Buff Bards or Riot

[ThirdChild_ZKI]

Took a bit to type (as it's whyamistillup-o-clock in the morning), but I appended post #112.

More than anything I hope someone in the dev team reads it, or perhaps thinks along similar lines. The way content is changing, we can't afford to bind ourselves to the "old" constraints and confines of "Support DPS".

[Vespar]

Took a bit to type (as it's whyamistillup-o-clock in the morning), but I appended post #112.

More than anything I hope someone in the dev team reads it, or perhaps thinks along similar lines. The way content is changing, we can't afford to bind ourselves to the "old" constraints and confines of "Support DPS".

Largely I agree with your point of view. I dont think any Bard has been asking for dmg on par with melee or caster DPS. Just that SE dont squash what DPS we had to begin with XD

[Duelle]

Took a bit to type (as it's whyamistillup-o-clock in the morning), but I appended post #112.

More than anything I hope someone in the dev team reads it, or perhaps thinks along similar lines. The way content is changing, we can't afford to bind ourselves to the "old" constraints and confines of "Support DPS".

Well, confining BRD to support to begin with was a mistake. I was against it because I had a feeling there would be problems down the road, but people were hell bent on "support" existing in this game because FFXI.

I think the issue is the strength of Army's Paeon and Mage's Ballad relative to other abilities of that nature. BRD can pop them whenever they want and have better access compared to NIN with Goad because songs don't have cooldowns and MP is trivial to general BRD gameplay since none of their other skills require MP. This would mean that to get rid of the stigma while leaving the rest intact you have a few options and none of them pretty:

A) Nerf Paeon and Ballad: As mentioned, raid reliance on these skills has decreased. I fear BRD mains would riot if this were to happen, even if it were in exchange for better damage without gimmicks like WM.

B) Change the mechanic behind songs: Make Paeon and Ballad cooldowns, much like Goad. Cooldown time, set duration, no resource cost. You can then adjust it as necessary to balance it with whatever damage increases BRD would get to be in line with other DPS jobs.

C) A new use for the old songs: Implement a (ugh) stance that changes the effect of Paeon and Ballad when active. I'd call it Siren Sound, turning Paeon and Ballad into songs that affect only the target you're currently attacking with some negative effect (maybe one being a song that makes it easier for BRD to kite and one that deal minor damage per tick, becoming another DoT to keep on the mob in addition to Venomous Bite and Windbite). Really, if SE is convinced they HAVE to give BRD a stance, this is an approach they could have taken.