Allison
02-17-2002, 05:35 PM
Catacombs’ Character Builder (http://daoc.catacombs.com/cbuilder.cfm?classid=22&raceid=3) Good for planning your character
Bards of Camelot (http://pub34.ezboard.com/fbardsofcamelotfrm12) Bard only message board. Lots of great threads there
VN Naturalist Boards (http://vnboards.ign.com/board.asp?brd=20910) Naturalist message board. Some good stuff.
Classes of Camelot Bard Spells Listing (http://copland.udel.edu/~trevor/camelot/spells/H_bard.shtml) Nice listing of all spells
Speccing
Reading the boards I posted will help you decide how and when you want to spec. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the Catacombs’ Character builder. You’ll find yourself looking at that a lot. It will tell you at what character level and spec level you will get your spells. Most people will say that you are gimping yourself if you spec high in weapon skills to be a “battle bard.” And it’s true that most higher level groups will want you for your mis-named Music Line skills (no songs in there) like mesmerize, and for your Nurture Line skills (songs). But play your character however will be the most fun for you.
My personal preference on minimum bard specs is this: 43 Nurture (Speed 5, End 5, Power 4) 16 Regrowth (this is the minimum spec for the highest rez a bard can get, which I think is a must … others would disagree, though. You’ll also get Cure Disease and Cure Poison) 37 Music (This will get you a 61 second duration mezz, the single target instamezz, the first of 2 AE instamezzes with a 150 radius.)
But as for how you spec, it depends on what kind of bard you want to be. Some bards think that Speed/ENd 4 is enough, and will drop Nurture down to 33. Some Bards want to heal better and will pump up Regrowth to 26 or higher. And an increasing number of Bards think that the highest instamez is a must (for the bigger, 300 radius) and will spec Music to 47. But…
My personal feelings on the 47 instamez… it’s not worth the points. Yes, you will go from a 26 second, 150 radius instamez to a 31 second, 300 radius instamez. The improvement on the radius is significant. But, with everyone walking around with Spellcrafted gear now, their resists will be high. With the high level instamez, once you figure in resists, Determination, and Falloff, you’ll be looking at a 15 sec mezz at the center of the effect and a 7 sec mezz at the outer edges. And then, they’ll all be mezz-immune.
Now, there are a lot of Bards that disagree with me on this, so don’t just take my word for it. Most of the older bards are experienced at getting off their castable mezzes, and therefore think that the instants should just be used for defense. But the newer bards will say that the highest instant is invaluable for offense. My advice would be to get some RvR experience under your belt before deciding.
One more consideration when deciding how high to take Music: As of 1/06/03, resist rates no longer seem to be based on player level only. A change was made a few patches ago that changed resists to factor in spell level. Mythic hasn’t said whether this is a bug or as intended. So, you should keep your eye on that and see if it changes. If it stays as-is, that would be a good reason to spec Music higher.
What a Bard Does
[edit: A lot of this won’t apply to AE groups. If you’re in an AE exp group, just play your songs and heal if needed. ]
As a bard, you will soon find that soloing is da p00p. You will always be highly desired in a group and will usually do much better, experience-wise, in a group.
Early on, you’ll find that you are doing a lot of healing and not much else. That’s why, at your level, I specced mostly in Nurture and Regrowth. Pretty boring. But wait, it gets much better. Where a bard really shines is in crowd control and reducing (even eliminating) downtime for a group. There’s nothing like getting adds, and totally controlling the situation so that your tanks can take them on one by one. And in RvR, AE mezz can be the thing that wins battles.
So, you’re in a nice big group. What do you do now? Well, bards are very busy bees. When you’re in a group, you have to watch everything! Use your mini bar to keep on top of heals. During battle, keep an eye on the mob, if it goes for a healer or a caster, slap a Lullaby on that baby to wipe aggro so the tank can peel it quick-like. After the tank establishes aggro, start throwing your DD shouts in every 10 secs. (Don’t be afraid to do this in the middle of another spell, like a heal. Your DD is a shout, not a spell. You can use it anytime.) Watch the power bubbles of casters and healers. It’s your job to try and keep everyone in endurance and power. And always, always, always keep an eye out for adds and unwanted aggros. It’s your job to spot these before anyone else and mezz them, Then, call out “add mezzed” so your group knows not to hit it.
The hardest thing for a bard, I think, is educating your group about what you will be doing. Some people will expect you to switch songs, mezz and heal at the same time. Lol. But here are some things that I try to do when I join a group.
