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I just hit level 60 on my MCH and I'm so-so with the gameplay. Yeah the damage is a bit better but the gameplay is only so-so for me.
Should I instead try and level a bard up? In the end they share 99% of their gear (minus weapon of course) so it's not like switching between them at whim is a bad thing............
But that being said I don't know how different a bard is from a machinist, they seem so similar it's hard to distinguish at all.
SE seems hell bent on forcing the same play style for both, so if you are meh on one, you will probably be the same for the other.
Both are limited utility ghetto black mages now anyway.
Bard play nothing like Machinist. Honestly don't like machinist because there isn't much to it after you pop everything+wildfire. They do about the same damage and have the same utility, but bard seems to be the more enjoyable/easier rotation.
Archer has some cool cross-class skills, I guess.
I just ran Haukke on my level 31 archer and tbh I find it more ... idk how to say it. I like it. Then again I always did but held off on doing anything with it because of the machinist announcement.
I feel like I do more damage, I feel like every off-gcd I am doing something and that my critical rate is through the roof with internal release + our crit buff. I also feel like every buff I use is USEFUL (opposed to hotshot).
Furthermore I don't feel like I am playing the -beep-ing roulette praying for procs and worrying about ammo. I have a clear rotation and if the heavy shot procs the crit buff on the next skill great, nice, wonderful... but I am not relying on procs to do a basic rotation and instead have a constant high crit rate.
Idk, it's like... "Easier"?????? Having that spammable 150 potency 15s cooldown is awesome, having the 12s cd execute is a HUGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE difference to me vs. 30 seconds.
Although I am not a fan of the thought of using wanderer's minuet later ... like I am not playing a blackmage because I despise casting.
Once you get to 50 you will despise bard. Enjoy the glory levels. They don't last long.
I feel bard's support is more useful with foe's requiem. You can make a huge dps difference with multiple casters.
Not having second wind on machinist really bugs me. I've saved my ass on many occasions with it. You feel more fragile than bard.
Machinist has amazing burst and aoe damage. Better than bard I'd say, especially in aoes.
Bard feels easier to play to me and more reliable in dps. As as of machnist, you feel useless when you're stuck spamming split and the game refuses to give you a proc. I think if rng favors them, machinist can outdps bard but on average, bard will do better. Machinist is too reliant on rng and I hope they fix this in the near future. Either shorten the cooldown on ammo or increase the chance of proccing without it.
Go level a Ninja if you want a better bard.
Both MCN and BRD have the same core. WM/GB. You're going to have to live with that sadly. The difference between BRD and MCN is with MCN you have a combo system in placed based on RNG and CDs.
With BRD you have multiple DoTs and a single button spam until you get proccs. It's a priority system over a combo system.
If you don't like MCN, you won't like BRD. Play something else.