Getting Started As a Bard (Tips Requested)
 

I have always wanted one, and after seeing some of the fun that Bards can have, I am ready to make the move. Problem is, I don't have ton of plat to fund it (maybe like 4 to 5 hundred.

Can anyone help me with some cheap recommendations as to gear that gives me better bang for my buck?

I will find and configured macros and such myself unless anyone has any easy ones to share.

Thanks in advance and see you in-game as Gaiansbane, Welven, or Wracking.

4-500?

Get MM drums / lute (about 50-100p for both)

Get a starter weap (several decent starting bard ones are 25-50p, including sainy's claw or dagger or blade of fiery lamentations, or any other starter weap)

Given max price, thats about 150p.

Get hp/ac rings. 1x platinum fire wedding ring is about 250p.

Thats 400p.

The last 100p can just be spread across anything you feel like, or spend it on a slightly better melee (Sionachie's partisan is pretty good at ~100p).

Quite honestly, if you want to get the MOST out of bard, dont use song macros (including the /stopsong and /cast X). If you want to be lazy, make macros (get at me lazy bards).

Well I might be able to splurge a little, but Sionachie's Partisan would be something I'd love to get my hands on.

Bonus tip, especially for low level; swap out your weapons for instrument whenever your song is about to finish casting. You only need instrument out at time of cast finish to get full benefits of songs for the ~18 secs. Mostly useful with heal song once you can use lutes. Just make sure you max out instrument skills as much as possible.

That's a welcomed tip. Thanks.

I would strongly recommend purchasing a Sionachie's Partisan. It is a great weapon to get you through the first 20 levels or so, and you can use it supplementary through your 50s. It’s super cheap and worth every penny for a new bard.

I do respectfully disagree with Legidias however on the macro portion. Setting up start/stop macros cuts your key clicks in half and reduces room for error. There’s really nothing lazy about it. I’m not a fan of sequenced macros on a bard however, for multiple reasons and I can see how they would be perceived as being lazy. Give it a try and see what you think.

Best of luck out there.

The reason why start stop macros are bad, is that there is a slight delay inherent in the macro between lines. When you manually do it, you can mitigate that. The timing seems miniscule, but its impossible to do a 5 song twist with macros, but possible (using server tick) for manual.

If you dont care and only want 3 or 4 song max, then yeah macro is fine. Its why I said to get the -most- out of the class.

Yah don't use stopsong macro's if you want to lose your sanity and the use of your left hand. Don't be dumb. Use the damn macro

You trollin? Lol. Most definitely use /stopsong to HALF your keystrokes. Not enough songs early on to need to twist 5 not using macros. Even then, still not with it.

Otherwise, drum, lute, and some hp rings. Maybe quest some lambent for clsssic bard looks as you level up.

That’s interesting, I hadn’t heard this before, I’ll have to try it out. That being said, for the majority of sessions, I can’t fathom maintaining a five song twist, especially with a double tap required, but maybe I am lazy and didn’t know it lol.

So I’m clear, a macro somehow has a delay to it that the spell script does not? The result is that physically double tapping the key is actually faster than a Macro? Is there any other trick that needs to be done to produce a five song twist?