Bard Nerfs Offically Confirmed

[Marzapan]

I did do a little research on bards before I picked them... they were billed as support/dps. I could send you some links, but you sound pretty unpleasant, so I won't bother. Good day.

[Grogin]

I love that people feel the bard class is going to be destroyed because game mechanics will finally apply to them. It is doubtful they are actually going to nerf any skills. They are just not going to let bards fire while moving and have as many instant cast situations. Bard is still going to be sought after because of their utility and ability to avoid damage being a ranged class. They are still going to be an integral part of end game content.

[Woodberry]

I did do a little research on bards before I picked them... they were billed as support/dps. I could send you some links, but you sound pretty unpleasant, so I won't bother. Good day.

I wouldn't mind seeing those links, since you made the claim and all.

[Bardo]

I love that people feel the bard class is going to be destroyed because game mechanics will finally apply to them.

Let's see a video where you keep a silence rotation, pass Rot, and avoid area attacks on ADS; then get back to me about how game mechanics don't apply to Bard.

Complaining about Bards being easy to play when you're stuck on Titan HM is played out...
Bard already does less damage and has the same or more responsibility to participate in game mechanics than other DD's at endgame.

If you want to nerf Bard mobility just because of Titan HM, does that mean we should also nerf Whm [Holy] and Blm [Sleep] because it gives them a significant advantage over other heals/dd in WP speedruns?

[Zilara]

Bard already does less damage and has the same or more responsibility to participate in game mechanics than other DD's at endgame.

I don't really know how to tell you this, but....as a bard that's experienced every bit of content? We don't do less damage. In fact, it's quite the opposite. We're ahead of nearly everyone by a clear margin, largely due to the movement factoring into the damage of everyone else but melee. A good monk does more damage, and a good summoner can beat you if you're expressly running Foe Requiem a hell of a lot of the time to help them out, but Bard is insanely easy to play compared to both of those. If anything, we need some balancing in a big way.

[MargaretThatcher]

I think the reason people take issue with the bard nerfs is because despite not having to deal with any damage reduction, as a result of mechanics, bards are still performing beneath many of the other dps roles. Obviously there are going to be fights where bards shine (see: Titan) because of constant movement. However, within Coils you'll be hard pressed to find a situation where that level and frequency of movement is required. The bard "hype" at the launch of the game was just an exaggerated knee-jerk reaction that everyone had after seeing how strong bards were in the Titan/Garuda fights, and how well they were performing with low gear levels across the board.

[Zilara]

As I stated a moment ago, most Twintania kills have been double Bard for more reasons than just Song coverage. A decent bard who's following his cooldown rotation properly will easily outstrip a BLM or SMN, completely obliterate a DRG, and run just behind a MNK, given similar gear for all of them, even if everyone's standing completely still. The only time their damage dips is during Ballad/Paeon, and even then they can beat a DRG with that running.

[Nooblet]

Bards are brought primarily for their songs and secondarily for their mobility+kiting ability paired with their burst.

They are as close to support as we have in the game.

As long as their dps is "comparable", and I'm fairly certain its still going to be comparable, people will still keep bringing bards.

If all your numbers suddenly read 5 dps lower, noone would even care.

Bard! Not multiple, are brought because they have 2 decent songs that can sometimes come in handy. Second reason is wrong... it would be because they have the easiest method of silence. No-one cares how mobile they are, or if they can kite.

[Bardo]

I don't really know how to tell you this, but.... We don't do less damage. In fact, it's quite the opposite. We're ahead of nearly everyone by a clear margin, largely due to the movement factoring into the damage of everyone else but melee.

Care to explain why parse after parse and simulation after simulation put bard about 10% behind before songs even come into play?
Happen to have a Turn4 parse that shows you above even a brain-dead BLM? (it's not going to happen)

Where's all this movement you're talking about?
I barely have to move at all on Caudecus. The only thing we have to avoid on ADS is laser. There's not a lot of movement involved for ranged DD in Turn4 either.

[Zilara]

Twintania. Obviously, Turn 4 is no contest, although if you isolate the damage on Dreadnoughts in a parse, you'll find the numbers look a lot more even. It's literally impossible to match Flare > Convert > Flare > Ether > Flare on the AOE packs in turn 4.

In Caduceus, we actually have an advantage over anyone but a SMN because running dots on both snakes allows us to effectively double the rate of Bloodletter procs. On ADS, your parse is going to be skewed depending on which route you take, because one results in reduced incoming magic damage, and the other causes reduced piercing and blunt damage.

Essentially, Turn 1 and Turn 5 are the closest to a level playing field you'll find in the Binding Coil without isolating damage numbers on specific mobs. If you'd like, I can go hit up our healer from last night and link the parse information from last night's Turn 5 kill, but it would have to wait until he's online.