Bard Duo Options?

[Kich867]

Trying to get a friend into the game, I think he'd enjoy a more active playstyle which, unfortunately rules out most melee in EQ. I thought maybe a Bard would be suitable since there's sort of a high cap on what you can accomplish with intricate song twisting etc.

However, for me, I just enjoy playing EQ. I can do whatever. And bards seem so open ended I can't really put my finger on a class that would benefit the most for duoing with them.

Anyone have any suggestions on ideal second classes to go with a bard? I was sort of thinking a hybrid tank? Since they'd probably be able to maintain threat and keep downtime low?

I'm also debating on which server. Does green still have the XP penalty? Not sure I can stand an ~88% exp penalty or whatever we'd be hit with by playing two hybrids. On that note though, I'd imagine blue has less people, so I feel like we'd have more content to ourselves if we were duoing so that seems enticing.

[Tunabros]

wizard is your best duo

[Keebz]

Bards duo pretty well with most classes. Something simple like Monk might be fun. Can benefit from group regen, haste, etc. Can help split and is self sufficient enough to not need a healer. A caster like a necro can also work well. Regen is amazing for them and you can just chain pull mobs. Can really do whatever you want.

I do think Wizard seems terrible unless you're AoEing everything... go pull 25 mobs then AoE them down, which while efficient is not the most fun way to play EverQuest for many people. But if you're into it, it sounds fun!

[Tunabros]

I do think Wizard seems terrible unless you're AoEing everything... go pull 25 mobs then AoE them down, which while efficient is not the most fun way to play EverQuest for many people. But if you're into it, it sounds fun!


yup

AOE everything while bard swarms things

he has mana song for down time etc

need a place to go? bard speed + wizard ports

got everything covered

pretty limited to outdoor zones tho

[Crede]

bard/enchanter and it's not even close. fear kite, charm, ae stuns, dots, etc. High end dungeons bard can just pump mana and go crazy loading up dots while charmed pet does the work. can step in for tankage/charm breaks as well with enchanter slow, and give enchanters hp regen which is all they're really missing.

bard/wizard really isn't that great until 54 when bards can Aoe snare.

[Zipity]

Bard can duo well with any class in game besides bard.
Melee duo with bard I’d say monk>rogue>war>ranger>sK>paladin>bard
Caster pbaoe will be cleric/necro>wizard>Druid>mage
Caster dungeon dive ench>necro>shm>magician>druid>Wizard>cleric

Obviously these ranks are my personal preference and shift depending on zone/camp/situation but I feel this is sort of a vague ranking for bard duo partners.

[GnomeCaptain]

I nominate Druid.

Extremely versatile, ports, newbie-friendly, amazing duo with Bard.

[MikeXG]

58 Bard, mostly duo or soloed my way up - Favorite classes I've duoed with are

Chanter, Shaman, Necro, Monk.

I'd like to duo with my buddies wizard or druid but they are not within my level range.

[Legidias]

A rogue is actually super good, or any other high DPS class. A bard can just aggro / snare all day long or fear / snare infinitely. Used to just duo KC right side by snare kiting all the mobs there around while rogue poky poke'd them.

[MikeXG]

A rogue is actually super good, or any other high DPS class. A bard can just aggro / snare all day long or fear / snare infinitely. Used to just duo KC right side by snare kiting all the mobs there around while rogue poky poke'd them.

I don't think I ever did KC on my bard as a duo. You would agro kite them around while the Rogue killed them or did you use fear? Fear seems dangerous with the moat right there and all the weird pathing.

[Legidias]

Just snare aggro + haste + dmg. We did end up doing a fear kite when an epic'd mage buddy joined us. We could just pull the dogs near moat, snare / fear, and they'd be dead before getting across the courtyard. (Feared mobs in that spot will try to run towards the bridge)

[MikeXG]

Just snare aggro + haste + dmg. We did end up doing a fear kite when an epic'd mage buddy joined us. We could just pull the dogs near moat, snare / fear, and they'd be dead before getting across the courtyard. (Feared mobs in that spot will try to run towards the bridge)

ohh good to know - Thanks

Can you pull mobs safely from the moat when you are there, or no?

[Legidias]

Usually can get single with lull. The good thing is, since none of those mobs there cast, you could grab like 5 even and just keep aggro on them running around while rogue picks them off single.

[Videri]

Does green still have the XP penalty? Not sure I can stand an ~88% exp penalty or whatever we'd be hit with by playing two hybrids.

