I've permanently solved The Wanderer's Minuet problem...

[Kaedan]

While I agree with you to a certain extent, I noticed that I meet less bards in content than I used to before Heavensward. Could be because many went Machinists or whatever, but I don't know..

Looking forward to level my bard beyond 50 myself to see how it is with WM

Unfortunately, that's pretty anecdotal. I'm not doubting that may be what you have experienced (or at least felt like you experienced), but just yesterday I did the following:

A2
A1
Neverreap
Fractal

I was Machinist for all but one (I was DRK for Neverreap) and there was a BRD in every group I was in. And I noted that they all used WM. Again, the only people who know how many people quit playing BRD is SE, because they have all the metrics. Our personal experiences are far too anecdotal to even suggest a trend one way or the other.

[Noira]

Like the only valid complaint is the ocgd clunkiness on Bard LOL.

Like what was said most of the Bards complaining about WM are non raiders, because if you are in a raid environment and you're hopping around like you have some energizer bunny issues, then you were a liability to a raid (I.E placing an aoe next to a blm or smn because you can't keep still)

Not mention a huge annoyance to a healer...how the hell are we gonna heal you if you're dancing around ?

1.5 cast is nothing (actually a lot lower if you clipcast). On Bard nor Mch (check all you want level 60 mch , level 57 Bard). Like seriously nothing....I would go so far to say the "cast" time was simply SE taking the charge animation time for heavy shot and slug shot and adding it other abilities cause that is exactly what it feels like.

[Sapphic]

Mained BRD from beta and into launch and went onto clear First coil as BRD. Changed FC and got invited to a static (that I'm still in) but they already had a BRD, volounteered to switch to MNK which I had planned to try after seeing the early preview of AF2 ^^ After getting used to MNK pretty much stopped 100% with BRD as it felt dull in comparison.

One of my retainers I made Archer after they added ventures, so instead of resetting retainer to another class with HW I decided to level BRD to 60 (probably will end up levelling all, that completionism XD ). The addition of WM has breathed new life into BRD and I am actually enjoying it. Also our static BRD loves it too.

A loud vocal minority on the forums is no indication of the overall attitude to WM. Also the primary complaint was that WM was not worth it as it wasn't really a DPS boost when active, so what did SE do? they increased the bonus under WM so that it is an increase.

For me it adds a level of tactics to BRD that was surely missing prior. Is it safe to use WM now? Can I just anim clip to move or do I need to drop WM?

Also those mentioning the animation that they extended by holding the quiver. The longer you hold a bow fully drawn the more tiring it gets, if only firing a small number of arrows it's less of an issue but for extended periods of firing you find the target, lock on to the target, draw arrow and fire in one fluid motion to reduce the stress on the arm and shoulder muscles to allow for longer engagements.

[Valkyrie-Amber]

I leveled bard to 50 2 weeks before heavensword so I admit I know little about how to play one pre HS as a main.

But can say this while my bard is lv59, for short fights don't use wanderers but for longer fights its dps is higher make sure to apply dots venomous bile and windbite before going into wardens for optimal dps.

[Reynhart]

That's really funny, because I'm pretty sure one year-ish ago, we had dozens of thread were BRDs complained about their lack of DPS.
And of course, mobility was brought up to explain why their DPS was so low, and most of BRDs replied by "But sometimes, we don't need this mobility, yet we're still penalized by it".

Maybe one day, you realize that Wanderer's Minuet was created to answer your complains back in the day. Be careful what you wish for, it might be granted eventually.

[vp_cmc]

That's really funny, because I'm pretty sure one year-ish ago, we had dozens of thread were BRDs complained about their lack of DPS.
And of course, mobility was brought up to explain why their DPS was so low, and most of BRDs replied by "But sometimes, we don't need this mobility, yet we're still penalized by it".

I don't remember a single thread where bards asked to add casting times to their skills.

[Reynhart]

I don't remember a single thread there bards asked to add casting times to their skills.

Not in these exact terms, but they're not many ways to prevent mobility when you think you don't need it.

[vp_cmc]

Not in these exact terms, but they're not many ways to prevent mobility when you think you don't need it.

