A challenge. Make Bard more Bard.

[PSxpert2011]

I'd agree that a more musically inclined bard would not be a bad thing. But People need to understand why the team decided to go this route.

...

The answer was to combine the two jobs so that you had a ranged damage dealer that also had the capacity to enhance teammates based on location. This allowed the bards to both help other players and also feel satisfaction by actively dealing damage and using weaponskills, while also giving ranger players some incentive to stay mobile during combat.

...

Don't lose that.

This, I agree!
I never believed initialy that Bard/Ranger should just be ONE job called 'Bard' but after ARR, people will begin to lean torward a DD or a Support through higher levels, more abilities and more equipment.

It's all how a player sets up them self, instead of the cookie cutter trend the world like to broadcast acroos a MMO.

you mean... like this?

ROFLMFAO! /cry XD

Please, runaway, the penquins are coming!! >.<;;

[Majidah]

That's because there's three, and there's no thought necessary, in deciding which song to use.

I enjoyed BRD in XI. I never got bored of that job. Just because the majority got bored of it, doesn't mean you should turn its entire focus into being a DD. If that was the case you might as well change BRD in RNG and be done with it.

If the majority gets bored of a job, it means something's wrong.

Also, deciding what song to sing takes 5 seconds and you do it before the battle begins. Then its the same refreshing over and over.

[Kiote]

I actually really like the Idea of linking Bards to Archers the way Final Fantasy did.

My problem is that they don't play Music.. They don't even use the Harp tethered to their Bow..

[Zantetsuken]

What would happen if SE removed the bow from BRD and just gave them Harp as main-hand and Flute off-hand?

I mean, besides all the ARC skills being useless icons on the action bar?

I don't think there is any way to avoid the bow-harp at this point - although, they could release a whole series of bow-harps and make them mandatory for the BRD job.

Either way, I hope in ARR, BRDs will actually PLAY the instruments...

[Fensfield]

What the job needs is access to an MML interface, like Mabinogi or Lord of the Rings Online >.> Integrate that into gameplay too and..

Eh, well, anyway, I remain surprised that music markup language isn't being uptaken by the majority of these games.

[Ingolf]

The entire problem with BRD currently is the lack of difference between it and an archer. Without the armour you wouldn't even notice a difference between the two.

BRD has 3 songs, all of which whilst being the best buffs in the game are uninspired and boring. Being able to only have one song on at a time doesn't help much either.

BRD needs new songs (a lot) and needs to be able to sing multiple songs. It's abilities need to make it more immediately identifiable as a BRD. More support oriented abilities too, Akin to pianissimo, Tenuto and Marcato.

The official description of BRD:

The word "bard" ordinarily puts folk in mind of those itinerant minstrels, fair of voice and nimble of finger, who earn their coin performing in taverns and the halls of great lords. Few know, however, that bards in fact trace their origins back to the bowmen of eld, who sang in the heat of battle to fortify the spirits of their companions.

In time, their impassioned songs came to hold sway over the hearts of men, inspiring their comrades to great feats and granting peace unto those who lay upon the precipice of death.

Notice how there's a lot more emphasis on singing than DDing? It only mentions BRDs being bowmen in passing. We definitely need more music.

[PSxpert2011]

The entire problem with BRD currently is the lack of difference between it and an archer. Without the armour you wouldn't even notice a difference between the two.

BRD has 3 songs, all of which whilst being the best buffs in the game are uninspired and boring. Being able to only have one song on at a time doesn't help much either.

BRD needs new songs (a lot) and needs to be able to sing multiple songs. It's abilities need to make it more immediately identifiable as a BRD. More support oriented abilities too, Akin to pianissimo, Tenuto and Marcato. ...

Remember, there's a level cap and I'm sure the stronger bard gets the more knowledgable- more songs and abilities will be available. What I am hope for, is the DD role of archer. I'm hoping for a Ranger job to take archer into a DDing role instead of plain support.

[Ingolf]

Remember, there's a level cap and I'm sure the stronger bard gets the more knowledgable- more songs and abilities will be available. What I am hope for, is the DD role of archer. I'm hoping for a Ranger job to take archer into a DDing role instead of plain support.

I hope so. Only having 3 songs is pretty bad imo, especially when one of them is kinda lackluster. I dunno, maybe I'm in the minority here but I want to feel like a support when I play BRD. DDing is fine when your waiting on songs and I think they did a good job with that... but primarily, I want to be supporting my allies.

[Totorixiii]

Although I've not yet gotten my archer past level 20 yet but the next job I am planning to take it to 50 once 2.0 ARR released is Bard.

I do like the fact that the current FFXIV Bard is a DD and a supporting class but yes, the very little choice of songs and non-existant of animation and instrument doesn't portray it as a Bard and that's what players notice it most about it.

Many players actually do like Bard being able to be a DD with a bow while supporting a party with songs, which actually save 1 extra slot in a party

I do support the current archer/bard however, Bard being the end job over archer doesn't feel like a bard much with it's limitation on being a bard.

I have a feeling Yoshi-P may add more stuff and attention to bard in the future updates post 2.0 ARR when it releases.

[Fortuna]

Agree OP.

I have a nice solution that could solve this problem quite well.

1.Make all bard weapons like the bard relic weapon. When they are on our back they will look like a instruments, no only a harp, make others instruments that will become a bow or something similar.

2.Make all the new weapons to have specific status that will help a specific type of song. for example a harp brd weapon could have "Ballad+10", while this flute brd weapon could have "Minuet +20". This won't only create more options and conditions for the bards in FFXIV, it will make bard a true support job again. One reason we feel bard is not a support job is because we can only gear it towards more dps, if SE released stats that will increased bard performance on the support side people will see bard true main job again, being a support class.

3.Make then shoot energy notes from the weapons instead of arrows(since we have unlimited arrows now). This will make people think "oh, they don't shoot arrows, they must be bards" I hope lol.