Bard Questions...

[Czarcastic]

Hello everyone! I'm new to the community, so please be gentle.. Let me first start off by saying that I'm completely new to the game, not the mmorpg genre(UO, Everquest, AC, DaoC, Shadowbane, WoW, etc.). I've been reading over as much information as I can within the last week or so, and would like to get some more definitive answers to the questions that I have. I thank you in advance to any that respond here, and I'd be much obliged. I'd just like to pick the mind of you high level bards out there, and hopefully get some helpful feedback/insight into better understanding this class.


I want to try something different, as in most games I would opt for the rogue archetype as my main. After reading over all the jobs and the advanced jobs, the bard seems really intriguing to me, and something that I'd like to invest some time in. 1.) I see that many people recommend either a white mage or red mage sub-class. Is this pretty much set in stone, or is there another one or two jobs that could also behoove a bard? If the answer is no, then could you tell me the pros and cons of either a WHM or RDM sub to a BRD? I was leaning towards a RDM sub, just for some variety, and it being a little less cookie cutter design. That being said, my eye will be on the end-game adventures. So if that in essence would make me less desirable at said end-game activities, I'd rather not go there.


I'll try not to be lengthy and long-winded, but sometimes my thoughts tend to carry on, as I'm really excited about the prospects of this game. I'll outline the questions in a more straight-forward manner perhaps. So, with that being said, I'll just get right to the nuts and bolts of it : My pointed questions.

1a.) What path is the best/fastest to becoming a bard? Should I start off as a RDM/WHM? Something else? What should I sub at 18? I'm looking for the most direct route. I know it's not the path, it's the journey, but I'd like to tear into the game and go at a frenetic pace for a while!

2.) How do bards do with farming, especially in the latter stages? This brings me to another question. What would you consider one of the better farming classes in the game, in terms of being solo and gathering precious resources? I'm definitely making the bard, but if they're really not ideal for farming things, then I will make a secondary character just for those purposes.

3.) What do most bards take up for crafting? When I say that, what do you consider would be the most beneficial craft as it pertains to the bard?

4.) I've read about link shells (clans, guilds as I know them). Do most link shells use teamspeak or some other sort of audio communication? Also, how hard would you say it is to get into an existing link shell with FFXI veterens?

5.) I'm planning on investing a good chunk of time into the game. If there's some other classes/jobs that you would suggest for longevity in mind, please offer up those suggestions as well. Also, any other friendly advice you can think of, in terms of the future, would be greatly appreciated (Blue mage, for example). For some reason, the bard job just seemed to instantly appeal to me.


I look forward to hearing from you grizzled, bard veterens out there. Thank you for your time, and hope to see some of you out there!


Thanks again!
- Czar

[Jei]

Re: Bard Questions...

1. as a bard your top most important role is provide the group with songs. sing melee songs for fighters, mp songs for mages and etc.
Bard doesn't have much firing power on their own, plus their role require them to run back and forth between melee and mages giving them even less time to attack.
Being a supporter, the occasional cure you can throw at members will usually help a lot. Bard can always plan their songs so that they have MP songs all the time, making /whm /rdm even more appealing.

Personally, I prefer Brd/Whm. Only Whm provides you with status alignment cure. Which can be the survival factor of the group a lot of times.

2. Solo farming, Thf/Nin is really good. Thf has high evasion, nin gives you utsusemi to avoid being hits. By the way you can change job in this game, so there's no need to create a second char.

3. crafting doesn't really relate to your job. Some more experience crafters maybe able to add something more.

4. I've never been in a LS that use teamspeak or other chat apps.
I'm sure some do use it, saw it on their websites.

5. I'm not sure about longevity. If you're thinking about job that can keep you interested in this game, you can always change job and try them out whenever you want.
If you're thinking about usefulness, mages and tanks are pretty needed everywhere. Altho mages may have an easier time finding PTs.

[Czarcastic]

Re: Bard Questions...

Thanks for the help, Jei.

Concerning something that you said, "By the way you can change job in this game, so there's no need to create a second char." - So basically, you can get every job up to 75, on one single character, and then keep swapping them out? Is that what you're saying? If so, that's awesome.

As far as the leveling goes, it would probably be easier leveling as a RDM than a WHM, right? Initially that is. Is there a good way to go about it, getting to the bard at 30? I'd imagine one job would be quicker then the other. What would you suggest? Thanks again for the speedy reply.

[Mog]

Re: Bard Questions...

Your best bet is to level your whm up to 18, do the sub-job quest(choose anything that's associated with whm:blm, rdm, etc.), level that job to around 15, then return to lvling your whm until you hit level 30. Once you reach lvl 30, you can do your brd quest and start leveling your brd for a change. In the long run, whm will be the most benefical (and easiest) job to lvl, as there's ALWAYS a need for them.

[x1ang]

Re: Bard Questions...

you can change jobs whenever you want in your moghouse. basically, think of it as jobs being a separate entity from your character and you level up these jobs.

you would have an easier time levelling either RDM or BLM up to 18, then levelling WHM after you get the SJ quest to 30... otherwise you'll have a very painful time 1-10 as a WHM w/o a sub. in my opinion, go BLM to 18, finish the sj quest, go whm/blm to 30, then brd until your SJ can become gimped x].

[Mog]

Re: Bard Questions...

you can change jobs whenever you want in your moghouse. basically, think of it as jobs being a separate entity from your character and you level up these jobs.

you would have an easier time levelling either RDM or BLM up to 18, then levelling WHM after you get the SJ quest to 30... otherwise you'll have a very painful time 1-10 as a WHM w/o a sub. in my opinion, go BLM to 18, finish the sj quest, go whm/blm to 30, then brd until your SJ can become gimped x].

