Who else is loving Bard now?

[SugarBunz]

I've been playing bard since shortly after this games release and have been here throughout all the bard changes. I mained bard (reluctantly) through 3.0 heavensward, patiently waiting the changes in stormblood. Many people I spoke with about bard, would rant on that bard would never be changed & the bowmage was here to stay. I just have to say, I am so happy I waited and stuck it out... as bard is now hella fun again

I'm perfectly fine with our decreased dps, the party utility we bring is awesome! This is why I mained bard to begin with, utility & movement. I honestly don't have any bad things to say about the new 4.0 bard maybe slightly longer song time would be ok ? Idk .... everything flows great.

Hitting numbers over 3k on Lakshmi Extreme
So dps I feel is right where bards should be.
2500 - 3000 ish

I hope all the other bards are enjoying the class as much as I am

[eathdemon]

would be ok with our lower dps, if rdm wasnt way higher, with way better raid utility.

[Akashica]

The buffs we have for the team is very nice, both offensively and defensively. Currently, I am trying to figure out when the defensive buffs should be used (apart from Traubador), especially warden's paean and nature's minne. My party never needed them... I am also not sure whether the offensive buffs that we provide covers the dps difference between us and other dps (apart from DRG and MCH) or not. I have seen calculations, and some say it does.

In terms of playstyle, it's fun, definitely. How much more than heavensward bard? For me, not so much, cuz I love both styles. And while people seem to love the movement return, I do not feel happy or sad about it :P

(I am currently doing 3k+ dps in both susanoo and lakshmi ex with ilvl300, and yes I have seen other jobs doing near 4k dps in those trials)

[eathdemon]

they cant make the defensive buff required because for some stupid reason we dont get our own Traubador buff.... we do not even get our own +2% buff.

[Furious]

would be ok with our lower dps, if rdm wasnt way higher, with way better raid utility.

Way better raid utility?

Um. What?

[MuseTraveller]

Rising both hands, ME! I love the bard changes. I stayed as main BRD through HW but the cast bars made it annoying, I got used to them but I didn't like them in any way. Now it's fun and I love it!

[scene_cachet]

The buffs we have for the team is very nice, both offensively and defensively. Currently, I am trying to figure out when the defensive buffs should be used (apart from Traubador), especially warden's paean and nature's minne. My party never needed them...

Warden's Paen can remove most status debuffs, I use it often during hunts and dungeons, if you get poinsoned or if you get sleep. Could use it on warrior for berserk... It's basically esuna.

Natures minnie I throw out on tanks if they are doing big pulls, aswell as pallisade so the healer have more freedom to dps.

[Arrius]

Way better raid utility?

Um. What?

Embolden for extra damage, being able to perform Dualcast Verraise makes for insane raid recovery and Mana Shift for healer support.

[Furious]

Embolden for extra damage, being able to perform Dualcast Verraise makes for insane raid recovery and Mana Shift for healer support.

If you think that is better than what a bard offers you have no clue.

2% permanant base crit.
15% direct hit for 20 seconds every 3 min (for all damage from every source, not just physical damage).
Refresh is an AoE mp regen ability, giving mana to both healers and all mana-using classes.
Tactician for TP classes, especially during AoE.
Palisade (20% physical damage reduction, targetable, 10 seconds every 150)
Troubadour (15%hp/10%phys reduction/10%magic reduction for 30 seconds every 3 min for everyone but the bard).
Nature's Minne (20% healing received increased buff for 15 seconds out of 45 seconds).
Foe requiem, 3% damage taken increased for ~20 seconds every ~2 minutes.

None of the above costs the bard any dps downtime like dualcast verraise or vercure do, besides a gcd for putting up foe requiem.

You're right, verraise and vercure are nice support when things go awry. To say that RDM have way better raid utility than a bard is patently ridiculous.

[ZhaneX]

I haven't started leveling my Bard in Stormblood yet, but even with just its 60 kit I adore Pitch Perfect.