How do i increase my dps as a brd?

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You can start off by telling us what you're wearing.

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Originally Posted by Thorauku

You can start off by telling us what you're wearing.

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And how you usually use your skills.

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Originally Posted by Denver_Max

people keep mentioning my dps as being low and it is only slightly above 200. how does one maximize their dps?

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Please read my 4 posts on this thread page:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post1741559

No offence, but playing with macros is crap.

I parse about the same as any DRG or BLM that is similarly geared. only a MNK or SMN out-DPS me consistently by any considerable margin, and that's to be expected as they have the strongest sustained DPS in the game. There are only a few things you need to keep in mind when playing BRD. "Don't use macros" is one of them. You'll only hurt yourself in conflicts where every little thing needs to be under your control, such as the Twintania fight.

Here are a few tips:

1. Keep Straight Shot buff up at all times, and use it every time Straighter Shot procs.

2. Keep DOTs active at all times. The only exception is if you used Internal Release to buff a DOT, you may let it roll off to chance one more River of Blood proc. Remember to reapply your DOTs immediately in this case. 2.1 helped a lot in this endeavor, as you may now clip your buffed DOTs at the last second.

3. Know when to use your Bloodletter and Misery's End, and know when to hold them back. Just before a short Conflag or Dreadknight is a good time to hold them back, and against ADS when you have a High Voltage so that you don't lock yourself in an animation and miss your Blunt Arrow.

4. Speaking of Blunt Arrow, it should always be on cooldown in fights that you don't need a Silence. Use it in between your standard rotation whenever you don't have a Bloodletter or Misery's End to pop. The same goes for Repelling Shot. I've yet to find a mechanic that can't be dodged without it, so use it as another off-GCD damage attack. This applies for Flaming Arrow for any fight that you don't need it.

5. For buffs, I find it most efficient to blow all I've got at the start of a fight, and keep rotating them in when they come off cooldown right before I reapply my DOTs. If you're having trouble with any burst phases, hold a couple back. Especially Internal Release and Blood for Blood, since they're so frequent.

6. Speaking of buffs, every BRD that wants to raid should have 34 LNC and 15 PGL. No exceptions.

Keep these things in mind, practice using them, and get some gear. You should see improvements in your DPS.

I don't really have a set rotation for Brd it's more like whatever is up at the time or if debuffs need to be reapplied etc. For fights where theres alot of running Brds are pretty easy to get top dps due to being able to shoot and run so I'm usually 1-2 on the charts for most fights. Although it is a good idea to have the buff macros separate to deal with some mechanics but most fights you can have those on the same macro as heavy shot etc.

Currently this is my main rotation i am trying
Straight Shot
Windbite
Bloodletter
Venemous Bite
Heavy Shot
Heavy Shot
Heavy Shot
Repeat

Also depending on the situation i would inset buffs in between or before

You should use Bloodletter after straight shot since it is an off-gcd ability. Straight shote => bloodletter => windbite.

Well, I'm not a bard so maybe I'm wrong.

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Originally Posted by Shamirah

You should use Bloodletter after straight shot since it is an off-gcd ability. Straight shote => bloodletter => windbite.

Well, I'm not a bard so maybe I'm wrong.

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You're right, though.

ON GLOBALS:
1) Is straight shot buff down or do you have a straighter shot proc? --> Straight Shot
2) Are windbite/venomous bite dots down or are they about to expire while you still have buffs up? --> Windbite/Venomous Bite
3) Straight shot buff and dots are both up and you don't have a straighter shot proc? --> Heavy Shot

OFF GLOBAL MACRO:
/ac "Misery's End" <t>
/ac "Bloodletter" <t>
/ac "Flaming Arrow" <t>
/ac "Repelling Shot" <t>

BUFFS MACRO:
/ac "Internal release" <me>
/ac "Raging Strikes" <me>
/ac "Hawk's Eye" <me>
/ac "Barrage" <me>
/ac "Blood for Blood" <me>

Then simply set up a large hotbar near your field of view with your off-globals and buffs on it so you can see which are on cooldown so that you can easily avoid using repelling shot accidentally when you're in a poor position for it, or blood for blood if there is upcoming unavoidable damage like stomps.

