Couple of Bard Questions

My Bard is nearly 49, and I got a lot of quests + hunting log so Ill be 50 soon. In another thread I already asked about gear progression and got some fine answers. Yet I have a couple of questions that I would love to get answered.
1. What Macro's do you use as a bard. I got the standart Bloodletter and Miserie's end slotted. I have 3 buff macro's that I use when GC is up (Hawks eye + Internal release)(Blood for Blood+ Featherfoot)(Raging Strikes+Barrage). Do you guys use any other Macro?
2. Speaking of Macro's, I see mage's with a party chat macro when they sleep mobs, I tried using one for my songs, but it also uses that when I stop using a song, so its very annoying. Any leads for this?
3. DoT's, which one do you start with and can they critically hit? I start with Venomous, but I see most people start with Wind, any reason for this?
4. Is it worth it using our Elemental song at all? I have Fire arrow and Windbite which do elemental damage. I use it when I have a BLM with me but otherwise I just save my MP for healer or when I need TP ( I am working towards invigorate, but fate grinding is a PAIN)
5. When is it worth it to use meld materia into my gear? Should I save it for endgame gear or start early?
6. Hud layout and chat. I have the combat chat open (habit from DDO) but I get swarmed with information). Do you have any specific chat layout? And for the HUD, I had this, but I am using more and more skills nowadays ( fire arrow, blunt arrow etc).
I am using a normal keyboard. Any tips on my Keybind layout? This is somewhat how it looks now
http://i40.tinypic.com/2h51zeq.jpg

1) I don't have any macros because I am a bads.
2) Only way I can see this is setting up separate macro to shut it off.
3) Windbiter's initial dmg is lower but it's DoT component has more potency so ppl cast it first.
4) Foe's Requiem does NOT increase your windbiter/flaming arrow dmg. FR is only useful if you have a blm or smn. As a side note you really need Invigorate. You will run out of TP on boss battles and AOE pulls.
5) Eh I would personally get the full DL set and AF2 as you get myth (ring, pants, shirt...)
6) Not gonna comment as its totally personal preference. I do use keybinds for the 2nd hotbar as ctrl can be awkward

1. Basically I replace heavy/straight/wind/ven/wide volley/rain ect with /ac "action" <t> /ac "Misery" <t> /ac "bloodletter" <t> This is not because omg lazy to click. It's because in later dungeons (coil, chimera, ect) you'll have to silence and if you don't your party might (definately) wipe. So less busy pressing more busy interrupting. It's still good to have BL and ME in your bar sooomewhere because sometimes macros don't like to go off (you have to mash the button a couple many times but that's just how it works with everything) and/or have control of what happens. Reason why you also have them with wide volley is to maximize dps while aoe'ing which could be for turn 4, speed runs, whatever have you.
Using all buff in one macro is not exactly nice because sometimes there's just one buff that doesn't have to come off regardless of you just standing still mashing said button. On top of that, it's nice to know what you're activating (tumults with B4B is asking for eating dirt)

2. Thing is, mages only have to cast sleep once, you have to cancel ballad which includes...two casts (so to speak). There's two ways to bypass this 1. have to buttons for ballad one for on and one for off and both with different messages (ex. Ballad going UP, Ballad DOWN!) which is useful...I guess (I mostly just use TS to tell people) Alternatively buffs can be dispelled by right clicking them on the top center part of your screen where personal buffs are located. This applies to ANY buff.

3. In long encounters which goes first is near irrelevant as long as both have high uptime (very important, high uptime dots=win) Buffs, however only count when the dot is shot/applied not during. When a mob is closing death it's better to use veno bite than wind because veno has higher starting potency and less ticking potency, so if the mob is about to die it's more worthy to use venomous bite for chances of BL and damage. If the mob is literally a shot from death then the answer is obvious, just shoot it till it does (heavy/straight). Thing is, dots have a very high accumulated potency during their WHOLE duration so if a mob dies while having, say 15 seconds left of wind bite, it was most definately a waste.

4. Despite what people have said about dots being applied physically, when playing song it does feel somewhat of a difference (very tiny though). It's supposedly only worth playing when having a caster (which you always do, your healer) and if you can cast it like before battle starts so you don't lose up time (careful though, it pulls aggro.) You shouldn't have much TP issues once you get invigorate. Otherwise, playing TP song to refill yourself is arguably worth it (damage penalty VS waiting for TP)

5. Usually at end game you change gear like a diva. Also, take into account that most end game gear is unmeldable except for special crafted gear which is usually very expensive for fresh 50's. So yes, save your materia unless it's crappy materia, then you can sell it or whatever you wish. If later on, after you get your darklight, you wish to get crafted gear that's the time when it's worth melding but it's a whole different and big topic to be discussed so briefly.

