
P.S. Mauri was one of the awesome fighters I was referring to ;)
--BPF
--BPF
55+ I will take a bard over a red mage any day. Under that, I would STILL take a bard over a red mage. This is because:
1. No mana spent and you get the same effect as Refresh since the two Ballads stack.
2. Accuracy and other songs help a LOT more than you'll be able to see. You can easily 5 chain with a good bard and I actually end up with around 200 mana at the end of the chain to boot.
3. I don't know why, but on Garuda 80% of the red mages I've partied with are morons. I don't know if it's the class or what, but I swear they're all out to get me. >< I'm thankful that there are at least two very nice, very good RDMs out there.
1. No mana spent and you get the same effect as Refresh since the two Ballads stack.
2. Accuracy and other songs help a LOT more than you'll be able to see. You can easily 5 chain with a good bard and I actually end up with around 200 mana at the end of the chain to boot.
3. I don't know why, but on Garuda 80% of the red mages I've partied with are morons. I don't know if it's the class or what, but I swear they're all out to get me. >< I'm thankful that there are at least two very nice, very good RDMs out there.
PLUS, bards are essential for BCNM fights since sleepga by a blm doesn't necessarily stick :)
And BCNMs are teh r0x cus they give good drops :D
And BCNMs are teh r0x cus they give good drops :D
First real group I ever had in crawlers, we were all lvl 34 (not unreasonably low, but it's not easy either), and we had a bard. A smart bard. He had 2 songs on the mages and 2 different songs on the melee, and it was great (sub whm too for extra goodness). Since then, I've had parties with 2 whm that still were not as efficient (for a variety of reasons); bards are definitely a REAL party member. The only problem is that there aren't enough!!
What does BCNM stand for?
BCNM = burning circle notorious monster or some crud.
It's an NM that you can summon by tossing some kind of ball that you buy off an NPC in jeuno using the beastman seals that you've been throwing away all this time :D
You can buy a ball for 40, 50 or 60 and the difficulty rises accordingly. The level 40 one drops the whm spell Eraser which on Fairy goes for like 400k >_> but the fight is near impossible without a good bard to control the multiple mobs you will have to fight all at once.
It's an NM that you can summon by tossing some kind of ball that you buy off an NPC in jeuno using the beastman seals that you've been throwing away all this time :D
You can buy a ball for 40, 50 or 60 and the difficulty rises accordingly. The level 40 one drops the whm spell Eraser which on Fairy goes for like 400k >_> but the fight is near impossible without a good bard to control the multiple mobs you will have to fight all at once.
Scholar
42 posts
A good bard is the best support job next to whm. =)
But a bad bard is the most worthless, dead wieght you can have in your party.
The good thing is all the bards I've partied with except one have been great.
But a bad bard is the most worthless, dead wieght you can have in your party.
The good thing is all the bards I've partied with except one have been great.
Bad Children Never Matriculate
heh... I mean:
Burning Circle Notorious (or Named) Monster (or Mob)
heh... I mean:
Burning Circle Notorious (or Named) Monster (or Mob)
Does this mean my poor RDM isn't going to get any PT invites =`(? Gah, maybe it's time for me to switch to PLD/WAR with my Taru.
Seriously though, RDM is very difficult to play. I'm not surprised that people don't find good ones often. When I played BLM I felt like I had a pretty good handle on things, I thought I was a good BLM. Same with WHM, thought I had a good handle on things. I don't feel that I'm a "good" RDM, not because I can't, but because I feel it's the most complex and involved of any job I've played. Making your RDM a very good party member (at least in my experience up to 25) can be difficult.
Back on the subject. Is Bard a real party member? Only reason I can think that someone would ask this is Bards don't fill a normal party role. Bards don't provoke, don't heal, and don't do support damage. In my opinion, bards are probably the most real party member there is. Bard's exist to make the whole party better. Everyone in the party becomes more effective because the Bard is there. If I wanted to guess, I'd say all 5 members are at least 25% more effective. If you do the math, you've got like 1/4 of an extra member! That's like an extra taru! <-sarcasm
The only reason I wouldn't take a bard is if I was missing one of the essentials, ie I had a party of 5 with either no WHM or no voker. Even in that situation, I'd better like the 5 existing party members a lot...hehe
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Aaero, Taru on Valefor
Seriously though, RDM is very difficult to play. I'm not surprised that people don't find good ones often. When I played BLM I felt like I had a pretty good handle on things, I thought I was a good BLM. Same with WHM, thought I had a good handle on things. I don't feel that I'm a "good" RDM, not because I can't, but because I feel it's the most complex and involved of any job I've played. Making your RDM a very good party member (at least in my experience up to 25) can be difficult.
Back on the subject. Is Bard a real party member? Only reason I can think that someone would ask this is Bards don't fill a normal party role. Bards don't provoke, don't heal, and don't do support damage. In my opinion, bards are probably the most real party member there is. Bard's exist to make the whole party better. Everyone in the party becomes more effective because the Bard is there. If I wanted to guess, I'd say all 5 members are at least 25% more effective. If you do the math, you've got like 1/4 of an extra member! That's like an extra taru! <-sarcasm
The only reason I wouldn't take a bard is if I was missing one of the essentials, ie I had a party of 5 with either no WHM or no voker. Even in that situation, I'd better like the 5 existing party members a lot...hehe
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Aaero, Taru on Valefor
Quote:
They make your party go to 11.
ROFL Milanthes! I must be one of the few people here to get that.
"Why can't you just make 10 go higher?"
"... This one goes to 11."
