Question about jobs

[Aikeiko]

Greetings,

My Archer is level 28, and I want to be a Bard, but would it be best to level my Archer to 50 before I start the Bard? Or would the Bard make leveling quicker/easier?

[Hustensaft]

Bard (and any other job) has a pretty big gain in primary stats compared to to their base-class. Further, assuming you do your job-quests as they become available, you'll get your job-specific gear for the final levels, and it is pretty good for leveling.

So i'd go for Archer 30, then level Pugilist to 15 (which is required for the Bard Quest), and then level as a Bard.

[Terrini]

The Class/Job system is not really separate. The Job stone you get at level 30 gives access to bonus abilities and a stat boost. However it also restricts your secondary abilities to a maximum of 5 at level 50 instead of 10 and only to 2 sub-classes instead of any sub-class.

Usually Classes are preferred in PVP because of the versatility provided with this sub-class system.

There is a prejudice against people that play classes past 30 in PVE content, particularly if they are undergeared (as is likely with it being your first class) and they mess up or don't pull their weight. It will be better for you to learn Bard as you level so you can get used to the abilities as they become available, because all Job Quests past 30 come with a new skill.

[Conradus]

Greetings,

My Archer is level 28, and I want to be a Bard, but would it be best to level my Archer to 50 before I start the Bard? Or would the Bard make leveling quicker/easier?

Class and Job share the XP pool. Once you have your Bard soul crystal, your Bard level and XP *are* your Archer level and XP. When you level one, you're levelling the other. You should unlock Bard as soon as you hit 30. Among other things, your class quests stop at 30 (Your last class quest at 30 unlocks your first job quest at 30, the one that gets you your soul crystal. After that you have job quests every five levels instead of class quests)

[Keydah]

You would get a lot of hate in dungeons/PvE for leveling archer instead of bard. Technically, you aren't really meant to be the class after 30, but you can if you want more cross-class skills or general flexibility. You should pick it up at 30, though, so that you can learn your job, as bard isn't purely a dps. You need to learn when to play songs and such.

[Anova]

Obtaining Bard only requires you to be a lv.30 archer and lv.15 pugilist.

You will want to obtain the quest, A Song of Bards and Bowmen, from the archers guild. It should be immediately available after the lv.30 Archer quest if you've been following the storyline. Refer to the link for the pre-requisite quests if you're stuck.

Once you obtained Bard, it will be the same level as your Archer. That means any levels you gain as an Archer, you also gain in Bard and vice-versa. The difference is that you must complete additional quests (every 5 levels) to obtain additional abilities in Bard.

You can stay as archer for a short while, especially in solo story quests. The access to cure, protect, and other buffs is simply too useful if you have those. At some point though, the extra DEX becomes too powerful as it simply kills things faster. And most high level Archers will simply use Bard for the extra damage and just kite enemies around to level or complete quests faster.

Mechanically speaking, as you progress in content for Bard, you will find yourself switching between 1 of 2 modes: DPS or Support. DPS is simply what you've been doing all along, killing stuff at range with your bow. Support is when you weave in songs to help the white mage regain MP, help the Tank and DPS regain TP, and increase damage dealt by AoE magic attacks (because bards actually suck at killing huge swarms of enemies).

For End-game content, besides the unique boss and dungeon mechanics every player faces, the Bard requires you to pay attention when to switch to support and when to stay as DPS.

[Aikeiko]

Thanks a lot guys =D, really appreciate the help.