Bard Points Allocation - Isn;t it DEX?

[Faelandaea]

So i am a healer - my primary role will always be healer and I like to think I am good at it. However, I wanted to better understand other roles people play in the partys that I heal, so i leveled a Bard. He always seemed weak, even trying rotations suggested on forums and guides. As a healer, my weakest heal heals people for over 1500 (Physick) (crits for 2k to 2.5k), so it stands to reason that the balance should be that DPS have an equal amount of damage output, correct?

I have all allocation points dumped into DEX, and have my Bard in all Amon's gear from ST. My DEX is 544. I would think that without buffs, I should be getting at least 600+ DPS. I'm not. I was getting only 200-300 DPS after 10 minutes on a practice dummy.

Am I missing a stat somewhere that needs attention for damage? I really want to improve so I can still be valuable to a party on days when healers are not needed.

[mvenom]

I would think that without buffs, I should be hitting with the bard single target spam of Heavy Shot for at LEAST 1000 each shot, if not 2000, as all other DPS in the game hit for this much also. However he's only hitting things for roughly 400 - 600 per hit. Tanks do far more DPS than I do..

No. No-one does 2k hits on regular attacks. Flare(blm) + fester (smn) can do 2.5k ish but those arent spammable skills. you are either drunk, troll or really confused bard
Also, thats not how DPS works. You put your dots on target, use procs (blood letter), blunt arrow if no silence needed, repelling shot, straight shot for buff, all other buffs. Tanks dont have those.

[Empty-handed]

Hmmm. First bard is a dd with support songs. Our job is not meant for 100% high dmg dps. Leave that for melee and caster.

That doesn't mean u shouldn't be able to pull high numbers.

Bard can bypass and completely ignore most fights mechanics and have little to no impact on his dps uptime. due to being ranged and 0 cast time to skills. No positional requirement. No cast time. The only times for a bard to stop hitting buttons is when the fight forces u to hold dps. Like t6 blight.

Also one of the best burst dmg in the game. Pot+Hawks+B4b+Barrage.

when u consider dps. Please count everything. Buffs. Dots. Stats. Ilvl. Duration. Etc. not just heavy shot.

[Faelandaea]

I agree with both of you and I thought we were a support class, also, but I just got kicked out of two parties in a row - 1 Garuda Extreme and 1 Odin - for not doing high enough numbers in DPS (their words, not mine), and it was embarrassing. I always solo'd on my bard and those were my first attempts at dungeons with full parties and it's a start that makes me think I am going about bard all wrong. i WANT to be a support class when not healing. It;s what I like to do but I can;t go in unless i know I wont get the party killed. The first party said the entire reason they wiped was because of me - I stayed alive, stayed out of AoE, had the right targets, but just didn't put out the punch because Garuda and Odin are both DPS checks and your DPS has to be at max on both those fights.

[Melriss]

Admitting to using 3rd party

This is why you'll never succeed.

[Faelandaea]

Well I just monitored my DPS on a practice dummy - only getting 500 dps out of the Bard. But on a good note I average 2,000 HPS on my SCH (2124) with crappy gear so I am happy with healing. It's just DPS I need to find a solution for.

FYI to the reply above - if by "3rd party" you mean a parser, there's nothing against the EULA about that. You should know this because you, like every player, have fully read all of the terms and conditions and the license agreements before you committed to buying a subscription. I do say every player because by agreeing to play the game, you acknowledge you did so In there it clearly states that botting is not allowed, which is using third party software to alter gameplay, such as scripts that control the character, farm automatically, etc. Looking at your DPS is not considered even close LOL. Since by playing the game you have acknowledged understanding and agreement to that EULA, then your post has just been proven nothing but a troll in hopes of scaring people, which will not work because the rest of us also understand the EULA and have read it Nice try, though. Anyway, moving on . . .

