[knottyb0y]

Take it from me, playing a bard is AWESOME

I played a warrior and shaman to 65 on live, quit shortly after pop. I've done my share of alts but none (with maybe exception of warrior but i'm crazy about them) has been as awesome as my bard

Bards require skill, and knowledge to play well. I have only grouped since level 5 and I do not regret it. Bards are versatile, we can solo, but why would you? Grouping as a bard is amazing. Why? Because we fill so many roles. A bard can run Crowd Control using mez, and off-tanking abilities. We haste our group and slow the enemy. We have the ac to tank (not as effective as a war/sk/pal but it works) and holding aggro is a cake walk. We can dps effectively if you twist your dot songs, and Bruscos(dd) while dual wielding. We cut the downtime of a group nearly in half (especially post manasong). We make great pullers. We can buff the crap out of a group and make them all better. No other class can fill so many roles (CC, Tank, DPS, Buff/Debuff) you just have to be adaptive. In one group i'm running CC by myself. In another I'm backing up the enchanter by AOE slowing so she/he doesn't take so much damage when mez breaks. In another I'm pulling and tanking until we find a full fledged tank. The beauty of a bard is that we make everyone better. We don't do anything the best, but we do everything well enough. As long as a group has a dedicated healer there is room for a bard.

It is true however that a bad bard is easily sniffed out. Being a good bard is not always about "how many songs can he twist". It is about understanding your role in your group (which changes from group to group) and filling that role with expertise. Singing the right song at the right moment, and augmenting everyone in your group all at the same time.

You are like the Maestro of the group your job is to make sure every person blends together as best as possible. I have enjoyed every moment as my bard, definitely the most interesting class i've played.