Should I just stop playing bard now? (not a rant..serious question)

[Vicus]

So I have a 50 paladin and a 43 bard. I didn't enjoy tanking in this game as much as I though I would and decide on bard instead. Man I love playing this class...the freedom of moment is exactly what I look for in a range class for me. I hate being rooted into place while casting.

With that said...I haven't touch a bard past 50 and wanted the higher level bards opinions on much the cast times on the new songs change everything? How long are the cast times compared to cast ? Are bards basically casters now and theres no way around it? If yes I'm probably going to go a dps melee instead.

Of the three melee can anyone describe how the playstyles are?
I know monk is combo based..hit 1 gets 2 gets 3 ect.
What is ninja like? same as monk ? more proc based?
What about dragon, just a rotation type playstyle?

Any advice would be great.

Thank you

[pandabearcat]

If you wanna do max dps you're going to go caster. Personally I dislike this bandaid fix.

I would rather bard dps be lower than casters on a standstill fight but still not feel restricted by their mobility.

However maybe the designers feel differently. But in short yes, the casting is going to be necessary to do competitive dps.

[AskaRay]

The cast is about a second shorter than your GCD.

[Edellis]

I assume people who whine about Bard cast times haven't played a caster.

[AskaRay]

I assume people who whine about Bard cast times haven't played a caster.

This pretty much. I purposely leveled one type of role eacheck, to get a feel for all of them... you can barely move as a caster. This cast bar for bard is nothing in comparison

[Temjiu]

This pretty much. I purposely leveled one type of role eacheck, to get a feel for all of them... you can barely move as a caster. This cast bar for bard is nothing in comparison

Right. But this isn't about caster comparisons (although the OP may have shot themselves in the foot by opening that door), this is really about the feel of a bard, and how the higher level skills have changed that. I too have been affected by this...although it doesn't seem like much, even 1 or 2 cast timers makes my bard feel different. there was a very real reason why my bard shot past my caster classes in level...

is it going to make or break the Bard? not sure, but i can guarantee you that many people played bard for a specific feel, and the new skills are going in the opposite direction.

[RiceisNice]

I assume people who whine about Bard cast times haven't played a caster.

Well yeah...there's a reason that those sort of people picked bard over a black mage.

[Rose-Wild]

Stop now. I have been main Bard since launch and now we are literally casters. Minuet is not something optional. All the good skills can only be used during it. Forget about removing it because it's a 3 secs cast time so it's not even worth even if you have to move.

[Croisciento]

Snip.

Hum... it's actually the case. If you don't use your WM you'll parse as much as before back in 2.0

Yes you're now obliged to have cast time do the maximum amount of damage, but in the end WM is just a huge buff to bard.

[Hyrist]

Well, if all you want to do is DPS at a range without ever having to pause, you're out of luck. Both Ranged DPS classes have skills that make them Stationary temporarily in trade for more powerful attacks. It's a risk you take if you want to deal more damage. If not, you can sacrifice the extra damage and go without.

If you're that bent over about the 'feel of the job' you're kinda SoL at this point. Classes change. Dragoon now has Randomized Positionals. Summoner didn't get new Egis, BLM and WHM got their AoEs nerfed. Not every patch is going to go your way when it comes to the direction of the game. Adaptability is key when it comes to playing long term in MMOs.