Bard

“ Around hearth and table Bards work their wonders, spinning tapestries of poetry and music, and keeping the memories of ancient days alive. Their ancient craft was born among the skalds of the Northmen, but now Bards can be found among all the peoples of the World. Every Bard must be a master of tale-telling and music, and must hone their memory to supreme heights: the great sagas and chronicles span thousands of rhymes, and can take three days to hear in full. A master Bard knows several great sagas, and can sing them through from end to end without missing a single word. They need no books or notes to keep the sagas: the weave of rhyme and kenning is their only guide, memory their only tool. ” - Bard Lore		Bard  Keeper of Lore
Powers Detail    Bard Builds    Quartermaster    Class Equipment    PvP Strategy
Overview The bard is a stealth class that specializes in quickly eliminating one target. They are highly-prized in group fights for their ability to block all healing on a target with Shadow Mantle. Solo players will also find the bard's kit quite versatile, however, they have few ranged weapon choices and no way to increase their speed, relying on Steal Breath to slow their target instead.		Bard Information Base Classes Mage, Rogue Races Aelfborn, Aracoix, Elf, Human, Irekei, Nephilim Disciplines Animator, Archer, Archmage, Artillerist, Battle Magus, Black Mask, Blade Master, Blade Weaver, Blood Prophet, Bounty Hunter, Commander, Conjurer, Enchanter, Huntsman, Knight, Prospector, Rat Catcher, Rune Caster, Saboteur, Sky Dancer, Sun Dancer, Traveler, Undead Hunter, Werewolf, Wyrmslayer Mastery Runes Master of Daggers, Master of Great Swords, Master of Throwing Skills Granted Bardsong, Sword (level 10) Staff Mastery, Sword Mastery, Unarmed Combat Mastery (level 20) Bard Static Powers Stances mage 35 20 25 stance details rogue 35 20 25 stance details Weapon Powers mage 5 25 10 5 25 25 25 10 rogue 10 5 35 25 5 30 5 30 30 25
Powers and Skills Level Icon Ability Description 10 Ritardando Single-target Snare and attack speed debuff Kennings of the Loremasters Single-target item identification 12 Dread Dissonance Single-target magic damage and short Stun Gentle Melody Group health recovery chant (melody) 15 Ballad of Beregund the Bold Personal movement speed buff Ragnor's Rede of Rending Group melee and power damage buff chant (rede) Offensive Stance Personal combat stance Defensive Stance Personal combat stance Precise Stance Personal combat stance 18 Harmonious Stanzas Single-target non-player Lull Ithriana's Love Song Single-target non-player charm 20 Anthem of Avoidance Personal melee Damage Absorber Ancient Riddle Area non-player Mesmerize 22 Cuthric's Rede of Cunning Group defense chant (rede) 23 Ashton Kai's Irresistible Dance Single-target Root 24 Countersong Single-target Dispel Effect 26 Calming Melody Group mana recovery chant (melody) 28 Chant of the Titans Group Strength and Dexterity buff (note: not an actual chant) 30 Dela's Rede of Deftness Group attack rating chant (rede) Canticle of Inspiration Group Intelligence and Spirit buff 32 Mighty Countersong Group dispell debuff and short snare/stun/root immunity 34 Baleful Cry of Weilund Area non-player fear 36 Molto Ritardando Area attack speed and movement speed debuff 42 Restive Melody Group stamina recovery chant (melody) Song of Warding Group magic and mental damage resistance chant (song) 44 Litany of Focus Group magic, mental, cold, fire, lightning, poison and bleed resistance chant (song) 46 Song of Fortitude Group poison and bleed damage resistance chant (song) 48 Song of Spring Group cold, fire, and lightning resistance chant (song) 50 Dance of Derrac the Dauntless Group invulnurability chant
Playstyle Tips Bard's varied kit allows the class access to a variety of builds with focuses on different spells. While Shadowmantle is often the key spell in their arsenal, Bards can be built to thrive in different PvP environment, with damage and support being their best roles. The choice of playstyle starts right from creation, when you pick your base class, as Rogue Bards and Mage Bards play very differently. Mage Shadow Bolt is your bread and butter spell on a damage-based Mage Bard and Steal Breath allows you to kite very effectively. Support-based Mage Bards revolve around keeping Shadowmantle on a targeted enemy during a fight. Shadow Mantle is placed very far to the right on the effects bar so, with the plethora of Bard and Mage debuffs, key moments of a fight are often spent trying to keep a debuff in front the Shadow Mantle effect so a Dispel Debuff spell doesn't remove Shadow Mantle. Though Mage defensive stance gives good spell resistances, Mage Bards are light on defensive options so beware not to let someone get the jump on you! Rogue The power rank 40 backstabs are a tremendous boon to your burst damage. Due to the nature of the powers, you activate Backstab first and then cast one of its poison variants you can execute a double backstab! Dodge is the best passive defense in the game so it is recommended to put at least some trains in it; however, high defense is often the primary damage mitigation method for Rogue-based prestige classes. Rogue Bards are very tight on trains, so have a clear vision of what powers and focus lines are necessary in which to invest heavily.
Classes Prestige Classes Assassin (PQ)    Barbarian (PQ)    Bard (PQ)    Channeler (PQ)    Confessor (PQ)    Crusader (PQ)    Doomsayer (PQ) Druid (PQ)    Fury (PQ)    Huntress (PQ)    Necromancer (PQ)    Nightstalker (PQ)    Prelate (PQ)    Priest (PQ) Ranger (PQ)    Scout (PQ)    Sentinel (PQ)    Templar (PQ)    Thief (PQ)    Warlock (PQ)    Warrior (PQ)    Wizard (PQ) Base Classes Fighter    Healer    Mage    Rogue