Hit your off-global macro in-between each on-global skill unless repelling is the only skill off cooldown and you aren't in a good position.

Pop your buffs together as much as you can (especially when barrage is up), and if possible stack them two at a time in-between globals to minimize wasted globals while maximizing up-time with stacked buffs.

Once you begin to replace that Ballad and remaining DL pieces your DPS should increase overall. Crit hit rate and DEX paired up play a pretty big role in bard DPS. HQ Mega Dexterity Potions help a bit for improving burst dps when you need it. Everyone above has already stated rotations so I'm not going to beat the dead horse there.

You should be using a macro to assimilate all your cooldowns into one button, aka Hawk's eye, Blood for Blood, Raging Strikes, Internal Release, and Barrage should all be in one macro, in that order. Quelling strikes should be omitted as it's a DPS loss to be using it every time you use all your CD's, its about a half a second wasted or so. Use quelling strikes as you see fit. For me, I've never had aggro problems outside of the first 20 seconds of a fight or so, even when I pop CD's for the second or third time midfight. However, if you are pulling aggro midfight, just pop Quelling Strikes again (preferably before you pop all your other CD's)
Using this, you can pop your CD's faster than otherwise, and you don't need to clog up your hotbar/keybinds with 5 unnecessary buttons.
Cooldowns should all be popped together. It is a DPS loss to pop CD's separate, as they boost each other significantly. It is a DPS increase to hold CD's until they are all up. The only time where you should split CD's would be during things like twintania's burst conflags, where its most efficient to use half on one conflag, and half on the other burst conflag, because if you blow all on one, you won't have anything for the next burst.

Try to get into a position where your dots are just about to wear off as you pop CD's. dots applied under your CDs are far stronger than not, but it is a DPS loss to clip dots, so line your dots up to wear off as your last CD is popped to maximize DPS. If in a bad situation, its best to just clip pre-existing dots with fresh, CD-influenced dots.
Besides that macro, you shouldn't be using any others.
In my opinion, BRD doesn't really follow a rotation as much as it follows a priority list, although it can be interpreted either way.

For abilities on the GCD:
1. Straight shot if unbuffed/Straighter shot (proc)
2. Windbite
3. Venomous Bite
4. Heavy Shot

For abilities off the GCD:
1. Miserys End
2. Bloodletter
3. Flaming Arrow
4. Repelling Shot
5. Blunt Arrow (assuming you do not need to silence)

Never let mana sit at full if you have offensive casters in the party, as requiem increases caster dps by ~15% without battlevoice.

For opening on fights, I go:
Straight shot > Bloodletter > Windbite > Flaming arrow(if target isn't moving)/Blunt shot (if target's moving)/bloodletter (if proc) > Venomous Bite

It's best to pop CD's right off the bat along with Quelling strikes unless you need to save them for something specific where they will be needed in the next minute or so.

Stat priority: Crit > DET > SS

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Originally Posted by Slark

*snip*

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1) Your GCD priority list is slightly off. Should be Straight Shot (unbuffed) > Windbiter > Venomous Bite > Straighter Shot > Heavy Shot. That is, Straighter Shot procs do not out-priority our dots. I think you meant this, just wrote it wrong.

2) Your oGCD list is also off. Flaming Arrow is higher priority than Bloodletter, assuming that the enemy will be within the circle for 15 seconds (less if there's more than 1 enemy).

3) I say all that, yet we still use basically the same opening rotation. Go figure.

4) I'm not certain that Crit actually beats Det point-for-point, even taking into account bloodletter. I don't have any math on hand to back this up, though. . .

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Originally Posted by Viridiana

You're right, though.

