WHY ARE YOU PLAYING A BARD IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SING?!

[Mugiawara]

So why not sing and add more utility to the party if bards have one of the easiest rotations and can move freely?

All you have to do really is sing Requiem one time if you have a lot of casters.
Again, their songs are situational.
With a solid PT, you don't need to do anything else but DPS...and if you don't have casters, you really don't need to pop a single song.
I'm just disappointed the Bard class was nothing like I'd thought it'll be. I find it a bit boring honestly, because I'm wanting to actually SING more.
I use Swiftsong between mobs because I'm dying to play my dang harp thing lol.

They need better songs...also sucks that y'know SE gave everyone a boost for TP/MP and BLM's never EVER run out. Like really lol.
Why not have songs that boost up Melee DPS too...or raise Maximum HP/MP/TP.
Or use Swiftsong in battle to increase movement speed like I posted a couple posts ago.

Edit: Also in the opening movie in the game. A bard jumps out and shields the WoL from something...I mean give us that or something.

[GalaxyGirl]

So why not sing and add more utility to the party if bards have one of the easiest rotations and can move freely?

Because I'm busy keeping up those rotations and out dpsing the rest of the crappy pug dps and contributing to faster kills. I'll play for req of course and ballad and peon's whenn I can't attack the boss (during daybreak when boss is stoned, after last snake dies in t5 waiting for twin to land, megaflare in t9) but If you need peon's or ballad while I'm focusing on my own dps✋ you're going to have to.... Ask *GASP*

[StouterTaru]

Well, paeon and ballad are crutches in most situations. A good party only needs foe (T8 excluded). That's the problem with labeling bard as support. Aside from foe, it's only support when somebody screws up. Which means if nobody screws up then no support is needed. Bard is a back up support for when things get sticky. If a healer continually needs ballad then either they're bad or other people are bad. Playing ballad frequently is encouraging/enabling people to continue being bad.

You can say very similar things about Provoke, Flare, Medica II, and many other abilities. There are still times when using them will speed up the fight more than not using them.

Imagine a blm in a dungeon saying "I don't use Flare because it enables the other dps to play poorly."

[LunarEmerald]

You should generally open with foe requiem. The start of the battle is the most opportune time because it's when 1) everybody blows their cds and 2) gives plenty of time for your mp to recover in case you're needed for something later on.

But for Ifrit HM, I prefer to save MP for foe during nails
Titan HM, for heart
Garuda HM, for sisters

[Yoninxi]

Because I'm busy keeping up those rotations and out dpsing the rest of the crappy pug dps and contributing to faster kills. I'll play for req of course and whenn I can't attack the boss (during daybreak when boss is stoned, during after last snake dies in t5 waiting for twin, after megaflare in t9) but If you need peon's or ballad you're going to have to.... Ask *GASP*

How hard is it to glance at MP while you're doing your *gasp* 6 button rotation. Or think "hmmm there's a lot of AoE damage going on here,or he's been raising a lot, I'll cast ballad to help the heals out!" Instead of "I'll keep dpsing so we can kill It faster!"

[Ayuris]

Well im just gonna say that 80% of the time I get a ballad as a WHM I dont need it, and the bard is lowering his dps unnecessary.

[LunarEmerald]

You can say very similar things about Provoke, Flare, Medica II, and many other abilities. There are still times when using them will speed up the fight more than not using them.

Imagine a blm in a dungeon saying "I don't use Flare because it enables the other dps to play poorly."

That analogy isn't so great. Unless you're saying dealing damage is the same as support.

Medica 2 is mandatory because there's unavoidable damage. The game isn't designed for just being medica sufficient.

Provoke is mandatory because there's tank swaps

Flare is an attack. Attacking isn't support.

Mage's Ballad is NEVER mandatory. It's only required when something goes wrong. This is what makes it support. Specifically, back up support.

[Odett]

As a dps, consider it lucky you even get a song from us when in a pug. Songs are a benefit, not a luxury that you will always have, and as a dps job they can choose to play a song or not over being a support.

Alright then, so when I tank, consider it lucky you even get a defensive cooldown from me in a pug. I'm going to hold agro and that's that. I'll just do the bare minimum. Anything else, and that's considered extra. Making my healer's job easier and being a better group player? Screw that, how dare other people expect me to use the skills that the game gives me?

[SendohJin]

You can say very similar things about Provoke, Flare, Medica II, and many other abilities.

this is completely incorrect. none of those have a negative effect on the user.

How hard is it to glance at MP while you're doing your *gasp* 6 button rotation.

another person that doesn't know what Shroud of Saints or Aetherflow is.

[Bushido_Brown]

Bard's damage isn't that much worse and often times, better, because to do better, you have to be a really good player.

An average caster/melee isn't going to outdps a good bard. But a good caster/melee could.

I'm almost always top dps in trial roulettes as a bard

I'm not even the best bard around. There are bards at the same ilevel as me that can do 10-20 more dps.

Trial roulettes typically have parties with 1st-timers in them, so that's nothing to brag about. A good BRD will never out dps a MNK, BLM, or DRG of the same skill level in a full-party raid for the full duration of the fight, ever, so get over that real quick. Shouldn't it be appreciated that we are saying we need you to sing? You're playing an integral part of the party with those songs. Healers not getting songs=no more heals=dead, Melee DPS running out of TP (will happen on T8, guaranteed)=enrage from not killing in time=dead.