Taru is best race for BRD

[Xenorave]

It makes sense to me that tarus would make the best BRDs, but since i don't hav the game yet i dunno. Any help is appreciated

[Faranim]

"Best" does not apply in FFXI. All choices have pros and cons.

Pro of Taru: More MP - Able to heal more in a party.
Con of Taru: Less HP - dies easier.

For bards, race doesn't make that big of a difference. Between Elvaan, Taru, and Hume all are perfectly valid (since they have the same CHR).

Galka and Mithra are slightly gimped by lower CHR, but it doesn't make the class unplayable as these races... it just takes a bit more equipment to make up for the lost CHR.

[Ceelron]

Yes; But then if your a Galka You'll have a bit more life to last you while doing BCNM ( And like it's been said before, You'll get hit. And You get hit with Ultimaga IV and you loose 5924 life from that Super-secret mob I just found It will really shine there) (( And Not to mention Having -X or -XX CHR (And hopefully with the right SUB it won't go beyond a difference of 10 max) really won't affect you much; You'll just be having a more challanging landing **certain** songs))

It really just depends on these things: 1) Looks 2) Playing Style 3) What you're going to do end-game ( Would be better if there was more to do.. )

[Niland]

i really don't understand why you think tarutaru make better bards than other races?

[Aniga]

Originally posted by Niland
i really don't understand why you think tarutaru make better bards than other races?

A bard is based generally on two stats:

Charisma and MP.

No, HP does not matter that much. You should not have agro. You can do ANY BCNM with Tarutaru HP and have no trouble whatsoever. That extra MP helps, and yes, that extra CHR over a Mithra or Galka certainly helps as well. I'm 70 +60 CHR at 75 and I STILL want more so I can land Elegy more often on the gods (Right now I'm landing 1 in 20). These gods hit me for 750 HP, so that extra 300 HP from a Hume isn't going to keep me alive either.

Picking another race for extra HP is nothing but a crutch in my eyes. The extra MP enables you to do your job longer/better than other races. And when other races decide to get some MP Equipment to catch up to you in MP, you have Charisma equipment in that spot and thus you still outperform them when it comes to landing songs on enemies.

In my eyes, Tarutarus definately make the best grouping bards. If you want to solo with a bard... perhaps Hume or Elvaan may be better due to their higher STR/VIT (This is why they tend to have an easier time with Maat). But if you want to solo, why are you playing a Bard?

[UnnamedGalka]

Picking another race for extra HP is nothing but a crutch in my eyes. The extra MP enables you to do your job longer/better than other races. And when other races decide to get some MP Equipment to catch up to you in MP, you have Charisma equipment in that spot and thus you still outperform them when it comes to landing songs on enemies.

God forbid you make the game a little more challenging for yourself.

[Xccoortri]

Originally posted by UnnamedGalka


God forbid you make the game a little more challenging for yourself.

That's not the issue. We are discussing which job makes the game EASIEST for you...he never said you CAN'T pick the others, he is just stating the positive side to picking taru...

[Vilurum]

All races make quite decent BRDs, since we're less stat-dependent than most other jobs. The WHM sub depends more on race than the BRD main, and sub MP is gimped anyway.

Tarus are really great for what MP they *do* get from their sub, but if you think you're never gonna get hit, you've obviously never slept a link/aggro. Sometimes I get enough hate to be hit just by buffing, if it's early in the battle (which is when I buff and the tank hasn't accumulated much hate yet.

So essentially ... if you want the most MP for your WHM sub, then yes, pick taru. But any race will do just fine, and will have physical advantages over the taru just like the taru has the magic advantage.

Another thing to consider ... BRD MP is for emergencies, bar- spells, -na spells, and *backup* healing. And the backup (though not the emergency) healing is only for when you have nothing else to do. Which is less than half the time. Combine that with the fact that you can pick your buff order so you end up with Ballad yourself, and running out of MP isn't usually much of an issue unless you're fighting way too hard an enemy.

Then again, I'm only level 35, so I can't speak from experience on high level battles.