Healing: If there are other healers in the group, ask them if they want to work out the healing duties. It’s very frustrating to have 3 healers all healing the same person for 200 HPs each when the guy is only down 100. Not to mention it’s a terrible waste of mana, which means more downtime for the group. You can either specify who is healing who, or just take turns healing while the other rests. A lot of healers don’t want to do this, though. They like to “freestyle” heal. :/
Lullaby: I always use this when a low armor type like a ranger is pulling. He pulls, I lullaby. It doesn’t clear the mobs current target, but does clear aggro. So the first person to strike at the mob will get the mob off the puller. Also, if the mob goes for a healer or caster, quickly hit Lullaby and the same thing happens. It really helps tanks keep aggro. But you have to educate your group that you are doing this. Tell them when you will use it and that they should keep an eye out for the little sparklies and that no one should hit or heal until the tank establishes aggro. If you don’t, a caster will cast or a healer will heal before the tank hits, and then it’s ring around the rosie, with the mob going back and forth between targets. This spell also interrupts casters and archers in RvR, but but you have to be careful there, because it also breaks mezz. I can't tell you how many times I've mezzed a group of Albs and another bard throws an AE Lullaby right after and breaks all the mezzes. grrrrr. Then they are all immune to mezz for one minute.
Mezzing: I usually like to use the single target mezz in PvE. It casts faster, has a longer duration, and isn’t resisted as much as the AE mezz, at least at lower levels. (Some people say that mezz resists are based soley on level, but I notice as I spec higher in Music, that my AE isn't reisisted as much as the single target. Who knows?) Also, you don’t risk mezzing unwanted mobs in tight quarters. And remember, a mob who resists a mezz is heading straight for you. If a mezz is resisted, it’s better to have one coming for you instead of 2 or 3. Tell your group to stay on the pulled one, and that you will attempt to mezz any adds. Let them know that you can’t mezz something if they are hitting on it, or if it has more than 10% health gone. And if something goes for a healer, caster or you, try to have an assigned peeler to hit the mob just enough to get it off, and then have the peeler go right back to the first pulled mob so you can try to mezz the add again. Just because a mob resists the first mezz, it doesn’t mean it will resist the second. So it’s very important that your group all stay on one, or else it turns into a free for all and healers are scrambling to keep up. Also, try to get good positioning when in tight quarters, like a dungeon. You don’t have much time to get a mezz off, and if people are standing in your way so you can’t target the add, you’re screwed.
Know the durations of your mezzes. If you have several adds and have to use the AE mezz, time it so that you can go back and re-mezz the adds using your single target. Each subsequent mezz is halved in duration, so timing is important if you want to keep them mezzed as long as possible. Also, if there is someone else in the group who can mezz/root, do not let them do so. You have the best mezz in the game. If someone mezzes over you, like a mentalist or another bard, diminishing returns kick in and your target won't be mezzed as long.
[b]Recent changes to mezz:[/b] AE mezz now has a falloff so that those in the center of the effect will be mezzed for the full duration ( not counting resists, determination, or purge) and those at the outer area of the effect will only be mezzed for half the listed duration (not counting resists, determination, or purge.)
Also, mezz resist rates used to be based on a player level comparison. But now (as of 1/6/03), it’s based on spell level. Whether this is a bug or a stealth change by Mythic is not presently known. But keep it in mind when choosing a Music spec.
[b]When to play songs[/b]
Speed song is only good for traveling. It doesn’t work in combat and also stops working when you are targeted in RvR. You don’t have to restart it. It will do that by itself a few seconds after battle.
Endurance song is good during battle or during keep raids when people are bashing on the doors. Tanks can style all day long with this.
Power song is good during downtime for a group. Or in RvR after a lot of deaths during a keep raid, so that the rezzers will have enough power to rezz.
Healing song: Useless. It does so little, that you're better off playing power song and handing out individual heals. I know of no one who has ever used this.
So what if your group is chain pulling and there is no downtime? You have to keep an eye on the casters and healers power bubbles. A group will usually only stop if the healers are low, so be sure and let the group know when they need a break. Sometimes, you can play mostly end song, and then switch to power song during one of the fights to help out the casters. Ask your tanks first if they are ok on endurance to see if it’s ok with them. Otherwise, just stick to end song while chain pulling and yell out when they need to stop for the healers to power up.
