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A little outdated but this thread has some very good information.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A little outdated but this thread has some very good information.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.

[Viridiana]

But if you want to get picky, since VB front loads 100 potency, you could use it first on any enemy that you'd expect to die in <12 seconds, and WB first on one that you'd expect to live > 12 seconds. As both skills would have done exactly 240 potency worth of damage at 4 ticks (12 sec)

I disagree. I did the math on it several months back, and it actually breaks down even more than that.

[HaelseMikiro]

I disagree. I did the math on it several months back, and it actually breaks down even more than that.

Thanks for the reply. I went to your math post (actually extended your math out all the way to Refresh/6 ticks, since yours only went as far as the 3/2 tick point).
And you're right, Using WB before VB almost always keeps you 10-20 potency ahead of using VB before WB. Using VB first only gives you a potency advantage from the instant you use VB until WB gets it's first tick. And depending on your skill speed and when during the system clock the ticks start applying, that's a maximum of a 5.5 second window. Which makes VB first more effective during only (MAX) 30.5% of your 18 second dot rotation

[Tua]

I dropped HS from my BL/ME spam macro since I found it easier to ride the GCD with skill queues instead of counting on correct macro button press timing. My current spam setup consists of GCD skills on 1234 and ME/BL+facetarget on a turbo button on my mouse - this lets me queue each GCD skill and also spam ME/BL ceaselessly while always facing the target (dem autoattacks). Queued GCD skill presses actually take priority over macros so the GCD skills always go off when they become available and shameless turbo button spam sneaks in ME/BL immediately when they become available.