Proper Care and Feeding of Heroic Bards

Discussion in 'Hybrid' started by Sirene_Fippy, Mar 15, 2014.

  1. Sirene_Fippy Okayest Bard

    Quick and dirty version:


    /join serverwide.bards:bards

    Spellbar (Level 85 - melee group) =
    1 - Aria of the Poet
    2 - Arcane Arietta
    3 - War March of Brekt
    4 - Dance of the Dragorn
    5 - Chorus of Rodcet
    6 - Dirge of the Fallen Rathe
    7 - Gruber's Lively Crescendo
    8 - Requiem of Time
    9 - Aura of the Poet
    10 - Kazumi's Note of Preservation
    11 - Wave of Slumber
    12 - Slumber of the Mindshear

    Spellbar (Level 85 - caster group) =
    1 - Aria of the Poet
    2 - Arcane Arietta
    3 - Talendor's Aria
    4 - Chorus of Rodcet
    5 - War March of Brekt
    6 - Dance of the Dragorn
    7 - Gruber's Lively Crescendo
    8 - Requiem of Time
    9 - Aura of Rodcet
    10 - Kazumi's Note of Preservation
    11 - Wave of Slumber
    12 - Slumber of the Mindshear

    Higher level song suggestions can be found in this thread.

    Melody key:
    /melody 1 2 3 4 1 5 2 3 1 4 5 2 1 3 4 7
    1 = Aria
    2 = Arcane
    3 = Haste
    4/5 = AC or Regen
    7 = Crescendo

    Hotbar example:

    Hotbar 1:
    1 - Fading Memories (Class AA)
    2 - Selo's Kick (Class AA)
    3 - assist
    4 - melody key
    5 - Boastful Bellow (Class AA)
    6 - Range Attack
    7 - Pull message
    8 - Vainglorious Shout (Class AA)
    9 - Sionachie's Crescendo (Class AA)
    10 - Selo's Sonata (Class AA)
    11 - Song of Stone (Class AA)
    12 - Lyrical Prankster (Class AA)

    Hotbar 2:
    1 - alternate /melody key
    2 - A Tune Stuck In Your Head (Class AA)
    3 - Dirge of the Sleepwalker (Class AA)
    4 - Fearless Discipline
    5 - Bladed Song (Class AA)
    6 - Cacophony (Class AA)
    7 - Thousand Blades Discipline
    8 - Dance of Blades (Class AA)
    9 - Funeral Dirge (Class AA)
    10 - Quick Time (Class AA)
    11 - Fierce Eye (Class AA)
    12 - BP Clicky

    Hotbar 3:
    1 - Lyre Leap (Class AA)
    2 - Tracking
    3 - Shield of Notes (Class AA)
    4 - Last Stand (Class AA)
    5 - Deftdance Discipline
    6 - First Spire (Class AA)
    7 - Second Spire (Class AA)
    8 - Third Spire (Class AA)
    9 - Epic 2.0 (when you get it)

    Go play now. :p

    More detailed info:

    Notes on /melody:
    What songs you play depends on your group makeup. Bards have a repertoire of songs - decide which 5-6 give the largest benefit to your group, and melody those. Melody has a few special rules:
    Aria and Harmony of Tone (lvl 97)/Harmony of Sound are shorter than other songs. This means we have to place them differently in a melody, making things confusing (vs. a simple /melody 1 2 3 4 5 6). In general, Aria and HoT/HoS need to play once every 5 songs (vs the normal 1/6 songs).
    Aria cannot come before a few types of songs, or it will look like your melody has stopped (the melody does continue except with rune songs, but it's annoying so I avoid it in non-burn scenarios)

    Song orders which cause "interrupts":
    • Aria -> Rune (i.e. Dirge of the Fallen Rathe)
    • Aria -> Crescendo
    • Aria -> Song of Suffering/Spiteful Lyric (89+)
    • Aria -> Insult
    • Song of Suffering/Spiteful Lyric -> Crescendo
    • Song of Suffering/Spiteful Lyric -> Insult
    • Crescendo -> Song of Suffering/Spiteful Lyric
    • Crescendo -> Insult
    Notes on discing:
    I like to disc as much as possible, and hold off if a named may appear soon. Other bards like to disc only when needed, or use one disc at a time so something is always up. Many bard discs do not stack with other class abilities (especially on a burn). It's up to you to decide when to disc.