[b]Quickbar Organization[/b]
I don’t know about other classes, but it’s a nightmare for bards. You will switch quickbars a lot. Finding a good configuration for you is key. It doesn’t help that you can only have 2 instruments at a time on your quickbar at a time. I’ve changed mine around a lot. Currently, I use 3 quickbars for RvR, so I use the /qbar macro so I can change quickbars in a hurry. Find a configuration that suits your playstyle, and make sure you can use it without thinking. In RvR, hesitation will kill you.
[b]Instruments[/b]
The only benefit you get from having a higher con instrument is a longer pulse. This means that the effects of your songs will last longer after you stop playing (by a second or 3). The only reason you would want this is if you want to twist your songs. That is, start up a song, and just before the animation stops, switch instruments and start playing another; repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. If you time it just right, you will get the full effects of both songs. The only trouble with this is that you can’t do anything else while you are twisting: No healing, no mezzing, no nothing. And because it takes a few seconds before the effects of the song start, if you mis-time, you screw up the effect cycle. Also, it’s a real pain in the arse to do. Most bards refuse to do it and I, myself, have only done it a few times after a total group wipout, when we were in a dangerous area and everyone needed to power up everything in a hurry.
So, given that instruments degrade fairly quickly (we’re constantly using them, as opposed to weapon users) the only reason to move to a higher con instrument is for the stats, IMO. I would never use an orange instrument just because of the high degradation. And after you repair an instrument, as with anything else, its durability decreases and become unrepairable at some point. Smiths can repair instruments, same with weapons and other items. I have my instruments repaired at about 90%.
In RvR, though, it’s nice to get those few extra pulses of speed after combat starts. I currently have all yellow con instruments.
[b]Stats[/b]
A bard’s primary stat is Charisma. It is our mana pool. It was empathy in beta, but Mythic switched it over to CHA. So a lot of people are confused about this. Empathy, at the present time, does absolutely nothing for bards (even though it will increase every level, along with charisma-bah.
Other stat items that are good for bards: Dexterity; this will slightly increase your casting time. Anything with AF or CON always helps because bards can only wear reinforced (you’ll get that at level 15, I believe).
Spec bonuses on items are cool too. Like if you get a piece of armor with a bonus to Regrowth, the variance on your base heals will be smaller. And most of your instruments that you get in drops will have a bonus to Music. But...Music bonuses, it is widely believed, only affect your DD shout, not your mezzes. So, I will generally prefer an instrument with a CON bonus over one with a Music bonus.
[b]Spell Notes (general)[/b]
There are spec spells and base spells. The base spells you get at certain levels, no matter how you spec. Spec spells you get from speccing in specific lines: Nurture, Music, Regrowth, Weapons. Once you’ve gotten a new spell, you will have it always. It will just increase in power as you level, for base spells, or as you spec, for spec spells. The only spells that will draw aggro for you are heals, DD shout, mezz, confusion, and a resisted Lullaby.
Songs use no mana or concentration. You can’t be in combat mode while playing songs, though you can use your DD shout. Except for songs and combat, the only things you can do while moving are DD shouts, Lullaby and instamezzes. You can spin and cast, though. And you can’t cast anything except these 3 types of spells when you’re being hit.
Right click on spells and hit SHIFT-I for durations and ranges of spells.
[b]Nurture Line Spell Notes[/b]
Buffs (base spells) - You get two of each type of buff: AF, STR, CON, & DEX; one being stronger than the other. Buffs use concentration. The higher buffs cost more concentration than the lower ones, And right now, you can cast a maximum of 20. The reason for the 2 sets of buffs is so you can choose to cast some of the lower buffs, along with the higher ones, so that you can cast more. How much concentration you use doesn’t affect anything other than the number of buffs you can cast. Buff amounts and concentration used per buff raise as you level.
Clear Path (spec) – Speed song. Played with lute. People love it. A lot of people don’t know that this song will temporarily stop when you or your group are in battle. Also, in RvR, if you are targeted, your speed song stops. It starts up again maybe 5 secs after battle. Speed effects of song get higher as you spec in this line.
Rhythm of Nature (spec) – Endurance song. Tanks love it. Boosts endurance regen for group. Endurance effects raise as you spec.
Rhyme of Nature (spec) – Power song. Casters love it. Boosts power regen for group. Power effects raise as you spec.
[b]Regrowth Line Spell Notes[/b]
Minor and Medium Heals (base) – Single target heals – 2 second cast time. One heals for more than the other and costs more mana. Heal and mana used for each raise as you level.
Major Heal (spec) – Single target heal – 3 second cast time. Heals more than the lower heals and costs more mana. Heal and mana used amounts raise as you spec in this line.