[Xccoortri]

I still feel bards can go pure healer post 55 with a rdm on the team, totally eliminating the need for a WHM, thus adding one more melee to the PT...that's how my set PT is anyways and it works nicely, and we're not even 55 yet.

[Aniga]

Originally posted by UnnamedGalka


God forbid you make the game a little more challenging for yourself.

God forbid you stay on topic, which is simply what race makes the best bard.

[Aniga]

Originally posted by Vilurum
All races make quite decent BRDs, since we're less stat-dependent than most other jobs. The WHM sub depends more on race than the BRD main, and sub MP is gimped anyway.

Tarus are really great for what MP they *do* get from their sub, but if you think you're never gonna get hit, you've obviously never slept a link/aggro.

Now you're grasping at straws. When you're sleeping you are not getting hit enough between sleeps so that you run out of HP--At most a monster gets 1-2 hits on me between sleeps, and that isn't enough to whittle down my 950 HP to even critical levels (Most "XP" monsters at this level will hit me for 170). There's also this neat thing called Blink I tend to use.

Sometimes I get enough hate to be hit just by buffing, if it's early in the battle (which is when I buff and the tank hasn't accumulated much hate yet.

Your tank sucks. Well, that's a little harsh to say, since they don't have +Enmity gear yet. But if you pull agro by throwing on Minuet and Madrigal, then yes, your tank sucks.

Another thing to consider ... BRD MP is for emergencies, bar- spells, -na spells, and *backup* healing. And the backup (though not the emergency) healing is only for when you have nothing else to do. Which is less than half the time. Combine that with the fact that you can pick your buff order so you end up with Ballad yourself, and running out of MP isn't usually much of an issue unless you're fighting way too hard an enemy.

Bzzzt, wrong. This is a common assumption bards make which makes them play subpar. Your MP should never, ever be full while grouping. Your MP is not for emergencies, and if you're sitting around with full MP at any time you should be ashamed. You should pick your buff order with Ballad at the end, but you SHOULD be spending enough MP that you'll need that tick of /heal between pulls every so often to keep up on what you're doing. You SHOULD take the commanding role in your group when it comes to status debuffs, and unless you're fighting a HNM or Summon battle, you SHOULD be the only person casting Bar-element (For XP monsters, the difference between your bar and your WHM's is pretty negligble up until high levels, and your WHM's time is better spent /healing instead of taking 10-15 seconds to run in, cast, and run out).

You are there to support everyone, including the mages. And that support should not be reduced to simply throwing Ballad on them. Finding new and better ways to support them and, in effect, make their jobs easier is the purpose of your job and what will make you stand out from others of your class.

And then we get back to the topic of discussion, and the way I've found it best is to use my WHM sub to enhance the support I give, because short of your CHR score your race is not going to effect your main job's output at all, seeing as how no other stats matter as pertaining to a bard main.

[Mdude]

Not for BCNM40 they aren't. I'd take a galka before a taru there anyday.

[Xccoortri]

The counter argument to that would be that a taru has more mp, thus allowing them to heal themselves in between sleeps, eliminating the need for higher HP.

I don't really have an opinion on this...I'm an Elvaan bard, and at level 48 I only have like 240-250mp...but I'm just stating that there is a counter argument to almost all of your arguments.

[Rekiem]

The MP argument is kinda pointless because you forget that the other races have MP boosting RSE so its pretty much even when it comes to MP between Taru and the other races.
But if you're at the point where you think your Race will actually make a difference in the outcome of an event, something is wrong.

[Vilurum]

Now you're grasping at straws. When you're sleeping you are not getting hit enough between sleeps so that you run out of HP--At most a monster gets 1-2 hits on me between sleeps, and that isn't enough to whittle down my 950 HP to even critical levels (Most "XP" monsters at this level will hit me for 170). There's also this neat thing called Blink I tend to use.

If you're sleeping and the party will be able to handle it, then yes, you can stand around and heal yourself. If you're sleeping and bolting for the zone because the party's practically dead (esp. if the healers, yourself included, are out of MP), you may not be able to heal yourself. Not every party is capable of handling everything the game can throw at it. More experienced and better equipped parties at high level are probably more able to. I don't have the perspective to say.

