Master Bards, please help me out! How can I maximize my DPS?

Hello, I've been adjusting classes ever since I the joined raid static. And from most of static recruitment dilemma, bards are always in demand. So, I have decided to adjust for them and play bard.

The problem is, I've seen videos online that Bard parse more than I do. Like, 1200+ with less than iLvl200 gear. I can only do, 1108 on the 3 minute-mark.

Here is my gear info, http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/SI2J

This is also my parse video for master bards to observe. I would take any criticisms, tips and advice. https://youtu.be/q8y2rmCkEX8

I'm watching your video, this might bleed into two posts.
First thing your opener is really strange. If you're going to open with your first (cast) skill being EA, you might as well precast it which you can't do if you're hitting BL first. The main purpose of starting with EA is so you can get two casts of it during your buffs in your opener, but you flat out can't do that with such low SkS without sacrificing other potential gains. On top of that you'd be missing disembowel and TA for that barrage, which is actually pretty terrible, and prebuffing with a pot is also terrible (though, a bit understandable why you'd do that considering how you open)

You aren't clipping your dots either, in the opener you have so many buffs up it's actually a large gain to clip your dots before the buffs drop off (in a normal opener it's when they're at like 6-9 seconds). After your opener, with the exception of maybe IR because you'd have to clip pretty early twice, your next GCD after popping buffs should be IJ for two sets of buffed dots. (cont.)

Reddit has a lengthy math post but it basically finds that even in the worst case, if you do something like IJ [RS] IJ, clipping your dots before they've even ticked twice, it's STILL a DPS increase. For HE/BFB at ~90s you should pop them together for that purpose, so it'd be something like HS [HE+BFB] IJ

Another issue with the opener that impacts your buff alignment a bit, you're popping RS before HE/BFB. Prebuffing should always go weakest CD first, strongest CD last. At ~2 mins your RS came back up, and IR was still a good ~10-15 seconds from coming off CD. You at least could've popped RS a bit earlier at 2:00, because you ended up sitting on SW/Flaming arrow since they all came up at the same time. In a proper opener IR/RS will align much better so IR comes up a GCD or 2 after you pop RS.

I'm giving you a lot of crap about the opener, but for a 3-4 minute parse the opener is pretty important and it'll be a large portion of why you're so much lower than other bards you talk to. I wasn't too focused on the video to be honest, but your grasp on the priority system and other things seem pretty solid. There are some glaring mistakes like dropping SS right before your HE+BFB DoT reapply at 1:30 or so in the vid, but that's stuff you probably know not to do already.

I mostly suggest looking around on the internet and fixing up your opener. I also have a (messy) pastebin guide written up here: http://pastebin.com/sTg8d5mL

Also here's my own dummy vid albeit pretty below average personally, but my recording software was acting up so apologies for the hideous throb effect it has. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQytiRvmegg
Hope these posts and the link I gave you help out a bit

Maybe this guide can help you out?
http://goo.gl/umf5KP

Krietor, please. Talk about shameless advertising xD

In case you can't be bothered to scroll through that wall-o-text in the guide, I think aabe got it for most of it. In particular the opener bit

TOOO BE FAIR his guide is a top-notch one that every bard should at least read. X)

I'm curious why you don't barrage on the first EA? This is all way more advanced than I've ever been with my bard yet, but just curious for the logic behind it as I start to work on things!

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Originally Posted by DotsNnots

I'm curious why you don't barrage on the first EA? This is all way more advanced than I've ever been with my bard yet, but just curious for the logic behind it as I start to work on things!

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You'd only want to avoid using it for your first EA if you're doing a double EA opener. The logic is just that Disembowel doesn't come up until the DRG's third GCD, 8 or so seconds in, and TA usually comes up around 10 or so seconds. You'd be missing piercing debuff + TA for your biggest burst.

Assuming you don't open with double EA you won't be using barrage at least until you have SS + DoTs up, 3 GCDs in, around 9 seconds because you'll be popping a potion which delays your GCD pretty heavily. You might want to delay it further depending on when your group's NIN (if you have one) gets TA up.

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Originally Posted by AskaRay

TOOO BE FAIR his guide is a top-notch one that every bard should at least read. X)

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But his character on the forum says he is a level 20 archer :o
I had looked it over though, it is a good guide. Some parts i agree with, others not so but it at least gives fundamentals to those fairly new or trying to learn Bard

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Originally Posted by Maero

But his character on the forum says he is a level 20 archer :o
I had looked it over though, it is a good guide. Some parts i agree with, others not so but it at least gives fundamentals to those fairly new or trying to learn Bard

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I think he's just being sneaky XD

Yeah, I mean I don't follow it exactly either, but it's a great starting point and it's good to build off till you find your own rhythm.

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Originally Posted by aabe

You'd only want to avoid using it for your first EA if you're doing a double EA opener. The logic is just that Disembowel doesn't come up until the DRG's third GCD, 8 or so seconds in, and TA usually comes up around 10 or so seconds. You'd be missing piercing debuff + TA for your biggest burst.

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Thanks for the explanation!