Bard question

[hopped]

So it seems that a Bard who want so swarm kite could do so with minimal gear. What is a decent startup (ie banded etc) and do stats even matter to kite like this?

[Colgate]

nothing matters but your instruments and jboots

[reppa]

Boot really needed? Seems like a waste w selos

[hopped]

Really? Jboots?

[Tann]

So it seems that a Bard who want so swarm kite could do so with minimal gear. What is a decent startup (ie banded etc) and do stats even matter to kite like this?

HP gear if you can get it, though from what i've read 30+ getting caught by the mobs will kill you. Currently i'm lv21 kiting and have survived a few run ins a pull and lived, this will change later though. those 5ac/55hp rings probably saved my life on a few of those incidents.

Jboots would only mean you dont have to twist selo's, could do sow pots too if you really felt the need. But a bard using jboots or sow potions is like a magician or necro never using there pet, you "can" but why the hell would you?

[hopped]

I was just looking for something different to mess around with for cheap. I figure 500pp max budget heh

[Tann]

I was just looking for something different to mess around with for cheap. I figure 500pp max budget heh

two 5ac/55hp rings, if you got a jewel crafter friend you can get them cheap(er) but otherwise 250pp ea. well worth it

[Tune]

nothing matters but your instruments and jboots

lol colgate so stupid

stick to that

243
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rofl loser

[Mandalore93]

Mistemoore Battle Drums and Lute of the Gypsy Princess if you're going to AoE kite. Anything else doesn't really matter. Learn to strafe kite and you can do it f rom level 2. about 30-45 minutes a level all the way to 50ish.

[hopped]

Strafe kiting is merely running them in a circle strafing right? Well holding the forward and strafe while mouse clicking etc...

Is there a post where I can see the process for pulling this off?

[williestargell]

missed notes = no speed = ouch I just got hit by alot of mobs. jboots keeps that from happening. the sudden loss of speed is less giving you time to adjust your circle wider and keep your distance without getting run over.

dex = less missed notes. good for the same reason. less times selos drops.

[Tann]

Strafe kiting is merely running them in a circle strafing right? Well holding the forward and strafe while mouse clicking etc...

Is there a post where I can see the process for pulling this off?

basically yes, auto-run + holding down strafe + turning with mouse. you don't actually need selo's or sow or jboots to do this early on, in fact i found it easier without because you can just keep lv2 dot playing while you do the circles.

[Tecmos Deception]

Boot really needed? Seems like a waste w selos

The issue with using sells for speed is you keep getting faster and faster as you level, especially if you're using a drum. But when AEing you have better fine control of positioning when you are only just as fast as necessary... aka jboots.

[Mandalore93]

To be honest after level thirty I almost always had a partner for low hp kiting. Just makes things so much easier and less intensive. Honestly so ridiculously broken. AoE kite up to fifty six or so then either buy or pull for Chardok groups.

[hopped]

So jboots are a serious consideration? I mean I could drop my breath of harmony if it would make that much of a difference in the long run. I'm looking to have this toon for the long haul so I guess if it's considered a solid investment I could keep the option open.

[Mandalore93]

Breath of harmony is what you'll be using all game long. I'm a lazy bard even I kite just fine. Learn how to use strafe, it's better in my opinion since it let's you use the level two dot more consistently and over come resists.

[hopped]

just gotta find a spot to practice without people getting pissed off heh

[Potus]

I've never been able to get strafing down on this server. I always end up getting a weird lag spike that has me running directly at the monsters and dying.

On live I used to love AE'ing an entire empty zone full of monsters, something funny about pulling everything and killing it all with a guitar.

[Tecmos Deception]

So jboots are a serious consideration? I mean I could drop my breath of harmony if it would make that much of a difference in the long run. I'm looking to have this toon for the long haul so I guess if it's considered a solid investment I could keep the option open.

Imo yes. They are a nice boost of speed above normal run speed, which can be very useful for staying ahead of a pack of mobs you want to AE without being soooo fast that a tiny wrong movement shoot you right into the pack and gets you killed. They also give you 15-ish minutes of faster runspeed when you zone into a dungeon.

[Dalven]

Imo yes. They are a nice boost of speed above normal run speed, which can be very useful for staying ahead of a pack of mobs you want to AE without being soooo fast that a tiny wrong movement shoot you right into the pack and gets you killed. They also give you 15-ish minutes of faster runspeed when you zone into a dungeon.

Using a drum while ae kiting from like 20+ makes it a nightmare to get close enough - I found un modded selos was fine until about 30 or so then I just started weighing myself down with coin to manage the speed. But yeah I guess jboots/sow pots make it easier and has other utility.

Not up to me to tell anyone how to play but group every chance you get - I've always had a ton more fun grouping as a bard.