Samus taught us that a girl doesn't need brains to be successful. Brains are giant, evil and vulnerable to missiles.
Bards are uber! A lvl 20 Thf/Rdm and mysel lvl 20 Rdm/Mnk were in Giddeus hunting a Kazham key for myself. We ran into a party with a lvl 30 Blm/??, a tank (can't remember class), and a Bard and decided to join forces. This was the first time I had partied with a Bard before. Between attack increases, defense increases, HP regen, MP regen, etc, we had the keys in no time at all. I look forward to the next time I get to party with a Bard.
One numerical value evaluation of having a Bard in my party. (last night)
A party I was invited into had a Bard, whatever, no big deal I figure. Wrong.
I am using my Thf and I am lvl 23-24 and I am loving the damage I have been doing on the Greater Pugs, and clippers in Quifim. 120 being a great hit, and low of 60's. Usually around 80's.
The Bard does his songs, and twice in a row (different monsters to have the TP required) I did 180 damage with my sneak + fast blade. That was huge.
My benfits alone on the increases to my sneaks would make up for an average warrior who misses or 0's on clippers half the time. Plus with the HP regen song it is great, and that is only with 2 songs on the entire party.
A party I was invited into had a Bard, whatever, no big deal I figure. Wrong.
I am using my Thf and I am lvl 23-24 and I am loving the damage I have been doing on the Greater Pugs, and clippers in Quifim. 120 being a great hit, and low of 60's. Usually around 80's.
The Bard does his songs, and twice in a row (different monsters to have the TP required) I did 180 damage with my sneak + fast blade. That was huge.
My benfits alone on the increases to my sneaks would make up for an average warrior who misses or 0's on clippers half the time. Plus with the HP regen song it is great, and that is only with 2 songs on the entire party.
/wave Purplenv
Yep, bards rock. I only wish there were more of them. Anyone venture to guess why there are so few?
Yep, bards rock. I only wish there were more of them. Anyone venture to guess why there are so few?
Might have something to do with that whole "Spoony Bard" thing...
(they actually have that quoted in the game! See if you can find it! :) )
(they actually have that quoted in the game! See if you can find it! :) )
Quote:
Yep, bards rock. I only wish there were more of them. Anyone venture to guess why there are so few?
i lvled my bard up to lvl 26, and it was alright
but after lvl 25 there was just too much "work".. it wasn't fun anymore.. i would have to cast 2 songs for the melees every fight, 1 song for the mages, 1 or 2 songs after each fight(and plus all the debuffs on the mob during the fight)
it isn't that i'm lazy, it's just that in my opinion bards require to much *work* for a game
i've been stickin with my whm since and have been having alot more fun :)
and to answer the original posters question, yes, bards rock - and they are the thing i would most like to have in my party besides a pally (remember, i'm the whm :P )
Scholar
38 posts
Whitemagic that is very interesting because I feel the exact opposite there. Must be just personality differences, but I absolutely HATE playing whm now that my Main is Bard. I like running around, throwing up 2 songs on melee (Accuracy + Attack)
then running back to the mages and throwing 1-2 songs on them depending on whats goin on at the moment, trying to judge distances if the mob aggroes onto mages with melee right up on em and still only get the mages with their respective buffs etc (happens most of the time but occassional I will hit a melee with a mage buff because i misjudge it). Stripping buffs off enemy mobs, doting them, debuffing them making skill chains and magic bursts rip em to shreds, crowd control. Man it's action packed. I'm always moving, always doing something. Not just sitting there staring down a corridor or whatever. Now when i try to lvl up whm to port capability from 30 i just can't handle it and balk. Just too boring for me personally. Nothing against you or anything just stating the probs i have had with whm since going brd. Anyways, you needz da buffz joo call me.
Aldreck
35 brd/whm
Alexander
then running back to the mages and throwing 1-2 songs on them depending on whats goin on at the moment, trying to judge distances if the mob aggroes onto mages with melee right up on em and still only get the mages with their respective buffs etc (happens most of the time but occassional I will hit a melee with a mage buff because i misjudge it). Stripping buffs off enemy mobs, doting them, debuffing them making skill chains and magic bursts rip em to shreds, crowd control. Man it's action packed. I'm always moving, always doing something. Not just sitting there staring down a corridor or whatever. Now when i try to lvl up whm to port capability from 30 i just can't handle it and balk. Just too boring for me personally. Nothing against you or anything just stating the probs i have had with whm since going brd. Anyways, you needz da buffz joo call me.
Aldreck
35 brd/whm
Alexander
Quote:
ROFL Milanthes! I must be one of the few people here to get that.
"Why can't you just make 10 go higher?"
"... This one goes to 11."
"Why can't you just make 10 go higher?"
"... This one goes to 11."
Reminds me I have to go pick up Spinal Tap on DVD.
I've only gotten to party once with a bard. At the start of the trip, none of us really knew what bards did, but we invited him because he seemed like a nice guy.
Two hours later, we had gotten a billion XP, and when he had to log off we all begged him to stay. He added so much to the party, we couldn't believe more people didn't play them.
I will party with a bard any time. Mars needs bards!
Two hours later, we had gotten a billion XP, and when he had to log off we all begged him to stay. He added so much to the party, we couldn't believe more people didn't play them.
I will party with a bard any time. Mars needs bards!
Quote:
ROFL Milanthes! I must be one of the few people here to get that.
"Why can't you just make 10 go higher?"
"... This one goes to 11."
"Why can't you just make 10 go higher?"
"... This one goes to 11."
Too bad there aren't amps you can equip. If there were we could have some tarutaru dancing around a little stone henge.
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