Bard / Monk capabilities

[Legidias]

That's fair. Thats also the same reason why theres more monks. They're easier to play. Bards do as much as the effort put into them. Monks more or less are the same across the board.

Besides min/max though, theres the options that a bard has that monks simply dont. As you said, maybe some camps dont suit a bard at some level. Good news is, bards at any level can have a plethora of places to hunt at, whereas monks will probably tend to specific zones and are limited by that.

Going back to OP, if he's worried about soloing / xp at all, theres no question that a bard is better for xp gain. Monks can solo all the way to 51 without a fungi (I just had some crescent gear / black panther and a peacebringer), but it will by far take longer than a bard in cloth gear. I solo'd my monk (also my vox/naggy alt) almost all the way to 51, but it was definitely more annoying than doing so on bard.

[SiouxNation]

So your main argument against bards is that they have more opportunities to mess things up. Doesn’t that mean they inversely have more opportunities to make group changing plays? Every example you cited as a weakness is a benefit that can be gained through correct play.

Meanwhile you claim monks can’t screw things up that bad, to me that means they can’t add all that much. Personally I would prefer to have a properly played rogue and bard vs a monk and a bard.

Bard utility can’t be dismissed simply by saying it could go bad if played incorrectly. That is way to easy to dismantle

[Spyder73]

My main argument is people are going to shun OP from 50-60 because of all the other slap asses that came before him for pick up groups if he is playing a Bard and as a monk will be welcomed with open arms into the 'melee meat grinder' mentality that every HS/Seb/Velk/*insert any other 50+ zone* has on the P99 server.

Everything you are saying is true for Necromancer also, try getting in a pick up group as a Necromancer and tell me how it went.

[enjchanter]

Originally Posted by Spyder73 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Everything you are saying is true for Necromancer also, try getting in a pick up group as a Necromancer and tell me how it went.

This is so true and I hate it. Necros are an amazing class that fuels a group in so many ways self sustaining and topping it if with a pocket rogue , I mean CMOM GUYS

[Spyder73]

This not even mentioning that the Bard Epic (while much easier these days) is still essentially unobtainable outside of Aftermath/Awakened and Monk Epics are completed nearly every single day.

[mefdinkins]

I have a level 60 monk and bard. I solo'ed completely 1-60 on bard and monk. Neither are all star geared but they both have decent HP, Resists, NTOV items, and their epics.

For solo'ing both are pretty easy to 60 compared to the path some other classes would have to take.

Each one has amazing tools. Bard is more of a support class and reliant on others to do next level shit. Monk is more reliant on gear to do next level shit.

Figure out what matters most to you in game. Is it grouping in Seb which a lot of the people are talking about in this thread; or is it raiding, solo content, finishing quests with your buddies? Then choose the class that will allow you to have the play style you like most.

[Legidias]

I will mention though that as my bard moved up through 40's and 50's, I got a lot of tells of come to XX zone for YY camp (HS, seb, KC, etc.) and have not gotten any of those even once on my monk.

[SiouxNation]

Be the change you wish to see. Resist the status quo.

[citizen1080]

Here's a perk that spyder can't debate. I did 59-60 in about 8 hours solo on my bard. Or you can spend weeks or months on the monk. What is your time worth?

[Terrel]

I'm bard!

I'm halfway decent at it; probably not the best.

One point I haven't seen emphasized in this thread is that bards have soooo many different ways to make a group better.

Legidias mentioned the fear kite approach in KC. Works great! There are LOTS of other ways bards can make strong contributions to groups.

Don't dismiss the Cantana line. Yes, some lazy bards will simply play that and afk. But it's soooooo helpful, that groups are often ok with that. In the hands of a decently played bard, you can add Niv's melody, ...super regen between those two songs. I've done KC with no healer and we were fine. But wait, there's more!

No chanter or shammy? Add haste! You're right that it's not as good as the other 2 classes, but 45% haste is nothing to sneer at, either. While helping the group super regen!

Have a chanter or shammy? Great! endless mana & regen, PLUS you can add a nice 21 (or so) damage shield at the same you're adding 60 attack and 40 str! (Thanks McVaxius' Rousing Rondo) That's 3 songs....you get to add a 4th....

Mana free snare to stop runners? Another stackable damage shield? Resist buffs against casters? DoT's?

Or charm another mob? Great DPS, and with super regen going, when it breaks, you'll regen the health back in no time...no heals needed.

Chanter getting beat on? Mez or snare his protagonist to give him a minute to breath.

Chanter leaves the group? no problem. You've got the mezzes. They dont' last as long, true, but keeping 3 mobs on ice while playing Cantana is easy peasy. 4, too, but I may be sweating slightly :>

We havent' even gotten into pulling!

Someone mentioned melee'ing earlier in the thread. Post 30's, you're usually more useful to your group if you're NOT melee'ing. The instrument bonuses outweigh the weak melee DPS. I did say "usually". Depending upon group makeup and song choice, adding your paltry melee damage might be the best option. Caveat: once you have your epic, might as well melee as much as you can, since the need to switch instruments isn't (usually) important.

Bards have tons of options and ways to play [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]