Okay so on my Bard, due to the limitations of the game (being you can NOT have more than 5 skills on one macro) I have two macros and rotation I work with:

1 key:

/micon "Heavy Shot"
/ac "Internal Release" <me>
/ac "Raging Strikes" <me>
/ac "Misery's End"
/ac "Bloodletter"
/ac "Heavy Shot"

2 Key:

/micon "Straight Shot"
/ac "Hawk's Eye" <me>
/ac "Barrage" <me>
/ac "Straight Shot" <t>

3 Key:
Blunt Arrow

4 Key:
Venemous Bite

5 Key:
Windbite

So I open with a mash of 1 until those buffs are on, and mash 2 to get those buffs, 3-4-5 to get in a quick BA and DoTs. Then my rotation is basically 1/2 as procs/buffs demand, 3 when off CD and 4/5 when DoTs need refreshed. So it ends up being:

Internal Release, Raging Strikes, Hawk's Eye, Barrage, Straight Shot, Blunt Arrow, Venemous Bite, Bloodletter and heavy Shot for the opener.

It pretty much includes all of the buff-ups and openers that people post in the guides to do with a macro setup that lets me focus on keeping mobile. Remember I am on a keyboard, not a PS4 controller so hand placement is not as convenient or easy as you guys have it - it's easy to end up with fingers in the wrong spot and strafing instead of moving forward, etc. so with this macro setup I can have as little hand movement as possible. However if there is a more suggested way to rearrange the skills in the macros I am open for suggestion.

I almost can't wait to return back to healing but I am determined to learn DPS and tanking also because i feel it is crucial for a good healer to know the roles and gameplay of the other classes in order to predict and heal efficiently.

[Cerick]

But on a good note I average 2,000 HPS on my SCH (2124) with crappy gear so I am happy withhealing.

Is this without Crits? I don't play SCH very often as I main WHM, but I do not recall Physick hitting for 2k on average and my SCH is i116. I can't even imagine an i130 SCH doing normal Physick for 2k average.

[Werhusky]

Is this without Crits? I don't play SCH very often as I main WHM, but I do not recall Physick hitting for 2k on average and my SCH is i116. I can't even imagine an i130 SCH doing normal Physick for 2k average.

MUST BE with crits my heals echoless on WAR are around 1500 iirc i114 sch crit build. U might get to 1700 with full det build mby...

[RinchanNau]

Well I just monitored my DPS on a practice dummy - only getting 500 dps out of the Bard.

There is zero chance you're getting 500 DPS on a practice dummy w/ your gear and those macros. Unless maybe your dummy parse is about 20 seconds long. Good luck with those 2k Heavy Shots you desire. Maybe in the expansion that'll be a more realistic possibility.

In a 4:15 test with my gear I get around 495-500 w/ no party, pots, food, or Misery's End.

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodest...acter/6112056/

Dreadwyrm Longbow
Augmented Ironworks Mask of Aiming
Demon Tabard of Aiming
Dreadwyrm Bracers of Aiming
Augmented Ironworks Belt of Aiming
Dreadwyrm Breeches of Aiming
Augmented Ironworks Leg Guards of Aiming
Augmented Ironworks Choker of Aiming
Dreadwyrm Earring of Aiming
Dreadwyrm Bracelet of Aiming
Augmented Ironworks Ring of Aiming
Ironworks Ring of Aiming

654 dex, 524 acc, 580 crit, 334 det, 341 skill speed

This is a gear set that, if you add in food, meets the t13 cap. I can drop some accuracy and pull closer to 510-520 for uncapped content with the same conditions of no party, pots, food, or Misery's End. Planning on perhaps adding in a few crafted accessories. The Kirimu Coat would probably be slightly better from a pure DPS standpoint, but I don't feel like spending the gil to 100% min max the one I have.

[FranSeara]

Hello Op, Bard item Level 117 here. I've hit for 1k damage but not very often. The 1 thing you must keep in mind with bard is "Many of bard's shots hit more then once" Just having your 2 dots up on a target nets you about 300 dps, using straigh shot could net you 350-450 per shot. I think I average about 500 dps without crit or buffs. Adding crits and buffs in.....I think you get the picture here. The myth that bard cant do high dps is false. With blood for blood on and a few crits I hit for 600-800 per hit. ps: You really dont need any guides to play bard.