Trying out a Bard, Halllpp! Any pro Bards here?

[Qaedain]

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

Bards are not working properly here at the moment. Looks like GMs are working on swarm kiting and charm kiting issues, but who knows how long this will take to fix. It seems like changing the aggro system and hitbox issues is tough to resolve.

Bards are successfully swarm kiting all over Norrath. There's even a tutorial for it on the forum.

[megman87]

Im not all that interested in the Dot/Run kiting though, I mean Ill prob try it out. But I mainly interested in playing one of the least played class's and grouping. I was kind of between a Ranger and Bard since they seem to be played the least.

[xshayla701]

and by this guy i meant lanvaren cause i guess i was late posting

[megman87]

Wood Elf and all into Sta then?

Im not so sure about putting points into Cha, isnt that like the easiest stat to raise with gear? Wouldnt it be better to put no points in Cha at character create?

[Tork]

It comes down to how you play -

Do you primarily pull? CHA for lull.
Do you pump mana and resists... err, I mean raid? STA for HP.

But really, it doesn't matter that much and if you put them all in WIS it'd be ok - a bard isn't gear dependent, least of all in a raid setting with competent healers.

[mmiles8]

Bards twist? Every raid I've been in the bards have just stood there afk with either verses of victory or chorus of clarity playing.

You don't need to be pro to do it, if you've ever played guitar hero, it's like that, but easier. Pick 3 buttons, hit them, as long as you get the timing sort of right, you're in the top 10% of bards on the server.

[Jify]

Someone called? Bard Pro here!

Every bard in our guild twists actively, 3-4 songs. Who are you raiding with mmiles8?

I picked High Elf because they are well balanced, and put my points into STR/DEX so I could wear plate full-time at lower lvls. Looking back, it was a dumb move. Put your points into STA, any left over go into DEX.

Focus on your instruments first, get the good ones. HP/DEX gear next. Extra DEX means less missed notes, HP gear means you don't die like a wizard holding a lute. CHA used to be helpful for maintaining long charms, no sure how helpful it is anymore, I don't charm kite like I used too.

For Weapons, I went too three extremes. High Damage, High Delay. Low damage, Low delay. or Proc Dmg, low damage, high delay. High Damage/Delay works great if you've got high haste. Low damage/delay is just plain fun! And Proc dmg weapons are just wicked for taunt! I'm a bit of an odd ball, I push my AC over 900 and tank from time to time. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Just give Doug or Jify a tell in game if you need a hand. Alternatively, Jete, Gwence, Tunes, Cymbal, etc. are all pro-bards and would love to help you out! [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Cheers!

[Arkis]

Lol Doug: You're a half elf not a high elf [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]. Also my name is Tones!...Jerk! [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Pretty much what everyone else said but:

Tanking:

If you're going to group and there ends up not being a tank, make sure to have a Staff of Writhing at higher levels. That staff + snares and mezzes will make you king of aggro. I've tanked easily for BR, Ass/Sup, and Royals while CCing. In fact, due to my late playtimes (and the server's lack of tanks back when I was leveling) I ended up tanking royals from most of 45-50. Just got to make sure to hold a lot of the aggro with AE slows/snares/mezzes + a charm if you feel like it. If you can find a tank, though, would be less strain on you.

[guineapig]

I play a tanking bard... mostly out of necessity (cause there is never a tank around when we need one).

Staff of Writhing + obsidian Dagger in the offhand.
Snare/slow song at the beginning and end of the fight.

That's pretty much all you need to keep aggro on just about anything. If some caster gets super silly aggro somehow then just chain mez the mob you are attacking.

Otherwise, damage shield song is a good idea to make your DPS look better (since our DPS is generally shite compared to every other dual-wielding class.

Tanking is very doable in classic as long as you aren't taking on mobs above the mid 30's. In other words we can handle Solb Kobolds and Lguk bedroom-ass/sup area.
After that you start to become a bit of a drain on the clerics unless you are able to consistently pull singles and have everything perma-slowed during the fight.

I don't think you will be hitting 900 AC without raid gear so I wouldn't make this a goal till you are already level 50 and looking for something to do.

[guineapig]

Last thing... The toughest part about tanking is when you are also pulling, crowd control and the only source of mana regen. That's gets a little stressful.