SB Bard Changes: Good or Bad? Thoughts?

[Bardo]

Do groups even really ask for songs anymore?

Technically, no. You'll have your songs up 100% of the time, and your group just gets 2% crit bonus from them, no matter which song you have up.
So there's no reason they'd ever ask you for Ballad/Paeon/Minuet.

They might ask for Refresh or Tactician if they are running low on MP/TP, or the tank might ask for Palisade or Nature's Minne if a big hit is coming up.
All of those are instant cast buffs now though. They don't decrease your dps, so if a group asks for them you just make sure you're in range, hit the button, and continue on.

[Bardo]

There isn't a benefit to not moving when you don't have cast times.

Well, there can be... In the case of mechanics where spacing is important or if there are raid target line aoe's that you don't want to aim at party members.

Examples:
1) In the Zurvan (extreme) fight, after the boss goes up for soar, 6 players get targeted with an AoE that is unavoidable, and you want to stand still with correct spacing until after the AoE hits, then you move out of it.
2) Or how about Anchag in Amdapor Keep. The arena you fight in is quite small. In this fight the boss targets dps with 2 different AoE's. But you don't want the AoE's to hit the statues around the arena and you don't want the AoE's that target you to hit your healer. So this is another case where it's MUCH better to stand still and position the AoE's correctly than it is to move out of them quicker.

[SugarBunz]

I'm 64 and so far I am enjoying bard again

[Arkanoid2520]

I feel like I'm playing a different class than what people have been saying in this thread.

I really tried to play BRD in HW and it ruined that class for me. The changes they made are fantastic and when things are proccing I do absurd amounts of damage. I would like it if my songs buffed me but in NO WAY do I feel weaker just the opposite. Switching between the styles of play between the songs is fun the people who "just stand still" should probably try pushing buttons while moving. You don't need to stop your DPS when you are avoiding aoes in dungeons or re positioning for aoe pulls.

[Furious]

Well, there can be... In the case of mechanics where spacing is important or if there are raid target line aoe's that you don't want to aim at party members.

Examples:
1) In the Zurvan (extreme) fight, after the boss goes up for soar, 6 players get targeted with an AoE that is unavoidable, and you want to stand still with correct spacing until after the AoE hits, then you move out of it.
2) Or how about Anchag in Amdapor Keep. The arena you fight in is quite small. In this fight the boss targets dps with 2 different AoE's. But you don't want the AoE's to hit the statues around the arena and you don't want the AoE's that target you to hit your healer. So this is another case where it's MUCH better to stand still and position the AoE's correctly than it is to move out of them quicker.

And how is it that you get to the correct spacing when you are targetted with said skills?

DAMMIT, I KNOW THIS ONE

[Escadora]

This is my favorite iteration of Bard, no questions asked. I love it, once you hit 68 you really start to feel the power behind the use of EA in conjunction with ballad/minuet/paeon. Pitch Perfect FEELS AMAZING. I can't wait until I hit 70 and get refulgent arrow. Barrage + Refulgent arrow will be monstrous damage. We have 30/30 dots with no cast times, so multi-dotting is a dream. Dropping multi dots while in ballad, or even paeon is a beautiful thing in AOE situations. (RoD spam in ballad, QN spam in paeon with reduced cast times - you should not run out of TP due to tactician + invigorate)

All around i'd give bard 9.5/10 right now. Would probably say its perfect if they changed the way some of our songs work on ourselves.

This version of Bard makes me so happy. Mad props to the dev team for their work on Bard. They really killed it with this job.

Having hit level 70, and farmed the hell out of Susano for the last two days. I can say that in my opinion Bard has a definitive spot in a raid environment. Our raid utility is unbelievable.

Also, i'm hovering around 2k Crit, and 900 DHR atm, and the amount of repertoire procs you get is insane. While in Minuet I constantly have multiple L3 PP procs within one Minuet duration. I've seen crits as high as 11k with level L3 PP (i301). Refulgent arrow + barrage procs are delicious especially if you crit the barraged refulgent arrow. Still strong if you don't have Barrage available too. Bards are nasty atm.

[Intellion]

I started FF14 during 2.0's launch and I've always mained BRD from the very beginning since I absolutely loved its high speed run-and-gun/party support gameplay (low damage be damned), and also because archery (or guns, when bows aren't available) is my preferred fighting style in RPGs.

Heavensward then came and killed my beloved job, replacing it with the awful Bowmage. Sure it had high damage, but its gameplay was absolutely atrocious. It completely went against the fundamentals BRD was built on, it had little to no skill synergy, and it was just frustrating and clunky as all hell.

Due to my love of BRD, I forced myself for a time to get used to Bowmage, but it was no use. I hated Bowmage because it was not an archer; it was a spellcaster, which are my least favorite classes in RPGs. It was the Bowmage that made me leave FF14 for two years.

So now Yoshi-P realized how big of a mistake Bowmage was, and apologized by giving us the 4.0 Bard. What can I say? I came back to FF14 just for this new Bard, and I have no regrets. No doubt, the 4.0 Bard, or should I say Super Bard, is the best incarnation of this class to date in FF14's history. Everything about it is so fun, fluid, invigorating, and most of all, it remains faithful to BRD's 2.0 origins.

So here's a heartful thanks to Yoshi-P for giving us this wonderful new version of the class. Welcome back, good 'ol Bard. Farewell, Bowmage, and good riddance. You are a mistake that should never have happened!

[Chevronone]

I have three major gripes:

1.) Quick Noct?! Why are you making us stand in mobs? Wide Volley was superior albeit its higher DPS cost.

2.) Troubadour not effecting us. It's a party wide safety buff...but stops at us...now the healer must give is special attn/extra heal.

3.) I've had farts that lasted longer than the new "Foes".

[KatenKyokotsu]

Every job thread in the forum had it's gripe. Let us all be patient and wait for a few updates to roll in. I'm sure the dev team are still collecting data on the performance of each job. Changes takes time and is not an overnight work. But my only gripe for now is Foe's, I hope is not working as intended as mana dries up too fast

[Exterium]

Also, i'm hovering around 2k Crit[...](i301)

Hmmm... that's pretty much impossible, I'm at 306 ilvl and around 1500 crit