What happened to Bards?

[Danth]

This is probably another symptom of the larger culture of laziness that has gradually infested the grouping scene on P99 over the past half decade or so. It has almost totally soured the wife and I on grouping because we're so very sick of inviting people just for them to immediately expect to be carried whilst putting in minimal effort themselves. When we're on we seldom join anyone 'cept known friends anymore. Most any class seems to prone to such laziness since it's a culture issue moreso than a class issue, but slacking bards are extremely easy to see so they tend to stand out somewhat.

Danth

[Homesteaded]

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

This is probably another symptom of the larger culture of laziness that has gradually infested the grouping scene on P99 over the past half decade or so. It has almost totally soured the wife and I on grouping because we're so very sick of inviting people just for them to immediately expect to be carried whilst putting in minimal effort themselves. When we're on we seldom join anyone 'cept known friends anymore. Most any class seems to prone to such laziness since it's a culture issue moreso than a class issue, but slacking bards are extremely easy to see so they tend to stand out somewhat.

Danth

This is a great point Danth, it isn't exclusive to the Bard. It's just way more apparent when they play like this. This is exactly the situation I run into. As a tank generally I have to tank and pull mobs while all these other capable classes just sit there and attack a mob. They contribute no joy to the group, no banter, no utility. They are effectively mercenaries. I've started being way more picky and will call these people out. Generally there are other people looking to join groups who will contribute.

[Vivitron]

I don't usually find swapping in a prime hand instrument while meleeing much more demanding than swapping in the correct instrument for each song, so I might as well get the free ~30dps from meleeing now that I have them.

It's a real bummer that they're as hard to get as they are, but there are a lot of song effects which don't benefit from instrument mods:

* Slow
* Haste
* Mez (except its mr debuff)
* Charm (except its mr debuff)
* SS helm eyeball for pulling
* Mana Regen
* Single target snare
* Fear

For xp group songs that mostly leaves to instruments hp regen, dots, and ae snare. I found in a typical group I would come out ahead by meleeing even before prime hand instruments, and just a Lute of the Howler is enough to make it an easy choice in most player tanked groups. Suppose a twist along the lines of slow (no instrument) / haste (no instrument) / mana regen (lute of howler swap) / dot (lute of howler swap), with pulling and crowd control taking priority over the twist -- but also meleeing while sending out an eyeball and usually while mezzing or charming too.

[zanderklocke]

What happened to the passion? What happened to the hard work? What happened to the OG '99 bards? Keep poser bards out of the scene!

[branamil]

Because it's a 25 year old game so busting your ass to level 5% faster isn't worth it.

Bard melee is a tickle without epic and not worth the instrument multiplier loss.

It's not worth it to give yourself carpal tunnel just so an obese 45 year old group mate can relive their nostalgia harder and parasite off your effort.

This isn't an FPS. It's a casual role playing game. Hope this helps

[Ooloo]

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

Because it's a 25 year old game so busting your ass to level 5% faster isn't worth it.

Busting your ass over *brand new* games doesn't make you any less of a huge nerd sorry.

It's always strange when people bring up the old age of the game they are ostensibly still addicted to. If anything it's a credit to the game that people still play it.

[Gloomlord]

There is a bad Bard epidemic on Green. The vast majority I have seen do not even twist 3 songs on instruments.

If you can't even do that, you might as well not even be playing the class.

[unsunghero]

The advent of dual monitors and smart phones definitely makes it easier to be distracted nowadays

Reminds me of how bards worked on live when I was playing. Never saw anyone actually playing a bard. There were in-game song sequence macros…you just put 3 songs on there, and put the bard box on autofollow. My 3rd F2P account bard was even named Songbox or something. Every once in a while he’d autofollow too close to a mob and get one shot

[Varja]

I remember playing my 60 Bard on blue, there was never a single second of downtime. Twisting 4 songs with 0 downtime from the time I entered the group until I left. If I'm not pulling, as soon as combat ends my mana songs are in rotation, during combat I'm twisting everything I can to be as useful as possible. Mez, charm, slows, dots, mana, haste, everything depending on the group comp. Sometimes having to sit to swap out different things repeatedly on the fly depending on the situation. My favorite times as a bard are when something has happened, such as a train, so I wait for everything to get into range and AoE slow them to pull aggro and kite them so everyone in the area can pummel them in the back and clean up the mess. Can't count how many times I did this in KC. That zone is amazing. Despite the cramped areas, I'd literally pull the entire front end and everything on the bridge and swarm them all down. Often inviting melee in the entrance that were LFG and let them backstab and beat down the pack. Hands down favorite class in the game, unmated versatility.

[Homesteaded]

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

I remember playing my 60 Bard on blue, there was never a single second of downtime. Twisting 4 songs with 0 downtime from the time I entered the group until I left. If I'm not pulling, as soon as combat ends my mana songs are in rotation, during combat I'm twisting everything I can to be as useful as possible. Mez, charm, slows, dots, mana, haste, everything depending on the group comp. Sometimes having to sit to swap out different things repeatedly on the fly depending on the situation. My favorite times as a bard are when something has happened, such as a train, so I wait for everything to get into range and AoE slow them to pull aggro and kite them so everyone in the area can pummel them in the back and clean up the mess. Can't count how many times I did this in KC. That zone is amazing. Despite the cramped areas, I'd literally pull the entire front end and everything on the bridge and swarm them all down. Often inviting melee in the entrance that were LFG and let them backstab and beat down the pack. Hands down favorite class in the game, unmated versatility.

This is how I played my bard and it is how they are meant to be played. They are play makers with so many tools in their kit.