[GUIDE] Bard's Explained. (updated on 21/09/2008)

[Guardia]

nice guide

but a tip you didn't include for str bards is they should max mana switch. you said it wasn't useful since mana cycle will do job... but str bards as you said have problems with mp so use mana switch. I dont know if it is a bug or not, but you can mana switch the entire party (not the 4 it lists) so with switch on wizards and mana cycle on self, a str bard actually has no problems managing mp because when needed a mp pot can be used to initiate a switch/cycle, you can even switch people outside pt :S its nice getting bots to help fill your mp lol

in a group pvp, str bards should just use their str tree to attack, no point in being a bard since pvp and grinding is different, grinding wants to max grind time/damage while pvp is about surviving/damage so trading 1 less bard buff for extra person to kb/kb will help pt survive since a cleric that is on ground cant do job for other side

Yup, mana switch would be usefull to str bard. I didnt include str bard in the guide because i'm an int bard. I dont want to assume things. I rather give info on what I did myself. So in theory, mana switch would be useful to str bard. And regarding the str bard in wars, I agreed it is not a good choice. BUT, if you are low lvls and doesnt have much to contribute, why not throw in mana tambour for the party? Yes, knockback and knockdown doesnt matter much on lvls, but if you knockdown a target, your wizards cannot nuke them. So, it does have a good and a bad result. It's just a suggestion, I cant comment much on it since I'm not a str bard.

I have something to edit on the guide but I'm quite busy partying right now. I'll update it as soon as I have some free time. For the time being, I'll just answer the questions.

[rumpleKillskin]

Hey, first of all, amazing guide

With that said, I have always loved the idea of a bard build, and this will help me out great. I do have one question, when you explain the dance part, whats so unique about it?? Why is it so hard to do, and im guessing bard would be useful for rogue*not a question*

[phulshof]

Well, you need at least 2 bards to start one. If the dancing bard is hit too often, the dance stops (and you have to start again). If the playing bard (tambour or hit march) is hit too often. all the dances (and the tambour or hit march) stop, and everybody has to restart them. Luckily a bard is usually not the prime target for mobs, but you still have to be careful since keeping those buffs for your party is more important than getting that extra shot in.

[rumpleKillskin]

Ah, ok. Because Ive been in a few parties with bards, but usually only one, so I only see one of these buffs. So im just guessing when you have 2 or more activated, its a super buff, ok. Good thing to know since im switching to bard

[-.-]

um... i'm not too sure about this since cant get into many bard pts...

but if you have 3 bards

bard 1 - guard tambour
bard 2 - dance + mana tambour
bard 3 - cancels guard so mana is on top, then dance then hit march

i think if bard 3 does this, even if bard 1 gets hit and loses tambour, only bard 2 will lose dance and bard 3 wont... and then to keep bard 2 from breaking bard 3's dance, bard 2 only uses mana tambour and bard 1 now dances uses guard again, and then loops if another gets hit

[Guardia]

Actually we cannot be sure which bard use which person's tambour to initiate their dances except for the first dance. So, keeping all the bard tambours is the best bet.

[-.-]

no, i mean if you cancel it on yourself, you can order the tambours in the order you want, and the first one on left is one you use dance from i think

[Guardia]

Yup, u might be right but i couldnt confirm on it yet. Too busy ptying. lvl 84 now.

[Guardia]

EDIT : Added Battle Bard Video.

[nicolasvc2]

Nice vid
can u make a vid of 1on1 pvp with bard?
Small question
Bard/Warlock would it be a good build warlock for sleep and stun and debuff etc.

[-.-]

warlock/bard is better...

no point debuffing only to keep cancelling your tambours

[dannoob]

wow excellent vid and guie, i never thought i would but i guess im gonna go battle bard for solo and some pvp. wiz is my main though still. but wow amazing

[Guardia]

UPDATES :

- Added Video Section
- Added Battle Bard in Grind Party Video
- Edit regarding Cure Melody skill

[nicolasvc2]

i am not sure about the sub maby i wanne go cleric for bles

[AngelEyes]

Do you know if the Cure Melody skill draws aggro similar to the way Mana Breeze does?

[Guardia]

Do you know if the Cure Melody skill draws aggro similar to the way Mana Breeze does?

I will test it out. But one thing for sure, MANA BREEZE AGGRO LIKE A B.ITCH! Hahahaha.. So be very careful when and where to use it. I expect Mana Orbit will be the same. But It's a long way to go for me. Still farming 96K/400K.

[AngelEyes]

Ya, I found out how much the hard way. I knew it aggro'd but not how much, then I used it and I actually saw mobs leave the tanks to come after me. Ouch. So now I keep it when there are only a few mobs around, and a tank can see it coming for me or in a really dire situation.

[Double Double]

Do you know if the Cure Melody skill draws aggro similar to the way Mana Breeze does?

I've been using Cure Melody in share parties and distribution parties for a while. I've never noticed any aggro from using it. I'm guessing it is kinda like Mana Cycle/Mana Breeze. Cure Music will probably draw aggro.

And I think all bards find out about just how much aggro Mana Breeze draws the hard way. When all those mobs head your way, omg!

I'm hoping Mana Orbit will be like Healing Orbit. I really haven't noticed any extra aggro when I'm using Healing Orbit. Group Healing and Mana Breeze both draw aggro like a crazy.

