Bard: The (Nearly) Perfect Job

[inhaledcorn]

I still think they’d likely nerf the potency of Refulgent if this mechanic was introduced, because it was the same logic they used with the Bloodletter potency nerf, if I recall correctly (more guaranteed procs [50% > 100% guaranteed in SB] meaning lower overall potency to prevent “OP-ness”). But, I guess if that gave me less opener/Barrage-RNG... I’m a bit torn honestly, because Barrage+RA in your opener and in the majority of your Minuet+RS burst phases just feels so good... but it feels so bad to not have a Barrage+RA, or get a late RA and have to still settle for Barrage+EA. >.>

I don't know if Refulgent would need to nerfed that much, if at all, since it would only grant extra procs in Army's and max Army's charge. You'll probably get 4 extra Refulgent, and I'm probably being generous. Sure, that's 4 extra Refulgent every 80s over an 11min fight, and that could add up. If they knock off 10-20 potency, fine.

Maybe Battle Voice could just reset the cooldowns on all of your songs. We'd keep the current Refulgent power while having more control over your songs. Get extra Wanderer's (or Mage's in AoE situations).

[HyoMinPark]

I don't know if Refulgent would need to nerfed that much, if at all, since it would only grant extra procs in Army's and max Army's charge. You'll probably get 4 extra Refulgent, and I'm probably being generous. Sure, that's 4 extra Refulgent every 80s over an 11min fight, and that could add up. If they knock off 10-20 potency, fine.

Maybe Battle Voice could just reset the cooldowns on all of your songs. We'd keep the current Refulgent power while having more control over your songs. Get extra Wanderer's (or Mage's in AoE situations).

I’m just following SE’s logic they used with Bloodletter - it was nerfed from 150 to 130, but is only available during Mage’s because it’s proc rate was guaranteed; guaranteed RAs with Army’s Repertoire, even after 4 stacks are maxed would maybe be enough to warrant a nerf in SE’s eyes. Because, knowing SE, they like to nerf potencies when something threatens to become “too OP”. Knocking off 10-20 potency is in line with the Bloodletter nerf.

[Saphri]

Jumping in to tag this thread and maybe ask a newbie question...

What about Palisade? That's one of the buffs I've tried to set on a "quick fire macro" [/ac "palisade" <tt>] That way, I can use my targeting and I'm thinking it will more than likely buff the tank. Even if not, it will buff whomever the targeted monster is going after so, that's still not too bad...

[Raldo]

What about Palisade?

What about it? What even is your question?

[Zerathor]

If I were to pick a QoL aspect for bard, it would be an iron jaws countdown bar on their job gauge just so you don't have to watch debuffs tbh. Most of the other suggestions would be broken enough to fully remove disembowl from the game if it wasn't enough already

Jumping in to tag this thread and maybe ask a newbie question...

What about Palisade? That's one of the buffs I've tried to set on a "quick fire macro" [/ac "palisade" <tt>] That way, I can use my targeting and I'm thinking it will more than likely buff the tank. Even if not, it will buff whomever the targeted monster is going after so, that's still not too bad...

Palisade is a rampart you give the tanks, and an extremely potent cool down for the group when used correctly. It's ONE of the abilities that makes ranged jobs one of the most core requirements for a group in challenging content. The primary still being refresh.

[Saphri]

Ok, another noob observation....
.
It's been my experience that the AOE's (Quick Nock, Rain of Death) are best used to "weaken" a group of monsters. That is, at some point, it seems more efficient to just pick them off one at a time after they've been sufficiently "softened up" so to speak. Especially since Quick Nock cost TP.

[Zerathor]

Ok, another noob observation....
.
It's been my experience that the AOE's (Quick Nock, Rain of Death) are best used to "weaken" a group of monsters. That is, at some point, it seems more efficient to just pick them off one at a time after they've been sufficiently "softened up" so to speak. Especially since Quick Nock cost TP.

Typically 4+ means aoe. 3 or less means pick for most jobs ( except in the case of off globals like rain of death, then do for multiple target) also dotting multiple targets if you're a dot heavy job like smn and bard apply to lower number groups if they will survive a good portion of said dots.

