Some BRD Advice

[Rebellion]

I'm still in the newb areas, don't even have sub yet, but I plan on going BRD. Any advice for when I finally get there? When and where to solo? How long to solo? Where and when to buy songs? Farming areas? PT advice? Strategy? Instruments? Macros? Stuff like that.

[Vilurum]

Solo to 11 if you can, that's when you get Madrigal. I did it on normal low level enemies till 8 or 9, then moved to decent-even-tough La Theine worms (which I solo'd primarily with damage over time - Poison from WS, plus Requiem, plus Dia). At low levels, your buffs pretty much make up for your lower stats, and your equipment is pretty equivalent to that of a melee.

Since songs are all over the place, find a list of their locations and whenever you're in a town, buy any songs that are available there and which you'll need in the next ten or so levels. Toss 'em in your mog safe. (90% of our songs are dirt cheap, only a few K at most, so buying ten levels beforehand shouldn't break the bank.) If necessary, make a trip to the towns for the sole purpose of buying songs, but try to get them when you're there for other reasons.

For song-buying, avoid the AH like the plague except for Ballad (if you don't want to quest it), Finale and the Lullabies (those three are monster drops), until you're buying level 51+ songs - at which point only a few songs can come from NPCs and the AH actually gives a *better* price. For low level songs, people buy the songs from obscure NPCs and put them up at the AH for triple the price or more. You'll be ripped off if you buy there.

Farming is hard to do as a bard ... you'll likely have an easier time farming with your 30's WHM than with your BRD. Until your BRD's in the 40's or so anyway, and then you're still only farming enemies with levels in the teens or mid twenties.

PTs, strategy, instruments, macros ... see the stickied guide by Teffie, it goes much more in depth than I ought to go here. In a nutshell you want balanced effective parties, you want the mages and melees separate (so you can buff them separately), and you want to prioritize instruments for the songs you use, over instruments for the songs you don't use as much. (Naturally.)

However, first you have to get BRD. Which means you have to get that BLM to 18, then get WHM/BLM to 30 (if not 37 so you don't have to level it again as a BRD sub), and only then worry about BRD. By that time you should have more experience with PT formation and farming and shopping and other such gameplay issues.

Good luck!

[Helltaru]

Songs

Must Haves

Madrigals
Ballads
Minuets
Preludes
Elegies
Threnodies
Lullabies

I am bound to catch flak for not including Paeons, but I really don't think they are all that great. In most parties I only have time to do some after battle healing, and sing Ballad before the party goes into combat again, so I opt to use Regen instead of Paeons, although stacking Paeons II and I pre Mages Ballad is quite useful. The rest of the songs are either useless, or situational.

As far as what songs to sing, the most common order I use/have seen is

Madrigal+Minuet (melees)
Ballad+Learned Etude* (mages, I only use Learned Etude if I have a Black Mage in the party, and only because I don't have Mages Ballad II yet)

Once I have those songs up I still start throwing out Threnody, Elegy, and Requiem. You may be asked to sing other songs depending on the way party is setup (like Prelude for Rangers, and things of that nature)

Anywho, be sure to check out Teffie's Bard Guide it is an excellent resource.

[HMStudio]

here's a fact that isnt' talked about much. it's slow, but bards can solo worms in korroloca tunnel (sp?). just cast requiem II on then, and paeon I and II on yourself. once requem's worn off, if need be, cast lullaby on them. I solo'd like 10 worms with no problem while waiting for a pt this way. it's slow, but it works.

Note: do not engage the worm. kill it only with requiem.