I'm really not trying to get into a fight with you guys about Bards. I have a 52 Bard I use as a Naggy alt and I love playing him. I am just trying to be realistic about what OP can expect.
There are way too many bad Bards compared to other classes is the main problem, plus I think the XP penalty stigma is just ingrained in some old schoolers.
Example, a Bard who doesn't know how to break his Charms will very quickly have the group asking him to stop charming because it is a nuisance and not a positive to be staring at a mob trying to attack it for 6 seconds wondering wtf is going on. Example, a bard who continues to Mez sh!t when we have an enchanter will very quickly be asked to STOP mezing sh!t because their mez is inferior by A LOT. Example, certain camps your songs become useless due to mob level. Example, Bard refuses to add melee damage and thinks he should just play Cantina with his lute on. Example, Bard will only melee and forgets to keep pumping mana while in combat so he can add in a sh!ty damage shield or some other nonsense. Example, Bard will immediately start Slowing and pulling agro draining healers mana pools because he cant figure out when to cast Slow properly
The examples of bad (and fairly common/easy) mistakes for a Bard is enormous in comparison. A monk does solid DPS and about the only thing they can screw up is pulling too many mobs, dying, or pulling too slowly.
EVEN SO, A perfectly played monk IMO is more desirable on P99 than a perfectly played Bard due to DPS disparity between the 2. DPS is king on P99
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