Bard songs, changes are needed! Support orientated

[Kurotab0]

Ah lol ok xD well I'm done with the story anyways xD will keep it in mind for future posts though thanks!

[Teleniel]

Mage's Ballad works fine as is. It is a VERY big boost especially in chaining / long fights where you don't see much/any out of combat mana regen.
-Speed Running (whm holy-spam!)
-Titan HM
-Coil (various places)

Foe Requiem: +10% elemental damage (+20% with battle voice), works GREAT with Monk / Black Mage... lackluster with other classes
Army's Peon: Active TP regeneration, works fine... not often needed
Rain of Death: stacking dmg debuff, works fine
Blunt Arrow: off GCD silence, works fine

Bard has a LOT of support, that's why SE is considering if they gave it TOO much damage and looking at how to scale it back... and hopefully keep it in the same ballpark as other classes.

[ProxyTooMuch]

Bard has a LOT of support, that's why SE is considering if they gave it TOO much damage and looking at how to scale it back... and hopefully keep it in the same ballpark as other classes.

Bards don't do more damage than other classes. On Coil Turn 4 you are much better off with a double caster + bard combination than a double bard + caster.

I also think you're mistaking monks for summoners.

[Teleniel]

Bards don't do more damage than other classes. On Coil Turn 4 you are much better off with a double caster + bard combination than a double bard + caster.

I also think you're mistaking monks for summoners.

Summoner does un-aspected damage, so it *should* not get the bonus damage from requiem. Monk has Fists of Fire (punch damage is elemental fire) so they DO get it.

[Viridiana]

By the way Allryion (and every other MNK out there) I got a certain issue with Dragon Kick.

It's my understanding (not being a MNK) that it requires Opo-opo form or Perfect Balance to get the debuff rolling. You don't actually start in Opo-opo, you start with "no form."

Summoner does un-aspected damage, so it *should* not get the bonus damage from requiem. Monk has Fists of Fire (punch damage is elemental fire) so they DO get it.

Testing indicates that SMN *does* get it, and MNK *does not*.

[Sterob]

-20% damage while playing song and still depleting mana

[Teleniel]

Requiem doesn't give you the damage penalty.... so you can be providing a "free" 20% boost too 2 other classes DPS for a short time.
If you're worried about mages MP, *usually* you're not worried about bursting out damage.
If you're worried about melee TP, *usually* -20% from you is better than the team adding 1-2 GCD's between ability chains.

[Lecreuset]

yup songs here don't have as big of an impact as XI but still enough of a difference

[Luso]

If your party is offensive caster heavy, you should always try to run with requiem on. No damage penalty for having it on and in most cases Bard's mp is being unused anyways. Just be careful when running around. The debuff from the song can pull unwanted attention.

[Allyrion]

I think you're greatly under appreciating the songs. Bards are by far the best utility dps in the game and songs are a big part of it.

Mage's Ballad can "turn the tide of battle", because when your progression fights drag on that ballad can mean the difference between a wipe and a kill.

Foe Requiem is even better, it dictates where the tide turns. The damage buff is extremely powerful, and you don't lose 20% damage playing it. That's free damage.
Mage's Ballad can be used to save a party, but Foe Requiem is a constant support otherwise. You should be able to keep doing it and stop to save mana if you know you'll have to help the healer's mana.

You said you only need Mage's Ballad for Titan's heart, right? But then you say you don't play Requiem much cause people always ask for the Ballad.
You should be using Requiem as much as you can. It even buffs your own damage, but it's bigger deal if you have a mage.

Army's Paeon is not as useful, I'll admit. However, no one should ever auto-attack for 20-30s to do normal dps for a few more minutes. That's bad and will probably kill your group in the long run if you're doing coil (or even Titan's phase 5, maybe).
It's not as useful, because it's usually not needed since all TP users have Invigorate. However, when it is needed bard's are the only ones that can and should provide. There are times when this can also turn the tide of battle when you're pushing an enrage in T4 or even just trying to get the kill before you all die.

Of course mistakes like that go away as people know the fights by heart. But that just means bard songs shine in progression fights.
They're a safety net that can help you push through odds that you aren't necessarily ready for otherwise.
If that's not turning the tide of battle, I'm not sure what is.

I don't mind bard's having all the utility it does, while pulling decent dps and being extremely mobile. But you really can't ask them to be any more important.
They're the only required dps in a group already.