Group Heal (base) – Heals group – 3 seconds cast time
Minor Reconstitution (base) – Raises dead with 10% health – 4 sec cast time – Amount of mana used depends on the level of the person being rezzed.
Reconstitution (spec) Raises dead with 30% health and 10% power. cast time: 7 secs. Mana is same as with Minor Reconstitution, but it just takes longer to cast, which is sometimes too long when you're in a hurry in an RvR fight.
Notes of Health (spec) – This is a group heal – 4 sec cast time. It doesn’t do a lot compared to a Druid’s, but it sure comes in handy when your group is getting slaughtered. But beware, it will create a lot of aggro for you when fighting mobs. And in RvR, it doesn't require line of sight to heal someone. So, you can heal a Nightshade on a keep wall, for example. Amount healed and mana used increases as you spec.
Song of Healing (spec) – This is a group HP regen song. It does so little that it’s
useless to play.
Cure Poison and Cure Disease (spec) – both single target
[b]Music Line Spell Notes[/b]
Minor Lullaby (base) – 0 cast time – Recast timer: 5 secs - I love this spell. If not resisted, it wipes aggro, but doesn’t clear the mobs current target. It is a single target instacast, but will throw you out of combat mode. It also interrupts casters and archers in RvR.
Greater Lullaby (base) – 0 cast time – Recast time – 10 secs - This is the AE version of the Minor Lullaby. I only use this in RvR right before a mezz, and never with another bard around, in case they have just mezzed.
Mesmerize (base) – single target Mezz – cast time: 2 secs – At lower levels, this isn’t too awfully helpful because your mezz doesn’t usually last as long as the fight. But the mezz times increase as you level, along with the mana cost. If you remezz a mob, the mezz times are cut in half for each subsequent mezz. You can’t mezz a player in RvR that has been mezzed in the last minute. Anything will break a mezz, even lullaby or another resisted mezz. And you can’t mezz a mob that is being hit or has more than 10% of it’s health gone.
AE Mezz (spec) – Area affect mezz – cast time – 3 secs – Only use this in RvR for mezzing groups, or in PvE when you absolutely have to. Everything else is the same as Single Target Mezz.
Concussive Shout (spec) – DD shout – casting time: 0 – recast time: 10 secs. You can use this shout no matter what you are doing, even while running. As with all Music Line spells, you have to be facing your target to use it, though. Mana cost and damage done increases as you spec.
Confusion – (spec) – casting time: 3 sec – Single target confusion spell – Does nothing in RvR except confuse or kill pets. In PvE, confusion will cause a mob to randomly attack. This is very dangerous, except in an experienced group, using tactics very specific to confusion spells, because the mob is likely to go for healers and casters. At higher levels, it can be of more use though, as the mob has an increasing chance of attacking it’s own allies, which is really fun. J
Remove Mesmerize (base) – Single target – casting time: 3 secs – Removes mez effects from a player. This is awesome in RvR.
Instamez – You get 2 forms of this is you spec for it, single target and AE
Resist Chants (spec) – Don’t stack with resist buffs, can’t be chanted while playing songs …. If you can find a use for these, let me know. ;)
[b]Handy Macros[/b]
If you haven't used macros, try them. Just type in "/macro " and then any slash command after that. A button will appear that you can put on your quickbar. For example, you can say "/macro /g I just cut the cheese" and you'll get a button to put on your quickbar so all you have to do is click it to tell your group you have gas!
I would like to have a macro for "add," "add mezzed," "/stick" and a couple of others, but I honestly don't have room for them.
But two that are invaluable to me are /assist and /face. I use /assist in groups so that I can be healing a tank, then click the assist button, and hit my shout. The assist command will automatically target whatever mob the person you are assisting has targetted. You can use it 2 ways. If you use the generic way, "/assist" you will have to click on someone to assist, and then click the assist hotkey. Or, you can be more specific within each group you're in by typing "/assist <insert tank name here>". then you just have to click the asisst to target the mob.
The other macro I use a lot is "/face". This macro, when you have either a mob or a group member targetted, will spin you to face your target. This comes in handy for spells like Mezz and Shout, where you have to be facing your target in order for the spell to work. It also helps in RvR when you're trying to locate a group member for a rez or heal. Also, have /face near your AE mezz. You’ll notice sometimes in RvR if you stop to cast a spell, it says you’re still moving and won’t let you cast. But, if you hit /face just before you AE mezz, it will stop you in your tracks and you’ll never get that silly message about moving and interrupting your spellcast.
