Bard. What if Straight Shot "proc" was not rng?

[Snowaeth]

I really like the changes that bard got with Stormblood.
Looking at the class the only issue I can see with the class is the amount of RNG it now has.

The addition of Direct Hit added an extra layer of RNG to everyone's dps.
Bard always had two layers of RNG to begin with, Crit and Proc.
Now with Direct Hit this became 3 layers, Crit, Direct Hit and Procs.

The proc part is now more significant than ever, with Straight Shot proc's being worth 300 potency (and then having direct hit/crit rng on top of them).
Obviously there is the proc's based on dot crits too, but those were always a staple to bard so far.

From my tests the biggest dps difference I've had came from Refulgent Arrow rng.
On 7~min fights the amount of Refulgent Arrows used varied between 10 and 25.

My suggestion for Straight Shot proc's would be that every 3rd Heavy Shot activates a Refulgent Arrow (Straighter Shot before level 70, but replace it at level 70 with Refulgent Arrow only).
There would be no more Straighter Shot RNG proc's anymore with this change.
As a bonus this would also remove the issue with the late trigger of SS proc for those that have high ping.

This way you'd give more control back to the player rather than to RNG.
Playing the class well would feel like it's more thanks to you rather than, getting lucky with the amount of Refulgent Arrows.

TL;DR
With DH, Crit, RA and dot proc's, Bard's dps variance is hig and based on rng.
Refulgent Arrow is the biggest cause of it.
Removing RNG from Refulgent Arrow and making every 3rd Heavy Shot activate Refulgent Arrow would reduce the rng amount and the variance that comes with it.

[Jilliebeans]

No bard is Fine the way it is, NO NEED TO TOUCH IT FOR A WHILE!!!!!

[Snowaeth]

No bard is Fine the way it is, NO NEED TO TOUCH IT FOR A WHILE!!!!!

How does bard being in a good spot mean it shouldn't be looked at?

Yes, bard is fine.
No bard isn't in a perfect state where it can't be improved upon anymore.

[Pence]

What? You want to buff BRD and alter the gameplay? Why in the world....

[Snowaeth]

What? You want to buff BRD and alter the gameplay? Why in the world....

How exactly is this a buff?
I'm talking about adjusting gameplay here yes.
And if it ends up being a buff, it's just a matter of tweaking potencies to compensate for it.

As for why I explain exactly why in my post.

Just because the job is in a good spot, doesn't mean it has 0 issues or that you should stop looking at ways to improve it.

If you want to bring in other jobs in here as comparison and say they'r in a worse spot, I would not disagree that they are.
I'm not playing those jobs as my main though, so I do not consider myself knowledgeable enough with their issues to discuss what tweaks could be made to them to improve them.

[Elnidfse]

And if it ends up being a buff, it's just a matter of tweaking potencies to compensate for it.

I don't think you'd want that the same way MCH probably wouldn't want to lose their procs. On the assumption that the ability is overbuffed to compensate for it's proc nature, the potency decrease and removal of gameplay fluff probably would not feel well. I mean I don't think you'd enjoy it so much if it only hits marginally higher than a straighter shot.

[Snowaeth]

I don't think you'd want that the same way MCH probably wouldn't want to lose their procs. On the assumption that the ability is overbuffed to compensate for it's proc nature, the potency decrease and removal of gameplay fluff probably would not feel well. I mean I don't think you'd enjoy it so much if it only hits marginally higher than a straighter shot.

The proc is 20%
You sometimes get 5 of them in a row, while other times 0/10
There is a huge rng variance now because of this skill.
Unlike MCH SS proc has never been bards main focus of gameplay, it has always been Bloodletter proc's from dots before 4.0 and now the song proc's from dots.
I am not asking to change the song proc's though.

The rng on bard just needs to be looked into, as there is now Song proc's, SS proc's, DH and Crit so there is rng on top of rng on top of two sets of rng for dmg variance.
You can have same bard proc 10 RA's or 30 RA's in the same Savage fight. That's a huge difference not based on skill or performance of the player.

I'm not asking for RA to go away, I'm talking about making it a predictable skill.

My suggestion of making it every 3rd shot is to take the middle road where the wait for it wouldn't feel too long.
But if you want to copy the current 20% chance and thus not need to tweak the potency you'd make it proc on every 5th Heavy Shot, which then would feel too long compared to how every HS has a chance to proc it right now.

[AmandaLashaquoa]

Nah, BRD is super fine as it is, it is strong and the potencies compensate for the RNG, I "stalked" you, I cannot imagine why you'd want BRD to get a buff or "tweaks" the class is fun and it is super strong for all it does, don't be greedy, yo.
I personally really like how the class works and I'm having fun with it, as much as it depends on procs, you DO have the chance to increase your procs (except on single target) but you can always grab food etc etc; Hoping for procs (that are not even hard to get, as you know) is quite fun and every game has that the rng crit and they've done it well with BRD.
No need for buffs or tweaks otherwise it'd make the class boring and predictable.
I do believe that a proc every 3rd shot would be a goddamned buff for sure...

[MuseTraveller]

Please, for the love of all holy and scared and Thal's balls, do not touch bard! I... I get cast bars flashbacks.

[Chrallmal]

I think the aggravation that others are having is that BRD is in a really great place compared to pretty much all other DPS jobs - so it seems really petty and pointless to even discuss any modifications.

That said, I like the system as it. Proc's give you that rush of spontaneous choice making. Will Heavy Shot proc into Straighter Shot or not? If it does, what will I do? Do I need to re-up Straight Shot? Should I burn it on Refulgent Arrow? What else do I have coming off cooldown in the next second or two? etc.

Without procs, all you're doing is keeping up two dots, a song, and a self-buff, then hitting your cooldowns. Procs add some life into the rotation. Granted, this is all purely personal preference.