Bard Debuffs...

[pagodaman02]

I hear alot about having to land debuffs as a bard. Correct me if I'm wrong, but arent Elegy, Requiem and threnody the only debuffs we have?

Finale doesnt count since it cant be resisted, I think.

[Rekiem]

Lullaby and Virelai are also considered debuff.

[pagodaman02]

eck, forgot Lullaby....didnt know bout Virelai though, but that's a long way off for me. So all tha CHR we are supposed to be hoarding is only good for those songs =\

[Vilurum]

Landing elegy is very helpful if you can do it, carnage elegy even more so (or so I hear). For the same reason as WHMs should take the time to use paralyze + slow (if there's no RDM to do it), because the time and MP spent doing that will make the rest of the battle that much easier. (Never mind that half my parties have enemies go without Paralyze or Slow. /cry)

Landing threnody is very helpful for skillchains. Not only will it help reduce the risk of MBs being resisted, but it'll also help reduce the risk of the skillchain itself being resisted. Threnody is probably the biggest nuisance to land, though, since they're all different elements and different enemies have different elemental resistances. (And they're often quite resistant to the element of the threnody, that would weaken the element they take the most damage from. If that makes sense.)

Requiem, whatever. It probably contributes more direct damage per battle than you do in the few hits you get to spend meleeing, but even so it won't make that huge a difference.

Finale *can* be resisted, against higher level enemies and/or light-resistant enemies. If you're a few levels too low for a party (and, being a bard, that's not infrequently the case), or if you're fighting annoying things such as golems, tonberries, or light elementals ... prepare for finale resists. And yes, they suck. Assuming the enemy has an appropriate level for *you*, and it's not highly light-resistant, finale is almost never resisted in an exp party. Emphasis on "almost".

Lullaby can also be resisted, and if you're in a situation where you're using Lullaby, that is a Very Bad Thing. Like finale, it has a better overall success rate than elegy/threnody/requiem. Like finale, it's also light-based, meaning golems, tonberries, and light elementals are a bloody nuisance, but it works great for undead. Otherwise, you'll get resists, and they'll usually be due to an enemy being too high level for you. If you don't wear +CHR all the time, macro it in for Lullaby.

Virelai is level 75, so by the time you get it, your only exp parties will be for buffer experience for the inevitable level 75 deaths in Dynamis and HNM fights and what have you. And from what I've read on this board, it sucks anyway and doesn't last as long as the song's recast, so I wouldn't really worry about it. (Or bother buying the Virelai+2 instrument either, for the same reason.)