Bards of Camelot (http://pub34.ezboard.com/fbardsofcamelotfrm12) Bard only message board. Lots of great threads there
VN Naturalist Boards (http://vnboards.ign.com/board.asp?brd=20910) Naturalist message board. Some good stuff.
Classes of Camelot Bard Spells Listing (http://copland.udel.edu/~trevor/camelot/spells/H_bard.shtml) Nice listing of all spells
Speccing
Reading the boards I posted will help you decide how and when you want to spec. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the Catacombs’ Character builder. You’ll find yourself looking at that a lot. It will tell you at what character level and spec level you will get your spells. Most people will say that you are gimping yourself if you spec high in weapon skills to be a “battle bard.” And it’s true that most higher level groups will want you for your mis-named Music Line skills (no songs in there) like mesmerize, and for your Nurture Line skills (songs). But play your character however will be the most fun for you.
My personal preference on minimum bard specs is this: 43 Nurture (Speed 5, End 5, Power 4) 16 Regrowth (this is the minimum spec for the highest rez a bard can get, which I think is a must … others would disagree, though. You’ll also get Cure Disease and Cure Poison) 37 Music (This will get you a 61 second duration mezz, the single target instamezz, the first of 2 AE instamezzes with a 150 radius.)
But as for how you spec, it depends on what kind of bard you want to be. Some bards think that Speed/ENd 4 is enough, and will drop Nurture down to 33. Some Bards want to heal better and will pump up Regrowth to 26 or higher. And an increasing number of Bards think that the highest instamez is a must (for the bigger, 300 radius) and will spec Music to 47. But…
My personal feelings on the 47 instamez… it’s not worth the points. Yes, you will go from a 26 second, 150 radius instamez to a 31 second, 300 radius instamez. The improvement on the radius is significant. But, with everyone walking around with Spellcrafted gear now, their resists will be high. With the high level instamez, once you figure in resists, Determination, and Falloff, you’ll be looking at a 15 sec mezz at the center of the effect and a 7 sec mezz at the outer edges. And then, they’ll all be mezz-immune.
Now, there are a lot of Bards that disagree with me on this, so don’t just take my word for it. Most of the older bards are experienced at getting off their castable mezzes, and therefore think that the instants should just be used for defense. But the newer bards will say that the highest instant is invaluable for offense. My advice would be to get some RvR experience under your belt before deciding.
One more consideration when deciding how high to take Music: As of 1/06/03, resist rates no longer seem to be based on player level only. A change was made a few patches ago that changed resists to factor in spell level. Mythic hasn’t said whether this is a bug or as intended. So, you should keep your eye on that and see if it changes. If it stays as-is, that would be a good reason to spec Music higher.
What a Bard Does
[edit: A lot of this won’t apply to AE groups. If you’re in an AE exp group, just play your songs and heal if needed. ]
As a bard, you will soon find that soloing is da p00p. You will always be highly desired in a group and will usually do much better, experience-wise, in a group.
Early on, you’ll find that you are doing a lot of healing and not much else. That’s why, at your level, I specced mostly in Nurture and Regrowth. Pretty boring. But wait, it gets much better. Where a bard really shines is in crowd control and reducing (even eliminating) downtime for a group. There’s nothing like getting adds, and totally controlling the situation so that your tanks can take them on one by one. And in RvR, AE mezz can be the thing that wins battles.
So, you’re in a nice big group. What do you do now? Well, bards are very busy bees. When you’re in a group, you have to watch everything! Use your mini bar to keep on top of heals. During battle, keep an eye on the mob, if it goes for a healer or a caster, slap a Lullaby on that baby to wipe aggro so the tank can peel it quick-like. After the tank establishes aggro, start throwing your DD shouts in every 10 secs. (Don’t be afraid to do this in the middle of another spell, like a heal. Your DD is a shout, not a spell. You can use it anytime.) Watch the power bubbles of casters and healers. It’s your job to try and keep everyone in endurance and power. And always, always, always keep an eye out for adds and unwanted aggros. It’s your job to spot these before anyone else and mezz them, Then, call out “add mezzed” so your group knows not to hit it.
The hardest thing for a bard, I think, is educating your group about what you will be doing. Some people will expect you to switch songs, mezz and heal at the same time. Lol. But here are some things that I try to do when I join a group.
