Gearing a Bard with 4k
 

Hey All,

So I'm reaching out for a little help in gearing up my bard again. He's in a random assortment of leftover vanilla plate gear and needs to get caught up with times. I've got a budget of 4-5k to spend on him right now. So my question to everyone is:

What items should I prioritize first to make myself more effective when I'm grouped up in dungeons?

He's got a CSS and Sionachie's Partisan, MM Drum and Lute, and random stuff otherwise. But with Velious out there are a lot of new options, and some older options got a lot more affordable. Greatly appreciate any input you veteran bards can provide!

A set of lament would be around 3k. You could get by with banded/random gear though.

I'd say get ac/hp rings and a set of charisma gear.

If you plan to melee, you can get some nice weapons now....

Standard starter gear for a bard:

2x 5ac/55hp rings
Sionachie's Partisan (you got it)
Mistmoore drums (you got it)
Lute of the Gypsy Princess (you got it)
Crystalline Short sword (you got it)

Armor sets (i like to match) that fit in your budget:
Lambent (most expensive but you could probably buy it)
Small fine plate (~900-1k)
Small banded (< 100p)

Lower end odds/ends that are worth it:
Hero bracer x 1
Cloak of Shadows vs Hooded Black cloak
Opalline Earring (1 or 2)
Orc Fang Earring (1 or 2)
Cape of Midnight Mist (neck)
Runed Bone Fork (range)

Camp a DE illusion mask

At the low end, gearing for strength initially isn't that bad, but as you gain levels your melee dps really starts to fall behind so not worth it. To make yourself grouper friendly charisma/resists/dexterity.

^ That is a good start.

I wanted to be different though so I made a Human Bard following Rallos Zek and he's using the cultural armor from that (+STR +STA). In the end, it won't make that big of a difference. Just swap some spots for DEX and CHA. Plus I won't look like every single bard on this server.

I quested every piece of my lambent, including a terrifying foray into CT with another bard--at one point we had 5 mobs in that narrow tunnel north of the maze, desperately taking turns tanking one while we kept two mezzed, two charmed, and killed one.

One of the greatest experiences I've ever had in EQ. It was grouping to get all the drops for my lambent set that led to it being my main when I realized just how much I enjoy it.

Anyway, Lambent is great, and questing for the whole set actually isn't bad at all.

just buy resist items like 7 mr bracers, 14 mr rings, etc.

nothing is more important, except for instruments