    In a primarily melee group, you will want to use the epic, BP, and Fierce Eye + Quick Time at the same time. As soon as the BP clicky fades (it will be fast) use Third Spire.

    In a primarily caster group, you will want to use Fierce Eye + Quick Time, (click epic when FE fades) and the BP (Second Spire after about 1 minute for the BP to finish on casters). The BP click only effects spells up to a certain level, so if you're not within 5 levels of the casters, use Second Spire as soon as you start discing.

    You should also hit your personal discs at the same time as the above (Funeral Dirge is important - hotkey below). In general, things revolve around Fierce Eye, and you can skip the other stuff if it hasn't refreshed.


    group disc key:
    Code:
    /g discing (+ melee & spell dmg, crits, procs, accuracy)
    /alt act 3506 (Fierce Eye)
    /alt act 3702 (Quick Time)
    /stop
    /useitem 17 (BP Clicky)
    bard disc key (have the mob targeted):
    Code:
    /alt act 777 (Funeral Dirge)
    /alt act 553 (Cacophony)
    /alt act 669 (Bladed Song)
    /alt act 359 (Dance of Blades)
    /disc thousand
    long melody: (A Tune Stuck In Your Head - level 85 version)
    /melody 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 6 3 4 1 5 6 2 7
    1 = Aria
    2 = Arcane
    3 = Haste
    4/5 = Regen/AC
    6 = Dirge of the Fallen Rathe*
    7 = Crescendo
    *You cannot play Aria -> Dirge of the Fallen Rathe (1 6) so a few things are swapped

    burn melody: (for > lvl 90, + A Tune Stuck In Your Head)
    /melody 1 8 9 3 8 9
    1 = Aria
    3 = ____ Song of Suffering (or another important DPS song)
    8 = Insult A
    9 = Insult B


    But I don't know what any of this stuff does :eek:

    Song descriptions by type:

    Group Buffs:
    • Overhaste: (Aria of ____)
      The single most important bard song, Aria, adds overhaste (capped at 25%) and increases spell damage similarly to focus effects. Starting at level 86, Aria also increases triple attack and flurry.
    • Haste: (War March of ____)
      Haste songs are mainly used for their other benefits. Initially, War March only adds haste, STR, ATK, and DS. Starting at level 89, War March has a hit damage mod as well. The level 96 War Chorus is a slightly less powerful AE version of War March.
    • Procs: (Arcane ____, ____ Song of Suffering, ____ Spiteful Lyric)
      The Arcane line of songs adds a bonus hit to spell casts and a melee proc.
      ____ Song of Suffering (starting at level 89) is a large DD + jolt, and is one of the best melee DPS songs.
      ____ Spiteful Lyric is a large group AC buff and aggro proc, but does not stack with ____ Song of Suffering.
    • Spell Focus: (Fatesong of ____, ____ Aria, ____ Psalm of Potency)
      Bards have several song lines that add bonus damage to offensive spells. This damage bonus is similar to a small proc buff that always fires.
      Fatesong of ____ increases cold spells.
      ____'s Aria increases fire spells.
      ____ Psalm of Potency increases fire and magic dots with 18s+ duration only (the level 83 song is magic dots only).
    • HP/Mana Regen: (Chorus of ____, Pulse of ____, ____ Lively Crescendo)
      Bards have a few types of regen. Chorus is the classic version, and is AE. Pulse also adds regen (and stacks with chorus) starting at level 86. Crescendo is a long recast self buff which, upon fading, heals the bard's groups HP and mana.
    • AC/Defensive: (Dance of the Dragorn, ____ Spry Sonata, Psalm of the Forsaken)
      These songs add AC, a % chance to resist spells, spell block, and DS mitigation. The level 98 Psalm of the Forsaken stacks with Sonata, and is slightly different (+AC, resists, and DS only).