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Well i use bloodletter after windbite because wait about 2 seconds less waiting on gcd's
I was always using Bloodletter after straight shot until i read on a few sites to use Windbite before. It could be wrong
but seems to work for me

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Originally Posted by Maero

Well i use bloodletter after windbite because wait about 2 seconds less waiting on gcd's
I was always using Bloodletter after straight shot until i read on a few sites to use Windbite before. It could be wrong
but seems to work for me

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Using it after Windbiter pushes back the first time it can reset from River of Blood.

0.0 Straight Shot
1.0 Bloodletter
2.5 Windbiter
3.0 Global Dot tick can reset Bloodletter
3.5 Bloodletter (if reset)

Versus

0.0 Straight Shot
2.5 Windbiter
3.0 Global dot tic, Bloodletter is already up
3.5 Bloodletter

Now, if you're actually using Flaming Arrow in that first GCD, then you're actually doing better than most (myself included). But if you're just letting it sit idle. . .no.

I love these talks about not macroing Bloodletter/Miseries end. I know I am not a monk or tank who need to up multiple skills. But during hectic fights my main advantage is my mobility. If I am struggling instead since I need to check if Bloodletter or miseries is up I actually lose dps. I like to have my main skills on 1/4 so I barely have to move my hand in a wierd position just for another skill. Macroing those skills actually increases my dps. I have em slotted seperatly on my hotbar as well, so as to check I don't buff while I actually can use bloodletter. Or to see if I don't accidently block myself out of a blunt arrow in t2. But overal, this macro makes sure I keep using bloodletter and miseries when I need to.

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Originally Posted by Viridiana

Using it after Windbiter pushes back the first time it can reset from River of Blood.

0.0 Straight Shot
1.0 Bloodletter
2.5 Windbiter
3.0 Global Dot tick can reset Bloodletter
3.5 Bloodletter (if reset)

Versus

0.0 Straight Shot
2.5 Windbiter
3.0 Global dot tic, Bloodletter is already up
3.5 Bloodletter

Now, if you're actually using Flaming Arrow in that first GCD, then you're actually doing better than most (myself included). But if you're just letting it sit idle. . .no.

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Ah ok, not saying i was doing better then anyone but thanks for that info, i may go back to my original rotation which was what you posted

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Originally Posted by Viridiana

You're right, though.

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Yeah, that's the way I do it as well, so as to not waste a Rivers proc. SS -> BL -> DoTs, then HS / BL game. Throw in other stuff as needed obviously (although as noted in this thread, it's worth using Blunt in standard rotation unless you need to save it for an interrupt).

I'd also like to note that this much discussion over a "simple" class rotation suggests it's not so simple. And, let's be honest, none of the classes in this game are particularly difficult to play. But I digress :)

I think my rotation needs CPR :(

I have three damage buffs (Hawk's Eye, Raging Strikes, and Internal Release). I cast one of them, stack the debuffs (Windbiter, Venomous Bite, Rain of Death), and then attack with everything available until the debuffs expire. Then, I use one of the other buffs, and repeat.

Stacking all of the buffs at once seems like such a waste, especially as you're gonna lose a few seconds on the first one casting the other two. If you cast them one at a time, with space between them, you can pretty much always have one available. It was also my understanding that the debuffs are affected by e.g. Raging Strikes, so I always buff up before casting Venomous Bite.

I don't use Straight Shot unless the Heavy Shot combo is available. I've only just noticed the critical chance though, so I can change that. And I use Bloodletter and Misery's End whenever they're available.

So, here's an abridged example:

1. >Raging Strikes > Venomous Bite > Windbiter > RoD > Bloodletter > Heavy Shot > Heavy Shot > Heavy Shot > Straight Shot
2. >Internal Release > Venomous Bite > Windbiter > RoD > Bloodletter > Heavy Shot ...
3. >Hawk's Eye > Venomous Bite > Windbiter ...
4. >Raging Strikes > Venomous Bite > ... Misery's End

Do you guys use auto-attack w/Barrage? I only use standard a-a when my aggro creeps up on the tank. Heavy Shot is my auto-attack, basically.

