"Serious" Bard 6.0 predicted/suggested kit

[ForteNightshade]

Since little to do in ffxiv until next patch I decided to try out BDO (Black Desert Online) of course I decided to play the Shai job since it’s a support class. I must say that it’s amazing. A true bard class. Using different instruments to apply buffs and debuffs. I just scream at the fact that SE doesn’t want their bard to be support heavy because they want to keep every job viable in raid setting. I just hope in 6.0 they take the feedback we’ve been pouring out about better bard support and don’t keep giving us ranger type abilities. We honestly don’t need anymore.

The problem is they have to keep every job both viable and competitive for raiding otherwise it will be locked out of parties. We saw this in 5.0, where Ninja was locked out because of how hilariously weak its damage output was. Astro was looking to go in that direction simply due to its poor healing. Hell, the entire physical range role had a real danger of being booted out entirely had they not buffed them enough to keep up in 5.1.

With that said, they absolutely could go a route where Bard leans more heavily towards its support. Or rather, returns to the hybrid nature that once complimented the job. My big issue with Shadowbringers Bard is it's a Bard in name only. I like the Ranger aspects they've woven in throughout the job's history but this go around they seemingly went out of their way to deemphasize everything that made Bard the hybrid it once was. Part of that is this strange belief only one job can be support focused in the role, though I suspect it had more to do with the massive power creep Bard had in previous expansions. You'll notice they've been especially weary of even touching Scholar and Warrior, who both dominated the meta for years. Ninja likely only saw love because they flubbed it up so badly at release, they had no choice.

[Rika007]

My big issue with Shadowbringers Bard is it's a Bard in name only. I like the Ranger aspects they've woven in throughout the job's history but this go around they seemingly went out of their way to deemphasize everything that made Bard the hybrid it once was. Part of that is this strange belief only one job can be support focused in the role, though I suspect it had more to do with the massive power creep Bard had in previous expansions.

IMO of course but to me it's pretty clear it was a mix of both. They flat out stated the saw Bard now as the 'middle ground' between Machinist and Dancer in terms of it's support abilities, full well knowing that they had just axed over half of Bard's unique support kit while giving a superior support kit to Dancer. They then gave the passive songs back, even though the majority of Bard player feedback was for Foe's requiem to return as that was an ability that at least required an input of some kind. Anyone could read between the lines and see that it was mainly to make sure Bard didn't infringe on the shiny new toy in Dancer.

As for the meta and balance side of that, to me it was just an incorrect read, thinking that Bard was the lynchpin of the synergy meta, rather than the primary beneficiary. Ninja kept Trick, Dragoon kept Littany and tether, Scholar kept stratagem, AST cards got reworked but was given a full new ability in divination to makeup for the loss of spread, summoner kept devotion. Bard on the other hand got its signature ability Foe's axed entirely, lost it's crit buffing passive songs (then got weaker versions of them back), lost refresh and palisade, and had troubadour simplified and passed off to the other two ranged. Speaking as a Bard who didn't have a Scholar or Dragoon in their party, Bard's damage was far more middle of the road when neither of those two were present. Just removing the crit synergy from DoTs and the piercing debuff entirely would have been more then enough of a change.