So I have only played a bard to 38 but the Deajay/Astuce math seems hugely optimistic in my experience.
First, I don't think a charmed pet is 50 dps or even close. An enc pet is about 100 and gets a bonus of maybe 1.6*1.8 for haste/dw. 100/(1.6*1.8) = 35 which is a bit more realistic. Plus if the bard is pulling 2 at a time, the charmed pet is only fighting half the time. Basically I see bard charm as 'mez with benefits' more than huge dps.
Second, I never manged to do more than 4 songs, especially when charming because unless you time it perfectly the pet will interrupt you periodically, or the tank won't have aggro, or whatnot. If you are singing 5 I have to imagine that stuff like haste and cantata is dropping all the time. but hey, maybe I was doing something wrong.
Third, I found that in a good group the dots weren't that effective because shit would die so fast (~30s). I would usually be pulling so I would twist say Haste/Slow/Mana/DoT and maybe I would get 2-3 dot ticks off.
Fourth, I would miss a lot of melee rounds due to targeting or chain pulling or whatnot.
So I think a more reasonable estimate for the dps bard (reasonable if there are both an enchanter/shaman to handle haste/slow) is 15 dps melee, 15 dps charm, 100/tick from two songs = 15 dps, so 45-50.
This is making me want to dust off Dramor though
[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] I've been trying a mage and the lack of root is driving me crazy. If you are on sometime I'd be happy to bust out Sakuragi and see your bard in action Astuce, maybe i'll eat my words!