Blood for blood isn't actually a "have to have" skill unless you're a raider, but that's beside the point. On Siren, I've seen a number of statics recruiting excluding bards already. "Brd need not apply" is the most common thing I've seen. I've also been kicked from two different DF runs just for showing up as brd. So the exclusion thing is already happening with some people. Combat is boring and monotonous right now. There's zero freedom, and it's driven many people into being hardcore crafters. OP's suggestions may not work, but if people don't enjoy the combat system, the devs should know about it. Even the whole "mandatory cross class skills" bit drives people away; my husband unsubbed for six months because he got so fed up with the way the system works. Each job has a single play style and if you don't play it that way you're labeled a crappy player and insulted incessantly. It's stale, at best.