BARD resource?

[Bubba_Drunk]

Anyone know of a resource like "monk temple" or something that I can link to new bards without having to sit down and explain shit to them for hours on end? :P

EDIT: I was looking through the pages I can't find anything...

[Kurand0]

I am also interested in this.

[blowfin]

A little outdated but this thread has some very good information.
http://www.bluegartr.com/threads/117758-Bard-Detail

There's not that much to explain though, here's a brief brain dump:

#1: All stat adjustments go into DEX.

#2: Cross Class Skills
Important ones
- Internal Release
- Blood for Blood
- Invigorate
Not so important/useful
- Second Wind
- Featherfoot
- Mantra
- Etc.


#3: Combat
- Keep Straight shot bonus up
- Keep your DoT's up
- Ride your offensive cooldowns when you can
- Use mobility to your advantage, stay as far away as you can and on the move if you need to
- Use songs (and Voice to boost) when appropriate.
- Use Requiem to boost magic damage for BLM/SMN/WHM etc.
- Use Ballad for MP (duh!)
- March is an interesting one because we can't see the TP of other party members, it's rarely needed though.
- Quick Knock is your most effective AOE to SPAM at lvl 50. RoD and Wide Volley have the same damage for higher TP use, and the free CD's don't kick in enough to make them worthwhile
- Use off GCD skills when you can to boost damage (i.e. Repelling Shot and Blunt Arrow (if you're not in a silence rotation)), try not to do stupid but hilarious things like Repelling shot yourself into the wall in T5, or off a cliff while you're in combat.

This is the only macro I use on Bard. This is basically your main attack button.
/micon "Bloodletter"
/ac "Heavy Shot"
/ac "Misery's End"
/ac "Bloodletter"


When you get the straight shot procs, make sure you burn them to get the certain crit. Apart from that there aren't any combos that you need to pay attention to.

If there are more specific questions then feel free to ask away. If I don't get to them then I'm sure someone else will! =)

[Omnilex]

A little outdated but this thread has some very good information.
http://www.bluegartr.com/threads/117758-Bard-Detail

This is the only macro I use on Bard. This is basically your main attack button.
/micon "Bloodletter"
/ac "Misery's End"
/ac "Bloodletter"
/ac "Heavy Shot"

Don't use this macro, at least not religiously. I've come to learn that some bards restrict their blood letter procs, or not knowing when it actually procs due to the use of this macro. Of course there are others who are aware of it when it's actually up etc.,
My point is, have a manual key slot for both ME and BL. Use them asap. Weave these skills accordingly when you want and not blindly spam a macro that "gets all procs".

tl;dr go stick shift

[SeraviEdalborez]

If you're going to use that macro, Heavy Shot goes first.

[Illya]

I've seen bard players who macro everything and ones who macro nothing. DPS wise I don't know which approach is better.

Since Straight Shot, Windbite, and Venomous Bite all have slightly overlapping durations, is there any kind of rotation for bard that optimizes their uptime without clipping or letting them drop?

[HaelseMikiro]

If you're going to use that macro, Heavy Shot goes first.

Agree 100%. ME & BL are off the GCD skills, so should be used between GCD's to maximize dps. Placing HS lowest in priority would cause non-GCD skills to be used first, delaying your GCD usage => reducing dps

Since Straight Shot, Windbite, and Venomous Bite all have slightly overlapping durations, is there any kind of rotation for bard that optimizes their uptime without clipping or letting them drop?

Nope. Just make sure you have SS up when you apply them. Getting Straighter Shot procs from HS usage makes the overlap issue moot , as you'll be resetting the SS buff when you can. Use WB prior to VB in your rotation; for any situation that warrants putting both dots up, WB first is the better choice.

[SeraviEdalborez]

Clipping is not the devil. Under 3 seconds left, re-use the DoT.

Macro'd GCD actions are strictly worse than unmacro'd by fractions of a second which add up over time. That said it's a much larger DPS loss to not be using BL/ME when they are up. For players with low reaction time, the 3-in-1 spambutton (or a 2-in-1 spambutton for just BL+ME to use between GCDs) is perfectly serviceable. Our BRDs' DPS holds up very well according to my abacus and they use the 3-in-1.

[MythToken]

Clipping is the devil, you are literally cutting the potency off of your Dot. You are also losing opportunity cost that you could be casting another damaging ability.

It would be better to let them drop off completely and reapply, than to clip.

[Argentt]

Since Straight Shot, Windbite, and Venomous Bite all have slightly overlapping durations, is there any kind of rotation for bard that optimizes their uptime without clipping or letting them drop?

I'd say BRD attacks follow more of a priority system than an actual rotation. I'm sure there's an exact specific opening rotation to maximize DPS, but past the first 10 GCDs or so, a static rotation goes out the window.

The main things to remember when applying the dots is that you want to apply them with as much crit as possible for the River of Blood procs. So you'll always want to have the straight shot buff up when casting dots, and you'll also want to pop Internal Release before applying them whenever it is available.