WM - Why does it turn Bard's into DoT Casters?

[ddwarbird]

Hi, I have only just recently started playing Bard and I don't understand that much about it however I have played a LOT of Summoner. My main is a Summoner Lvl 60 however, I have to ask. What the hell is the point of WM on Bards.

Where is Square going with this, I picked Bard's because they are a MOBILE ranged DPS class. However WM turns them nothing more into a glorified Summoner (I really have mixed feelings about the Summoner on this game because they are not really a summoner, just another DOT mage).

Why are Square trying to turn Bard's into physical damage casters and not play to their strengths, one of which is their mobility in combat?

[Rongway]

While you desire mobility, you should understand that the liberty that mobility-focused players take tends to get the rest of us hit unecessarily with AoEs, and we are full glad that bards are encouraged to stand still at later levels. If you move more than it takes to dodge an AoE or handle a mechanic, you are moving too much, and since you can still move at least enough to do those two things even with Minuet on, there is no problem with Wanderer's Minuet once you get the full set of abilities that makes it a damage gain.

[Nekotee]

My answer would be...
À running bard is Cute but not useful
If he want to deal damage WM is the way to go thanks to the huuuuge dmg boost

And as rongway said
On the way to 60 the bard get some strong useful ability that will help him keeping his style while dealing with WM
(Plus some very strong attack only available with WM)

[seekified]

Someone around here once said that if WM makes you move less, you were overmoving the whole time before. It's not meant to be on 100% of the time, but knowing when to move and when to toggle it is an important part of post-50 bardage.

That said, I completely understand the gripe with having your job's play change very drastically and suddenly.

[Cabalabob]

My gripe with WM and GB is that they change brd and mch from their 50 playstyle and there's really no way to go back, these moves are permanent fixtures of the jobs now. People say "oh well, you can just not use them" but no you can't, because they are a damage increase, so you have to choose between doing your job properly or keeping the playstyle you picked the job for and levelled it all the way to 50 for.

brd and mch have turned into what Blm was at 50, Blm has become an even more strict no moving class at 60, but there's no class that is what brd and mch were at 50 anymore.

The best we can hope for is that they will introduce a counter stance, kind of like how WAR got deliverance. Maybe something like mch's rapid fire as a stance that halves the GCD but increases tp costs by 10% so brd and mch can use that and become about fast fire and free movement again but due to the increased speed and tp consumption they'll eat their tp really fast so will have to swap to WM/GB when they get low to conserve it.

[Ilan]

Well you shouldn't consider it as casting its more like aiming. I don't know if you ever tried to fire a bow in your life but you have to aim first.

[Greedalox]

brd and mch have turned into what Blm was at 50,

I can tell you now this isn't true. Merely an exaggeration in an attempt to push your idea.

[KfLeX]

You get used to it. Can actually be fun and feel great once you get it down.

[Malephicent]

20% damage increase. But cast times are added to all archer and bard weapon-skills. During heavy boss AoE i usually to get one skill off before having to move. If i have to move before the skill gets off, restart the timer. that being said. BRD is not a dps class. Dot when you can, hit when you can, and use your songs for your party mates. You are support. As long as the boss dies who cares killed it.

[Meui]

If you want ranged mobility at endgame you're better off going with MCH instead of BRD. I've played BRD for a couple of years now, and "mained" it up until about two or so months ago. I personally feel MCH's toolkit allows for more mobility. They have more oGCDs and their ammo-proc system makes their 1-2-3 combo instant casts.

It's been said many times before, but BRD wasn't originally designed with WM in mind the way MCH was designed around GB. This becomes more apparent once you've played them both.