What about Rain of Death, Quick Nock, and Flaming Arrow? I use RoD a lot for the damage but I've never found a use for QN and FA.

Thanks! :)

As a long time bard, I have found some macros to work perfectly in any situation. Also, because how macros work, it makes it easy to fire the right skill at the right time.

Obv, the main macro all bard should have is:
/micon "Blunt Arrow"
/ac "Blunt Arrow"
/p Used Silence on <t> <se.5>

Then to keep buffs up as much as possible and still pound out DPS without "human" error:
/micon "Heavy Shot"
/ac "Internal Release" <me>
/ac "Heavy Shot" <t>
Note: I keep IR on HS since it should be the most used skill.

/micon "Straight Shot"
/ac "Blood for Blood" <me>
/ac "Straight Shot" <t>
Note: SS should always be up, but not spammed, unless crit proc. So using BfB here is perfect since the 25% debuff during phases where you take damage isnt good.

/micon "Venomous Bite"
/ac "Raging Strikes" <me>
/ac "Venomous Bite" <t>

/micon "Windbite"
/ac "Hawk's Eye" <me>
/ac "Windbite" <t>

For VB and WB, it just helps to have the least used CD on them since you will need to use them at a moments notice.

FYI, I have found that using CD with GCD skills only gives a 0.5-1 sec delay between the two, so by human standards... thats a bit faster than having you constantly move your mouse to the right skill or pressing the right combination of buttons on PS3 controller.

Everything else, should be used situational such as Quelling Strike, Bloodletter and Barrage. Always use BL and Barrage as soon as they proc.. Always. Quelling Strike should only be used at the beginning of a phase change so that the tank can build aggro properly.. never should be used during max dps phase. If need to use during max dps phase.. then get a better tank.

Other skills like Rain of Death and Flaming Arrow should really be used at the beginning of a phase. This actually helps slows your DPS enough for tank to build own aggro. Repelling Shot and Silence should never be a go to skill for more DPS. BL should proc more if your DPSing right, so using those skills basically waste 3-4 secs which you could have 2 procs of BL already. If your in a bad situation and you need to jump then use Repelling Shot, other wise, keep it on CD.

Also, (For everyone NON-Bard) songs are not required from start to end of a battle. The amount of DPS I lose just to make your attack a tiny bit more potent does not equate. I go from 230-240 DPS to 200-210DPS with song up. I personally play Mage Ballad w/ Battle Voice when Healers only have less than half MP. Only play foe req during Max DPS phase when there are 2-3 DPS casters or if WHM can spam Holy. Otherwise, why waste my own MP to get +10 DPS for a single caster? Then I'm out of MP and the Healers have no MP either. WAUT DO? If you say bring potions... buy them for me then. Oh, and never ask me to play Army's Paeon... seriously, learn to maintain your TP or get better gear with less Skill Speed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdLVd6R6X80

Probably the best advice you're gonna get.

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Originally Posted by Mezolitik

What about Rain of Death, Quick Nock, and Flaming Arrow? I use RoD a lot for the damage but I've never found a use for QN and FA.

Thanks! :)

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Rain of Death should never be spam as its an ungodly 180 TP. Should really be used once per mob or group of mobs or free proc. The evasion debuff should only matter when tank is building aggro, otherwise build up your accuracy with gear. Also, with a group of mobs, you should spam Wide Volley over Quick Nock since you can proc for free Rain of Death which can also proc for free Quick Nock. So mathematically, if you compare 5 Wide Volley (with procs) vs 5 Quick Nock thats:

Wide Volley w/ optimal proc
(110 x5) +100 +110 = 760 Potency
760 / (160 x5) TP Cost = 0.95

Quick Nock
(110 x5) = 550 Potency
550 / (140 x5) TP Cost = 0.79

So yeah for the TP cost, you get more Potency with the procs. BTW I chose 5 since its an easier number to display, but in reality you have 15% chance of proc which is out of 6-7 Wide Volley.

