Quote Originally Posted by mallleable View Post
Yeah, it's frustrating. If only we could go back in time, and tell the dev team to have archer upgrade to ranger, and make bard a different job that uses a harp. But we are stuck with the current circumstances of having a job that uses a bow, but is called bard. The bard problem was also compounded with the introduction of dancer. Dancer absolutely stole the spotlight of support dps, and cannot give it up because that would go against its identity -- especially with how dance partner works as well. So BRD is now in a weird spot where making it a even more of a support dps would compete too much with dancer, and go against its archer roots. And focusing too much on archery would mean failing its namesake as a bard.

So I think BRD needs a new identity, one that can allow it to deliver both satisfying archery gameplay, and satisfying musical gameplay. My suggestion is to make BRD a rock star. One could feel like a rock star when pulling off trick shots as an archer. And songs should feel viscerally impactful for both the BRD, and their party like each fight rock concert. How this vision can be translated mechanically can be up for discussion.
I think this 100%. The identity is all messed up. We need a separation of support and physical ranged DPS. Bard is both but takes away from it's identity by using a bowharp. Something not seen in any other game lol. While unique, I feel, not satisfying.