Lyrical Prankster Rework idea

Discussion in 'Hybrid' started by Shakara, Sep 13, 2021.

  1. Shakara Augur

    If you have seen my posts before you will know that I am not a fan of bard swam pets as they really do not make any sense with out identity and have no synergy with our other abilities. So I came up with a few options that would make it a much more interesting AA.

    Option 1: Pay X amount of mana to summon a clone of yourself for 2 minutes. This clone will attack enemies and mimic the songs you cast. Reuse time 3 seconds

    This is the most ambitious option as I don't know how difficult this would be for the dev team to pull off. This would open up some really cool combos for bards. One being you could summon a couple clones then fire off your nukes for some big damage. Another could be you had a bad pull and you have a ton of mobs in camp. Summon a couple clones and cast AoE mez to lock everything down. The ability would be gated by a decent mana cost instead of a CD (around 10-12% of a bards mana pool) so you could have good control over the ability.

    Option 2: Create a clone of yourself. While the clone is active it will attack your target and give you 100% chance to twincast and twinproc.

    This is less cool but more doable as there isn't any mechanics in this option that are not already in the game. The clone could just spawn an aura that gives you this buff. This would give the bard a window of time to pull of some cool combos like in option 1.
  2. Wulfhere Augur

    Bard swarm pets are based on the Pied Piper theme, so I believe they are firmly in character. Prankster is a CC/distraction ability to off tank e.g. an un-mezzable mob. It's not for DPS although it is ADPS for a mage of-many cast.
    Elyssanda likes this.
  3. Tucoh Augur

    My idea for lyrical prankster: delete 90% of swarm pets in EQ, starting with lyrical prankster and the rest of the random swarm pets they threw out in underfoot or whatever. I don't know if it'll help the lag problem but I'm willing to find out.
    Ezbro and ImaMedievalman like this.
  4. Zunnoab Augur

    If lyrical prankster isn't meant for damage it's pretty funny it does more than song of stone I'm told, to the point song of stone is so useless as to not even be worth using on raids due to how lagged out with server strain raids often are these days
    Elyssanda likes this.
  5. Jennre Band Leader

    Very true, and I use this often when I solo or pull for the purpose of survival. Of all of our swarm pets, Prankster is the only one I would definitely not delete.
    Elyssanda likes this.
  6. Chorus Augur

    I'd be happy if bard swarms went away. Yes they have situational use, but you can achieve the same thing by running it off, snaring it and then hitting it with a memblur ability, like our flings. Bard swarm pets get in the way more than they help in those situational use areas.

    However, with modern tanks being what they are, you shouldn't typically be having add issues in the first place, which makes the swarm situational usage a non-sequitur.
  7. Zunnoab Augur

    All of that assumes way too much about the play experience of the specific bard, notably the assumption a "modern tank" is there at all. I could see that point if the pets were automatic (which would be a disaster), but they aren't. Not all mobs can even be snared either. It's true that's a very niche situation and it's true the swarm pets need a serious rework or replacement, but completely removing them is a bit extreme from my perspective.
    Elyssanda likes this.
  8. Jennre Band Leader

    Except when I am soloing/moloing, which in this declining and/or box army dominant population happens more and more. Sometimes I don't want to run away.
    Svann2 likes this.
  9. Shakara Augur

    However the ability seems uninspired and feels too much like a mage ability. There are many and more cool ways to retain its utility without just having what feels like the bard version of Host of Elements.
  10. Jennre Band Leader

    True, but if it were removed, it would more than likely simply be removed with nothing to replace it. Until it is replaced with something that does the same thing (mirror image maybe?) I would prefer it stays right where it is.
  11. Hegsheoshed Augur



    I'd be on the lookout for bards named Neal Gladstone or variations thereof.
  12. Chorus Augur

    You're a bard. If you're getting unexpected adds, you're doing something wrong. Our swarm pets aren't useful, they do negligible dps, they don't survive long enough to off-tank something, unless you're in a group in the first place...in which case, adds aren't a threat in current expansions. Even in your situational hypothesis, you're ignoring that the situation NEVER occurs, even soloing. Our swarms are useless and get in the way more than they help. It has been so for a VERY long time. Last time they were genuinely useful was probably cotf era, and that's pushing what 8-10 years ago now?

    While it is now true we have more control over the swarms than we did in the past, it doesn't stop them from being a nuisance. We don't need them, the situational things you guys bring up don't exist in the current game, solo or otherwise, and outside of the less than 1% situational use, what do they bring us other than headaches? Hanging onto the useless things is pointless, unless they get a serious buff up, we're better off without them.
  13. Babien New Member

    To my understanding, the skill still works as an off tanking ability for a few seconds if used correctly or gives a little extra damage to those who molo. If you don't want to use them in group situations don't, but don't say get rid of the skill.

    The topic of this post is titled Lyrical Prankster Rework idea so if you don't have a suggestion for a rework, let's stay away from giving the devs any reasoning to remove another bard ability. Remember we are supposed to be the jack of all trades, even if the ability may be outdated, it's never good to say to get rid of it.

    I've seen multiple posts over the years where people who main other classes talk about how their box bard doesn't do this or do that and what they would like to see changed or removed. That does not help the real bard player base.

    With the above being stated, Chorus I completely disagree with your post. It's true, the swarm pets do not off tank or does damage like the mage summoned pet does but they do absorb a few quads to allow you to land your debuffs and slow on the mob if you are soloing/moloing or mezz adds if you happen to pull one too many. This ability allowed me to molo the GMM mission along with beasts and shadow knights in a timely fashion a few months after it was released so it does have its benefits.
    Wulfhere likes this.