Bards Vs. Enchanters

[Vohl]

I've actually been in groups with both. Each of you grabs a charm pet from the pull. Enchanter tashes and slows mobs the bard AE mezzes and hastes / casts C on the group. There's plenty to keep you both busy.

That said, there's quite a bit of overlap. Most people I play with consider them more or less completely interchangeable. Enchanters are more caster-friendly due to C/C2; bards are more melee-friendly due to not needing to med up.

[Vermicelli]

For some reason, people always neglect to mention the -40% bard xp penalty. This is no reason at all to refuse a bard a group! Just sayin it gets left out it is all

[Arrisard]

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

For some reason, people always neglect to mention the -40% bard xp penalty. This is no reason at all to refuse a bard a group! Just sayin it gets left out it is all

More accurately, it'd be a 30% difference in exp totals for bard vs enchanter. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Vermicelli]

Ohh good catch, because all INT casters have a -10% xp penalty =D

[SearyxTZ]

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

An enchanter is always adding to a group in multiple ways, be it CC, DPS, Mana Regen, Melee Haste.

A bard can do the same things, just on a more limited scale. The bards more limited abilities are also more easily replaced than the enchanter. The bard does not add as much to the group, and can not add everything at the same time like an enchanter.

You have this backwards, friend.

An enchanter is specialized - they are the best at haste/clarity and (somewhat arguably) crowd control. They don't do much else though.

Bards never have to be replaced due to their versatility.

Enchanters can not cater to a group's needs like this. Say if a Monk is pulling so CC isn't an issue, and a group is either melee-heavy or caster-heavy. You're left casting one buff on people and doing a really poor Wizard impersonation. It should also be pointed out that the clarity buff does not "replace" what a bard can provide there - especially on raids - because the bard song stacks with it.

[Vohl]

I have yet to see how this plays out in the high-end game, but charm pets so far have done a lot to leverage me out of the second-rate wizard role.

[greatdane]

With the charisma for charm to stick consistently, an enchanter far out-damages a wizard wherever there are mobs available to charm. It's a bit risky, though, so I wouldn't do it in a group that struggles.