6. Having the combat log on at all times is not really worth it unless you're a healer or something of the sort since most attacks have visual features that allows you to identify rotations quickly.
Tips:
I usually keep all my keys close to each other (buffs: f1-6. heavy shot 1, SS 2, veno 3, wind 4. utility: blunt T, fire arrow F, ect)
Have your limit break like apart from all bars maybe a side vertical bar (you'll use it very rarely but when you do have to, it's like shining in that spot)
Have a macro for focustarget
Always use barrage as the last buff (since it's the shortest and benefits most of having all others up)
Use buffs while GCD is ticking
If needed, help with rain of death (stacking it with virus/eye4eye/bubble really makes nukes feel like tickles)
Communicate with your healers (MP mainly)
Use multidotting for 3 targets or less
Use aoe for 4 targets or more.
Crit chnce is your friend, however DEX is friendlier.
Your relic+1 sucks, so don't rush it.
Be careful when shooting and moving out of aoe, the auto turn can kick you in the nuts.
If you're the silencer of the fight, be aware of what and when you gotta silence (rotations of bosses are very easy to follow) and avoid casting when your turn is coming.
Do keep repel shot and shadowbind, they're handy at times
Use blunt arrow and repel shot for tiny damage increments when BL is down (IF and only IF the fight doesn't need to interrupt, using silence in ifrit will screw people over)

1. I don't like macros much. The only ones I really use are focus target macros for things like silence or rain of death.
2. Like I said, I tend to avoid macros, so not much help there.
3. Pretty much everyone starts with Windbiter first, because it's the higher potency of the two. It's a rare situation where Venomous is better, so most people just ignore it.
4. It's worth using if there's a SCH, SMN, BLM, or a dps'ing WHM. It does nothing at all for us, though.
5. Very little of your endgame gear will even take materia. Pretty much only gryphonskin, but unless you're willing to invest in that, you're probably not gonna get much use of materia.
6. The only battle chat I really watch is a channel I made specifically for party members' actions so I can see if my tanks are doing anything crazy. As far as keybinds, I keep all my most commonly used things on 1-5 with shift/alt/ctrl modifiers. I also have some other stuff on mouse buttons.

Thanks for the answers. Most of them were answered now

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alzithe

1. Basically I replace heavy/straight/wind/ven/wide volley/rain ect with /ac "action" <t> /ac "Misery" <t> /ac "bloodletter" <t>

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Done this already, as I said in the first post. I don't have an all in 1 buff, but I spread my 6 buffs along 3 buff macro's ( each one with quelling strikes so I don't pull aggro)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alzithe

2. Thing is, mages only have to cast sleep once, you have to cancel ballad which includes...two casts (so to speak). There's two ways to bypass this 1. have to buttons for ballad one for on and one for off and both with different messages (ex. Ballad going UP, Ballad DOWN!) which is useful...I guess (I mostly just use TS to tell people) Alternatively buffs can be dispelled by right clicking them on the top center part of your screen where personal buffs are located. This applies to ANY buff.

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Ok, thanks, guess ill skip that then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alzithe

3. In long encounters which goes first is near irrelevant as long as both have high uptime (very important, high uptime dots=win) Buffs, however only count when the dot is shot/applied not during. When a mob is closing death it's better to use veno bite than wind because veno has higher starting potency and less ticking potency, so if the mob is about to die it's more worthy to use venomous bite for chances of BL and damage. If the mob is literally a shot from death then the answer is obvious, just shoot it till it does (heavy/straight). Thing is, dots have a very high accumulated potency during their WHOLE duration so if a mob dies while having, say 15 seconds left of wind bite, it was most definately a waste.

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I never use a DoT a second time on normal mobs unless I know it will last almost a full set. I also found out that DoT's indeed to crit. The rest of the answer was clear, thank you ^_^

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alzithe

4. Despite what people have said about dots being applied physically, when playing song it does feel somewhat of a difference (very tiny though). It's supposedly only worth playing when having a caster (which you always do, your healer) and if you can cast it like before battle starts so you don't lose up time (careful though, it pulls aggro.) You shouldn't have much TP issues once you get invigorate. Otherwise, playing TP song to refill yourself is arguably worth it (damage penalty VS waiting for TP)

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Got invigorate. And the rest seems clear, thanks for the answer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alzithe

5. Usually at end game you change gear like a diva. Also, take into account that most end game gear is unmeldable except for special crafted gear which is usually very expensive for fresh 50's. So yes, save your materia unless it's crappy materia, then you can sell it or whatever you wish. If later on, after you get your darklight, you wish to get crafted gear that's the time when it's worth melding but it's a whole different and big topic to be discussed so briefly.

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Thanks, I will wait till I have the allegan gear then,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alzithe

6. Having the combat log on at all times is not really worth it unless you're a healer or something of the sort since most attacks have visual features that allows you to identify rotations quickly.

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Dropped it in favor of some more bars with buttons!. I am still wondering if I can optimize my chat bar. Any nice tips on this would be nice

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alzithe

Have a macro for focustarget
Always use barrage as the last buff (since it's the shortest and benefits most of having all others up)
Use buffs while GCD is ticking
If needed, help with rain of death (stacking it with virus/eye4eye/bubble really makes nukes feel like tickles)
Communicate with your healers (MP mainly)
Use multidotting for 3 targets or less
Use aoe for 4 targets or more.
Crit chnce is your friend, however DEX is friendlier.
Your relic+1 sucks, so don't rush it.
Be careful when shooting and moving out of aoe, the auto turn can kick you in the nuts.
If you're the silencer of the fight, be aware of what and when you gotta silence (rotations of bosses are very easy to follow) and avoid casting when your turn is coming.
Do keep repel shot and shadowbind, they're handy at times
Use blunt arrow and repel shot for tiny damage increments when BL is down (IF and only IF the fight doesn't need to interrupt, using silence in ifrit will screw people over)

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Most of this is clear, But what do you mean with Focustarget??? Or macro for that? Please give me an example.
I try to get the most out of my layout, since I would love to keep all important stuff on 1 to 4. That's why the minimap is in the bottom so I can oversee most stuff. Thought the combat log would help with that but that wasn't very helpfull. Basically I want to be in control of most stuff. As of now it looks like this.
http://i40.tinypic.com/1h7dzm.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/2ewpd80.png