From a 51 Bard:
Solo: As has been said, swarm kiting is easy mode leveling 1-51. I've done Burning Woods, but I've yet to find a nice spot without roamers so it can be hectic. I still think Chanter's win here simply because I think charm-soloing is more fun than AE-kiting (having done both).
Chanters win in dungeons, as bard charm is so short that any error could mean death. You also can't teleport until you get an item that allows you to.
Group: Bards play the do-anything role. I've tanked pre-kunark dungeons, done crowd control, pulled, and of course been a buffer. I've only had one group that wasn't "Wow, this XP has been amazing", and that was a group at Assassin/Supplier in Lower Guk. We just didn't have enough mobs to kill with everyone else in the zone.
I've been replaced in a group by an enchanter twice after I burned out (Bard burnout is high in groups if you keep twisting 3+ songs on each pull), and both times (Royals in SolB) the group wiped immediately. Bard charm/mez is perfect for grouping, and bards can get beat on by 4+ mobs pre-50 charming/mezzing them all without getting interrupted. A bad break on a chanter is deadly.
Raiding: Similar to groups with bards. On the boss mobs our DPS is so minor that you'll be twisting resist songs + haste + regen with instruments to maximize everyone elses abilities. Burnout can be high here as well if you maximize your efforts on killing trash.
Non-Combat: Uber runspeed is so much fun that it trumps everything else. At 51 you get Selo's Song of Travel which combines 60% runspeed (more with drums), levitate, invis and see invis. Its a lot of fun flying above Kunark zones looking down on everything. This trumps everything else IMO
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