    Offensive Songs & Utility:
    • Mez: (single target = Slumber of ____ / Lullaby of _____, AE = Wave of _____)
      Bards have two mez types - single and AE mez. Single mez is instant recast, and costs no mana. Bard AE mez is PBAE and hits up to 6 targets. AE mez costs mana and has a 30 second recast, so mobs will briefly break mez before you can recast it without discs (A Tune Stuck In Your Head).
    • Cures: (lvl 86+: Aria of ____)
      Bard cures work on all spells with counters (poison, disease, curse, corruption), except charm.
    • Slow/Snare: (Requiem of Time, Dirge of ____)
      Requiem of Time is our best slow (55%). I rarely use snare, but bards have several single target and AE snare/slow abilities.
    • Resist Debuffs: (Harmony of Sound, Harmony of Tone)
      Debuffs fire, cold, and magic. Unresistable.
    • Nukes: (____ Insult, ____ Dirge of ____, Brusco's Burning Call)
      The Dirge line is a target PBAE that has been discontinued. The Insult line is primarily used during burns, costs mana, and is a substantial source of personal DPS. The level 100 Brusco's Burning Call is a small DD, long range song intended for pulling, but it's not a good replacement for the myriad of other tools we have at our disposal.
    • DoTs: (____'s Chant of ____)
      Bard DoTs (Disease, Cold, Poison, and Fire) are not a great DPS replacement for our other abilities, but they do provide a resist debuff. Mainly used when soloing.
    • Charm: (Voice of ____)
      Mainly used for soloing. Costs mana.
    • Memblur: (Lapsing Lullaby)
    • Self only stun proc buff: (Autarchian Mindwrack, ____ Barrier)
      These songs provide a self only chance to stun mobs that hit us. I never use this, but it may be useful if you tank and/or die a lot.
    • Pacify: (Silence of the ____)
      Reduces assist range on mobs. I rarely use paci; we have so many other abilities to split that it's pretty much a last resort.
    Other song types:
    • DA: Bards have a target invulnerability (Fermata of Preservation - 6s) and group (Kazumi's Note of Preservation - 18s).
    • Beneficial reuse reduction: (____ Accelerando)
      Reduces the cast time of beneficial spells and reduces aggro. Not very useful - costs too much mana, and provides too little benefit (maybe in a 5 cleric group).
    • Heal crit: (____ Reckless Renewal)
      Currently broken and only causes ~1% increase in crit chance. Provides benefit to very few classes.
    • Rune/Spell Shield: (Dirge of ____)
      Group spell and melee dmg reduction, per hit, with a cap.
      Requiem for the Lost (unique) is similar, only this defensive rune procs upon the death of a group member.
    • Push/Pull: (Oratory of ____)
      Pretty bad, only moves the target a small amount and takes too long.
    • Weird/unique/discontinued songs:
      - Pests of the Piper (lvl 83) - Summons 5 rats to attack your target for 10 seconds (they are bad).
      - Mirror Melody (84) - 15% chance to reflect spells
      - Cantata of Courage (85) - A 1 minute, 1 charge "fear block."
      - Song of Recalcitrance (86) - 5% resist mez, stun, blind, fear, and charm
      - Sionachie's Sympathetic Psalm (87) - chance to return mana on detrimental casts.
      - Druzzil's Disillusionment - 2 slot dispel
      - Song of Highsun - teleport mobs to their bind
    Auras:
    Bards have two types of auras - HP/Mana regen (song version = Chorus), and overhaste (song version = Aria). The overhaste aura is almost identical to the song version, except the aura has a lower spell focus mod, lower triple attack, higher flurry, and works on swarm pets. The song and aura do not really stack - only the maximum benefits take effect.
    The regen aura is identical to (and stacks with) Chorus, except the aura only effects your group. Which aura to choose will depend on your group makeup and what you are doing.

