R.I.P. brd

[The_Last_Dragoon]

Just as an example..say by brd's current setup..a drg was on your tail who knew EXACTLY what it was doing..full cds and all. With the old burst/distancing, you might've had a decent shot. But with the way barrage works now, removing Empyreal Shot, taking out WM altogether, seriously..what damage options are you left with? Yeah, I know its all situational but these flaws are gonna factor in more and more sooner or later ;/

2.X pre-WM Bard damage hasn't really changed (it's technically gotten stronger), and they recently turned WM into an instant cast, allowing you to pop it on and off in battle pretty easily. The main thing to realize is that if you're being targeted as a Bard, then you don't use WM, if you're not, then you could potentially turn it on to get off a Barrage'd Empyreal Arrow and then doff WM immediately. The problem you're running into is that a lot of classes got new tools, and you can't play cat and mouse with certain classes like you could before.

BTW, you can get past the 1000 character limit by using "edit post"

[RiceisNice]

...

It's that WM makes you stationary, you lose the ability to not only kite (which is not as big of a deal because you can turn it off), but more importantly to adjust your distance relative to your target. No one is ever gonna stand still if they're getting pelted by a MCH or BRD, not even a blackmage. On the other hand, WM is also a damage boost to every other skill, even instant cast ones like farshot, bloodletter and sidewinder.

[Gamer3427]

From a MCH standpoint: After participating in FL for the first time finally, and after a single match, I can tell that having GB on just isn't the thing to do. I could barely get a hit in with it due to the movement required in the matches. The only time I can really find a use for it is when an opponent is isolated and I can hit them with Ricochet and Gauss Round. The rest of the time, I leave it off and focus on movement. I'm not complaining, because FL is supposed to be different than PvE content, and that's exactly what it's doing, since in level 60 content I rarely find myself in a situation where I need to have GB off. I'm enjoying the change of pace, (and the generally nicer community), found in FL so far......

[Potatoes]

The only time I can really find a use for it is when an opponent is isolated and I can hit them with Ricochet and Gauss Round. The rest of the time, I leave it off and focus on movement.

The only times you should have be using GB is when Rapid Fire is ready. With a fully loaded gun, use 1 2 1 3 2 3 to maximize rapid fire and procs so you won't be standing still at any time. when you're out of ammo, blow your gauss shot and ricochet then take off the barrel til you're set up again to burst.

[Vaeria]

Potatoes beat me to it but ya. And its for this reason i'm .0001% away from switching to McH fulltime. The way things are now, theirs is just the better 'moving target' burst (especially with the penalty evasion of GB) 4k BtEs and imo above all things...heavy.

The annoying thing is that brd's problem is soo simple to fix: Drop the 15sec shutoff and make it like Fists of Fire's or Wasp Sting's. Switch on > reunite someone with their dead grannie > switch off > move on. Hell..doing it this way would even allow for Empyreal Arrow spamming. But eh.....

[Potatoes]

considering how incredibly potent and sudden bard's full burst is, I think the 15 second penalty is fair. I've taken people from 100% to dead in one burst.