Lot of funny stuff listed here. I have read most the posts and understand that many people are still confused on which sub-class suits them best. Remember, everybody has different playing styles. I'll throw in my 2-cents here as well. I personally like to level fast and therefor will explain why bard is the best choice. Remember, Bard is not just about moving around fast, it helps with survivability. Sure a Rogue/Cleric can "tank" a party mob... but what happens when they get ganged by multiple mobs? Its best to stay off the radar.
For those who are in a rich, fellow player community (Venus):
If you really want to level up and hit the high levels the fastest, go Bard. Simple as that. Hmm... Why is he saying this... I wonder... Well lets look at this. As a rogue by yourself, we've got a bad reputation from nub rogues. People think we are useless in parties. Sure you can prove them wrong by being a luring machine, but lets be real, people don't want to waste their time trying something new. Some are, but most are not.
With bard as a sub-class, you will be able to enter parties as a bard. Bard will help you both solo and in party play. However, if you do decide to go bard, you must have most of the bard skills maxed. You only really need Mana Cycle, Moving March, Guard Tambour, Hit march, Noise, and Dancing of Magic. When i party play as a rogue/bard, i only use Mana cycle to heal mp. Just throw a mana cycle on yourself first then other people and you will do just fine. Just make sure your stuff is up to date. By choosing bard as your sub, you will get into tons of parties.
I know many of you disagree and you want cleric or warlock instead. Well i got a question for you.... Do you ever party play with people know know what they are doing? Do you really think you can lv faster with a different sub-class?
Bard = more party openings. Most parties need 2 bards. This means you got a good chance to join a party. Why? For the dances and its easier to keep the whole party's mp up. I always see parties that say "NEED BARD" I'd love to see a pure str cleric do a good enough job to support the party for more then 15min. I'd also love to see a str do lock in party play. They will only be able to debuff.... but even that drains your mp like hell. Sure you can use cleric and lock for solo.... but then that removes your chances to join a party...

Here is a video found on these forums:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=53645&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=30http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIMpjsewis8 <--- Video
This is what party play looks like.For those who are in a bot infested server where party play is rare:
Are you really happy soloing on the time? Or do you like to get plved and be a nub your whole life? I know there are a number of people who do in fact, solo all the time. With bard, you level faster soloing as well. Keep the aggro mobs away from you, move faster mob to mob, and survive better. I really don't see the point in taking a different sub-class unless you change it later on. With bard, you can move around faster while in stealth and hit your target faster when jobbing or pvping.
Bard also cost less SP then the other sub-classes to be honest. Also, i bet you get tired of leveling slowly. Hell i did before i did a server switch. Now i couldn't be happier.
Lets face it, even if you do take cleric... you still need to keep switching between healing cycle, bless, and RD.
RD alone will not keep you alive. Many people tend to think that it will... but it wont. Sure there are slow mobs where you can easily run from them without speed buffs.... but those are in the higher lvs. What happens when you need to fight Mobs from lv 30-60? Most of the mobs along the way are fast. Except for a few mobs who hardly move at all. Even with Cleric, you still need to cycle between classes and rebuff... waste of time. But some people like it.
As a warlock, its as if you are only a Rogue out soloing. Lock only comes into play at the PvP sections. Some people love lock for the debuffs, but its not that great for soloing. You can get this later on, at the higher lvs no problem (unless you hate gapping like myself).