BRD merits?

[tokidoki]

I have a few questions concerning bard merits. BRD is my only 75 so I guess I'm a full time BRD.

I already have 1 point in Nightingale and Troubadour, is there any reason to put 5 points to each besides the shorten recast?

I am not too familiar with endgame, but from what I have read so far, most people use Nightingale and Troubadour in conjunction with Soul Voice for a few extra minutes. If that is the case, I dont see any problem with a 20 minute recast. Please let me know otherwise.

Another question I have is about group 1 merits. I already have 5 points in Lullaby recast. I dont think the other categories are worth it such as Minuet recast, etc...

Also if there is anything thing else worth meriting on BRD besides singing skill, I would like to know.

Thanks

[cdgreg]

We recommend our brds have full traub/night. I can't remember if theres a special reason off the top of my head since I'm not a brd, but I swear it has something to do with brd cycles and swaps. I'm sure someone will chime in and answer more completely.

[Crizto]

5 Minuet 5 Lullaby

5 Troub 5 Nightingale

I mostly use BRD for Salvage/Merits/HNM's

[Silenka]

5 Minuet 5 Lullaby

5 Troub 5 Nightingale

I mostly use BRD for Salvage/Merits/HNM's

This is what I did, except I haven't touched the group2 merits yet but when I do that's what they'll be.

[ryskar]

Also, i maxed Lullaby and i'm maxing Finale. It all depends on what you do the most. I use finale a lot more than Minuet (brd more in dynamis, not in a melee pt, for example). Lullaby was just a given.

I'm doing finale/lullaby as well, if only because of the ridiculous recast on finale (and yes, I use haste gear for it).

and yeah, since you generally only need troub/nightingale every two hours, maxing them seems pointless to me... unless like, you're being swapped around for something besides soul voice. >_>

[Bakthi]

The reason people want more Troubadour merits is to do a rotation between two BRD/BLMs of Elemental Seal + Elegy + Troubadour. Two BRDs with enough Troubadour merits will allow you to keep Elegy on things where normally sticking it would be very unreliable. This is only on a few mobs, and if your LS doesn't camp ToAU kings (mine doesn't), then it's probably up to you.

I tend to only use them in conjunction with Soul Voice myself, though ideally you want to SV > buff > wait until 1:58 recast on SV > Nightingale + Troubadour > buff again. The only time I use all 3 JAs at once is when we have 2-3 BRDs that we're rotating through 2-3 parties so that everyone has 4-6 buffs, which only really happens for Einherjar, Dynamis Lord, and the Dynamis-Valkurm boss.

[Valyana]

1 Night 1 Troub are mandatory for maximizing Soul Voice; beyond that it's up to you.

More Nightingale could be useful if you use it at other times for spamming songs, but I almost never do.
5 Troub is nice to match Elemental Seal recast if you do BRD/BLM, and nice for when you won't be able to recast buffs for a while for whatever reason.
5 Dirge seems useful for giving BLMs -22 Enmity if their damage ability is limited by hate rather than MP.
I have 3 Sirvente but never use it anymore, though I think it's helpful for bloodtanks.

Group 1 is also a judgment call depending on how you play. I have 1 Finale 4 Madrigal 5 Minuet, and I don't miss having Lullaby recast merits; with Sheikh Gages and Sha'ir Manteel I get 5 seconds off all songs, which is good enough for me. I usually also have a March on. To the OP: Madrigal and Minuet merits are effect, not recast. Madrigal merits are the most effective if you use Madrigal, but I use it a lot less since the 2h weapon buff.

[Arthars]

my wife merit is max......all her 75 jobs are 10/10 and 10/10 and all other category maxed as well, even 5 int(she got no melee jobs)

so for brd, i max hers too, since there nothing she can pump into....
so i did grp 1:
5 minuet and 5 finale

i would think 5 lulluby is better than 5 minuet since 5 sec cut per lulluby seem to be better than 5 attack... i think finale is good to have 5, since some asshole mobs have buffs that can only be dispelled by finale (and blank gaze)

as for group 2, my initial intention is 5 nigh 5 trou but i got lazy adding her merits and went 3 nigh 3 trou and 4 dirge lol.......

hey -19 enmity not too bad for BLM i guess XD im sure some BLM wouldnt mind 1 MP lesser per tick for passive -19 enmity hehehehe

[jimbobsonofgod]

Yeah if you are gonna max out all your merits for brd(which is good form i might add)

best to just cap troub + night since its far more useful then the 2 song choices.

