Battle Bard Discussion!

[Urat]

The battle bard is probably the most epic and awesome of all playstyles in ffxi. Nothing says hardcore like a crazy lute solo followed by smashing an NM with your dinky little daggers.

But in all seriousness SE has recently been handing bard quite a large selection of powerful damage dealing gear, and as of the last update bard relic+2 body is actually something else.


Note: Military parade here gives +10 str/dex/agi while engaged. Or more? I heard reports its 16 for +2

So, first and most important question, why battle bard? Well most importantly, a bard subbing ninja allows you to cover 2 entire sets of yellow procs in abyssea. This is pretty important as it lowers the amount of jobs and people you need to do the fight. A brd/nin + blm + whm/rdm cover all but blue mage procs in abyssea.

So, lets start with daggers:

Bard has access to only a handful of the daggers dancer and thief have, however the few they do have are also some of the best daggers in the game. Bard can even use Mandau, a dagger dancer doesn't even have access too!

Probably the most important dagger to look at is this bad boy:



This is probably the only option for offhand for bard. As nice as it is to maximize DPS, the other bonuses provided by this dagger kind of take a priority. But it's ok! This is one of the top offhand daggers for brd even DPS wise. There are slightly better and if you personally want to go for a higher DPS build that's fine, however you can't go wrong with this.

As for mainhands, we have a few options.



Probably the best mainhand for bard. Rudra's storm is a powerful weaponskill and pushes bard right up to the front line.



The second best dagger for bard, Mandau provides an incredible amount of damage. This might even situationally be the best dagger for bard due to our access to some of the best str/dex gear in ffxi, like hecatomb's.





The third and fourth best daggers for bard, however good luck getting either of these from voidwatch. If you can get your hands on them, congratulations!

Now, as for daggers that are actually possible to get for the average player, we have 2 prime contenders for mainhands:





Both of these daggers provide different bonuses, however as far as I know the double attack dagger comes out on top for overall DPS. Not 100% sure. Either way the difference between them dps wise is marginal, so if one is better than the other, its by only a small amount. Can't go wrong with either of these.


Moving on to sub jobs! Primarily we have only 2 choices. /dnc, and /nin. If we're talking about yellow proccing in abyssea, /nin is really the only way to go, though /dnc is pretty good if someone else can sub ninja, and /dnc lets you keep yourself alive much easier.

And now for some gear sets! First off, Externator is hands down the best weaponskill for bard, bar Mercy Stroke and Rudra's, so let's look at what we have for each of these three weaponskills:

Externator

Rudra's

Mercy Stroke

And finally, here' a pretty solid example of a TPing build:
http://www.ffxiah.com/item-sets/213276


Some important pieces to note for bard, particularly our instruments, since switching instruments doesn't reset TP for whatever reason, (I'm not complaining)



An important instrument for hitting the haste cap on bard.

And:



For the most part, our best instrument for weaponskilling. +4 attack is nice to swap in, though I think if we swap to an ammo item and then back to an instrument it doesn't turn off TP. Not 100% sure about that one, but there might be some ammo slot items worth looking at if you can swap to them.

I do know going from empty slots -> instrument doesn't affect TP, so going ammo -> instrument shouldn't either, however going instrument -> ammo may. Needs testing.

[Creelo]

>.>

Trust me when I say I'm a crazy HUGE DD Brd, but I feel there's a lot wrong with this post.

-Mandau, I would say, is Brd's strongest DD option.

-Felibre's Dague is a shit DD weapon for Brd, and if you're anything serious about DD Brd, you won't want to use that. There are many other dagger options just on the AH that'd be better than Felibre's.

-Bard's Justaucorps +2 is +10 Str/Dex/Agi/Vit while engaged, and yes, I love how Brd AF2 body is one of the best DD bodies in the game lol

-It's Exenterator, not Externator...

-Bard sadly cannot use Epona's.

-If we're going to mention all of the options, Carnwenhan should be included, despite how ridiculous it is to obtain atm. The enhanced song duration is quite strong, which is nice simply because it let's you whack the mob for longer periods of time. Mordant Rime, which you also forgot along with Evis, is a pretty nice weaponskill as well. Not to mention the OA2-3 is extremely nice; although, it'll be a little harder for Brd's to obtain 300% TP as easily as some other jobs.

-Also, I think it'd be worth mentioning Oliphant (Att/Acc+3) and Frency Fife (Str+6, Int/Chr-4) as other options for WS instruments.

-You should also consider Oynos Knife as a possible off-hand dagger for situations where you won't be receiving Haste from an outside source. I'm pretty sure this knife would beat all other off-hand options if that is the case.

