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

[Madoka]

Have a blm/smn in the group? Cool play Foes at the start
Healer's low on MP? Cool play ballad
You're low on TP? Play Paeon for yourself
In voice chat? ask if the melee need TP or not
Everything's fine and you're on the last stretch to kill the boss? Play foes again for your casters

It's like most other things, don't tunnel vision. Just pay attention and you'll see when its good to play

Its mobility and flexability is the reason it is always picked to be the orb cleaner. No other DPS class could maximize its DPS and handle a mechanic. And T7 is even more dependent on Bard for kiting the Ranauds.

SMN

[LTEvil]

The Adamantoise server must be hosted in the Twilight Zone where bad players only ever play as BRDs.

lol. /10char

[Kimikryo]

I think Bard suffers from the name they have (Bard). In FFXI Bard was all about singing (and a dps BRD was a joke). In FF14 BRD is trying to be a dps (and very often fails, unless you are actually good).
Bard doesn't have enough songs to be a proper support class so you end up just DPSing (i.e. be Archer) and forget to pay attention to things like "how low is the MP" (and be a brd). (Poor design maybe, or maybe they are holding back for the future level increase)
.

You ... You have ZERO idea what you talk about right?
Right equipment and a FFXI bard could out damage SAM and DRK. Relicb ody + Byakkos haidate for starters, just saying.
And FF14 Bards can do massive damage and steal hate of any tank of they want to.
WHM can run out quite easy, especially if they Spam Holy.

Bards have to watch for their own procs, for stuff to silence, for things to dodge and when time they look at the party list for MP. Yet they are expected to keep their Damage output at maximum. There are fights where you don't want to lose even a BIT of dps

You want a Bard to sing a song, ask for it it, I might not sing that debuffing song if we only have one WHM even if ask for it.

[Darki]

Thing is Ballad should never be needed unless someone is doing something wrong or messed up them self through bad mp management standing in stuff. I would never look at MP bars when playing my bard because I focus on DPSing.

So we have you to thank for the massive necrobump to this thread I see.

If you think Bard DPS is that much worse than the other DPS classes, then you have obviously not played with any decent ones.

Singing or not singing does not always mean they are doing poor DPS.

What I mentioned is not a rare case at all, I've seen *many* non-singing bards pull their weight DPS wise. Just as I've seen many geared bards (that do sing) doing hardly any DPS and pretty much being carried.

For any non-raid (i.e. Duty Finder) contend ballad should only be needed if the Healers are bad.

I couldn't of said it any better myself. Thank you for for saving me from a ton of typing. Now I just wish this subject would die.

[EmpressCelene]

Oh this thread made me lawl. lol!

I actually don't play songs unless asked or told. If you do not mention it than I assume your good and that you are managing everything well so far. Until than I will continue to dps and dps and dps and reset blood and reset blood and reset blood and reset blood and dps. Muahahahahaha...

[Eldaena]

It does seem a bit strange that some healers don't really need to be told what they need to do in regards to the party, and some bards refuse to sing any songs regardless of the situation. You could backtrack and say it's difficult because Bard is a dd/support job, but I know scholars and white mages that balance that too. They might not do as much dps as a Bard, but it is still possible to read a situation and adjust to it. However, there are bad players playing poorly at all different kinds of jobs in this game. Maybe it's just more noticeable on a bard in some situations. I find myself pulling my hair out doing anything through the duty finder because people just don't know the ins, outs, and subtleties of the content.

[Moqi]

The problem is bad brds cant do basic math. If 20% of my dps means everyone else does more, we are probably netting more dps as a party than if i didnt make that sacrifice. We also have higher survivability.

This so much. I don't get why bards complain about losing dps, you're doing it to boost others'... if the overall dps is higher with songs, gimp yours, who cares.

I started giving comm to bards who sing bbecause so many don't and... ugh why even be a bard then. Even worse those who keep tp song up for them when I'm holy spamming and there is a blm in the party...

[melflomil]

Well people should be get use to singing songs. When the expansion comes out some new sings are coming. If each class is getting five, three are gonna be songs.

[Fyce]

Poor DPS / Never sings => Abysmal bard.
Average DPS / Never sings => Very bad bard.
Good DPS / Never sings => Bad bard.

Poor DPS / Sings sometimes (or only when asked) => Below average bard.
Average DPS / Sings sometimes (or only when asked) => Average bard.
Good DPS / Sings sometimes (or only when asked) => Above average bard.

Poor DPS / Sings at a perfect time without being asked => Good bard.*
Average DPS / Sings at a perfect time without being asked => Very good bard.
Good DPS / Sings at a perfect time without being asked => Stellar bard.


*This one is quite rare. You often don't see a bard knowing how to sing perfectly without a decent understanding of its DPS rotation.

Note to self: Remember to check the forum more often to avoid missing wonderful threads like this one.

[Apricoth]

I think I said this in another thread - Bards need to be reworked. I was pretty mad when I saw what they came out with in 1.0 and carried it over to 2.0. The Bard needs more songs to play - more supportive roll, just like they had it in FFXI except more improved. Hell, have some sort of switch like white mages and scholars have (i.e. Cleric Stance) where if they are going to play a more supportive roll, they click that special button and if they want to be more of the Archer, turn that switch off!