Bard End game Equipment

[Sacrosankt]

Could someone please post the bard's end game equipments?

[grunion]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

ahhh... i posted the same question 1.5 years ago

now ive been 75brd for a year and gotten most of the gear and i can make better suggestions

weapon: HQ elem staff (to land debuffs) or joyeuse (spirits within or soloing), monster signa in mog safe for 50 or lower cap BCNMs
shield: genbu's shield (or the +1 CHR shield if you are desperate for CHR)
instruments: fully upgraded relic horn (lol) or +2 paeon, lullaby, madrigal, carol, prelude, minuet, whatever else you feel like carrying
hat: opo crown or AF2 hat, optical hat in safe for skill/solo
neck: star necklace (+3 chr) or fenrir's or +50 MP bastok CP necklace
earrings: HQ melody x2
body: dalmatica for mp, kirin osode for CHR, or brd JSE for faster casting
gloves: JSE
ring: heavens x2
back: jesters+1
waist: gleeman's
legs: JSE, AF1 or AF2, or byakko haidate
feet: JSE

here's my original thread http://www.ffxionline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27666

[Sindinista]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

I haven't done too much endgame bard stuff but I think the string/wind torques with macros incorporatting them would beat 3 CHR all around.

[Rones]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

Star necklace also has 15 hp->15mp. So if you aren't having resist problems, you can probably get more out of the extra mp. Equip the torques when you need to sleep though.

Good headpiece for lvl 20->75 is Trump Crown if it is available on your server. No one has managed to get one on Quetz (or put it up on ah to add it to the list at least). Zenith pants are pretty nice for bards who like their mp too.

[grunion]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

in my opinion, BRD skill (singing, wind instrument, and stringed instrument) is useless and worthless. some people disagree though so it's up to you. personally i have no +skill items in my inventory any more and i land debuffs as well as anyone

[Drawmuh]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

in my opinion, BRD skill (singing, wind instrument, and stringed instrument) is useless and worthless. some people disagree though so it's up to you. personally i have no +skill items in my inventory any more and i land debuffs as well as anyone

That really doesnt make a good argument and it doesnt really prove anything ...

[grunion]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

i wasn't trying to make a good argument, or to prove anything. ive made 50 posts on various forums showing why i think +skill is useless, i'm done with that topic you can agree, or disagree, doesn't matter to me

[Niwaar]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

First off, skill is extremely useful. It will in fact make it alot easier to land certain debuffs with a lower overall charisma setup. However, you have to lose some charisma to use those skill items in the first place. I have friends who swear by skill earrings/torque and do quite well with them. I have tested them out and found that at 75 I would rather have the MP and latent effects given by items in those slots. All that being said this is what I currently use.

Head: Bard's Roundlet
Neck: Republic Gold Medal
Earrings: Melody Earring +1 x2
Body: Dalmatica
Hands: Sha'ir Gages
Ring1: Vivian Ring
Ring1: Bomb Queen Ring
Back: Jester's Cape+1
Waist: Gleeman's Belt
Legs: Sha'ir Seraweels
Feet: Zenith Pumps

Now that is my normal setup, and granted I tend to live life as an addict to MP, but this setup gives +42 charisma. Which is more than enough to land debuffs on 99% of anything you will come accross in XP or on the ground. For {sky} nm's its a whole other story if you want to land debuffs with an increased rate then I would suggest...

Head: Bard's Roundlet
Neck: Wind Torque/String Torque
Earrings: Melody+1
Body: Errant/Mahatma/Kirin's Osode
Hands: Choral Cuffs
Rings: Angel/Heavens
Back: Jester's +1
Waist: Gleeman's Belt
Legs: Sha'ir Seraweels/Bard Cannions
Feet: Sha'ir Crackows/Dance Shoes+1

In the end there are other fun sets of armor. I have friends that swear by the Haste of Byakko's Haidate for {sky} stuff and soloing. For soloing some swear by going all Warrior like. Warwolf, Osode, Haidate, Suneate, Kote and such, and do extremely well with that setup as Bard/Warrior. Others go with an all evasion setup. SH/Tiger pants/scentless armlets, dance shoes, dodge cape, elusive earrings, evasion torque, optical hat. Its all a matter of preference.