    Activated Abilities (Class)
    • A Tune Stuck In Your Head
      - Increases song duration by ~6 seconds (shorter base duration songs are not extended as much - Aria, Harmony of Tone). Allows you to melody 8 songs of normal duration. Normally used to extend AE mez, or nuke during burns.
    • Bladed Song
      - Reverse DS. Not very powerful, and often resisted, but easy to throw in a disc key.
    • Boastful Bellow
      - Long range (250') small DD + stun and debuff. Very useful for pulling.
    • Cacophony
      - DoT with a stun component (stuns each tick). Useful for fighting caster mobs and in rare cases, holding aggro.
    • Dance of Blades
      - Melee disc which increases hit chance & attacks made per round. Gives the Bard a proc (Bladewhirl) which reduces enemy weapon delay (this effect stacks with regular slow). Useful especially since it has no endurance cost (can use after death).
    • Dirge of the Sleepwalker
      - Instant cast mez ability which lasts 1:12. If kept current, mezzes up to the same level as our normal mez song (initial cap is level 88 mobs). Useful for mezzing the occasional add, or helping lock things down in a large pull.
    • Fading Memories
      - Instantly drops aggro and invises the Bard, at the cost of 900 mana. Our most important pulling tool. Also useful for dropping aggro and traveling (basically functions as permanent invis).
    • Fierce Eye
      - Group increased chance to crit spells (DoTs, HoTs, heals, nukes), increased critical nuke damage, melee damage & crit damage, and proc rate.
    • Fundament: First Spire of the Minstrel
      - Group defensive ability which reduces incoming melee damage by 5%. Shares a timer with the other spires.
    • Fundament: Second Spire of the Minstrel
      - Group 500 spell damage bonus (not the same as spell damage, the stat). Not very powerful any more. Doesn't work on procs or clickies. Doesn't stack with the Bard BP click.
    • Fundament: Third Spire of the Minstrel
      - Group 12 hit damage bonus. Not very powerful any more. Doesn't stack with the Bard BP click.
    • Funeral Dirge
      - Debuff which increases melee damage a mob takes. Upon fading, nukes the mob.
    • Hymn of the Last Stand
      - Increases the Bard's current & max HP. This bonus decreases over the duration of the disc. Not that great at level 85, but becomes more powerful later.
    • Lyre Leap
      - Instantly moves the Bard foward. Puts you at the lowest Z axis point in your forward trajectory. If you use it to try to jump over a canyon, you will find yourself at the bottom. Useful for escaping mobs when you are running and stunned, moving past mobs quickly, or speeding your regular travel.
    • Lyrical Prankster
      - Summons several swarm pets and teleports the bard a short distance away. These pets are a small amount of DPS, or can be used to distract a mob.
    • Quick Time
      - Group melee disc which decreases weapon delay, increases attack, and increases chance to hit. Lasts quite long for a disc.
    • Selo's Kick
      - It took Bard's 10 years to figure out how to kick, but here it is. Has 50' so it can be slightly useful for pulling.
    • Selo's Sonata
      - Group run speed buff. Replaces the song version.
    • Shield of Notes
      - Gives the Bard a melee and spell rune. Not that great at level 85, but becomes more powerful later.
    • Sionachie's Crescendo
      - Instant cast, permanent duration (but must be recast on zoning) increase to beneficial song range. Almost always a good idea. May not be useful if songs are causing aggro problems.
    • Song of Stone
      - Summons 9 gargoyle swarm pets. Bad DPS, only useful for massing pets or distracting something.
    • Vainglorious Shout
      - Short range frontal beam version of Boastful Bellow (small DD + stun + debuff). Becomes a considerably powerful debuff later. Useful for breaking mez on everything, and aggroing things accidentally. Useful for debuffing (in a safe environment) at later levels.
    Disciplines:
    • Thousand Blades
      - Bard personal DPS disc which increases accuracy, crit damage and chance to crit. Pairs well with Dance of Blades.
    • Reflexive Retort (100)
      - Group mana heal.
      Our other disciplines are no longer useful, except the occasional Fearless Discipline.
    Clickies:
    The epic, BP and Symphony of Battle clicky are important. Other clickies are great, but could be lived without. More on bard clickies in this thread.
    • Blade of Vesagran (Epic 2.0)
      - Clicky Spirit of Vesagran, a group disc which increases chance to crit nukes, dots, and increases melee accuracy.
    • BP Clicky
      - The heroic BP clicky (Dorian Arpeggio) and many other Bard BPs have similar effects. This clicky is like a group 2nd + 3rd spire - increases bonus spell damage and hit damage bonus, however, the BP has a hit limit for both spells and melee hits. In general the BP is a better choice, but the spire versions can still be useful after the BP effect fades.
    • Songblade of the Eternal / Rapier of Somber Notes
      - Clicky Symphony of Battle, a group haste + attack buff.
    What AA should I get?
    In general, I would prioritize AA in the following way -
    1. Useful abilities
    Sonic Displacement (91) - hit it, then fade for instant singles
    Improved Requiem of Time (100) - if you are the slower
    Shauri's Sonorous Clouding (91) - group invis AA (if you don't have another invis available)
    2. Group ADPS AA
    Hastened/Extended Fierce Eye
    Hastened/Improved Quick Time
    Funeral Dirge
    3. Defensive AA
    Combat Agility/Stability
    Persistent Casting/Maestro's Concentration (stun resist)
    Tactical Mastery
    4. Personal DPS AA
    Passive:
    - Flurry
    - Allegretto of Battle (Double Attack)
    - Burst of Power/Vivace of Conflict (Triple Attack)
    - Troubadour's ____ Mastery (96+)
    - Twinproc
    Active:
    - Hastened/Extended/Improved Dance of Blades (keep an equal reuse time to Thousand Blades)
    - Hastened/Extended Thousand Blades
    - Selo's Kick
    Everything else is gravy.
  2. Pythonious New Member

