The Most Important Skill for Bard

[Judah]

did 4 singing 4 wind.. i originally had 2 string merits, but I switched all my shit to wind except for Horde (of course) --- not worth meriting it.

If you do bard for dynamis a lot - lullaby recast, HQ JSE hands, Turban and Byakko Haidate - ur recast gets so low its fuckin retarded. (edit: SWIFT BELT TOO. almost forgot.)

for capping out the category's sake --- i did minuet merits, cause people ask for minuet more than any of the others.

for new merits I've put 1 in each - tho nightingale and troub i seem to only use in the last 40 seconds of my 2hour or so (gotta squeeze out every last drop). the minus emnity song I think would only be really useful in an outside WHM healing pt.. and seeing im always in tank pt - i have yet to use it (YEY WASTED MERITS).

the emnity holding song is good for kite fights when your bard is usually pretty worthless anyway... running ahead of the tanks and trying to predict hitting them with songs as they run by.. 1 level of that. going to end up doing 2 levels in each new song probably just because to me they are equally useless.

[Bwelch]

Dunno how much this helps Fara but...


http://kearnsy.com/page2.pdf

http://kearnsy.com/page2.mdi


Edit: The avatar in the post you linked to is this image, dunno if that's the problem...

http://img39.echo.cx/img39/1561/coolbaby9ob.jpg

When I clicked the link to that image, my browser locked up again. wtf? Why the hell do I need an applet viewer for a JPG image?

Right click > Properties > Alternate Text: The image “http://img39.echo.cx/img39/1561/coolbaby9ob.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

Interesting...

[Gregorio]

I did the enmity- song even though I'm usually in the tank party. I haven't actually used either of them much, just occasionally at the start of the fight or if a mage in the tank pt is pulling too much hate. But just through the description the enmity- seems more useful than the other enmity song because the other one doesn't actually give enmity.

I guess if there was some kind of way to get data on actual numbers of enmity loss due to getting hit or losing shadows it'd be easier to measure usefulness.

[Seebo]

I know alot of people said it, but I'll recap some things.

I capped 8 Wind. Whoever said Elegy is ridiculously easy to land has clearly never played BRD on some of the higher level HNMs. Sometimes resists are a bitch, and that wind boost helps you land it. I use Mary's Horn and Piccolo +1 for Lullaby/Threnody too, cause of my massive wind skill. The only real thing I use string for is Finale (Military Harp). Singing like stated before basically caps out by the time you're 75, so have fun wasting merits in another 1-2 attack rather than increasing the land rate of elegy.

Assuming BRD is your main and the job you play for your LS always, go 5 CHR, 8 Wind, 5 Minuet (lolmeripos), 5 Lullaby recast...then idk about the newer songs, but it seems that the enmity ones are pointless being that my tanks would be much better off with ballad and march than missing one of them for a bit of enmity, and mages would want double ballad. Trobodour (sp?) is good after Soul Voice, it makes it last longer. I guess Nightinggale is good for elegy spam if you're getting a few nasty resists and absolutely need it on.

Just dont merit string for God sakes.

[miokomioko]

I know alot of people said it, but I'll recap some things.

I capped 8 Wind. Whoever said Elegy is ridiculously easy to land has clearly never played BRD on some of the higher level HNMs. Sometimes resists are a bitch, and that wind boost helps you land it. I use Mary's Horn and Piccolo +1 for Lullaby/Threnody too, cause of my massive wind skill. The only real thing I use string for is Finale (Military Harp). Singing like stated before basically caps out by the time you're 75, so have fun wasting merits in another 1-2 attack rather than increasing the land rate of elegy.

Assuming BRD is your main and the job you play for your LS always, go 5 CHR, 8 Wind, 5 Minuet (lolmeripos), 5 Lullaby recast...then idk about the newer songs, but it seems that the enmity ones are pointless being that my tanks would be much better off with ballad and march than missing one of them for a bit of enmity, and mages would want double ballad. Trobodour (sp?) is good after Soul Voice, it makes it last longer. I guess Nightinggale is good for elegy spam if you're getting a few nasty resists and absolutely need it on.

Just dont merit string for God sakes.

I've played bard on every HNM in the game besides lolHydra. Not once have I ever had an issue with Elegy besides with Cerberus.

BRD merits are laughable, at best.

[Moggy]

my hero miokomioko show me ur l337 gear and a few screenshots of consecutive landing elegy on sky gods, hmm just 5 in a row will do, cos u know i'm a gimp brd so i can never land elegy safely on those things up there, oh yeah just 1 more screenshot of elegy on Jailer of Love, faith, prudence, temperance, hmmm ouryu (btw u can actually land it, but i doubt u've faught any of them enough times to land it and take a screenshots X) )

as for brd merits i have 5 wind, 3 singing, which before musical earring came out gave me a very even balance of wind and singing skill of 255 each. if u switch to enough string gear and can't land lullaby in dynamis with a harp u just have problems urself, u'll prolly die more not cos u can't sleep things, but because u slept more things that wakes up before someone vokes

assuming ur a main HNM brd i would suggest 5 lullaby, 5 finale, if u never play another job then 5 chr merits, 1 trou, 1 night, 1 dir, 3 sirv, max mp or hp if ur ls lets u tank instead of cure, max crit-/+, don't fcuk with enmity merits, u don't need spell interruptiion merits, if u have a relic dagger max dagger, if u wanna see big numbers max staff

[miokomioko]

People still consider Sky gods HNMs?

