Bard's Thematic Future

[MartaDemireux]

There is precisely zero possibility they covert Bard into Ranger at this stage. The undertaking would require a massive reworking for something ultimately not really worth the endeavour. Instead of a new job, we'd essentially have two halves rebuilt. Furthermore, Bard from previous FFs will not work in this game because it has to be a damage dealer. It essentially becomes Dancer... which means now you wield a Harp in lieu of a bow and maybe have a few more buffs. But at the end of the day, you're a DPS who is expected to DPS. Regardless, even if this were under some consideration, it's extremely unlikely they release another physical Range.

I have to disagree. 4 tanks, 4 melee, 3 healers, 3 ranged, 3 casters (4 if you count BLU). Adding a healer and a ranged would balance the roles out a bit.

Additionally, changing BRD to RNG would only require new quests, 7 animation changes and no balance adjustments in it's current form. RNG in the series did have very small amounts of defensive support, usually in the form of animals. Then, adding a new BRD from the ground up would focus on songs and could, hear me out, even be a healer.

Minnes in the series were defensive songs (could be HP shields), Paeons were heals and HoTs, Requiems were damage and DoTs, Goddess' Hymnus resurrected, Lullaby is present as Repose, Nightingale/Troubadour from XI are equivalent to Lightspeed/Presence of Mind. They could have a feature where the more they sing (heals and damage), the more their Soul Voice fills up (similar to fairy gauge) and they can use that gauge for party buffs like Minuet (similar to lily gauge, balanced with AST buffs) with a song that they can sing that builds the gauge during downtime like DNC but also provides group mitigation. There's a plethora of songs in the series that can fill in any unique buffs or mechanics, really.

I'm not saying that it is likely or even the best option for BRD, just that there are absolutely viable possibilities and solutions available to get a BRD whose focus is on songs. I'd personally welcome even a drastic change as this to get a BRD who sings.