Going to level Bard.Follow

Monster Signa

Gaudy Harness

Horn + 1

Mary's Horn

Iron Ram Horn

Cornette + 1

Traversiere + 1

Apollo's Staff

Star Necklace

and maybe a Harp + 1 (for skilling String instruments)

Those are just a few off the top of my head.

*Blinks* o.o; Thanks!<3 lol I just put in ballad really cause in sylph B1 goes for around 130k~ (And i can never find people for the quest ; ; )
Thanks so far :D

Buffs take 8 seconds. With minstrels ring 6. The difference between a free yigit and a 4M manteel is 2% of 6 seconds. Thats .12 seconds. Since neither should be used for debuffs I would classify manteel as perhaps the worst purchase in the game from a gil/benefit standpoint. .03 seconds per mil.......

Go with yigit.

Edit: If you're burning, the only stuff you'll really hate not having is HQ staves and HQ instruments (Mary's Horn is a blessing at low levels). Certain HQ instruments can be rare on the AH, so do your research and be on the lookout for them. Crumhorn+1 comes to mind. Carols have some utility in endgame.

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If you're doing traditional leveling, best thing to do is plan to gear for 1-12, 13-20, 21-25, 26-30, etc. in stages.

The low levels were still something of a struggle last I remember. Your parties really won't pick up until after level 35-40. The difference between low-level debuffing and endgame debuffing is extraordinary. Low-level RDM and WHM enfeebs are generally reliable, BRD not so much. Before about level 40 your lullaby will be strikingly inconsistent in comparison to RDM sleep. Payback happens when you hit 75.

Around 40-45ish I remember being able to comfortably stage pulls in the conventional way.

Consider getting Enchanting Etude for some lullaby insurance. Etudes cast in half the time of full-party buffs, and you may find it useful to sing some CHR before sleeping links or aggro. Lullaby recast will cause you pain for a while.

Use some cheap food. Roast mushrooms were surprisingly useful for me in the pre-30 grind, but I did a lot of backup-healing so YMMV. Tav.Tacos are great food, but are better saved for later levels when mobs hit harder.

Hm ... RR never hurt anyone? I kid, I kid!

Edited, Apr 18th 2010 2:59pm by Ezzelin

I personally got gear in 20~ level increments. I found that BRD gear was hard to come by (especially melody earring/+1, chanter's staff, etc)

Thanks for all the advice :D I did some hunting and went 1/1 on novv the whitehearted and also got ballad II :D.. its sad my brd's only lvl 1 <.<;

I'd actually say just up until lv. 40, cause you can get a Chanter's Staff at that level. It'll be your best staff for Song buff purposes, and the +6 CHR and +4 Singing Skill is going to do a bit more for Debuff accuracy than the +8 CHR from the Monster Signa.

At the same time though, the Chanter's Staff is one of the items for Brd that you're always going to keep (barring them adding something new in the future), so it's an investment worth saving up for if you can.

If you've got the gil, I wouldn't skimp on the debuff set. You'll be pulling, and getting resists makes that a whole lot less fun. Not to mention that can wreck PT dynamics. If the PLD has to flash a mob that's eating the RDM after he curebombed you because you got both lullabys resisted, guess who's to blame \(^^;)/

Buff set on the whole unimportant, more a matter of pride than utility. I know I've put hundreds of hours and millions of gil towards giving my DDs an aditional .3% haste, where you draw the line is up to you. Debuff set, however, is a biggie, if you don't stick elegy or lullaby, you might as well be a COR/WHM.