New Bard Guide

[EobarrdThawne]

Good guide man, lots of good information. Thanks for putting it together!

[DrKvothe]

Awesome guide. Do you happen to know any ideal shaman + bard duo spots for the grind from 59 to 60? Hp song, mana song, and breath of harmony (reduces cannibalization damage) mean more mana than I can spend, and aoe dots with no initial dd component are the perfect compliment to my preferred solo strategy of root/rotting multiple targets. Throw in snare and mez for when root breaks early or something bad happens, and bards become my favorite duo partner.

[brecon]

Thanks! In my mind the most important thing that a Bard brings to a Shaman/Bard duo is the ability to split camps. The second most important thing is the abllity to charm and mez. The third most important thing is mana/hp regen and free dots.

I'd say the best place to xp is Solb Freeti. The main thing the Bard brings is the ability to split the Freeti room, which is kinda rough for a pre-torpor shaman. Then it's just an easy grind, solid xp, and chance for a few nice drops.

Beyond that, I'd suggest HS basement and COM second floor. CoM is easy enough but it's a lot of 4-splits, making taking a break tough, and there's no exciting drops. HS Basement is a straight grind....but with a Bard charming or a Shaman pet to eat HTs it's not so bad. The reason I don't like HS basement is one insta-break charm or resist and the Bard could be exposed to a 3-4 HTs.

Some of the Nec guides (ssesserdrix's) has some recommendations for camping guards that could work as well, but in general old world > kunark > velious for xp. So Solb > CoM/HS > Velks/DN.

[Bionic]

While it is a bit of a moot point, bards can get the OT hammer much earlier than 50.

I got mine at level 11ish. DE Mask + Faction song is enough to do it. Yes, it will only take up bank space until you can proc it.

[Trollhide]

Shenanigans, DE mask can't be clicked until level 15 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Kender]

de mask + faction song wont be enough faction to get hammer also. need to hand in braids

[Borak]

Originally Posted by Kender [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

de mask + faction song wont be enough faction to get hammer also. need to hand in braids

This is a lie. I got my OT hammer at 42 on my agnostic wood elf bard that never killed any VS faction mobs (no KC, etc). You will be threatening to start. Mask will take you to apprehensive, then faction song will take you to amiable.

Edit: If you did the quest for the Nostrolo's Tambourine early, and killed scorpikis in OT to get the coin, that will mess up your VS faction too. I did that after I got my OT hammer, glad I did.

In any event, you can charm the foreman yourself at or near 50.

[Kender]

Originally Posted by Borak [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

This is a lie. I got my OT hammer at 42 on my agnostic wood elf bard that never killed any VS faction mobs (no KC, etc). You will be threatening to start. Mask will take you to apprehensive, then faction song will take you to amiable.

Edit: If you did the quest for the Nostrolo's Tambourine early, and killed scorpikis in OT to get the coin, that will mess up your VS faction too. I did that after I got my OT hammer, glad I did.

In any event, you can charm the foreman yourself at or near 50.

sure but at level 11 when this guy said he did it the faction song wont give you 2 ranks worth of faction.