Luckily, that's not how it works. I don't have time to type up an explanation now, but you can look into it on the Wiki. There's a good article there. Basically, you should average those percentages, not add them. And it's not so much a 40% penalty as it is requiring 40% more. It's an exp appetite.

[Kich867]

Luckily, that's not how it works. I don't have time to type up an explanation now, but you can look into it on the Wiki. There's a good article there. Basically, you should average those percentages, not add them. And it's not so much a 40% penalty as it is requiring 40% more. It's an exp appetite.

ah true, if we both need 40% more xp to level, the mob still gives the same amount of XP, it would just take us 40% more mobs since we'd be splitting XP evenly at that point right?

[kjs86z]

enchanter
necro
druid
shaman

those are his 4 choices

[Keebz]

enchanter
necro
druid
shaman

those are his 4 choices


I'm guessing the druid strat is just charming, but what about the shaman strat? Shaman seems kinda meh. Like where does the DPS come from? Dots?

[Legidias]

Dot both mobs, bard charm em on each other.

[Crede]

Bard/mage will have way more synergy than bard shaman. Sit back and pump mage mana/slow/dots while pet does the work and cc/nuke as needed.

[Videri]

ah true, if we both need 40% more xp to level, the mob still gives the same amount of XP, it would just take us 40% more mobs since we'd be splitting XP evenly at that point right?

40% more mobs than it would take a group consisting of 2 priest classes, yes.

Exactly the same number of mobs per paladin as it would take for two paladins to solo separately. The pie would be the same size and would be shared equally.

Please forgive my pedantry, for I believe a lot of people out in Norrath misunderstand the exp "penalty" (I call it an increased exp appetite) and reject perfectly good groupmates. It's like a superstition. I think we should take every chance we get to spread the word.

[Gustoo]

Pretty much anything with a mage is the best at leveling. Mage would be hyper OP if it had any crowd control at all, so by adding any crowd control it becomes your best friend in a class.

[Zipity]

I’ve found that pet classes are much better with the whole snare aggro or fear kiting strat as a rogue gets over chasing a mob around poking it while moving fairly quickly.

Mage/necro are awesome bc both have strong pets and if you get adds and pbaoe snare they both have PBaoes they can push out while pet kills.

As for necro/shaman, it’s super synergistic as not only does your mana directly Increase their efficiency but your HP regen is also converted to even more mana for them. Especially once you get cantaba at lvl 55. With a decent lute cantana + Nivs + double pulse is like 40+ hp regen per tic plus 14 mana per tic.... shaman or necro turn into unstoppable dot machines at that point.

You can also rely on tactics such as rooting multiple mobs on top of each other and then charming within the pile to get mega DPS, etc and as any bard worth his salt for big names etc you can help both by tash orbing, Fufils with drum for huge MR rebuffs to help for easy AF slow for shaman and to help necro fear or Mez or slow yourself at that point to deal with gates, CHs etc. Both classes are super synergistic.

[Legidias]

If you go full out with rooting in the right spot (pull + mezz mobs on top of each other), bard AE dots can do a ton as well on top of the normal root rot of like 5 mobs. I used to do a lot of ez pz velks spiders like that.

[Zipity]

If you go full out with rooting in the right spot (pull + mezz mobs on top of each other), bard AE dots can do a ton as well on top of the normal root rot of like 5 mobs. I used to do a lot of ez pz velks spiders like that.

Yea the more there are the more efficient those pbaoe dots become. Once you hit 57 though as a bard you can just pull 20-25 velk spiders at a time and pbaoe snare, cleric with donals boots best duo for that zone if you choose not to just solo it all. Alas no DN or velks on green for easy mode 55-60.

You can swarm bear pits too, I bet people would absolutely treasure that

[Legidias]

Yeah but the rooting 4-5 (really the max in duo for efficiency of the rooter) is just so easy lol. No running around, no worrying about insta death, etc.

[Botten]

I would actually go an entire different avenue and suggest cleric.

Why?

A. Heal
B. Rez (no bard is perfect at swarming)
C. Clerics have Word Point Blank AoEs
(if timed is so much fun to see the lines of damage as a cleric)

[Zipity]

I would actually go an entire different avenue and suggest cleric.

Why?

A. Heal
B. Rez (no bard is perfect at swarming)
C. Clerics have Word Point Blank AoEs
(if timed is so much fun to see the lines of damage as a cleric)

Cleric having Donals boots is awesome too! Dont try to tell these ninja keyboard warrior bards they aren’t perfect!

