Bard - When should i use songs?

[LunarEmerald]

My only beef with this post is this:

1. Why would you run around playing your Mage Ballad between pulls? Regen out of combat is active....so useless.
2. Same applies before a boss fight.

Also, once you get your damage increase by 20% or whatever from traits, you can play your ballad all you want and not lose DPS. You really ought to read some of the things you get D:. Why do you think end game, your top raid groups are normally running 3 Bards, 1 Monk? 3 Bards to play all three songs continuously, or well until he/she runs out of MP.

120% is still more than 100%. You should not be playing songs unless you need to. A dps job is to maximize their damage output and Bard is a dps.

[jbizzi]

Also, once you get your damage increase by 20% or whatever from traits, you can play your ballad all you want and not lose DPS. You really ought to read some of the things you get D:. Why do you think end game, your top raid groups are normally running 3 Bards, 1 Monk? 3 Bards to play all three songs continuously, or well until he/she runs out of MP.

Umm... what?

[Steeled]

At 50, my paladin doesn't run out of mana very often but it can in places like wanderer's palace and I certainly appreciate a bard who will ballad for me.

To answer the question: Be Situationally aware.

[KittytheSheGeek]

I never use my songs until I see/am told that the party is running out of MP or TP. Otherwise it's just a waste. As for Foe's Requiem.. it pulls aggro like crazy, so I try to avoid using it in dungeons because the last thing you want to do as a DPS is pull enmity from the tank. I find it's really useful when you are in a fate party though, but otherwise just use your discretion.

[Kolaina]

Because I, as a SMN, use a lot of MP if I want to maximize my DPS on trash. After the 3 DoTs and shadow flare, it's more DPS to use thunder on each individual target and that's a lot of MP.

the way casters burn through mp, i'd have to have ballad up almost 100% of the time, so i don't bother watching caster mp, just healer. js

[Ohkami]

Does anyone know if there is a way to macro Battle Voice to Mage's Ballad?

[Marzapan]

I'm only lvl 39, but I've only had to play my mp ballad once or twice. In the current dungeon, Cutter's Cry, I just role w/ my archer.... It's more powerful, and has more defensive options as well.

[Tua]

Does anyone know if there is a way to macro Battle Voice to Mage's Ballad?

Off the top of my head, something like this?

/micon "Battle Voice"
/ac "Battle Voice" <me>
/ac "Mage's Ballad" <me>

You'd have to tap the macro twice to activate both skills. I've got all songs on my main hotbar, plus a macro for each one with an announcement on a separate bar:

/micon "Mage's Ballad"
/ac "Mage's Ballad" <me>
/p ♪ Here's [Mage's Ballad] for that sweet sweet MP ♪

Think I'll add Battle Voice to the extra macros now, didn't think of that before since I made them before I hit 50

(using the regular keybinds to toggle off the songs when needed so there's not too much chat spam)

[Ohkami]

Thank you. I was being an idiot and not using <me> >.>;;;

[Geographer]

Army's Paeon becomes the most situational song once people start to cross-skill Invigorate. The only time it's really needed is when you have a melee-majority party and additional targets need to be aoe'd down fast. Even though your damage may be decreased, your other DPS classes in the party will be able to spam their skills for a longer period.

I agree with a lot of people in this thread on how Mage's Ballad should be used. Use it when it's direly needed: when healer's MP is below ~30%, or if a mage or healer class has been battle-resurrected.

With Foe's Requiem, you will want this song up frequently especially if you have casters in the party. But most DPS classes can still benefit from this song. You don't receive a damage penalty, so use this whenever you can. When you need big numbers and fast (for example: nails in Ifrit HM, sisters in Garuda HM), it's good to use this song paired with Battle Voice for double the benefit. One thing to note that you should not use it if there are un-aggro'd enemies close by. Playing this song can pull them to you and make things harder for your party. Have this on only if you're in combat and in a wide space. Turn it off when the combat ends.

A general rule of thumb: unless the healers have no mana, don't use MB (or AP) if you need to damage things fast, use FR to maximise damage. Using your battle voice depends on the situation. Also, watch your MP: a good rule is to stop singing once you've reached 50% so that you still have enough to change songs if the situation calls for it.

Also everyone tends to ignore Swiftsong, but it is extremely valuable. Using it cuts time between enemies, cuts dungeon length and helps to skip enemies more easily. This should always be up when you're not in combat, and there is no reason not to use it.