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I liked the idea of the archer class. But I rolled a pugilist with aspirations to become a monk.
Why? I'm not musically inclined and don't want to fill a support role. Yes, I know they can top damage charts, but that's not what I'm after. Being a physical ranged dps to me would have been fun, and the concept of an archer would have foot the bill.
It made me sad to find out they're pigeon-holed into becoming bards at later levels.
As a guy who likes swinging a giant axe around but hates tanking, I feel your pain.
You don't "have to" become a Bard. You could stay archer through out. You just may hear about it from other players when running party content though.
99% of Bards do not support at all. You wouldn't even feel it...
Honestly even though they are "Support DPS", there's not much "Supporting" to do. Just watch mages MP and pop ballad or Army's Paeon if you think it's a TP heavy fight.
Just go BRD. No one cares about you singing or not in casual content (go into coil/Alexander, on the other hand...). Also, don't expect to top any dps charts as arc or BRD, unless you're playing with some poor DPS or just plain out gearing them (or doing something that favors you, like aoeing vs a mnk); all the other DPS jobs should outdo you easily with similar gear levels and skill...
I play as a BRD since release and believe me, it has not much supporting to do.
You will cycle between 3 songs and use them about twice during whole fight, it is not that bad.
You're doing the right thing, Peerless. The last thing my nerves need is another bard who doesn't bother to play ballad when I've just raised half the raid, including the other healer.Monk is a fun class, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
First off they won't top damage charts under normal circumstances, they just have the most stable DPS while working mechanics as well as one of the easiest rotations in the game (matched only by DRG and BLM, though even those ones have their quirks. This is also all up to personal preference as BRD and SMN both involve watching and maintaining DoT stacks, with BRD dealing less damage with DoTs but more damage with their non-DoT attacks than SMN). but then again this type of thing seems to be the norm for archer classes these days.
Second, this game doesn't HAVE dedicated support classes. BRDs ARE the closest, but what they do add is *invaluable*: MP and TP regen, as well as making your BLM and SMN 10-20% more awesome for a little while. It's not hard to make use of these abilities, as your melee DPS/tanks (or you, when it gets too low) will let you know when they need TP, and you can always keep an eye on the healers' MP to use that.
As a WHM, I have a Shroud of Saint's macro that let's the Bard and/or party know to pay a bit of attention to my MP. With that, while Barding, I ONLY play Foe's at pull if there is a caster in my group (again at Max MP if they are good) or if told by a healer to play.