And I admit, I hadn't figured in Blink, mainly because I haven't hit 40 yet and regained the spell.

There is, of course, the issue of more than one enemy pounding on you between sleeps, but this is less common than a single enemy to keep asleep.

Your tank sucks. Well, that's a little harsh to say, since they don't have +Enmity gear yet. But if you pull agro by throwing on Minuet and Madrigal, then yes, your tank sucks.

I grant, this hasn't happened to me yet with a decent tank. :D

Bzzzt, wrong. This is a common assumption bards make which makes them play subpar. Your MP should never, ever be full while grouping. Your MP is not for emergencies, and if you're sitting around with full MP at any time you should be ashamed. You should pick your buff order with Ballad at the end, but you SHOULD be spending enough MP that you'll need that tick of /heal between pulls every so often to keep up on what you're doing. You SHOULD take the commanding role in your group when it comes to status debuffs, and unless you're fighting a HNM or Summon battle, you SHOULD be the only person casting Bar-element (For XP monsters, the difference between your bar and your WHM's is pretty negligble up until high levels, and your WHM's time is better spent /healing instead of taking 10-15 seconds to run in, cast, and run out).

You are there to support everyone, including the mages. And that support should not be reduced to simply throwing Ballad on them. Finding new and better ways to support them and, in effect, make their jobs easier is the purpose of your job and what will make you stand out from others of your class.

My usual PTs, I'm running around with somewhere between 1/3 and 2/3 MP, usually closer to 0 (esp. if they're pulling super fast and I get no chance to rest). When I'm done singing - or even when I'm not, if someone's HP is plummetting - I jump right in and help with the healing (resuming my songs after emergency if I had to interrupt).

I take over both the bar- spells and the -na spells, and am usually the one who does the post-battle Curaga (or sometimes even an in-battle Curaga in an emergency ... and this gets back to the "bards get hit" bit, because it's better that I get hit than the WHM ... and I rarely have such an incredible tank that the enemy doesn't bat an eye at the Curaga).

Assuming the tank holds hate and the damage dealers can actually kill the enemy (two big assumptions, I admit), battles go easily enough on the healers that they usually have very little net loss of MP (if they rest) by the time the next pull arrives. Chain 4 with a an okay to good party, chain 5 with an excellent party. Have yet to get chain 6+, but I'm trying. So-so parties usually can't manage more than chain 1 or 2 anyway, no matter how much I contribute.

What this translates to my doing is: Besides my usual bout of songs (including appropriate threnodies for debuffs if the debuffers are willing to pay attention to what I'm doing, then the threnody for the favored-nuke or the skillchain), I cure in emergencies, I cast the bar- and the -na spells, and I backup heal. I may omit the threnody micromanagement if the healing is more necessary. It's situational.

This, btw, is exactly what I said originally (just fleshed out with details), and which is exactly what accomplishes the goals you set out.

To get back to the topic at hand, I can accomplish all that with my lowly hume MP. This is my perspective at level 35. Your perspective is from a much higher level, and I'm sure the extra MP would become more of a necessity as I progress. Maybe a taru would be an "ideal" BRD, but the MP difference - especially for subjob-only MP - is far from enough to prevent any other race from being a damn good BRD all the same. Maybe you can more easily accomplish those chain 6+'s than I can ... though so far, the problem has not been healers running out of MP, but inability to get and kill another enemy fast enough.

My previous argument was admittedly grasping at a few straws, making generalities, and not well thought out. If you have further criticism of how I actually play, rather than generalities I've made - now that I've fleshed out what I do myself - I'd be happy to accept the wisdom of an elder bard.

PS: Theoretical rare situation where all healers, bard included, will have easily full MP - rich RNG/NIN dishing out tons of no-downtime damage (fast dead enemy = few attacks to deal with) and utsusemi-ing many of the hits. Along with some other damage dealers to expedite enemy death, preferably more RNG/NINs so they can trade the hate around and give the others a chance to re-utsusemi. Doesn't happen very often for a variety of obvious reasons. Still, if I'm ever in such a situation, I ain't gonna cast away my MP so I don't have to be ashamed by my full MP.