This new bard play style blows.

[ShaneDawn]

I do agree on party significance being a problem, especially since it seems like their support capabilities needs a buff somewhere. Otherwise, Bards/Machs will perceive themselves and others will be perceive them as being weak when they could very well not be.

Probably yeah, but for example Disembowel used to be a real gain when paired with a Bard and was what made Dragoon a real contender with MNK/NIN before the expansion as Bard was pretty much a guaranteed slot on any raid team.

I feel like if the only redeeming feature of the said support classes will be the MP regen (and TP regen and maybe Foe's Requiem to a slight extent), the whole classes will feel very underwhelming everywhere else except the hardest raids where mp/tp regen are a real issue. I think that bard/machinist could do with more class synergy perks than just the Foe's Requiem to make them a valid choice in the dps race.

[DreameR7g]

Snip

I fully agree with everything you just said. I just think part of the problem is player perception at the moment, believing that bard is meant to be a pure DPS when it really isn't.

[Gilraen]

I fully agree with everything you just said. I just think part of the problem is player perception at the moment, believing that bard is meant to be a pure DPS when it really isn't.

Which is pretty blind considering 4 of Bard's original 5 Job abilities were support song related and the 5th, Rain of Death, was largely relegated to a single off-proc use before Wide Volley spam to force recharge. 3.0 revived Rain of Death making it much more useful, but didn't really change it's circumstances. 3.0 did add more attack abilities but locked them behind a stance and also added a support song. No mistake, the role of Bard is clear, only way you can't see it is if you don't want to.