Healing: If there are other healers in the group, ask them if they want to work out the healing duties. It’s very frustrating to have 3 healers all healing the same person for 200 HPs each when the guy is only down 100. Not to mention it’s a terrible waste of mana, which means more downtime for the group. You can either specify who is healing who, or just take turns healing while the other rests. A lot of healers don’t want to do this, though. They like to “freestyle” heal. :/
Lullaby: I always use this when a low armor type like a ranger is pulling. He pulls, I lullaby. It doesn’t clear the mobs current target, but does clear aggro. So the first person to strike at the mob will get the mob off the puller. Also, if the mob goes for a healer or caster, quickly hit Lullaby and the same thing happens. It really helps tanks keep aggro. But you have to educate your group that you are doing this. Tell them when you will use it and that they should keep an eye out for the little sparklies and that no one should hit or heal until the tank establishes aggro. If you don’t, a caster will cast or a healer will heal before the tank hits, and then it’s ring around the rosie, with the mob going back and forth between targets. This spell also interrupts casters and archers in RvR, but but you have to be careful there, because it also breaks mezz. I can't tell you how many times I've mezzed a group of Albs and another bard throws an AE Lullaby right after and breaks all the mezzes. grrrrr. Then they are all immune to mezz for one minute.
Mezzing: I usually like to use the single target mezz in PvE. It casts faster, has a longer duration, and isn’t resisted as much as the AE mezz, at least at lower levels. (Some people say that mezz resists are based soley on level, but I notice as I spec higher in Music, that my AE isn't reisisted as much as the single target. Who knows?) Also, you don’t risk mezzing unwanted mobs in tight quarters. And remember, a mob who resists a mezz is heading straight for you. If a mezz is resisted, it’s better to have one coming for you instead of 2 or 3. Tell your group to stay on the pulled one, and that you will attempt to mezz any adds. Let them know that you can’t mezz something if they are hitting on it, or if it has more than 10% health gone. And if something goes for a healer, caster or you, try to have an assigned peeler to hit the mob just enough to get it off, and then have the peeler go right back to the first pulled mob so you can try to mezz the add again. Just because a mob resists the first mezz, it doesn’t mean it will resist the second. So it’s very important that your group all stay on one, or else it turns into a free for all and healers are scrambling to keep up. Also, try to get good positioning when in tight quarters, like a dungeon. You don’t have much time to get a mezz off, and if people are standing in your way so you can’t target the add, you’re screwed.
Know the durations of your mezzes. If you have several adds and have to use the AE mezz, time it so that you can go back and re-mezz the adds using your single target. Each subsequent mezz is halved in duration, so timing is important if you want to keep them mezzed as long as possible. Also, if there is someone else in the group who can mezz/root, do not let them do so. You have the best mezz in the game. If someone mezzes over you, like a mentalist or another bard, diminishing returns kick in and your target won't be mezzed as long.
[b]Recent changes to mezz:[/b] AE mezz now has a falloff so that those in the center of the effect will be mezzed for the full duration ( not counting resists, determination, or purge) and those at the outer area of the effect will only be mezzed for half the listed duration (not counting resists, determination, or purge.)
Also, mezz resist rates used to be based on a player level comparison. But now (as of 1/6/03), it’s based on spell level. Whether this is a bug or a stealth change by Mythic is not presently known. But keep it in mind when choosing a Music spec.
[b]When to play songs[/b]
Speed song is only good for traveling. It doesn’t work in combat and also stops working when you are targeted in RvR. You don’t have to restart it. It will do that by itself a few seconds after battle.
Endurance song is good during battle or during keep raids when people are bashing on the doors. Tanks can style all day long with this.
Power song is good during downtime for a group. Or in RvR after a lot of deaths during a keep raid, so that the rezzers will have enough power to rezz.
Healing song: Useless. It does so little, that you're better off playing power song and handing out individual heals. I know of no one who has ever used this.
So what if your group is chain pulling and there is no downtime? You have to keep an eye on the casters and healers power bubbles. A group will usually only stop if the healers are low, so be sure and let the group know when they need a break. Sometimes, you can play mostly end song, and then switch to power song during one of the fights to help out the casters. Ask your tanks first if they are ok on endurance to see if it’s ok with them. Otherwise, just stick to end song while chain pulling and yell out when they need to stop for the healers to power up.