-Also, one other thing I think you should really include is DDing with a Staff. For things like VW where I'm /whm, my dagger dmg is generally a little blegh, especially on the harder VWNMs. However, my Staff dmg is definitely much more consistently higher and generally more supportive for the rest of the group. With Staff, you get access to Shattersoul and Shell Crusher, which will help out your party's Magical and Physical attacks. Although Shell Crusher's add effect definitely is not as accurate as Shattersoul's MDB-.

To make staff really work, you'll need a ToM Staff (Tuahjebat line). For myself, I really like my MDB+ Tuahjebat since it can double over and be used in my MDT and SS sets. If you want dmg, the Str/Att path would definitely be the best. Finally, the debuff line of staves (Att-, Def-, MAB-, etc.) could also be rather interesting to further help your party out, while also being provided with the highest base dmg of any staff that Brd could use (90-91, unsure off the top of my head).

[Lokithor]

Gogo Battle Bard!

Just wanted to point out that Rudra's storm is very meh unless you can force a crit, such as with SA or TA on Thf or Climactic Flourish with Dnc. That reduces the attraction for Twashtar by a lot.

Fortunately, I have Thf and Dnc in addition to my Brd.

And, I see the OP has Dnc by his sig.

[Dekar]

Well hello there! It's nice to see some other people that like to dust their daggers off and put them to use on BRD! I'm hoping I can get some help on choosing upgrading some of my gear and clearing up some questions regarding melee BRD! Below is my gear with a possible upgrade for my melee BRD:

TP

Thokcha (11 STR/22 Attack)
Praxidikai (OAT)
Angel Lyre (Haste +2%)
Zelus Tiara (Haste +8%)
Agasaya's Collar (8 Attack/8 Accuracy/Subtle Blow +5)
Suppanomimi (Dual Wield +5)
Brutal Earring (Double Attack +5/Store TP+1)
BRD Justaucorps +2 (25 Attack/25 Accuracy/10 STR ect)
Brego gloves (Haste +4%/Accuracy +9/5 STR/5 AGI)
Mars's Ring (Attack +8/Accuracy +8)
Blood Ring (Accuracy +5)
Atheling Mantle (Attack +20/Double Attack +3)
Goading Belt (Haste +5%/Store TP +5)
Byakko's Haidate (Haste +5%/15 DEX)
Savateur's Gaiters (Haste +2%/Accuracy +8/Subtle Blow +8)

At the moment that puts my stats at:

Haste +26%
Accuracy +63
Attack +83
Double Attack +8
Subtle Blow +13
lolStore TP +6
STR +26
DEX +25

Obviously one of the biggest upgrades I could do is Mandau for the main hand (soon!). But until then I am focusing on getting Phasmida Belt (Haste +6%/Accuracy +6) and Rubeus Spats (Haste +3%, Accuracy +10, 10 STR). I would still have 25% haste and get a little more accuracy out of the deal. Another piece of gear that needs to get replaced is the Blood Ring. I'm think about the ring that gives dagger skill from one of the random dynamis zones but the particular one eludes me at the moment. Any other suggestions? I also have weaponskill sets for Evisceration, Mordant Rime, and Exenterator if anyone wouldn't mind helping with those as well. The math aspect of this game escapes me as it's been poorly explained to me each time and I don't feel like trying to relearn it as I'm a lowly history major.

Also, I've browsed (briefly) about which offhand to use. I wouldn't be surprised if the OA 2-4 dagger would be better in the long run, but I'm not going to go back and quest another one.

[Creelo]

OA 2-4 times is a pretty horrid dagger actually. The only fun I have with mine atm is single-wielding it and spamming the crap out of Aeolian Edge when /mage lol

Don't be too harsh on Stp either; it really is quite helpful for one-handers as it is for 2, in some cases more so because we aren't as likely to overshoot 100TP (especially as Bards).

I would really suggest using Rajas over Blood Ring since you shouldn't really need the Acc on anything you'll be fighting as a DD Brd, and if you do (perhaps against Thf-based mob), then sure, make an Acc oriented TP Build or perhaps eat Pizza instead of RCB.

As sexy as Rubeus Spats are, I would suggest instead sticking with Byakko's. The Haste+5%, Dex+15, and potential for awesome augments like Stp+5 and Crit Hit Dmg+4% are just too good to pass up.

[Dekar]

I'm so glad you said that about the OA 2-4 dagger! I really hate super low damage weapons that are bad TP feeders (Hey there, Merc. Kris!) I really didn't feel that good about the Store TP for BRD but I guess when I stick my Rajas on it'll bring me up to 5 TP per swing which is kinda nice. My current worry is getting my synergy up so I can get a good augment on my Byakko's Haidate. I'll still aim for Rubeus Spats, but I'll certainly try for both.