[Kich867]

Ended up going Bard/Druid! Pretty fun so far, I think it'll be a good time later, thanks for the suggestions all!

[kjs86z]

Ended up going Bard/Druid! Pretty fun so far, I think it'll be a good time later, thanks for the suggestions all!

Druid is a great choice for a new player.

Have him port you guys around and see a bunch of zones on the way up.

Introduce him to charming animals and you guys can start really packing a punch. Highly recommend Cazic Thule gators for that sweet ZEM. Eventually can move on to chardok and bear pits for the 50-60 grind.

[Zipity]

Ended up going Bard/Druid! Pretty fun so far, I think it'll be a good time later, thanks for the suggestions all!

Great choice! Very versatile combination! Extremely Mobile! Y’all can make a zillion dollars PLing too.

[Kich867]

Great choice! Very versatile combination! Extremely Mobile! Y’all can make a zillion dollars PLing too.

We were thinking of duo AOE kiting, obviously he could do it on his own if he learned the mechanics--but I was wondering, as a druid, if I snare everything first so it runs slow and keep SoW on him, is it any easier on the bard? He'd really just need to focus on damage songs at that point and not get too too close, but I'm curious if the mob being snared makes landing bard songs any easier.

[Zipity]

We were thinking of duo AOE kiting, obviously he could do it on his own if he learned the mechanics--but I was wondering, as a druid, if I snare everything first so it runs slow and keep SoW on him, is it any easier on the bard? He'd really just need to focus on damage songs at that point and not get too too close, but I'm curious if the mob being snared makes landing bard songs any easier.

Would absolutely make it less risky due to lag spikes etc, I would suggest him going low hp, then you can ensnare them all without pulling aggro. This method would be time consuming but will be more beneficial as you get higher lvl. There are certain camps indoors you can do that otherwise aren’t possible or feasible without snared mobs until lvl 54 when a bard can provide it themselves. Even then snare from a Druid is great bc the bards 48 and 54 songs do not stack.

[Kich867]

Would absolutely make it less risky due to lag spikes etc, I would suggest him going low hp, then you can ensnare them all without pulling aggro. This method would be time consuming but will be more beneficial as you get higher lvl. There are certain camps indoors you can do that otherwise aren’t possible or feasible without snared mobs until lvl 54 when a bard can provide it themselves. Even then snare from a Druid is great bc the bards 48 and 54 songs do not stack.

Unfortunately I don't follow--why make him go low HP?

[Crede]

Man just 2x charm or druid charm/fear kite/dot and obliterate everything. Will go faster than swarming at least until 54.

[kjs86z]

I would also recommend having the druid do some charming on the way up.

CT gators for sure for that sweet ZEM.

You guys can duo bear pits it might be the best xp possible to 60 (ZEM).

[Zipity]

Yah really swarming will lose its allure once you hit lvl 55 in Kunark, Kedge and Permafrost duo charming will be great friends to you both at that point.

[kjs86z]

Don't forget Chardok, too!

Not the best ZEM but some money to be made.

[Legidias]

Unfortunately I don't follow--why make him go low HP?

Low hp has priority aggro

[Issar]

The problem with AOE everything is, what happens when you guys get bored of AOEing? It’s going to happen, I promise. IMO you should consider life outside of AOE where the game is actually fun. Bards are incredibly flexible and mesh with a ton of classes to accomplish many things. Wizards nuke and port. It’s just my opinion, but if you plan on spending most time in a duo, I would recommend considering other classes to pair with him. You guys will do well for XP regardless, it’s just how you choose to get exp and if you guys want to farm/crawl at all.

For example, the most fun I think I’ve had in EQ was crawling various dungeons on my bard with a couple of other buds playing a necro and a monk. Our synergy provided us with enough tools to handle dire situations and the damage/control to annihilate mobs for hours with really no downtime. We had a rogue join us on occasion and it was a slaughterhouse.

Now if you like the idea of investing the time and playing a wizard at 60, I can appreciate that. Just know you’re not the solid duo class if you guys decide to crawl. If you think your buddy will enjoy the kites, then by all means, you will have a fast track to level on. From my experience kiting, while massive XP gains are cool, is really boring. Since you mentioned your friend likes to be busy, I have to imagine he’d like to be playing in dungeons more than monotonously running in circles.

Again, this is just my opinion so “grain of salt”. Not that I need to tell you, but fun in EQ is also subjective. What I find enjoyable definitely doesn’t equate to what is fun for others.