[b]Quickbar Organization[/b]
I don’t know about other classes, but it’s a nightmare for bards. You will switch quickbars a lot. Finding a good configuration for you is key. It doesn’t help that you can only have 2 instruments at a time on your quickbar at a time. I’ve changed mine around a lot. Currently, I use 3 quickbars for RvR, so I use the /qbar macro so I can change quickbars in a hurry. Find a configuration that suits your playstyle, and make sure you can use it without thinking. In RvR, hesitation will kill you.
[b]Instruments[/b]
The only benefit you get from having a higher con instrument is a longer pulse. This means that the effects of your songs will last longer after you stop playing (by a second or 3). The only reason you would want this is if you want to twist your songs. That is, start up a song, and just before the animation stops, switch instruments and start playing another; repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. If you time it just right, you will get the full effects of both songs. The only trouble with this is that you can’t do anything else while you are twisting: No healing, no mezzing, no nothing. And because it takes a few seconds before the effects of the song start, if you mis-time, you screw up the effect cycle. Also, it’s a real pain in the arse to do. Most bards refuse to do it and I, myself, have only done it a few times after a total group wipout, when we were in a dangerous area and everyone needed to power up everything in a hurry.
So, given that instruments degrade fairly quickly (we’re constantly using them, as opposed to weapon users) the only reason to move to a higher con instrument is for the stats, IMO. I would never use an orange instrument just because of the high degradation. And after you repair an instrument, as with anything else, its durability decreases and become unrepairable at some point. Smiths can repair instruments, same with weapons and other items. I have my instruments repaired at about 90%.
In RvR, though, it’s nice to get those few extra pulses of speed after combat starts. I currently have all yellow con instruments.
[b]Stats[/b]
A bard’s primary stat is Charisma. It is our mana pool. It was empathy in beta, but Mythic switched it over to CHA. So a lot of people are confused about this. Empathy, at the present time, does absolutely nothing for bards (even though it will increase every level, along with charisma-bah.
Other stat items that are good for bards: Dexterity; this will slightly increase your casting time. Anything with AF or CON always helps because bards can only wear reinforced (you’ll get that at level 15, I believe).
Spec bonuses on items are cool too. Like if you get a piece of armor with a bonus to Regrowth, the variance on your base heals will be smaller. And most of your instruments that you get in drops will have a bonus to Music. But...Music bonuses, it is widely believed, only affect your DD shout, not your mezzes. So, I will generally prefer an instrument with a CON bonus over one with a Music bonus.
[b]Spell Notes (general)[/b]
There are spec spells and base spells. The base spells you get at certain levels, no matter how you spec. Spec spells you get from speccing in specific lines: Nurture, Music, Regrowth, Weapons. Once you’ve gotten a new spell, you will have it always. It will just increase in power as you level, for base spells, or as you spec, for spec spells. The only spells that will draw aggro for you are heals, DD shout, mezz, confusion, and a resisted Lullaby.
Songs use no mana or concentration. You can’t be in combat mode while playing songs, though you can use your DD shout. Except for songs and combat, the only things you can do while moving are DD shouts, Lullaby and instamezzes. You can spin and cast, though. And you can’t cast anything except these 3 types of spells when you’re being hit.
Right click on spells and hit SHIFT-I for durations and ranges of spells.
[b]Nurture Line Spell Notes[/b]
Buffs (base spells) - You get two of each type of buff: AF, STR, CON, & DEX; one being stronger than the other. Buffs use concentration. The higher buffs cost more concentration than the lower ones, And right now, you can cast a maximum of 20. The reason for the 2 sets of buffs is so you can choose to cast some of the lower buffs, along with the higher ones, so that you can cast more. How much concentration you use doesn’t affect anything other than the number of buffs you can cast. Buff amounts and concentration used per buff raise as you level.
Clear Path (spec) – Speed song. Played with lute. People love it. A lot of people don’t know that this song will temporarily stop when you or your group are in battle. Also, in RvR, if you are targeted, your speed song stops. It starts up again maybe 5 secs after battle. Speed effects of song get higher as you spec in this line.
Rhythm of Nature (spec) – Endurance song. Tanks love it. Boosts endurance regen for group. Endurance effects raise as you spec.
Rhyme of Nature (spec) – Power song. Casters love it. Boosts power regen for group. Power effects raise as you spec.
[b]Regrowth Line Spell Notes[/b]
Minor and Medium Heals (base) – Single target heals – 2 second cast time. One heals for more than the other and costs more mana. Heal and mana used for each raise as you level.
Major Heal (spec) – Single target heal – 3 second cast time. Heals more than the lower heals and costs more mana. Heal and mana used amounts raise as you spec in this line.