So I've always had trouble gearing for Mordant Rime. I know that CHR is a major player in it and that DEX is certain good too. However, I've been told that my lower native STR on BRD can be problematic. At the moment my build is:

Thokcha (11 STR/22 Attack)
Praxidikai (OAT)
G. Horn (level 90 CHR +8) (I need to get my 95!)
Emp. Head (CHR +8)
Breeze Gorget
Empy Earring (CHR +4)
Brutal Earring
Kirin's Osode (10 CHR DEX STR)
Empy Hands (CHR +12)
Airy Ring (CHR DEX +5)
Rajas Ring (STR DEX +5)
Atheling Mantle (20 Attack/ 3% Double Attack)
Breeze Belt
AF+1 Pants (STR/DEX +8) (I know there's other pants I could look at here, Tumbler Trunks?)
Empy Feet (CHR +11)

+34 STR
+28 DEX
+58 CHR
Attack +42
Edit: Double Attack +8

Another question I have is regarding Marches and my Relic Horn. With full March gear (March +4 at 95) and Marcato, how much haste does Victory March give? Is it a ~21% Haste? Along with the haste spell that would bring magical haste up to ~36% (With the cap ~40%). I'm assuming the ~4% haste from a second march would outweigh a minuet? Many times when I'm just having fun with my friends I just do Marcato March and Minuet (and Double March when it's down). I figure the difference is probably noticeable only if you're playing the game more like a math problem than a game.

[Creelo]

Oh I totally know what you mean with Mordant Rime, some of our pieces give astounding amounts of Chr, but.. that's it lol, Chr.

As Brd's, we're gonna be having much lower att and Str than other DD; we can make up quite a bit through gear.

One of my more "Chr Focused" sets for MR is...

-Heca Cap+1 (Augmented with Att+7, DA+2, best augments would be Att+10 DA+4, Chr+5)
-Brd AF2+2 Body (Even with an augmented KO, I really don't think anything can beat AF2+2 when it comes to pretty much any physical WS Brd can use)
-AF3+2 Hands (Chr+12)
-Tumbler Trunks
-AF3+2 Feet (Chr+11)
-Atheling Mantle
-Anguinus Belt
-Breeze Gorget
-Gjallarhorn
-Brutal
-Aesir
-Airy
-Rajas

Ooophf, not sure if I'm up to adding all these up at the moment lol, but I'm sure you can make the stuff/stats out.

For your own set, I do think things you could definitely do to upgrade is switch out AF1+1 Pants to Tumbler Trunks. The only other legs I think that could possibly beat these are Heca +1, and that's only a maybe and probably a sidegrade. And I would suggest AF2+2 body over KO, the huge Att/Acc Boost I think is just too much to justify using a KO.

Other pieces that I wonder about switching out personally are the AF3+2 Hands/Feet for Heca +1 for a more Str/Att oriented set, especially on content like DC Dynamis mobs.


As for the March questions, I did post some March numbers in another thread... one sec.

Base March Values
Advancing March's = 64/1024
Victory = 96/1024

With March+4
(Current max for Brds, each March+1 gives 16/1024 Haste, so 64/1024 extra haste with March+4. All Bard's should have AF3+2 Hands for that extra March+1 considering how easy they are to get.)

Advancing+4 = 128/1024 = 12.5% Haste
Victory+4 = 160/1024 = 15.625% Haste

Haste the spell already gives 150/1024 = 14.65% Haste.

Magic Haste caps at 448/1024 = 43.75% Haste.

128+160+150 = 438/1024 = 42.78% Haste is the current cap to what we can get without Marcato or Gjallarhorn99's March+5. Basically, Brd's with Langeleik (March+4) are 1% away from capping Magical Haste. Bard's with just March+3 are about 4% away from the cap.

But since we have Marcato, Brd's that have been keeping up with their equipment should allow for capped Magic Haste roughly 60%~ of the time already. (3min12sec base, 6:24 with Troub, or 3min->6min if just March+3) Gjallarhorn isn't needed to cap magical Haste roughly 60% of the time. Even March+3x2 can cap Magical Haste with Marcato.

So yeah, with Haste and March+4x2, we're already super close to capping Haste. Since Haste only gets better and better (and since I don't usually always have Haste given to me or proc'd with Oynos), I tend to go with Marcatoin' March. If you don't have Daurdabla, I would suggest going Marchx2 full-time since you'll still be a decent bit away with just Haste and Marcato'd Vic. March. With Daurdabla... it might be better to use Marcato Minuet V and Marchx2, but I'm not sure.

[Babekeke]

Aug'd Byakko's Haidate must still be a good option for leg slot too. DEX +15 native, and 2STR, 5 att from augs and... I guess store tp would be the next best for 3rd aug.

[Creelo]

Aug'd Byakko's Haidate must still be a good option for leg slot too. DEX +15 native, and 2STR, 5 att from augs and... I guess store tp would be the next best for 3rd aug.

Str and Att are not common augments for Byakko's.

[Babekeke]

Str and Att are not common augments for Byakko's.

But they are possible, according to ffxiclopedia, though they do have ~20 possible augs listed.