6.0 Bard complete rework please

[Shurrikhan]

It doesn't inherently need a weapon in order to deal damage to things, especially in a setting where magic exists in abundance. One merely helps expand options. Though the main difference is a Bard doesn't need to necessarily rely upon weapons entirely for their combat, nor even for a majority of it.

And yet every example you just gave does in fact use a weapon. For casters, it's purely aesthetic, true, but Dancers? Ninja? Are we just going to ignore how much less versatile Dancer would be, and how little reason it would have to make any of its motions outside of Standard/Technical Step if not for its chakram? Are Ninja's daggers entirely arbitrary and its motions, stats, and toolkit entirely deserving of a different weapon? Do you want to do nothing but spam Ninjutsu 24/7?

Again, while we could arguably have a Bard that does nothing but blast away enemies with voice beams, confuse them into attacking each other with limericks, and force enemies to dance uncontrollably with one skill and to commit suicide with another... is that what the community really wants from Bard -- a weaponless belter of inaudible music that stretches disbelief far more than any other job in this game thus far?

However, the "Issue" is avoided because they're not primarily Rogues with Bard stuck on top, but Bards through and through.

But, by your own definition, they are not. Of its 25 skill acquisitions, 12 are eclectic, relatively arbitrary, and meant merely to make you not a waste of space between applications of utility. And they only have access to the weapon-enhancing magics that Clerics and Druids -- nothing unique to Bard. Perhaps you're using "D&D Bard" in place of "one game's offshoot vision of D&D Bard" but as someone who's played the later in 4e and 5e, this is just blatantly false.

Since the "Issue" is not "Does this weapon fit a Bard?" but merely, how much said "Bard" relies upon weapons as opposed to utilizing music or their voice (Either via shouts, magical words or chants) given that due to the versatility of Bardic magics, you can theoretically justify nearly every weapon for a Bard. It really just depends on what kind of ways the magics are utilized.

Then why are you so hung up on Bard being a Rogue instead of an Archer? It literally does not matter, save that a Rogue is going to be in a less advantageous position to make use of its "bardery" than an Archer would be.

In XIV, most of how Bardic magic is used is via a passive effect, while you just shoot arrows at people. While for some reason, your songs allow you to shoot people with arrows more often (MB/AP) or shoot a aether infused arrow at people (WP).

And I'm not defending that. I've specifically criticized that, including in the post you just quoted. I just see no reason to do as you've hinted at in either (1) completely disarming Bard or forcing it into constant music-playing or (2) swapping it to a Rogue base.

I'd like more Bard in my Bard. I'd be fine with any strictly archery stuff being limited to Archer and all Bard skills thereafter being quite wholly related to "bardery". Heck, I'd prefer if Gunner were the base class for MCH and anything and everything related to wielding (not summoning or augmenting, mind you) guns was limited to GNR, while MCH's own augmentations were purely built around tech. Same for Ninja, same for Monk, etc., etc. But I still want my Bard to feel like a combatant, and I see no reason to completely swap its origins when an Archer is a perfectly reasonable (imo, the most reasonable) base for it.