Group Heal (base) – Heals group – 3 seconds cast time
Minor Reconstitution (base) – Raises dead with 10% health – 4 sec cast time – Amount of mana used depends on the level of the person being rezzed.
Reconstitution (spec) Raises dead with 30% health and 10% power. cast time: 7 secs. Mana is same as with Minor Reconstitution, but it just takes longer to cast, which is sometimes too long when you're in a hurry in an RvR fight.
Notes of Health (spec) – This is a group heal – 4 sec cast time. It doesn’t do a lot compared to a Druid’s, but it sure comes in handy when your group is getting slaughtered. But beware, it will create a lot of aggro for you when fighting mobs. And in RvR, it doesn't require line of sight to heal someone. So, you can heal a Nightshade on a keep wall, for example. Amount healed and mana used increases as you spec.
Song of Healing (spec) – This is a group HP regen song. It does so little that it’s
useless to play.
Cure Poison and Cure Disease (spec) – both single target
[b]Music Line Spell Notes[/b]
Minor Lullaby (base) – 0 cast time – Recast timer: 5 secs - I love this spell. If not resisted, it wipes aggro, but doesn’t clear the mobs current target. It is a single target instacast, but will throw you out of combat mode. It also interrupts casters and archers in RvR.
Greater Lullaby (base) – 0 cast time – Recast time – 10 secs - This is the AE version of the Minor Lullaby. I only use this in RvR right before a mezz, and never with another bard around, in case they have just mezzed.
Mesmerize (base) – single target Mezz – cast time: 2 secs – At lower levels, this isn’t too awfully helpful because your mezz doesn’t usually last as long as the fight. But the mezz times increase as you level, along with the mana cost. If you remezz a mob, the mezz times are cut in half for each subsequent mezz. You can’t mezz a player in RvR that has been mezzed in the last minute. Anything will break a mezz, even lullaby or another resisted mezz. And you can’t mezz a mob that is being hit or has more than 10% of it’s health gone.
AE Mezz (spec) – Area affect mezz – cast time – 3 secs – Only use this in RvR for mezzing groups, or in PvE when you absolutely have to. Everything else is the same as Single Target Mezz.
Concussive Shout (spec) – DD shout – casting time: 0 – recast time: 10 secs. You can use this shout no matter what you are doing, even while running. As with all Music Line spells, you have to be facing your target to use it, though. Mana cost and damage done increases as you spec.
Confusion – (spec) – casting time: 3 sec – Single target confusion spell – Does nothing in RvR except confuse or kill pets. In PvE, confusion will cause a mob to randomly attack. This is very dangerous, except in an experienced group, using tactics very specific to confusion spells, because the mob is likely to go for healers and casters. At higher levels, it can be of more use though, as the mob has an increasing chance of attacking it’s own allies, which is really fun. J
Remove Mesmerize (base) – Single target – casting time: 3 secs – Removes mez effects from a player. This is awesome in RvR.
Instamez – You get 2 forms of this is you spec for it, single target and AE
Resist Chants (spec) – Don’t stack with resist buffs, can’t be chanted while playing songs …. If you can find a use for these, let me know. ;)
[b]Handy Macros[/b]
If you haven't used macros, try them. Just type in "/macro " and then any slash command after that. A button will appear that you can put on your quickbar. For example, you can say "/macro /g I just cut the cheese" and you'll get a button to put on your quickbar so all you have to do is click it to tell your group you have gas!
I would like to have a macro for "add," "add mezzed," "/stick" and a couple of others, but I honestly don't have room for them.
But two that are invaluable to me are /assist and /face. I use /assist in groups so that I can be healing a tank, then click the assist button, and hit my shout. The assist command will automatically target whatever mob the person you are assisting has targetted. You can use it 2 ways. If you use the generic way, "/assist" you will have to click on someone to assist, and then click the assist hotkey. Or, you can be more specific within each group you're in by typing "/assist <insert tank name here>". then you just have to click the asisst to target the mob.
The other macro I use a lot is "/face". This macro, when you have either a mob or a group member targetted, will spin you to face your target. This comes in handy for spells like Mezz and Shout, where you have to be facing your target in order for the spell to work. It also helps in RvR when you're trying to locate a group member for a rez or heal. Also, have /face near your AE mezz. You’ll notice sometimes in RvR if you stop to cast a spell, it says you’re still moving and won’t let you cast. But, if you hit /face just before you AE mezz, it will stop you in your tracks and you’ll never get that silly message about moving and interrupting your spellcast.