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Originally Posted by LunarEmerald

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdLVd6R6X80

Probably the best advice you're gonna get.

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In regards to his buff macro w/ all in one list, id would only agree to this if I have 1 dedicated key on my keyboard/mouse while im using mouse for skill. That being said switching back and forth between that 1 macro and other skill for 12secs can get a little hairy in fights where you have to constantly be moving.

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Originally Posted by Mezolitik

I think my rotation needs CPR :(

I have three damage buffs (Hawk's Eye, Raging Strikes, and Internal Release). I cast one of them, stack the debuffs (Windbiter, Venomous Bite, Rain of Death), and then attack with everything available until the debuffs expire. Then, I use one of the other buffs, and repeat.

Stacking all of the buffs at once seems like such a waste, especially as you're gonna lose a few seconds on the first one casting the other two. If you cast them one at a time, with space between them, you can pretty much always have one available. It was also my understanding that the debuffs are affected by e.g. Raging Strikes, so I always buff up before casting Venomous Bite.

I don't use Straight Shot unless the Heavy Shot combo is available. I've only just noticed the critical chance though, so I can change that. And I use Bloodletter and Misery's End whenever they're available.

So, here's an abridged example:

1. >Raging Strikes > Venomous Bite > Windbiter > RoD > Bloodletter > Heavy Shot > Heavy Shot > Heavy Shot > Straight Shot
2. >Internal Release > Venomous Bite > Windbiter > RoD > Bloodletter > Heavy Shot ...
3. >Hawk's Eye > Venomous Bite > Windbiter ...
4. >Raging Strikes > Venomous Bite > ... Misery's End

Do you guys use auto-attack w/Barrage? I only use standard a-a when my aggro creeps up on the tank. Heavy Shot is my auto-attack, basically.

What about Rain of Death, Quick Nock, and Flaming Arrow? I use RoD a lot for the damage but I've never found a use for QN and FA.

Thanks! :)

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You want to stack them, but you weave them in between your other attacks while the GCD "spins." So, your #1 should look like this:

Straight Shot - (Raging Strikes) > Windbiter - (Hawk's Eye) > Venomous Bite - (Blood for Blood) > Heavy Shot - (Internal Release) > Heavy Shot - (Barrage) > Heavy Shot, etc.

This way, you don't lose any time on the first ones, and, if you start with the longest lasting ones first, you get maximum overlap. As a note, I usually wait for the second "iteration" before popping my buffs. This lets me make sure I'm not messing up any positioning and usually allows the tank ample time to build threat.

For Flaming Arrow, that should be part of even your single-target rotation. If used against one enemy, it takes ~15 seconds for it to do more damage than Bloodletter. Over the full 30 seconds, it becomes one of your highest potency attacks. Again, that's against one enemy; more enemies there are, the better it scales.

Quick Nock is more damage than Rain of Death, at less TP, and the debuff on RoD is useless since 2.1. The only time you should be using RoD is when you get a free cast of it from hitting Wide Volley. Wide Volley is a lot of BRDs' go-to ability for AOE, but it should be noted that QN is slightly better if you can meet the positional requirements.

Regarding Barrage: your auto-attack is constantly firing. As such, Barrage can be as powerful as ~800 potency before you take other buffs into account. To say that it's powerful is putting it lightly.

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Originally Posted by Viridiana

You want to stack them, but you weave them in between your other attacks while the GCD "spins." So, your #1 should look like this:

Straight Shot - (Raging Strikes) > Windbiter - (Hawk's Eye) > Venomous Bite - (Blood for Blood) > Heavy Shot - (Internal Release) > Heavy Shot - (Barrage) > Heavy Shot, etc.

This way, you don't lose any time on the first ones, and, if you start with the longest lasting ones first, you get maximum overlap. As a note, I usually wait for the second "iteration" before popping my buffs. This lets me make sure I'm not messing up any positioning and usually allows the tank ample time to build threat.

