Bards, nah

[Bardp1999]

Every class aside from warrior and cleric are optional on P99, Bards are jack of all trades, master of none. If you find yourself in a non min-maxed situation and a Bard comes along they can be a great addition to the team. They can also be a huge detriment to the team if they suck or are not active (but that's with anyone I guess - its just more noticeable on Bards I think).

Groups are not always War/Mnk/Rog/Clr/Shm/Enc, there are times when a friendly Bard can slot in just fine (smaller the group the more they shine, same with Necro), not to mention places like Velketors Labyrinth where they can kite 25 mobs and the grp just peels them off for non stop kills and amazing XP.