I have old screenshots of like 7 Elegies on Kirin in one run, if that counts for anything.

If I ever had any issues with elegy not landing on a HNM that needs to be elegy'd, I would have put merits into Wind Instrument Skill. But I haven't so I didn't. I find landing Threnody with more consistancy to be of much more value than having to omg recast elegy when Nidhogg resists it 1-2 times per fight.

Dorin Obi lol.

[Chael]

The most important skill for any bard debuff is luck.
Second is -enmity.

[Eternus]

Ouryu is a bigger bitch to land Elegy on than Kirin (Kirin isn't that hard). Really I didn't have many problems debuffing HNM/Gods/etc before I did merits and even less after. My gear helps though, as does using threnodies intelligently lol. BRD has it pretty good without merits, Lullaby recast though has saved me xp several times in Dynamis-Xarcabard and other places where I can get fucking owned trying to juggle crowd control. I am not saying I don't die, just less often.

Try to merit BRD towards the abilities that you think would benefit the majority of jobs you might level. Well MP or HP considering what race you are obviously (Taru - HP, Galka/Elvaan - MP). Stats I would say STR lol... CHR is fine just from what equip is available and you shouldn't merit it of course. Magic skills aren't bad as far as wind and singing goes, but more beneficial stuff lies ahead for other jobs. - spell interrupt, -enemy crit, +crit are beneficial to most jobs. Too risky meriting enmity in any way imo.

[aurik]

Isn't Ouryu, being an earth-based wyrm, immune to elegy and slow?

[Russta]

Isn't Ouryu, being an earth-based wyrm, immune to elegy and slow?

He is.

[Eternus]

Isn't Ouryu, being an earth-based wyrm, immune to elegy and slow?

Yes he is haha. I never tried with Soul Voice or anything, but I haven't landed it on him after a few tries and gave up. Other things to be more concerned about in that fight anyway. Kirin is earth based as well but it still lands on him (pretty damn sure he is earth based). I just can't think of a mob that is really that difficult to land Elegy on, well to help the fight alot. Ouryu would be nice to land Elegy or Slow on, but it probably isn't even possible.

[miokomioko]

Isn't Ouryu, being an earth-based wyrm, immune to elegy and slow?

Yes he is haha. I never tried with Soul Voice or anything, but I haven't landed it on him after a few tries and gave up. Other things to be more concerned about in that fight anyway. Kirin is earth based as well but it still lands on him (pretty damn sure he is earth based). I just can't think of a mob that is really that difficult to land Elegy on, well to help the fight alot. Ouryu would be nice to land Elegy or Slow on, but it probably isn't even possible.

Land it consistantly on Cerberus and I will put merits into Wind Skill.

[Eternus]

Eh Cerberus isn't that hard until he spams Gates of Hades. Elegy isn't going to help GoH, thats where Stun steps in haha. If your tanks have major problems with Cerberus meleeing them to death then thats bad news.

[miokomioko]

Eh Cerberus isn't that hard until he spams Gates of Hades. Elegy isn't going to help GoH, thats where Stun steps in haha. If your tanks have major problems with Cerberus meleeing them to death then thats bad news.

You're right he's not that hard, but he's not a kited fight and he's not a TP/Mana burned fight, so Elegy would be of some help if it were to stick more than 1/15 attempts.

[Russta]

I've gone 70% of a Cerberus fight before it stuck before and I've stuck it three times back-to-back before, pretty retarded.

[Eternus]

You try using Earth threnody just before you cast Elegy? I really have only fought Cerberus twice and Elegy wasn't the biggest issue. Stunning GoH is. Ouryu on the other hand is more annoying as far as him meleeing tanks. Would be nice if you could slow/elegy him at all. I can't think of too many fights my LS kites... we don't kite Jorm or Tiamat lol.. straight tank Kirin as well. Don't kite any Jailers, I missed the AV fight sadly though (doubt we would kite him either). Kiting is kinda pussy shit imo and there will always be a way around it if people work hard enough to find one.

[divisortheory]

You try using Earth threnody just before you cast Elegy? I really have only fought Cerberus twice and Elegy wasn't the biggest issue. Stunning GoH is. Ouryu on the other hand is more annoying as far as him meleeing tanks. Would be nice if you could slow/elegy him at all. I can't think of too many fights my LS kites... we don't kite Jorm or Tiamat lol.. straight tank Kirin as well. Don't kite any Jailers, I missed the AV fight sadly though (doubt we would kite him either). Kiting is kinda pussy shit imo and there will always be a way around it if people work hard enough to find one.

You don't kite Jailer of Prudence or Jailer of Faith?

[aurik]

Apparently they don't kite KB either.

[Eternus]

Apparently they don't kite KB either.

Nope last time we did WAR/NIN zerg destruction I believe. Might be wrong, but that is how we have done the last 10 or so KS99 Chvelniks (can kill it in 7mins). We have kited KB in the past and used to kite KS99, but not anymore. Hell back when we RNG spammed Kirin we kited him.