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Shouldn't BFB be used first before applying the 2 DoT? :confused:

I see people using internal release after DoT's are applied. If you would read your bloodletter trait you'd realize this is wrong. and so your opening rotation should look like, and for any time u need to burst a target down, it should look like this

Quelling>Straight>InternalRelease>Wind Bite>Hawk's>Venemous>Raging>True>BfB>True>Barrage>True>Flaming>True>Straight>Wind>Venemous>Straight(spamspamspam)

All proc's should be used immediately, I use bloodletter procs any time it pops up, if it happens in my CD rotation, pop CD>Bloodletter>continue rotation.

BTW, Barrage does lotsa damage so I'd really try focus on stacking CD's for that, over and above the weak DoTs. The dots are only there as a mechanic to proc Bloodletters, which are the other bread and butter of ur dps. Don't forget that barring mechanics where positioning is restricted/silences needed, Blunt arrow and Repelling shot are valid offGCD attacks and can really help your dps.

Edit: mixxed up names of CD's... my B

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Originally Posted by Ooshima

Shouldn't BFB be used first before applying the 2 DoT? :confused:

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Ideally, yes. Like I mentioned, I usually wait for the second go-round before popping CDs, specifically to avoid this. I'd rather start popping them in the Heavy Shot section so that they all hit the second set of dots than I would start popping them during the first set of dots and screw with the rotation itself.

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Originally Posted by Warrlordd

All proc's should be used immediately, I use bloodletter procs any time it pops up, if it happens in my CD rotation, pop CD>Bloodletter>continue rotation.

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Every CD you have is worth more than 150 potency. Bloodletter can wait.

Proc class 101: use procs immediately, it could very well proc again

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Originally Posted by Warrlordd

Proc class 101: use procs immediately, it could very well proc again

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I'd much rather make sure that my Barrage has 100% overlap with all my other buffs, rather than squeeze in 1-2 extra Bloodletters. Especially if, as I've seen happen, I get 6 Bloodletter procs in a row.

haha... alright. cool, then you've done less dps :P if thats how u like ur bard cool

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Originally Posted by Viridiana

Regarding Barrage: your auto-attack is constantly firing. As such, Barrage can be as powerful as ~800 potency before you take other buffs into account. To say that it's powerful is putting it lightly.

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So, auto-attack works in the background even if you're 'overwriting' the animation with skills? I tend not to use it, as the animation is very slow; there seems to be several seconds between each attack.

Thanks for all the help :)

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Originally Posted by Mezolitik

So, auto-attack works in the background even if you're 'overwriting' the animation with skills? I tend not to use it, as the animation is very slow; there seems to be several seconds between each attack.

Thanks for all the help :)

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Cast Barrage, spam Heavy Shot, you'll notice the effect of barrage is taking place in every Heavy Shot you release.

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Originally Posted by Warrlordd

haha... alright. cool, then you've done less dps :P if thats how u like ur bard cool

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Even on our fastest weapon, Garuda's Spine, the potency of two free auto-attacks generated by Barrage is greater than the 150 potency of Bloodletter. That means that if, at any point, you let Bloodletter take advantage of a buff instead of letting Barrage take advantage of that buff, you aren't optimally using the buff. If we use Raging Strikes as an example, this means that the delay caused by using Bloodletter should not push the final auto-attack of Barrage past the time where Raging Strikes falls off. In order for Bloodletter to not do this, the delay caused by Bloodletter (approximately 1 GCD delay) must be shorter than the time remaining between the last shot of Barrage and Raging Strikes' end. Said time remaining can be anywhere from .01 seconds to just below the full delay of the weapon.

I'll use Artemis Bow Zenith and full ilvl 90 gear optimized for skill speed to make this as favorable as possible. Then I'll do full ilvl 70 (Garuda's Spine). Lastly, I'll show it with an actual BIS set.

