Bard in the party... thoughts?

[LilLemay]

But...it isnt a "traditional cast time" they are given??? They are given a much shorter cast time than actual casters. You can still move around plenty with how fast it is. You just cant run around like an idiot for no reason like so many bards used to do in ARR

Sorry my bad, I meant 1.5 cast time in my original post. And even then if you're playing with a Bard that's sprinting in circles like an idiot with WM on, they're doing it wrong. Yes they're much more mobile than a BLM or a SMN, but you lose quite a bit of DPS if you're running around just to run around.

I'm not saying here that BRD, and even MCH with Gauss Barrel, aren't more mobile than casters. It's just you get a full 86% of the way through the class, being able to strafe and run around and do as you will and then you hit 52 and it's like BOOM time to stand still most of the time

[Maero]

^ Pretty much what Sly has said, i have used this same ideal on blm. Machinist i will say feels more mobile then Bard though to some extent.

[Slyqc]

Venomous Bite Potency of the venom effect has been increased from 35 to 40.
Windbite Potency of the wind damage over time effect has been increased from 45 to 50.
Blunt Arrow Potency has been increased from 50 to 100.
Flaming Arrow Potency has been increased from 35 to 40.
Mage's Ballad Damage reduction on self has been changed from 15% to 10%.
Cast time has been reduced from 3 to 1.5 seconds.
Army's Paeon Damage reduction on self has been changed from 15% to 10%.
Cast time has been reduced from 3 to 1.5 seconds.
Foe Requiem Cast time has been reduced from 3 to 1.5 seconds.
Battle Voice Recast time has been reduced from 300 to 180 seconds
Empyreal Arrow Potency has been increased from 220 to 230.
Sidewinder Potency when target is suffering from both Venomous Bite and Windbite has been increased from 250 to 260.

Thank you Square Enix.

[Shurrikhan]

Thank you Square Enix. (Those massive Bard buffs)

Such overkill. Though now we'll indisputably be seeing the preponderance of Bards mentioned in the OP.

...and this is coming from someone who prefers and used to main Bard...

[Kelevra]

Thank you Square Enix.

I'm one of the ones that believed Bard did need help, but really didn't think they were gonna do potency increases across several skills. I was thinking something like readjusting Foe's so it'll just recognize Windbite and Flaming Arrow as elemental dmg. That or changing Rain of Death's debuff from evasion down to piercing resistance down.

Not really complaining. Glad Bard finally got something.

[Shurrikhan]

That or changing Rain of Death's debuff from evasion down to piercing resistance down.

Not really complaining. Glad Bard finally got something.

Prior to most healers melding to accuracy cap by themselves, I feel like that would have been a raid DPS loss, actually, not a buff. Prior to those melds, a Bard could easily pull the kind of raid DPS support that a NIN would even without a caster, just because of all the healer dps it could allow by decreasing the accuracy needed to hit enemies. If not for MCHs handling the mechanics of this tier so well, you'd likely have seen a lot more healers go only to maybe an extra 3% accuracy in melds, preferring extra healing and offensive strength through Det/Crit melds instead, and while using Rain of Death for the rest.

Bard already outperforms MCH slightly in the hands of a good player against a dummy or with minimal movement. This level of buffing just was not needed, and breaks many of the previous equivalents between them and MCH. A MCH still roughly loses 80 potency per GCD for promoting its Rook turret, or 60*enemy_count for Bishop, while BRD loses only 10% damage (typically up to 39 potency AoE or an absolute max of 150 potency ST).

I truly would not be surprised if these changes bring BRD back in line with the overpowered beast it began as...

[Jilliebeans]

boys and girls get ready to see MASSIVE brd players LOL, i wouldnt be surprise if there are 3-4 BRD in a RAID/TRIALS or even 2 BRD in light group lol. those buffs are a bit TOO MUCH for BRD tbh, people kept complaining about how bad BRD is, they are bad because players doesnt know how to play it "properly".

[Empty-handed]

Se went to the extreme with the buffs. I totally agree with the songs cast time reduction. But buffing potency on everything across the board is a an overkill. The balance is broken once again.

Turrets are about 13% of our all dmg. While bard only loses 10% when singing.

Bard will be once more the favored support as of 3.3 it will be the superior job. Rip mch.

[Kelevra]

Se went to the extreme with the buffs. I totally agree with the songs cast time reduction. But buffing potency on everything across the board is a an overkill. The balance is broken once again.

Turrets are about 13% of our all dmg. While bard only loses 10% when singing.

Bard will be once more the favored support as of 3.3 it will be the superior job. Rip mch.

Maybe, maybe not. I think Mch will still have the better burst and the better option for killing things that need to die quickly. And the turrets can be toggled between auto attack and support "instantly" still. A case of gnarly burst or better sustained. And if Machinist 'sustained' dmg becomes an issue in the future...then I think SE should consider removing the rng from their 1-2-3 combo (w/o ammo, just make it so the last two hits always proc but aren't instant cast) instead of nerfing Bard again.

Brd, even though the songs got needed changes, still need time to cast. That and Foe's still uses mana when wanting/needing to buff elemental dmg. Hypercharge doesn't use mp at all when wanting/needing to buff physical dmg. That and most groups will still probably default to '2 melee, 1 ranged, 1 caster' comps anyway in endgame content they're looking to progress/clear.

[Ekko]

+silence +stun +mattack down +pattack down + gravity too and you can move freely for 6 GCDs under Reload, so no I would not say RIP MCH