Do solo battle bards benefit from item haste much?

[Aaramis]

Back on live, I mained Ranger but my alt was a Bard. I had no issues meleeing, although damage *was* noticeably weaker. But not so much that it hamstringed me.
Between slowing a target, hasting myself to crazy levels, and keeping a DoT or DS up, I managed to solo most things if I had to melee.

Granted, P99 is a different story, so take that with a grain of salt, but I suspect Bard melee is underrated.