[Cherri]

I love using the bard attacks during parties in between mana-ing ppl. Keeps me away from the boredom of just healing ppl's MP. =D

I have noticed that A LOT of people doesn't know the fact that their harp's magical attack affects the amount of MP they heal, which means that a better harp = better MP healing. I still see bards who use harps that are 2 or more degree below their current degree, disappoints me =/. UPGRADE YOUR HARP PEOPLES! (I love my harp cus I can heal like 4.5k+ mp per second. :3)

I think Mana Orbit is like Healing Orbit so I doubt it will draw any aggro.
Same for Cure Music, I am thinking it's the same as Integrity from Cleric (both cure the whole party's status) which doesn't draw any aggro as well.

I will have to try them when I'm 90 =)
weeee 5 more levels to go.


P.S. btw AWESOME GUIDE!

[Guardia]

Upgrade my harp?



Still got a lot to do but I'll finish them later. I'm out of elements right now

[Waffelz]

Well i know that Bards arnt meant really too pvp and such, But being a pure bard too 40... ( Like you. ) Inbetween 1-40, Can you seriously do some great dmg to ppl?

[Guardia]

My 1-40 is too fast for me to do any pvp. Dont worry much about it. It will get stronger as u lvl up. Just dont set ur mind that bard is the best in pvp. I would say it is good if you know how to play it. Look at the FW video and it should help u a bit on how to pvp with bard.

[narco]

im sorry i'm new to this game and looking for what build i want to go

i find your guide one of the best and wanna try your build, i already red a few guides about clerics

now my question is, is it possible to get cleric with your bard skills as subclass and would it be wise?? i only want this charset you own in party's and wonder if i take a cleric build like this http://www.silkroadforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=59156 and your bard as subclass, will i be able to use cleric and bard skills at the same time to give a party the max if buff there is possible as also is it possible to reserruct someone if i use those cleric skills

im sorry i'm new here and still don't understand much things of build therefor these "off topic?" questions

[AngelEyes]

One of the things with 2 classes, is to do the ability's of each class you need to have that classes specific weapon equipped. When you switch weapon types certain spells you have cast on yourself and others will disappear and some will stay, if you do a quick search on the forums, they're are lots of topics about which ones stay when you switch, and which ones get cancelled. With a bard, when you switch to cleric, only two spells will stay, moving march (speed) and noise (regular mobs ignore you). I haven't played the cleric, so I can't remember off the top of my head which ones stay and which ones get cancelled.

[phulshof]

As a bard/cleric you only play 1 class effectively within the party, since most buffs don't survive the weapon switch. On rare occasions I actually switch class every 5-30 minutes to recast certain buffs, but it does remain recasting many buffs of the other class as well, so it's not my favorite thing to do. Being bard/cleric does make you very popular, since there's always a need for one or the other in any party I meet.

For solo, bard/cleric makes more sense than cleric/bard. With bard/cleric I mean someone who uses the bardic attack spells and a couple of clerical buffs that survive the weapon switch. A cleric/bard would be someone that uses the clerical attack spells. Since the bardic attack spells are much more useful than the clerical ones, I prefer to solo as bard/cleric. It's actually a quite effective solo build IMHO.

[Double Double]

...which ones stay and which ones get cancelled.

I've played cleric in a party where I'm also the only one with farmed bard skills and had to give speed as well. When you switch, Body Blessing/Diety and Soul Blessing/Diety, Holy Word/Spell, Recovery Division, and Bless stay, the Str/Int buffs are cancelled. I usually cast Healing Orbit and Bless to make sure everybody stays alive while I cast speed and noise and then rebuff everybody. I have to say, it's not my favourite type of party - it's a pain in the butt to have to recast all those buffs every time speed runs out. Not to mention when people disconnect.

[phulshof]

...which ones stay and which ones get cancelled.

I've played cleric in a party where I'm also the only one with farmed bard skills and had to give speed as well. When you switch, Body Blessing/Diety and Soul Blessing/Diety, Holy Word/Spell, Recovery Division, and Bless stay, the Str/Int buffs are cancelled. I usually cast Healing Orbit and Bless to make sure everybody stays alive while I cast speed and noise and then rebuff everybody. I have to say, it's not my favourite type of party - it's a pain in the butt to have to recast all those buffs every time speed runs out. Not to mention when people disconnect.

Same here; I have the party order already set up based on INT/STR buffs and healing priority, but it's still a pain to recast all those buffs, especially with Chinese characters that think they're God with cleric buffs, and are off 30m to the side in a large group of party mobs.

[WrathShielder]

I have a bard sub (no attacks all the buffing) for my wizard and I find plenty of opportunities to bard at pegs/guards/gens so your guide is a great help for me let alone a must read for any true bard main. I really say it is a top quality guide. Good work Guardia.

I would also like to point out that playing this game for over 2 years it never ceases to amaze me when something so simple is pointed out that I didn't have a clue I could do. I lol and just remind myself at times I am still a noob.

I really had no clue you could rearrange your party on screen. I always try to pick the 3 bottom people in the party that happen to appear on my screen that way so it is easier to keep up with the mana cycle versus jumping up and down the list. Thanks for making my job easier. Boy what I noop at times I can be. LOL

[Argonaut]

Bump, well done guide~!

[Guardia]

I'm at 54% lvl 89, got all the SP for a fully farmed bard. Guide will be updated soon. At lvl 90, it will be a different game for bards. I call it Battle Bard - The Next Level.

Btw, i've experienced the worst thing on SRO. I dropped my 85+7 harp when i got killed by a giant while soloing. Nobody was there. No silk, no reverse scroll, no ress scroll. The closest member got to the ferry. But it was too late. I saw it dissapear in front of my own eyes. It was devastating... I've spent hundreds of elixirs trying to +7 my replacement harp. It just wont go above +5. Currently using a +1 harp. LOLzz..



P/S : wtb weapon elixirs on Venus.