Letter to all bards about Mages Ballad

[LionKing]

What happen to your Riot Blade rotation? Are you a Relic Tank while the rest are Relic +1 DPS? I don't even need to spam flash until my mana is dried just to keep aggro from everyone else. Heck, spamming flash is not even a good idea. All you need to do are Flash-Circle-FastBlade-Flash-Riot Blade-Flash-Fast Blade-Flash-(repeat) and I would find it hard to believe you will need to wait for your mana to Regen, even without a Bard.

[BobbinT]

Learn to conserve and refill your mana better.

Foe Requiem is a much better spell to use on Speed Runs.

PS: If you do not have threat on a pack of mobs after 10 flashes under teh the Fight or Flight buff then i dunno, maybe time to find a new vocation.

I second this. Most experienced tanks actually often asked me to do requiem instead of ballad. Combined with RoH, it delivers quite devastating result.

As for blm rotation, normally fire 3 has longer cast time. But try this: fire3-flare-(that blm skill that switch umbral, forgot the name)-1 or 2 bliz2, then repeat. For some reason, fire3 after 1st rotation got faster cast time.

[Marzapan]

Foe does not decrease Bards dps, Mana song does.

[MartaDemireux]

Foe Requiem is a much better spell to use on Speed Runs.

It's really not, shaving 30 seconds off per fight in a speed run using Ballad was all it took for me to see it was better. We were trying it both ways, standard first with Requiem and then Fire3 > Flare > Bliz3 with Ballad and the difference was very noticeable. I suggest trying it. With this increased DPGCD the BLM generates even more enmity so the Ballad also helps keep the tank Flash-ready. Ballad also allows the WHM to Holy whenever possible with no concern for MP and there is little to no downtime to replenish MP between fights as Ballad is already up.

Edit: Though obviously for boss fights Requiem is the song of choice.

Foe does not decrease Bards dps, Mana song does.

Flare spam makes up the difference in BRD's damage reduction and produces more DPGCD than the 15% damage boost from Requiem would give using the "standard" rotation.

[Zellata]

It's really not, shaving 30 seconds off per fight in a speed run using Ballad was all it took for me to see it was better. We were trying it both ways, standard first with Requiem and then Fire3 > Flare > Bliz3 with Ballad and the difference was very noticeable. I suggest trying it. With this increased DPGCD the BLM generates even more enmity so the Ballad also helps keep the tank Flash-ready. Ballad also allows the WHM to Holy whenever possible with no concern for MP and there is little to no downtime to replenish MP between fights as Ballad is already up.

Edit: Though obviously for boss fights Requiem is the song of choice.

I think your math is off - trash pulls in WP last less than a minute, shaving off 30s per fight would cut the time at least in half and I guarantee you that it doesn't happen.

[MartaDemireux]

I think your math is off - trash pulls in WP last less than a minute, shaving off 30s per fight would cut the time at least in half and I guarantee you that it doesn't happen.

No it's about right. WHM wasn't Holying because PLD was of the mindset that its a waste to +1 relic shield (he was taking a lot of damage), BLM had unmelded crafted accessories, I was in DL outside of AF+1 body and hero ring. Each fight took at least a minute and a half to two minutes, about 30 seconds less with the Flare spam. I judged by my Internal Release timer.

[Artemiz]

Try teaching a bit if you get in this situation. And 'USE MAGE BALLAD YOU NOOB' is not a valid way of teaching anyone.

I agree a polite, fair and mature approach will get you much further in this game than emo teen rage but some poeple you just can't reach in my experience. While farming Garuda HM the WHM in my party politely asked for Ballad and got blasted with "BARD BUFFS ARE FOR BARD ONLY, IF YOU WANT THEM LEVEL THE GOD DAMN JOB YOURSELF" before the bard promtly left, calling an end to the instance for everyone. I agree with everything you say don't get me wrong but man, constructive criticism is an art form on any online game not just MMO's and it has a nasty habit of blowing up in your face.

[MrSagitarius]

What if I just enjoy playing a bard, I mean, just for fun? Why should my character's actions dictate how much fun you can have? Fortunately, I do not let that happen to me. Heck, I'm almost level 50 on just one job, and only halfway through the game's main scenario quests. Don't even ask me about side quests. It's great to know that no matter what, no one can tell me I am doing it wrong because I'm having fun. Then again, maybe I am just a "noob". By the way, does anyone want to help me with Titan (first time through, of course) tomorrow night after I put my kids to bed?

[Grailer]

But in your earlier post (here) you said that DRGs and MNKs were all but complete trash in speed runs. Then the community decided to sh*t all over your completely unfounded claims.

I'm seeing a trend here.

Everyone knows DRG and MNKS aren't good for speed runs compared to BLM .

Anyways I am levelling a Bard at the moment because then I can show how it should be done . Better than having to leave DF groups all the time because the bard is fail .

[Marzapan]

It's really not, shaving 30 seconds off per fight in a speed run using Ballad was all it took for me to see it was better. We were trying it both ways, standard first with Requiem and then Fire3 > Flare > Bliz3 with Ballad and the difference was very noticeable. I suggest trying it. With this increased DPGCD the BLM generates even more enmity so the Ballad also helps keep the tank Flash-ready. Ballad also allows the WHM to Holy whenever possible with no concern for MP and there is little to no downtime to replenish MP between fights as Ballad is already up.

Edit: Though obviously for boss fights Requiem is the song of choice.


Flare spam makes up the difference in BRD's damage reduction and produces more DPGCD than the 15% damage boost from Requiem would give using the "standard" rotation.

Foe is a 10% debuff, not 15%...