[hopped]

I am just looking to speed through the lower content really, otherwise I'll probably end up grouping. Done the low end stuff enough times I wont miss it. Or use the aoe method to get through hell levels. I want to be able to say that I can do it all though heh.

[Tann]

This video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIlfIN8pqZM) is a good tutorial on one way to do a kite, it was in another bard kiting thread somewhere.

Only thing I do differently, currently 21 doing hounds/griffawns in EK, is that I use selo's w/out a drum. This may or may not work well if you pull stuff with different run speeds (like some cats or rhino's in OT) or later in levels but for now it seems to work just fine.

It only took me a couple tries to get the cutting into the kite strafing thing as explained in the video but it works really well for landing the lv2 dot.

IMHO jboots are a waste of money, people keep talking about missed notes and what not which I think is rubbish. Just play selo's between each dot, they last for 18 seconds each so its not like you can kill faster by spamming them.

ie. selo - dot(18) - selo - dot(2) - selo, etc etc. mix in a hymn of restoration if you get tagged and survive.

[hopped]

I want to thank everyone for their input it's been really great to see everyone jump in. I am geared up and at level 11 right now and have decided against jboots. I think what I might try it teaming up with Druids or Other casters in areas like Sro for orcs or nk/ek for some fun duo with backups for in case stuff goes wrong while I learn.

[hopped]

when grouping are there certain stats to focus and what is a good stats range for them to be in regars to str/sta/cha etc?

[Colgate]

hp and resists will be the most important stats

dex is useful if you have proccing weapons, but you probably don't want to be pulling aggro with a proc in a group

[zanderklocke]

I found dex and cha to be most helpful when leveling up and lulling/pulling for a group and preventing missed notes. You'll do a lot of pulling as a bard. I didn't find resists/hp to be that important until I was in high 50s pulling in Seb. At that point, cha didn't matter so much for getting successful lulls.

Str is great for holding stuff, but other than that, not too important for a bard since our melee dps is lousy anyway.

[Colgate]

bards arent really a stat dependent class

should just focus on getting the best instruments and weapons that you can, along with items like jboots, pegasus feather cloak

[hopped]

I'll have to get a gear list together of what I have and see if there are pieces I should replace.

In order to get jboots I would have to sell off my Breath of Harmony but I could grab a Sionache's Partisan. But if I'm aoe kiting weapons aren't really that needed and I can get a BoH once I can proc it at 50 where I should have earned the plat needed by then. Also as far as instruments rocking a mm drum and lute of the gypsy princess and the basic brass horn.

[hopped]

Here is a list of my gear to date:

Opalline Earrings x2
Golden Black Pearl Choker
Platinum Star Ruby Veil
Skull-Shaped Barbute
Platinum Fire Wedding Ring x 2
Sebilite Scale Bracer x 2
Sebilite Scale Vambraces
Iksar Scaled Gloves
Tattered Mantle
Lambent Breastplate
White Wolf-Hide Cloak
Sludged Girdle
Sebilite Scale Leggings
Lambent Boots

Mistmoore Battle Drums
Lute of the Gypsy Princess
Horn
Breath of Harmony
Sionache's Partisan

[hopped]

For Strafe kiting do the mobs need to be in front of your with the lvl 2 song? just got nailed by some orcs because my dot would not land while I was strafing for some reason.

[Dalven]

You should be fully zoomed out with mouse scroll and strafing. As you strafe you should be using your mouse to turn until you can see the mobs just appear in the bottom corner of your screen. This should be close enough for you to land your dots. It'll likely take a bit of trail, error and deaths before you master it. I prefer the other method of hitting f9 four times and zooming out and using the turn keys to circle.

[hopped]

Well I was trying it with some light blue/dark blue orcs in sro without selos because supposedly you can just strafe but I'll give it a few more shots, practice practice...

[Dalven]

Yeah you can just strafe but like I said my preference was the other way. Try it with just one mob at a time until you get the hang of it.

[hopped]

ok I zoomed out and slowly shrunk my circle til they were visible hit my dot and circled out... they caught me a couple times but it seemed to work out.

[falkun]

Practice, and you'll get better at not getting hit. If you are dieing while practicing, grab fewer mobs until you have the "do not get hit" part down. Then add more mobs.

[hopped]

only died once in practicing but for some reason I am crashing upon zoning in an out today for some reason... Anyway I was avoiding trying to zone so I died.

[Samoht Farstrider]

This video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIlfIN8pqZM) is a good tutorial on one way to do a kite, it was in another bard kiting thread somewhere.

Only thing I do differently, currently 21 doing hounds/griffawns in EK, is that I use selo's w/out a drum. This may or may not work well if you pull stuff with different run speeds (like some cats or rhino's in OT) or later in levels but for now it seems to work just fine.

