Bard melee

[Loadsamoney]

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

This question was probably asked many times already, but I heard that bards don't really solo with melee and are more spell-casters. If I like going toe-to-toe against mobs, is bard a poor choice?

I guess I'm asking bard players if they play their bard with any significant reliance on melee. I know they mostly charm or swam kite, though fear kiting can be an option. Is it slow to fear kite though, at the higher levels?

Is a ranger much faster in killing things melee than a bard? Because I did notice bards have better defense skill caps than rangers and of course have nice slows on command.

I prefer this playstyle too, even though I know it's inferior. I don't know if I would call it a poor choice, but it's not what they do best, even though I see Bards as hybrids like Rangers and Knights, not a Caster class.

Most Bards will swarm kite because it's extremely fast and any deaths you accrue from a mistake are overshadowed by the sheer rate at which you grind out EXP. Fear kiting is safer but much more tedious.

Pound for pound, using the Rangers damage shields, Dot'S and nukes, the Ranger will kill faster than the Bard since the Bards DoT's will be tied to their instrument and be fairly weak if they're just singing without the Epic, and Bards don't get Double Attack which is a big hit to their melee DPS, but a Ranger without Fungi will also face more downtime than a Bard because of the damage they're taking in melee, while the Bard can fear kite with little risk to them (Rangers can only fear kite animals, which becomes irrelevant around level 50). Rangers cannot Swarm Kite either, so Bards will still outpace them in the later levels. More mobs per hour, less downtime.