1. They could restrict us to stay in some small area (like BLM)
2. They could make WM disappear when I start moving, so I need to reapply it again (probably with casting time)

And can somebody answer me, is it a good brd design when:
1. I lose dps when I have to double oGCD (wasn't an issue in 2.x)
2. When I have a straighter shot proc, I can't use it immediately. I have to spend one more gcd with some skill (mostly with other heavy shot, getting other proc and losing that proc in that case)
3. Why when I use repelling shot as oGCD skill, my next GCD skill can be interrupted when I wasn't moving after that?
4. Why after I turn off WM I still have casting time on my next GCD skill?

[Minfillia]

I don't get the problem of players, WM is a HUGE buff, adding you 30% dmg, Empyral Arrow, Iron Jaw. This give to brd, compare to 2.1-2.55, a bigger burst and DPS. Poeple just keep saying it's shit while it's just an amaizing skill. So yeah poeple want to pwe pwe while runing at he same time, get use to it. Git gud. I know a bard who enjoy it, he did A1 savage ending top DPS at equality with BLM, and better than DRG, while giving mana to healer in phases transitions and by micro managing his DoT better he can do even higher.

[Shurrikhan]

The only people who are complaining are those who ran around during combat for no reason whatsoever. Anyone who did any serious content actually realizes that it's detrimental to do that, as you could adversely affect someone else in the party. Which is why BRDs who do content like Coil or Alex Savage don't complain... they don't have a reason to. For us, nothing about BRD changed except we get 30% more damage and extra oGCD skills. Awesome!

Or, any Bard who liked being in a position to immediately react to mechanics and doing so without dps loss, and moving to the next optimal position when it changes. That's a very frequent use of Bard mobility that doesn't fall into "no reason whatsoever", I would think. It's something that will nonetheless be done, bit by bit, with WM, but has certainly been effected. If the implementation of Bard's new '3.0 DPS mode!' could magically cut down on 'stupid-movement', leaving only 'smart-movement', the practical among us would never have complained (even if others would have on principle of some vast, free Bardly spirit), apart from, of course, the Bloodletter-loss, oGCD snags, double-weave being limited to rare procs, etc. (but nevermind those). It's quite often that being the first to be at the ready, the most mechanics-accessible, etc., that Bards are missing, not just the ability to run circles or drop AoEs on their mages on drunk night.

But enough gloom. There is a benefit to WM that people don't mention as often as they easily could. When, as a Bard, one is told to do mechanics, s/he can make like a BLM, give them the finger, answer, "Casting," and point at the SMN (as long as he's not in Dreadwyrm stance and spamming his precious Ruin IIIs) to do all that in his/her place. Or, with no SMN present, blow up alongside the BLM, because that poor Mage probably never could have been quite so caster-ly in the first place if his healers weren't sprinting about and his Bard intercepting for him a game ago. Luckily, this seems a non-issue in 3.0 Savage. We just don't really move around much for most Alex fights (sidestep out of AoEs, approach new spawns, in and out a bit on a tether, claim a new intercept point). It's a good deal of bonus damage with little to no consequence. Yep, dodged the wrench there. Yet the Bard pain comes from realizing that you're still not much closer to 'real' dps than you were back then even when you're as caster-ly as possible. The damage bonus is real (not nearly 30% outside of AoE spams, but certainly very significant), and yet a good Bard now is no closer to a good melee than he was at the end of 2.x. Yet we can't be any closer or we wouldn't be 'support' (e.g. feeding casters so they can pretend to have melee-level dps), so we're stuck with a massive change just to keep from falling far further behind? Hmm. Hmmmm.

.....To be clear, this is coming from someone who generally finds WM gameplay more 'fun' than 2.x Bard gameplay. Not 'more serious', not 'more focused', only 'more fun'. I like its twitchy little idiosyncrasies. 3.0's Bard 'DPS Mode' ability could have come in a more fitting and/or interesting form, and could use some smoothing (Straighter Shot, etc.), but for the most part WM seems sufficient. But I do find it silly for WM to be called a true buff to Bard dps. It is little more than Bards holding their status quo in dps, and at gameplay cost. For it to be a buff, we would have had to gain dps-increasing abilities on par with the other DPS jobs first and then gained WM atop that. (Not necessarily in that order of abilities gains, ofc).