Hi So back when I played a bard got her epic 1.0 back in the day and last time I played her swarm kiting was the way to solo.. Since I've returned I had a look at my chars I had and I come across her on bristlebane server.. used to be on ayonae ro then tribunal How are bards these days for solo and group age I assume due to melody alot of boxes are bards?
Swarm kiting is a no-go these days, it's been nerfed long time ago. Otherwise - bards are awesome, in a group or in raids. Uber aDps, versatility, decent damage-dealers both steady and burn. And they are very easy to box too due to /melody, so great many people have a bard in their crew. What's a real rarity - a good skillful bard being played as a main. Not too many of those are loitering around.
Swarm kiting came to mean something different after the AoE nerf. It was about reverse charming and letting a swarm beat your pet nearly to death then breaking charm and finishing the job yourself with chants.
Bummer they nerfed it, it was quite the art to see bards swarm a zone - although it was also equally as annoying when you couldn't find any mobs to kill b/c they were all in the bard's swarm in the middle of the zone.
Bards are always in high demand. They give amazing buffs and none of them last more than a few seconds. As an ENC, playing a non-ENC alt, I would rather have a BRD in group than an ENC. I can get C and haste but I can't get bard buffs. ENC has great aDPS but so does a bard and BRD can aDPS melee or casters where I can only aDPS for casters. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy playing ENC more than I enjoy playing BRD. We do a lot of stuff better than a BRD, but BRD is an amazing and versatile class. Great bards will always have a raid or group to join. They also molo well. Not as well as some other classes, but they do handle themselves very well.
I love playing my bard. It really is a jack-of-all-trades class able to do a lot of different things and change them up nearly on the fly. A bard can pull, off-tank some, heal some, buff lots, run away fast, and more. It's actually my fav class.
Bards are in a really good state right now. They nerfed swarm kiting but have recently juiced bard's DoT damage so high that it's respectable. Meanwhile the amount of ADPS and quality of life a bard brings to a group is higher than it's ever been.
Ahh OK might have to dust her off and have a go. Assuming that toe to toe fighting solo is not the best plan? Or is that possible till later levels
I'd describe it as "sometimes possible, rarely efficient." You have very few tools for mitigating damage or healing yourself. So it's usually a DPS-race between you and your enemy. You've got some neat tricks for that (Boastful Bellow at level 63). But you're going to taking a beating too. Healer mercenaries certainly help. Yet you lack snap aggro. So your healer often gains the attention of the mobs, and it's tricky to get it off them. With your huge bag of tricks, you're unlikely to ever die. But it's just slow going to fight singles, and whittle them down one at a time. Most other classes are more efficient killers. Still, bard is an amazing and fun class. If you want to play one again, go for it!