It only took me a couple tries to get the cutting into the kite strafing thing as explained in the video but it works really well for landing the lv2 dot.

IMHO jboots are a waste of money, people keep talking about missed notes and what not which I think is rubbish. Just play selo's between each dot, they last for 18 seconds each so its not like you can kill faster by spamming them.

ie. selo - dot(18) - selo - dot(2) - selo, etc etc. mix in a hymn of restoration if you get tagged and survive.

This is the way that I found worked best for me and I still died many many times trying it out. Got it down pretty good now, but still would get hit and die once in a while when I get too aggressive.

[Morcant]

Is he just using autorun and tapping to turn? I have been strafe kiting since I am still sub 18 and I end up having to mouse steer while strafing but this seems much less involved then what I am doing. Anyone have some insight into how to steer during a kite? I have a hell of a time landing the level 2 dot unless I have no speed boost at all and strafe so maybe I am doing something wrong?

[Mandalore93]

I always mouse steer. I actually find it easier to do so than any other means. But to each his own barding, eh?

[Samoht Farstrider]

Is he just using autorun and tapping to turn? I have been strafe kiting since I am still sub 18 and I end up having to mouse steer while strafing but this seems much less involved then what I am doing. Anyone have some insight into how to steer during a kite? I have a hell of a time landing the level 2 dot unless I have no speed boost at all and strafe so maybe I am doing something wrong?

Yes. Turn turn turn turn strafe turn turn turn strafe

That's how I do it.

[Titanas]

I found that it's easier no drums with selos and using wsad keys to turn. I set Q and E as strafe. I also set selos as 1, lvl 18 dot as 2 and lvl 2 dot as 3. This frees up my mouse to switch out horn and lute. I found if I use drums with selos I was running a little too fast. I landed the dots, even the lvl 2 one, more consistently.

[Samoht Farstrider]

I found that it's easier no drums with selos and using wsad keys to turn. I set Q and E as strafe. I also set selos as 1, lvl 18 dot as 2 and lvl 2 dot as 3. This frees up my mouse to switch out horn and lute. I found if I use drums with selos I was running a little too fast. I landed the dots, even the lvl 2 one, more consistently.

LOL! I have exact same setup with Hymn of Restoration as 4. I pull with using drums but swap out for the horn and lute when applying the dots.

[Buriedpast]

Wow a thread full of terrible bards in the making. Makes me sad.

[MikeXG]

Does anyone use macros when swam kiting? I've thought about making one for each dot to play the dot, then stop and play selos. Less buttons to press seeing as swam kiting hours on end can cramp your hand up a bit. I've also thought about switching to using Q and E to strafe WASD to run and turn and just click on my songs.

[Dalven]

Does anyone use macros when swam kiting? I've thought about making one for each dot to play the dot, then stop and play selos. Less buttons to press seeing as swam kiting hours on end can cramp your hand up a bit. I've also thought about switching to using Q and E to strafe WASD to run and turn and just click on my songs.

I used:

/stopsong
/cast 2 (dot)
/pause 40
/stopsong
/cast 3 (selos)

Only problem is that once you begin the macro you are locked into - you can't play another song during the /pause section so if you get any missed notes you just have to wait it out. Also pay attention to missed notes because if you miss a selos you are fucked.

[Morcant]

Are there any tips that folks can offer on how to actually circle?

I feel a bit stupid on this one but I can't for the life of me figure out how to circle with selo's on and actually land the 18 dot let alone to lvl 2 dot without getting hit. I was just using strafe and no selo's until I hit like 22 and decided it was time to try and move to a new location. It feels like birds and centaurs in SK have a slightly larger hit box than wolves in EK did so I am getting hit every so often while strafe kiting and I can't figure out how to circle correctly to effectively swarm.

I generally use the scrolled out behind your back standard view but feel absolutely clueless as to where the mobs are with this view when I use selo's and when I f9 and to use the larger overhead view I can see them better but seem to get wailed on about 50% of the time when I try and apply the dot. I feel like either I can't get close enough or my circles are to tight and I get punched in the head.

I have watched the appropriate videos but I guess I have no feel for how big is the right size to circle at this point? Even if I try the strafe across to apply a dot I am either to far to land or get hit... So I am asking for pity from experienced bards any tips on how to figure this out? I play on red so groups are so hard to come by at my level and I kind of went this route so I could use my limited playtime effectively. Now I am wondering if there is just something wrong with my solo barding =(

[Mandalore93]

The reason you're getting hit is that the centaurs run slightly faster than normal mobs. Just move to East OT for a level or two (at most) then switch to LOIO.