    Thanks so much! this helped a ton to get me started.
  3. Lizzard Priest New Member

    They need to sticky this!
  4. Jyve Augur

    Certainly post it when the questions come up. Excellent guide.
  5. Jahim New Member

    This is fantastic. I played an enchanter and always had an interest in a Bard so I decided to try it with the heroic freebie and this guide will really help get me started. Thanks a lot.
  6. Tiqou Elder

    If you played any other class but never Bard the first thing to know is...your songs or clickies can't be interrupt if you move. So you can keep /Melody while running for exemple.
    Excellent guide, I would just add the Deftdance disc to the list.
  7. Tarvas Redwall of Coirnav, now Drinal

    Never feed a bard, heroic or otherwise :D

    Thanks for the guide.
  8. Bryan Augur

    I'll start by saying very well made guide!

    I'm a bit more advanced as far as how I've set things up on my bard - to be expected at 100 with lots of AA/items, and recently raiding a lot.

    But I have to say - I wish I'd read something like this when I made my bard at level 1. It's a good guide as a point of reference of "this is what you should aspire to as a bard by the time you're in your mid 80s".
  9. Beimeith Lord of the Game

    Bard guide 2.0

    1) Name yourself something related to music
    2) Dye each piece of armor a different color
    3) Run fast
    Romance, guado and Potawatomi like this.
  10. Beimeith Lord of the Game

    4) Have ADD
    Stumphobbler likes this.
  11. yar_seyer New Member

    This thread is pure flippin gold.
  12. Righteous New Member

  13. Sirene_Fippy Okayest Bard

  14. Harabakc Augur

    You forgot /stopsong at the beginning of the melody hotkey.
  15. EQvet Elder

    I love you
  16. guado Augur

    Song of Sustenance. Under Misc. Eliminates the need for food/drink. Perfect to play in a bufflocked zone.
  17. Jyve Augur

    Make a Fade social, map it over to a button press so you don't need to use the mouse to click it, it becomes muscle memory. ( I use 'z' as it's just below the WASD movement and can mash without thinking about it).
    In that Fade social, have;
    /stop song (stops you starting a song again if you're still in aggro song!)
    /attack off (stops you breaking invis second you fade)
    /fade (the magic! /alt activate whatever Faded is (199? 212?))
    /whatever the merc command is to set to passive so it doesn't heal you if you're getting slapped by SI mobs and get aggro
    : Fades as an emote so real healers in the group know what's happening with your aggro and if it's maybe safe to heal you.
  18. Maclyn New Member

    I upgraded my level 65 bard to HC. I haven't played since 2004 so I have no idea what to do. Is my epic still viable? What about my Voice of the Serpent from Ssra temple? Why did most of my equipment switch to a purple background? Does that mean it's horribly under-level now? What is HoT and why should I go there?

    I never used /melody, is it something I can rely on? I also have 10-year old veteran rewards I need to redeem. Is there a guide for veteran rewards? I feel like I'm going to fall off a lift in Kelethin again. ;)
  19. Jyve Augur

    As you've Heroic'd your toon, the instrument mods are now all on your armour you'll see, and all better than the 1.0 Epic. Voice of the Serpent, for now, yeah, click it for that /bit/ more boost on singing mod, but you'll be hitting the cap easily soon. Not sure of the purple background, are you getting the HP/AC when you put on gear? HoT is House of Thule and the 'common' area where lvl 85 toons go. Pop across to the actual HoT Lower zone, at entrance, get a group and kill some snakes/rotdogs as you settle down with stuff.

    /melody rocks. Get a hotkey setup with your usual songs (advice what to sing above/ask around), and /melody 3 4 5 6 whatever songs you want to auto run, letting you type away. Vet Rewards, once claimed, the AA's themselves show the description on what they do. Always good to get a good group, ask if around for 30mins, and pop Lesson of the Devoted for double xp.

    Anything else, highly recommended;
    /join serverwide.bards:bards
    to join the bard channel and ask away.
  20. Engineer Augur

    You are the man!