This set with SS food should have about 210 skill speed from gear/food. That's a GCD of 2.29. Of the 328 values the delay can take, 229 of them are at or below the threshold, indicating a loss of DPS as the 2.29 second delay pushes the final shot past the buff.
Odds of pushing: 229/328=~.70
Odds of not pushing: 99/328=~.30
Barrage potency: ~218
Bloodletter potency: 150
Barrage potency gain (20%) if not pushed: 42
Barrage potency gain if pushed: 0
Bloodletter potency gain (20%) if not pushed: 30
Bloodletter potency gain if pushed: 30
Expected return (Odds not pushed) x (total if not pushed) - (odds pushed) x (total if not pushed - total if pushed) = 7.8 expected potency loss. Remember that this is the one that's stacked in favor of your idea.

This set with food should hit about 40 SS. That's a 2.46 GCD. Garuda's Spine has a 2.48 second delay. The math is almost unnecessary for this one, but I'll humor you.
Odds of pushing: 246/248=~.99
Odds of not pushing: 02/248=~.01
Barrage potency: ~164
Bloodletter potency: 150
Barrage potency gain (20%) if not pushed: 32
Barrage potency gain if pushed: 0
Bloodletter potency gain (20%) if not pushed: 30
Bloodletter potency gain if pushed: 30
Expected return: (Odds not pushed) x (total if not pushed) - (odds pushed) x (total if not pushed - total if pushed) = 31.06 expected potency loss.

This set is listed as the first set in the BRD BIS thread on these forums. 71 SS means a 2.43 delay, with a 3.20 weapon.
Odds of pushing: 243/320=~.76
Odds of not pushing: 77/320=~.24
Barrage potency: ~213
Bloodletter potency: 150
Barrage potency gain (20%) if not pushed: 42
Barrage potency gain if pushed: 0
Bloodletter potency gain (20%) if not pushed: 30
Bloodletter potency gain if pushed: 30
Expected return: (Odds not pushed) x (total if not pushed) - (odds pushed) x (total if not pushed - total if pushed) = 14.61 expected potency loss.

So, when every scenario I can come up with shows an expected potency loss, how is it that my method is a dps loss?

all that info is fantastic and im not going to read it. Reality is you can use barrage and still spam bloodletter.

i'm not even sure what you're trying to argue anymore.

STOP CALLING IT "WINDBITER"

that is all...

Others have already pretty much answered your question but:

What I do is generally: Straight Shot -> Venomous Bite -> Bloodletter -> Wind Bite -> Heavyshot (until straight shot buff or DoTs are near wear, plugging in bloodletter when it procs and misery's end when applicable since they're not GCD).

Use bloodletter between any GCD if you get the proc from a crit DoT with the level 48 (or whatever level) trait. That is, of course, unless you are expecting to need to use Blunt Arrow in a fight and don't want to lock yourself in teh animation when you need the silence. And like other DPS jobs, plug in other skills in between global cooldown for max DPS. So if I know I won't need bind or silence, I might Straight Shot -> Internal release -> Venomous Bite -> Blunt arrow -> etc.

Other than that it's usually routine to keep straight shot and the DoTs up at all times, best DPS that way I think.

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Originally Posted by Warrlordd

all that info is fantastic and im not going to read it. Reality is you can use barrage and still spam bloodletter.

i'm not even sure what you're trying to argue anymore.

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I'm arguing that if your Bloodletter shoves an attack of your Barrage outside of a buff (that is, the buff goes to Bloodletter instead of Barrage) it's a DPS loss.

Yes, you can use Barrage while spamming Bloodletter. But if you're mindlessly using Bloodletter every time it comes off CD without considering anything else, you're going to lose DPS.

I thought it was fixed during beta that your WS wouldn't clip any of your AA damage regardless of the animation getting clipped.

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Originally Posted by Judge_Xero

I thought it was fixed during beta that your WS wouldn't clip any of your AA damage regardless of the animation getting clipped.

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That's correct.