Bard questions - what role are we ?

[Egnasya]

I don't think Square knows what Bards are to be honest. In one interview Yoshida says there is no such thing as a support class. In another he says Bards (and MCH) are a support class. Yet even after that second interview where we were declared a support class, we can't queue as support.

Special thanks to inaccurate translation. He prolly didn't contradict himself in Japanese.

I'm pretty sure in the first interview he refered to no role being strictly support, as in every class is either clearly tank, healer or DPS. A pure support role would be a class that does neither tank nor heal nor deal (considerable) damage. Even if Bard DPS is bad in comparison to others, it's still not as bad it would have to be for a pure supporter.
In the second he probably spoke more of support that is integrated in the current class lineup which differs a bit from class to class. Arguably Bard has more support to offer in that regard than say Black Mage, thus Bard leans more towards being a support class while still staying DPS in its core, even if a bit of that cake gets cut out and distributed among everyone else; you bet SE still counts this as contribution coming from the Bard.

[fm_fenrir]

BRD was what you would call "support" in FFXI--you didn't actually do anything except play songs, and your contribution was measured solely in your ability to juggle position and songs on everything in the fight (friend and foe alike). It wasn't a DPS class, but because the song effects were so damn strong, the six people who played BRD were in massive demand for literally any content that mattered.

SE learned from that and made BRD a DPS class, so people who didn't want to play buffbot might pick up the class and offer those buffs to more groups. So yes, BRD is support, but not "pure" support because most people hate playing those classes.

[Kitfox]

BRD/MCH role should be called "Battery" because that's what they are.

[T2teddy]

I just resubbed for this game, i played a Bard to 50 back at launch.
Are we a pure DPS class, or do these Bards have a supporting role?
If support, what skills are they benefitting with ?

You played a level 50 Bard but don't know what your job is in a party? How is that even possible...
You have buffing songs which help with increasing party dps, TP regen, MP regen.
So while you're adding to overall DPS with your own shots etc, you're making it possible for everyone else to improve their performance.

[Sleigh]

You played a level 50 Bard but don't know what your job is in a party? How is that even possible...
You have buffing songs which help with increasing party dps, TP regen, MP regen.
So while you're adding to overall DPS with your own shots etc, you're making it possible for everyone else to improve their performance.

To be fair, BRDs both had ridiculous DPS back at launch, and had no clue to play Foe's/TP song since it wasn't ingrained in the meta in the first few weeks (at least the ones I played with). Foe's on pull? That was a strange concept.

[Lilith_Merquise]

lol you rarely ever even played songs unless you wanted shit DPS, the previous -20% damage reduction was obnoxiously disgusting and a small buff by moving it to -15%. Still we see how much 10% can be a real game breaker from things like Blood for Blood, so to lose any of that DPS is just a real kick to your DPS tender parts. The problem is that SE doesn't want BRD to be the 11 Buff Bot because it was rarely played and was literally the most important part of a party next to a RDM. But doesn't want to make it the DPS it was at the launch of the game with long range and the ability to essentially sidestep all together lethal abilities while dealing damage where as other melee range DPS are zoned out. I get that, but at the same time, you not making up your mind about where this class lies in the greater scheme of things really shows in the class for how weak it is.

[Lilith_Merquise]

Is it nice to have a BRD or a MCH in higher level content? Sure. Is it mandatory? Hell no! Most of the classes have abilities that gain back TP and MP, and if you're not using them effectively, you shouldn't even be in high level content to begin with. If a Healer has to cast raise AT ALL in higher content, chances are your death wiped the raid anyway. So what is even the point? If you can't manage your resources then you're simply not ready for higher content, and that is the problem. Sure BRD/MCH can make certain classes more lazy and less dependent on their own abilities, but any skilled player playing any of those classes doesn't even need a BRD/MCH to be apart of the run to win it effectively. In short meaning, we get nerfed for having abilities, that are fundamentally luxury in the greater scope of the game.

[DGladius]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...sLaoo/pubhtml#

Doesn't seem like Bard or MCH dps is bad at all.

[Mikedizzy]

With that Bards sure have their place in group setup. You might however not see big numbers like BLM or DRG does, and be warned, at level 60 Bard is not as mobile as it was at 50 since new mechanics in Heavensward trade increased damage for cast timers on weaponskills.

You will not see big numbers like Black Mage but we can see some big numbers "for us"...I hit something like a 5786 Sidewinder and it felt so damn good....love new Bard although it is definitely not for everyone any more.

[NovaLevossida]

You will not see big numbers like Black Mage but we can see some big numbers "for us"...I hit something like a 5786 Sidewinder and it felt so damn good....love new Bard although it is definitely not for everyone any more.

Oh, I definitely like "for us" numbers. I know my Deathflare isn't as strong as the top potency attacks in the game, but we all enjoy seeing our own job's big numbers.