Brd opener

[SlyRoyale]

1) Opening with Straight Shot wastes a potential Bloodletter proc.
2) If you open with Straight Shot, you need a Straighter Shot proc within 3-4 GCDs. If you don't get it, you are faced with three scenarios:
a) Reapply Straight Shot early, wasting TP and potency.
b) Clip your DoTs, also wasting TP and potency.
c) Reapply DoTs without Straight Shot (defeats the purpose of the opener).
3) The opener I use has all the buffs up for the 2nd set of DoTs.
4) With the Straight Shot opener, to stack all your buffs and get the most out of your DoTs, you have to hold onto them long enough that you end up losing DPS. On the other hand, weaving your buffs ASAP means you only get some for your first set of DoTs, and some for the 2nd set. This isn't as good as having all of them up for your second set and none for your first.

To answer your question about Blunt Arrow, it has to do with animation locks. If you aren't holding on to Blunt Arrow to interrupt certain moves (like the Allagan Naga's Baleful Roar), you can weave it in for extra DPS. The reason this move is used right after weaving Hawk's Eye has to do with the animation lock from the off-GCD attack. Depending on your skill speed, you can weave in two off-GCD abilities without having them cut into your GCD. If your skill speed is too high, you can save Blunt Arrow for after your buffs are all applied and weave it in on its own. That's pretty much why.

[Lemuel81]

1. you do know that a crit buffed dot will reset bloodletter right? I'll trade that one guarenteed bloodletter from the start and enjoy the BL procs from my dots from the start and normally a dex pot is drinked from the start and I love the Bloodletter procs on dex pots.

2. How do you even get "within 3-4 GCD" If I dont get it within 3-4 GCD I have no problems

3/4. Do you have any logs showing the "traditional vs yours" When I say logs I mean at last 20 parses of each and examined?

But anyway thanks for your explanation, its appreciated

[SlyRoyale]

1) The opener exposes you to more DPS from the get-go. Bloodletter is a free 150 potency attack. There's no reason not to take advantage of it ASAP. Also, the crit increases are based on your crit rate rather than a flat rate increase. The difference from the beginning isn't much. You'll see more from having your 2nd set of DoTs having all the buffs instead, both in their damage and Bloodletter procs.
2) Heavy Shot has a 10% chance of proccing Straighter Shot. Each GCD takes about 2.5s or less depending on your skill speed. If you open with Straight Shot and apply your DoTs, you have 15s left on your Straight Shot buff after both DoTs are up. If you don't get a Straighter Shot proc and you have 3-5s left on the buff, you are faced with those three aforementioned scenarios. If you don't have a problem with that, I assume you either reapply the buff early before your DoTs are about to expire, or after reapplying your DoTs?
3&4) I have a parse showing my opener and another using Krietor's opener. I wish I could've done more, but I'm a console player and I'd have to catch one of my PC friends when they have nothing better to do to parse for me. If in-game parsing was a thing, I'd gladly post more than 20 parses for each opener. Instead, this is what I could provide before my friend parsing at the time had to leave for breakfast:
DoT opener: http://puu.sh/dvtcK.JPG
Krietor's opener: http://puu.sh/dvtHk.JPG
It may not show much, but it's better than nothing. I would post more parses as long as it isn't a waste of the parser's time.

[Branimus]

Personally I've tried like...six different openers on Bard, never the one Sly is talking about, but I can tell you the one I've found to be the best in regard to pure DPS output.

Straight Shot > Bloodletter > Every Buff You Have (Raging Strikes, Quelling Strikes, Blood for Blood, Hawk Eye, Barrage, Internal Release) > Windbite > Flaming Arrow > Venomous Shot > Blunt Arrow > Heavy Shot > Repelling Shot > Heavy Shot

Naturally, skip any off global cooldown skill and use bloodletter when it procs, and replace any heavy shot with straighter shot when it procs.

The logic: Straight shot for crit increase and to initiate auto attack, BL because it should always be on cooldown. Buffs are prioritized with longest CD first, however it is essential that RS, B4B, and HE are used before Barrage for the increase in auto attack damage. The point made above is that the critical hit increase isn't that big of a deal, but what is being left out is that your initial dots will benefit from every damage increasing cooldown you have.

P.S.: Square hates Bards. Skill Speed is the devil. Try to minimize it as much as possible. It's only good for two things: starving your TP pool, and making you miss out on the ability to fire off to oGCDs in between GCD.

[lxChrisxl]

opener i use(this opening pulls from everything but the best tanks)

windbite, venomous bite, bloodletter, blood for blood, internal release, hawk eye, straight shot, raging strikes, quelling strikes, dex potion, barrage, flaming arrow, blunt shot, repelling shot.

you can skip the potion and quelling strike if you don't think you'll need it or aren't that geared up but i've found it's better to just include it unless you want to aggravate a tank :b

after the open you make sure to keep your dots and straight shot crit buff up. after that i use blood for blood+internal release+flaming arrow together. then hawk eye+barrage. then raging strikes by itself. every other roation you can wait a second and use blood for blood+internal release+hawk eye+flaming arrow+barrage if you'd like. every third rotation you'll use hawk eye+raging strikes+barrage together. great for maintaining damage even while singing and it helps with tp.