I think its time BRD get some loving

[Vlady]

Bards are fine. They wreck every other dps in crystal tower raids, maintain full dps while avoiding mechanics. Have the second best burst in the game. I've seen my dps spike 700 ish on all cool downs. Provide buffs required for progression. Big deal we are behind other dps. We are the white mages of the game. Need us for cutting edge progression and a bit meh when it's on farm status.

[Argentt]

the real issue is the trend with our WD. yes we are okay right now. but what if the trend continues on? no hell any good bard is gonna wait til there's like 10WD point difference from all DoW classes before everyone realizes we're a gimped class. We're seeing the trend now and we want changes before it continues even further. This is what we are worried about.

Bard WD is 10% below all other DOW classes (rounded up or down to give a whole number), so that gap is just going to continue to widen. When WD for everything else is 100, bard will be 90 like you said.

Objectively, it's hard to compare bards to anything but other bards. You have a 10% weapon damage loss off the top, and then are penalized by errors from anyone in the party by having to play songs other than Foes. Your monk isn't penalized by your summoner's bad MP management, or that dragoon having to be rezzed a couple times. It's the bard that's gonna eat that 20% dps penalty. On the other hand it's that ability to carry the party through mistakes that makes them irreplaceable for progression.

I'd love to see that weapon damage penalty tightened up to 5% or so, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe bards will get another dps boosting ability to even things out with the expansion bump to level 60. Otherwise there's always switching to Machinist at that point.

[KylePearlsand]

Basically what the above is said. Bard does have to take the punishment if someone screws up but in return we do make it up by covering those mistakes. Personally, I just did everything I could to be more support based over damage based. In fact, I think it's a good idea to get Mantra since you will be bunched up with raid members most of the time and it will help the healers in dire situations when the monk's mantra is down (or no monk available).

[NoahArks]

I'm more leaning towards having more accesory that actually have determination on them. It's really hard to get BiS on a brd if you don't do coils, wich I don't cause I don't care about it and I don't have the time for it.

I'm pretty much rocking nearly 500skill speed and I would've had over 540skill speed and not even 255 determination with all of it.

[rappa]

Bards are fine. They wreck every other dps in crystal tower raids, maintain full dps while avoiding mechanics. Have the second best burst in the game. I've seen my dps spike 700 ish on all cool downs. Provide buffs required for progression. Big deal we are behind other dps. We are the white mages of the game. Need us for cutting edge progression and a bit meh when it's on farm status.

Please no, no no and again no, don't compare a casual raid as CT1-CT2-CT3 with FCOB.
You can parse the damage inside CT and the 50% of the dps can barely reach 200 dps because they are slacking, bad geared or just simply is the 20th run and he is tired to farm that raid. You can't extrapolate that data.
And obviously 4-man content is not valid too.

Why was DRG buffed? Because inside FCOB, his damage was low in comparation than the others dps, his magic defense was low too, so they died by mechanics when others members survive.

Why was War revamped? Because in First Coil, warrior slacked on defensive cooldowns and died where a paladin survive or had more abilities to prevent damage.

Why was the blm was buffed? For Second Coil.

Why was BRD nerfed? First Coil

Sound elitist, but it is. The content is based on high end.

[Snugglebutt]

...a support class...

It is not a support class, it is a DPS class that just happens to have a few (just a few) support skills hence us getting placed in the long ass DPS classed queue. If we were truly a support class, we would have been given a song which regenerates a parties HP too and a skill to resurrect other players like all other support classes if we truly was a support class instead of a DPS class. Then we could be put in the very quick support/healers queues.

Most classes have skills that buff party members, that does not make all those classes support classes, likewise just because we have a few buff/support skills that does not mean we are not a DPS class. Personally I am glad they are replacing our healing / resurrection LB with a personal DPS one soon, now if they just also either removed or replaced the %dmg penalty to our songs with a different non DPS debuff and/or increase our WD instead of the ever increasing disparity between our WD and other DPS classes WD then I would be a lot happier.

[Sessurea]

I'm more leaning towards having more accesory that actually have determination on them. It's really hard to get BiS on a brd if you don't do coils, wich I don't cause I don't care about it and I don't have the time for it.

I'm pretty much rocking nearly 500skill speed and I would've had over 540skill speed and not even 255 determination with all of it.

Yoichi bow, kirimu hat, coat, pants, IW ring 130+120, IW neck, IW shoe ,hat, gloves, belt Platinum earrings of ranging. None of these have skill speed mate. If you don't coil you sadly have to settle for a skill speed bracelet. IW/Shiva/Crafted all got sksp, but this leaves u at a 2.48 gcd which aint bad.

Also Sksp aint bad at all if ur doing short content that dies in 5 mins ( assuming you got a dragoon for invigorate ). Only sux for 10 min fights in coil really.

[Lycelle]

It is not a support class, it is a DPS class that just happens to have a few (just a few) support skills.

Bard is a job that specializes in buffing their allies with songs and other enchantments. Using bow in combat, Bard improves upon the archer class through the addition of group buffs. Bards have all the abilities and traits of Archers. They can also use all the cross-class abilities of Pugilist and lancer. The most important stat for the bard is dexterity, which increases attack power. The level of your Bard is equivalent to that of your Archer.

Source: http://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Bard

[Snugglebutt]

Source: http://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Bard

Our class is technically archer, a DPS class, the bard job is an enhancement that adds some party buff skills.

From the same wiki you linked...

Bard

Role
Ranged Physical DPS

http://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Jobs

As I said we are a DPS class with some support skills that the bard job gives (just a few) aka just three support skills, Foe (damage enhancing debuff on mobs which other classes also have various damage enhancing debuffs can apply to mobs), Paeon (TP regen which another class such as Ninja can also do on another party member via Goad) and Mages Ballad (MP regen), one skill which enhances the strength of those three skills aka Battle Voice and a DPS skill that has a mob debuff aka Rain of Death.

We have one party buff skill from archer aka Swiftsong that just increases run speed but seventeen DPS skills from it. I have not included cross-class skills brought across from other classes. We currently have a support type limit break but that is being removed and replaced in an upcoming patch with a DPS personal limit break. Our most important stat is DEX which increases attack power aka DPS. We very much are a DPS class. If your playing it as a support class and not a DPS class then your playing it wrong. If your playing it as a DPS class that (occasionally) uses the very limited, very few support skills we have when needed then your playing it right.

[Sessurea]

I can't see bards getting any significant increases at all. The balance is done around the 1% that pull insane numbers in endgame due to simple over play ( like idk, above 500 dps or so at the END of a fcob fight ). The w att decrease was no accident of course, it was done for this reason. It's harsh on the majority of bards, but I bet those crazy bards really aren't crying at night for a buff.

im nowhere near 500 on a fcob turn and I don't feel a need for a buff. I got used to the fact that I trade some damage for support long ago. The damage checks in fights are obviously made with bard dps in mind. How much easier do ppl want this game to get? T_T Wanna do more damage? Play another class.

If they increases bards dps to be on par with other dps, then they will just increase the damage needed to complete the encounter. Then people would just go back to stacking bards. And then the nerfs would come again. And this thread again. and and and....