[HyoMinPark]

Jumping in to tag this thread and maybe ask a newbie question...

What about Palisade? That's one of the buffs I've tried to set on a "quick fire macro" [/ac "palisade" <tt>] That way, I can use my targeting and I'm thinking it will more than likely buff the tank. Even if not, it will buff whomever the targeted monster is going after so, that's still not too bad...

Palisade is a tank cooldown that reduces the amount of physical damage a tank receives from a boss/mobs by 20% for 10 seconds every 150 seconds. Note that it only works on physical damage, so any boss that does magical damage only will render it useless. During dungeons, throw it on a tank during large pulls with anything that deals physical damage; it will typically not be needed for bosses in that setting. Things are different in 8-man and 24-man raids; for those, you will want to use it typically for any sort of physical tankbuster.

Ok, another noob observation....
.
It's been my experience that the AOE's (Quick Nock, Rain of Death) are best used to "weaken" a group of monsters. That is, at some point, it seems more efficient to just pick them off one at a time after they've been sufficiently "softened up" so to speak. Especially since Quick Nock cost TP.

That would be correct. For BRD AOE, you will Quick Nock at 3+ mobs for it to be a gain, and Rain of Death will be used over Bloodletter at 2+ mobs. Taking the cross-role skills Invigorate and Tactician will lighten up the costliness of Quick Nock; alternate Invigorate and Tactician between pulls to keep your TP at high enough levels to AOE the next pack.

BRD’s AOE is strongest in its Mage’s Ballad and Army’s Paeon songs. In Mage’s, you will DoT 3 to 4 mobs with one or both DoTs (typically all four with Stormbite, and then Caustic Bite on the 4th one so that you can Sidewinder it), and alternate Rain of Death with Quick Nock spam. In Army’s you will still maintain your DoTs on mobs, and just spam Quick Nock, using Rain of Death when it comes off cooldown every 15 seconds. In Minuet, you will do the same as Army’s, and use Pitch Perfect procs (at 2 stacks) in between Quick Nocks.

[Saphri]

Oh yeah, "tactician"....forgot about that one. Thing is, I use a Steam Controller. I like it, but I had to learn to create macros to get the most effectiveness out of it. I can select anything with it but, it helps to make "smart decisions" about how to combine related functions....
.
Oh, and as for "Magical Damage"....."Warden's Paeon" is on my "to incorporate effectively" list...But I suspect that will be a way to protect the tank from magical attacks.

[HyoMinPark]

Oh yeah, "tactician"....forgot about that one. Thing is, I use a Steam Controller. I like it, but I had to learn to create macros to get the most effectiveness out of it. I can select anything with it but, it helps to make "smart decisions" about how to combine related functions....
.
Oh, and as for "Magical Damage"....."Warden's Paeon" is on my "to incorporate effectively" list...But I suspect that will be a way to protect the tank from magical attacks.

Tactician shouldn't require a macro, as it is party-wide radiating outwards from your current position. When it needs to be used, weave it between GCDs. The only macros I recommend you using are Nature’s Minne (level 66 ability) and Palisade macros for Target-of-Target (<tt>); Warden’s Paeon can be macro’d if you want, but since its usage is so situational, I would not suggest it. Other things should not be macro’d, as they are generally frowned upon for things like combos and GCD skills.

If you can, I would recommend you purchasing a PS4 controller to use. It should be compatible with the Steam version, but I cannot confirm since I don’t use the Steam version. If someone else can clarify, please feel free to do so.

Warden's Paeon does not protect from magical damage. It acts like an Esuna either preventing OR cleansing a debuff. It used to do both, but now it only prevents OR cleanses an already active debuff such as Bleed, Pacification, Silence, or Paralysis. Cleansable debuffs are denoted by the white line over their marker. I generally toss it out on whomever needs it to save healers an Esuna cast.

I’m going to give you my Discord again, as I do not want to derail this thread any further (since it’s talking about potential QoL buffs). Please feel free to message me on there with any BRD questions — Hyomin Park#0055. I can also drop you an invite link to The Balance Discord, which is also full of individuals that can help you with BRD questions.