Bard vs. Rogue
 

Hey guys, i've dabbled in Project 1999 for sometime now and with Rift slowing down i've finally made the jump to P99. I'm having a hard time deciding which class would be more beneficial or needed on the server. I have rolled a bard but some of my friends seem to think I would have a hard time getting a group or even into a raiding guild.

I have played a cleric in EQ for nearly a decade and have healed in nearly every MMO to date at the raid level. I really want to do something different.

Any and all guidance would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,
Muli

As a bard you won't have trouble finding groups (until maybe 50+ when everyone would rather have an enchanter???). But at that point, you can just kite raptors in TD I guess..

As far as the raid scene goes, you will be welcomed with open arms to a raid guild. Bards are a huge asset to a raid and always wanted.

Bards require a degree of attention and dedication not required of other classes. If you look away from the screen for even a second as a bard, your group is going to notice. You also have to deal with the fact that you'll never be able to do significant amounts of DPS.

However there are a lot of benefits to being a bard.

-Best looking class out there. A bard in full lambent is the best looking class ever and thats a proven fact.
-Selos. We get the fastest movement speed buff in the game and we get it at level 5.
-When things go horribly wrong, it's rarely the bards fault. We don't have to hold aggro, we don't have to land big heals at the right time. There are enough monks on this server that you shouldn't have to be splitting and pulling as a bard much (but you should learn how).
-Endless amounts of utility. We can haste, we can regen, we can DS, we can buff resists, we can buff stats, we can mez, we can dot, we can invis, we can lev. There are very few things bards cannot do. (can't bind...)
-Hands down the best solo-leveling class in the game. A good bard will outlevel any other class in the game by AE kiting. Depending on where you are, you can get an entire level in less than an hour, and you can do it naked.

Rogues can stand behind a mob and hit backstab every few seconds. sneak/hide?

Sounds a lot like it always has been. Being a healer my entire MMO career, being attentive is just part of the game for me (though it would be nice to be a "little" bit lax/lazy.)

I know this a terrible thing to ask but I do have a lot of catching up to do... Are there guilds out there recruiting that would help the leveling process along (lower level grouping, plenty of tradeskillers, family/supportive atmosphere)

Still a little torn between the two classes but I've always liked bards, especially during the Kunark era. I had a bard as my alt through most games.

Damn maestrom, you're making me want to keep leveling my little level 5 bard I had set aside. Damn this altitus!!

The things that some (very misguided) people prefer about enchanters don't really change from 50+. Enchanters get C2, but Bards get a more powerful manasong as well. The only thing that changes that I can think of is that Enchanters get an unresistable mez, so they're definitely better for camps where the mobs are level 56+, but mobs of that level are rarely efficient exp even at 60. So you may have trouble finding groups for some high level item camps, but you should never have trouble finding exp groups.

How does a bard get a more powerful manasong?

cantata of replenishment is an hp / mana regen buff that stacks with chorus of clarity.

By "more powerful" I didn't mean "more powerful than C2" in case that was what you thought I meant, I just meant "more powerful than chorus of clarity". My point is kind of that the differences between Bards/Enc's scale accordingly even at higher levels.

But if you are a rogue you can dps like me