As for weaponry, it all depends on what your role is. In 99.99% of party/alliance settings you will be using Apollo/Terra/HQ staves as your main weapon. While Chanter's or Signa are very very nice they are subpar when you have the HQ staff on your back. Staves are also good solo tools. With a Terra you have a nice -20% Phys Dmg, or you could go dmg and look into a Zen Pole or a Wyvern Pearch. The best bard staff, however, is dropped in 2 of the more difficult KS30 BC's. The Thyrrtab(sp?), once unlocked is the best dmg staff a bard can wield, yet it is extremely difficult to obtain (Evil Oscar anyone?). Other weapons of choice are of course Joyeuse. The joy is a great soloing weapon with only one down side. Unless you are subbing warrior you have completely useless weaponskills to work with. As Brd/war you have vorpal blade and can actually do decent dmg with the sword. Other nice weapon options include the daggers. While Hornetneedle gives very little front end dmg, it can be a nice weapon to kill ep or lower with. Its TP gain is solid and can often come close to that of the joyeuse. Then there is the Kard, the goblin butcher knife. This dagger not only looks cool, it does in fact have a decent dmg/delay. As Brd/Nin with Kard in main hand and joyeuse in off hand you become an evisceration spamming machine.

I ramble on, but I hope I covered what you wanted to know. There is a wide variety of choices for Bard armor at 75. Hell, we can even wear Hectacomb if we are able to get our hands on it. The only thing not mentioned so far are the crowns, Trump and Opo-Opo. Both have their uses, but both are far surpassed (atleast imho) by the Bard's Roundlet. If you have either one of them you are golden and good to go until you get some lame orc in Sandy to drop you a mushroom.

[Rones]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

Neck: Republic Gold Medal

I so wish I could get this. Bastok hasn't been in first since early March on my server and I bought my aketon instead. :sweat:

[Icemage]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

I find skill to have a much higher impact on offensive songs than any amount of +CHR I can stack, and it also helps the power level of most buff songs as well (such as Minuet).

I don't even bother with more than minimal +CHR these days when using offensive songs, it just doesn't feel like it makes much, if any, difference, except perhaps for Elegy (and even there I'm not sure that it actually makes the song more potent at all). Most of my gear is +MP now, since it helps me be a more effective backup healer.


Icemage

[Niwaar]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

I find skill to have a much higher impact on offensive songs than any amount of +CHR I can stack, and it also helps the power level of most buff songs as well (such as Minuet).

I don't even bother with more than minimal +CHR these days when using offensive songs, it just doesn't feel like it makes much, if any, difference, except perhaps for Elegy (and even there I'm not sure that it actually makes the song more potent at all). Most of my gear is +MP now, since it helps me be a more effective backup healer.


Icemage

I couldn't agree more. While I don't use much in terms of +skill equipment, I do see the difference when I have my full "macro equip" skill set of equipment. Charisma has a decreasing value in terms of normal every day use. For killing Guardians I do see the need for Charisma gear, but if you are like most bards, the +skill or +mp gear will help out during a god fight than any + charisma gear will. Another Bard was asking why his MinuetIV was so low today, it was simple, he has no +skill gear.

[Rones]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

Another Bard was asking why his MinuetIV was so low today, it was simple, he has no +skill gear.

Extra +skill has close to no extra affect on minuet.

From alla(so iffy, but fairly accurate) for minuet 4
Sung:
(Singing skill/10) +4

Performed:
((Singing+Instrument-2)/20)+33

Instrument w/ Minuet +2 = +5

You can stack on +20skill and only get 1 more attack.

[Icemage]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

Hmm.. I remember testing this a while back and seeing several points difference between Minuet with/without +skill gears. I'll check it again tomorrow if I get a chance, but my gut reaction is that formula feels wrong. I'll post the results in this thread when I do.


Icemage

[grunion]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

i have posted this many times before so i dont want to take part in a full-on debate but i tried all the +skill items i could get my hands on for a while, then i went back to CHR/HP/MP and the buffs were just as strong (actually 1 whole point less) and the debuffs were less resisted.

/just my opinion

[Calyx (Bismarck)]

Re: Bard End game Equipment

I try to keep a well balance of both CHR and skill. However I more so lean towards CHR in enhancing certain songs over CHR. As seen below.

Weapons: Apollo's/Terra's/Dark Staff, Joyeuse (soloing)
Head: Opo-opo crown (good for EXP parties, currently working on Bard's Roundlet)
Neck: Wind/String Torque
Earrings: Beastly Earring, Melody Earring +1
Body: Errant (currently working on Kirin's Osode)
Hands: Sha'ir
Rings: x2 CHR +4 Rings (Forgot the name; Currently working on the HQ version x2 or Light Rings)
Back: Jesters +1
Waist: Gleeman's Belt
Legs: Mahatma Slops (the -enmity comes in handy for more than what you would might think)
Feet: Sha'ir

Final Stats:
CHR: 70 +66 (Counting using the food Pamama's with Opo-opo crown)
Wind/String Skill: 232
Singing Skill: 225

As you can see there is plenty room for improvement but one thing at a time. I rarely have any trouble landing debuffs (elegy, requiem, threnody) so I think this combination is actually quite decent.