To Bard Or Not To Bard...

[7thPawn]

That is the question that occupies my mind. New to FFXIV and getting used to things. Was going to aim at Drg cause it is how the Drg's used to be in FF series, leaping at things and crashing down on people's skulls. The problem is that you can throw a stick and hit 20 lancers and at least 5 Drg's in any given direction. So I was thinking about playing a Bard cause in FFXI I used to be a Bard and had a lot of fun buffing, debuffing, etc. But mixed in with Archer it just seems like they are a sing-a-long version of FFXI Rng's.

All in all I don't have insane amounts of time to party so was looking at doing stuff alone here and there, and just wanted some opinions from the Bard crowd about their views of soloing as a Bard, party experiences, and whether or not there are negatives along with the seeming Pros. Don't know a ton about their game play here in XIV so hope that you guys can help shed some light on the equation for me.

Cheers

[Arriverderci]

Please restore MP when people need it or TP. :C
I had a BRD me Qarn run and she didn't do anything but Kite and I said I had no MP to heal, kiting like a mofo so we died lol.
BRD looks fun and I will be trying it and want to now, but trying to level ACN and these damn Que times are insanity.
I heard ARC is the easiest class/job whatever to learn and kite away, never get hit. C:
[Personally don't like running around like that but they still look fun lol.]

[Spawnie]

bard fun to play but,,, in the later dungeons parties dont like u using the songs they prefer the dps lol ;/

[Naberrie]

You probably wouldn't solo as BRD. You'd solo as ARC. That gives you more cross class abilities. The way it works in FFXIV is if your BRD is 50, so is your ARC. Same with all classes. You are technically leveling the base class, but equipping the BRD Soul Crystal allows you access to BRD abilities. But that limits the cross class abilities you have access to. So for soloing you would rather go as ARC.

There are things in the game that you have to solo. Some are storyline quests, some are job/class quests. But there are also things you must PT for to progress the story. There's simply no way around it. But for the thing you have to do in a group you use Duty Finder, which creates a PT for you. That can be hit or miss. I've had good and bad experiences with it.

[Arriverderci]

bard fun to play but,,, in the later dungeons parties dont like u using the songs they prefer the dps lol ;/

They are mainly DPS, they have like 4 buffs and are put in DF as a DPS.
I don't even use cross-class skills because they are boring to me but then again
I am WHM lol. I need Swiftcast.

[Spawnie]

They are mainly DPS, they have like 4 buffs and are put in DF as a DPS.
I don't even use cross-class skills because they are boring to me but then again
I am WHM lol. I need Swiftcast.

since unless im mistaken when a song is active u lose attack so most groups ive been in tell me not to use songs xD

i use the pug cross classes, 2nd wind, the crit boost n the evasion 1 lol

[7thPawn]

Some interesting things to consider all around. When I saw Bard I was thinking 'been there done that' from FFXI. But it seems that they are quite a bit different. They help a party, but the question of the hour is if I want to be a ranged class, or something in your face. lol. Thanks guys for painting a better picture of the class for me.

Cheers

[Urthdigger]

Why not be both?

[RikoAine]

too bard you cant decide harhar.
ahem.. I don't really have a valid opinion but, after I'm done with dragoon I'm going to lvl a bard Just for the equips, the look so darn cool!

[Shyluv]

You are supposed to sing as bard... Just not keep songs up constantly if it isn't needed. If you see a healer or tank low on MP, use Mage's Ballad. You wont have to keep it up for even a minute usually. Paeon for TP, too.