Bard Help

[Haynar]

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

And the fact is that there is nothing wrong with using a script to single tap songs, besides according to the irrational iron fist. Because its not the same as using AHK to afk farm for example. So good luck with your servers but I hope you'll reflect and be more reasonable in the future for your own sake.

Peace

It does not matter how much you think it impacts or compares to running macros. You don’t get to decide which macro use is acceptable or not. Using macro type scripts to automate functions, gives an unfair advantage. It is also against the rules.

[Wallicker]

I use /stopsong , /cast macros and it works great for me. Do whatever Works best for YOU. I have no issues swapping instruments mezzing multiple targets twisting songs and charm killing using /stopsong. If you’d rather double tap or roll if it works for you then do that.

[LemmingVR]

People keep saying you only have 6 hotbar slots - you know you can switch pages with hotkeys as well, right?

[larper99]

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

People keep saying you only have 6 hotbar slots - you know you can switch pages with hotkeys as well, right?

yes, but the problem becomes that you still need to have several hotbar slots setup for songs leaving little to no room for others, no matter which page you are on.

The problem is, other casters get to use their spell gems without resorting to macros, leaving the hotbar available for other things. Bards, having to double click to achieve twisting, resort to using the hotbar as a surrogate for their spell gems. Since we twist 5 or more songs while in combat, that leaves little room for instrument swapping, assist macros, melee hotkey, having Selo available at all times, etc. So, bards lose out on a whole "hot bar" (the spell gems) that other casters get to use as designed.

So, the question is, is /stopsong worth the loss of the hotbar, or does a bard have to become a maestro in the UI, constantly switching hotbars WHILE twisting. Or, does the bard resort to "outside the box" solutions such as scripting, regardless of whether it is "against the rules" or not.

The UI design, even with expanded 8 button hotbars, seems to indicate that twisting was never intended. Later solutions to bring the bard up to a more even playing field with things like "melody" are not classic and not supported on green or any p99 server if I am correct.

So the bard, as is currently expected to be played, is handicapped out of the box. But, I find that endearing and a challenge. Others may not. If you note, it was recently pointed out that during the beta (or early release) of EQ in 1999, it was noticed that bards and enchanters were the least populous class. Whether for lack of understanding their utility, or for difficulty of using the UI, it is unknown. But the way we expect bards to be used today, they are a challenge. But I find that a positive. I get to discover the solutions, and discuss the best ways and alternatives (while staying in the agreed upon rules) to deal with those challenges.

What I really miss out with the bard, is that since I am constantly typing during combat and even during recovery, I don't get to banter in /gs. Makes it a bit harder to socialize within the game. For that, I would make a recovery melody macro, to let me take a break while still twisting heals and regen. But, since everyone chain pulls now....

/sigh

[Hazek]

Originally Posted by larper99 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

yes, but the problem becomes that you still need to have several hotbar slots setup for songs leaving little to no room for others, no matter which page you are on.

The problem is, other casters get to use their spell gems without resorting to macros, leaving the hotbar available for other things. Bards, having to double click to achieve twisting, resort to using the hotbar as a surrogate for their spell gems. Since we twist 5 or more songs while in combat, that leaves little room for instrument swapping, assist macros, melee hotkey, having Selo available at all times, etc. So, bards lose out on a whole "hot bar" (the spell gems) that other casters get to use as designed.

So, the question is, is /stopsong worth the loss of the hotbar, or does a bard have to become a maestro in the UI, constantly switching hotbars WHILE twisting. Or, does the bard resort to "outside the box" solutions such as scripting, regardless of whether it is "against the rules" or not.

The UI design, even with expanded 8 button hotbars, seems to indicate that twisting was never intended. Later solutions to bring the bard up to a more even playing field with things like "melody" are not classic and not supported on green or any p99 server if I am correct.

So the bard, as is currently expected to be played, is handicapped out of the box. But, I find that endearing and a challenge. Others may not. If you note, it was recently pointed out that during the beta (or early release) of EQ in 1999, it was noticed that bards and enchanters were the least populous class. Whether for lack of understanding their utility, or for difficulty of using the UI, it is unknown. But the way we expect bards to be used today, they are a challenge. But I find that a positive. I get to discover the solutions, and discuss the best ways and alternatives (while staying in the agreed upon rules) to deal with those challenges.

What I really miss out with the bard, is that since I am constantly typing during combat and even during recovery, I don't get to banter in /gs. Makes it a bit harder to socialize within the game. For that, I would make a recovery melody macro, to let me take a break while still twisting heals and regen. But, since everyone chain pulls now....

/sigh

Thank God there's someone with some sense. Its refreshing. And having to press the key twice doesn't make bards harder at all, it's just pointless and annoying. Its a mechanic that should have been fixed since 1999 and that stopsong macros are used to remedy. All it does is make you waste your action slots or deal with having to double tap. You might as well make every other class have to press their abilities twice too.

So I understand not wanting people to use scripts for farming or something; or not wanting to pass the threshold of allowance and judging them individually because its easier to just blanket ban (if you could even detect it). But in this case its not even an "unfair advantage" because all it does is fix a bad mechanic that players normally do anyway when they have enough slots. And its a problem because you only have 6 unless you change pages. So why not just let players use a normal UI, change the mechanic in the code so it automatically casts stopsong when you use a new gem like I originally suggested, or as a last resort, allow a specific script. Especially since you've already made changes like item linking. I'm done with the game though but for the bards that still play.

[ArunaGreen]

Originally Posted by larper99 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

So the bard, as is currently expected to be played, is handicapped out of the box

Hard to say that one of the most OP classes in the game is handicapped lol. Bards merely have a slight inconvenience in achieving optimal play by having to hit buttons more often than any other class. However, the overall power of a bard massively overshadows this as we are easily one of the strongest classes in the game.

[Hazek]

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

Hard to say that one of the most OP classes in the game is handicapped lol. Bards merely have a slight inconvenience in achieving optimal play by having to hit buttons more often than any other class. However, the overall power of a bard massively overshadows this as we are easily one of the strongest classes in the game.

He's talking about being handicapped by having to waste your action slots just to fix a bad game mechanic with stop song macros.

[this user was banned]

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

He's talking about being handicapped by having to waste your action slots just to fix a bad game mechanic with stop song macros.

Project 1999 IS ABOUT RECREATING BAD GAME MECHANICS.

Just leave already.

[Siege]

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

Hi! As a person who has never even reached cap, much less touched a bard how would I go about playing a bard?
Any helpful low level quests? I plan on going Human. Any gear I should go for? How would I go about making macros and the like?

I'm going to give you some advice that will cause most people on this forum to tear their hair out: Put your starting points into Strength. Do it not for the melee damage boost (Bard melee is underrated, though), but for the ability to carry more than 2 pieces of loot while wearing plate, before you have access to expensive weight-reducing bags.

Most seasoned players will tell you to pump Stamina, but Bards have a mediocre Stamina-to-HP coefficient. Other will tell you to pump Dexterity or Charisma, but I'm not convinced that those stats do what they're supposed to do on this server. If they do, the effect wasn't pronounced enough for me to notice on my max-level Bard. Song fizzles and Lull/Mes/Charm resists were never something I considered to be a problem on my Bard, even when going full retard in melee gear. It's not like a Bard has to worry about using mana for recasts.

[this user was banned]

See that meditate button the the spellbook? That's classic and it sucks. The whole point of this project is to relive the classic experience, warts and all.

I believe item linking has been left in place because they haven't reversed engineered the titanium client yet to remove it.