[Tradition]

My number one reason for meriting Troubadour and Nightingale is for the afks it lets me take >_>

[Flokk_9]

My number one reason for meriting Troubadour and Nightingale is for the afks it lets me take >_>

Bingo! Pop 'em, rebuff, pull 4-5 mobs (depending), go get a drink or whatever...repeat as needed. Priceless for people who whore bard in merits.

[Euphoriaw]

5Madrigal, 5Minuet.

If you are going to do endgame with BRD, cap at least Troub recast.

[Kainos]

Group 1: 5/5 lullaby, 5/5 Minuet or Madrigal. Alot of bards already have 5/5 minuet, also minuet caps at 450ish? combined skill so only a difference of +10 attack. Madrigal however still tiers past 500 skill so would be +13 accuracy difference vs the average lazy bard.

IMO meriting finale is worthless. BLM/RDM, WHM/SCH, RDM, COR, SCH can all dispel. Not many mobs that are spamming buffs in 24 seconds that you need to depend on a bard for finale. 5/5 lullaby merits affect 2 songs, and when your the last sleeper left and the last hope of keeping everyone alive you willbe happy for those merits.

Group 2: Troubadour 5/5 only if you are doing events /blm and need it timed with elemental seal. Otherwise 1 in troub & night is fine. The Enmity songs are a waste ever since we got Piassmo. I used give Foe Sirvante to kiting tanks but I've been told ballad/march instead

[Ultimagi]

I agree with the above poster. Lullaby and Finale are outdated by the sheer number of jobs that can perform these functions better. Minuet and Madrigal having maximum effect seems better.

[Bakthi]

Don't forget that if you're doing a SV BRD rotation, and you have 3 BRDs (so 2x Minuet, 2x March, 2x Madrigal), 5 Minuet merits isn't 5 attack, it's 20. For around a dozen DDs. Madrigal is the same deal (or should be), so if you can get 1 or 2 BRDs to max Minuet and another few to max Madrigal, and some who actually have the gear to boost March to high levels, and then get one of each to show up to any given event, that would of course be ideal. Best of luck to you.

I did 5 Minuet and 5 Lullaby, and I don't regret it. With turban, haidate, R.pumps, Loq., and Sha'ir gloves, I can get the recast down to its minimum, and there are times I've needed it (mostly in Einherjar or Dynamis). I had maxed Category 2 before they raised the cap, but I haven't done more with it because it wouldn't benefit me nearly as much as throwing merits into other jobs.

[Mafai]

5 Finale 5 Lullaby - MPless dispel for Finale in Salvage, damn those ice spikes.

5 nigh 5 trou - faster entering Bahamutv2 (if you do multiple per night) and more afk time at other places, along with 2 brds u can keep Elegy up full time on hard mobs (ToAU)

[Rokimus]

I disagree. Although the above-mentioned jobs can and do dispel at better rates and with lower recast times, said jobs are not always present in every party. Also, for low-man gigs with melee + bard or situations where the non-BRD dispeller is busy and dispel is crucial, having Finale ready is a beautiful thing.

[Ultimagi]

Yes, but how often do you need to Finale more than once?

[Mafai]

Yes, but how often do you need to Finale more than once?

Salvage is a fast paced enviroment in some cases your fighting multiple mobs, which both can have ice spikes.

[Kainos]

5/5 Finale lowers recast from 24sec to 18 seconds, extra 5-6 of ice spikes means nothing. Outside of salvage it means nothing, less than a 1% a slightly longer recast time on finale will be difference between life or death of party/alliance.

To stay on topic I doubt the OP is going to be jumping into Salvage since this is his first 75 job and he is new to endgame.

Frankly I think anyone saying NOT to merit minuet/madrigal are part-time bards. Any main Bard involved in a soul-voice rotation knows that leaders are going to the merited ones first. Low-man you can always add an extra person or change a subjob.