That's true, didn't think about that. He can always find someone to pl him though XD Once he's past 10, it's easy sailing.

[LadyPeorth]

Re: Bard Questions...

Start by taking BLM to 18 to do subjobs. You'll thank yourself as you get Warp at 17. Switch to WHM and take it to 37, doing BRD quest as you go. You can thank yourself again as you get the 3 crag teleports, allowing you to go as a tele-taxi for funds at times. Take BRD to 75. Mission complete.

[Czarcastic]

Re: Bard Questions...

Thanks so much folks! Arcadia9, x1ang, and LadyPeorth, that was exactly the type of information I was looking for. I appreciate it everyone.

[Gwynn]

Re: Bard Questions...

4. As far as getting into experienced linkshells, it really just depends on the linkshell. Some Linkshells absolutely do not want anyone in that is not 50-60+ and above rank 5 or so. Other linkshells may have restrictions like this, but may make exceptions. My LS has a level 50 rank 5 restriction, but I found myself inviting one of the white mages in a Valkurm Dunes (level 10-20 leveling spot) party I was in because he was such a good player and all around friendly guy. So the best advice I can give on this particular subject is to just be friendly and play your job well, and sooner or later you'll probably get an invite.
5. Well, if the party buffing aspect of the game intrigues you, the three jobs I'd recommend are Red Mage, White Mage, and Summoner.

[Czarcastic]

Re: Bard Questions...

Thanks for the friendly advice, Gwynn. I noticed that you mentioned ranks and levels. Sorry if this is a noobish' question, but what are the ranks? How do you attain certain ranks? Is that from instances, PvP, something else?

[Mog]

Re: Bard Questions...

Thanks for the friendly advice, Gwynn. I noticed that you mentioned ranks and levels. Sorry if this is a noobish' question, but what are the ranks? How do you attain certain ranks? Is that from instances, PvP, something else?

Basically, there are 3 countries you can choose to "live":Bastok, Windurst, or Sandoria. Your rank indicates how high your standing is with your country. In order to receive higher rank, you need to do missions on behalf of your country. There are many benefits to higher ranks, one of them being that you can ride the airship at rank 5, and receive your country's aketon(allows you to receive more crystals when farming) when you attain rank 10.

There's also something called fame. Fame comes from doing missions for the townspeople, and the more quests you take up, the more that will be available to you in the future. There are a lot of nice quests: some of the rewards are amazing, and it's strongly recommended that you raise your fame in your country (and other countries, as well).

[Czarcastic]

Re: Bard Questions...

Basically, there are 3 countries you can choose to "live":Bastok, Windurst, or Sandoria. Your rank indicates how high your standing is with your country. In order to receive higher rank, you need to do missions on behalf of your country. There are many benefits to higher ranks, one of them being that you can ride the airship at rank 5, and receive your country's aketon(allows you to receive more crystals when farming) when you attain rank 10.

There's also something called fame. Fame comes from doing missions for the townspeople, and the more quests you take up, the more that will be available to you in the future. There are a lot of nice quests: some of the rewards are amazing, and it's strongly recommended that you raise your fame in your country (and other countries, as well).

Wow, that's really good news indeed. After hitting the level cap, that will give me something to continually strive for and develop. It sounds like SE really has a winning formula in place there. Thanks for the information, arcadia9. Looking forward to this even more now! Woot!

[Balodoth]

Re: Bard Questions...

You may want to check out GameFAQ's for information you may not have thought of. For instance, you'll want to look at race stats. CHR is most important to BRD, but you may want to chose a more balanced race depending on if you want to try out other jobs. The race you choose, will likely designate the country you begin with as you get a free piece of equipment if you start in your mother country.

Also feel free to read up on other jobs. I joined the game for Dragoon, but I tried out Bard because it's so awesome. Plus I think DRG/BRD is awesome too. You'll find RDM's primary benefit to BRD is Fast Cast that speeds up your song casting. WHM's primary benefit is higher ability to cure party members and heal ailments. SMN may be useful to you for various buffs you can provide your party via the avatars.

Look into information on missions and quests. This is the storyline behind the game, and few MMORPG's can even dare to claim they have as much substance in their stories as FFXI. In addition, these increase your rank, which give you certain bonuses as you progress. Signet will last longer the higher your rank, so you will gain more conquest points, meaning you can redeem for more items to help you in the game. Quests increase your fame, which dictates whether certain options are open to you. For instance, there are quests to increase the size of your storage. You need to be liked enough by the people even to get this quest. Some quests are lucrative as well.

You are aware of the subjob quest. Check on the chocobo quest, which is the first way to get around faster. Read up on the auction house to make the most of it and help you pick something you can farm for gil. Read up on NM's, as you'll find that rewarding. Read up on BCNM's as they can be quite lucrative. Read up on HNM's, since that is one of your goals.

Of course, if you want details, don't hesitate to ask.

Did I miss any of the core components of the game? I'm assuming he'll learn about Sky, Sea, Promyvion, and Maat before he hits those points in the game.

[klvino]

Re: Bard Questions...

Bards sub WHM so they can cure status ailments.

1. Level RDM to 18, then level WHM to 37 using a RDM sub, then lvl BRD to 75 with WHM sub. That is the fastest route.

2. THF or RDM are the two best solo farmer jobs in the game atm.

3. Crafting is completely independent of your job. But woodworking helps RNGs for example. For BRDs specifically, there isn't much benefit.

4. Most LS do not use voice chat unless they're doing major hunts. You can get into alot of LS's very easily, but most of those are the ones filled with noobs, egos, and emos. The good veteran LS's don't shun new players, they just want to see what you got before they let you in. But HNMLS's won't even look at you until you reach lvl 70 with Sky and maybe Sea access, so that's down the road.

5. I only suggest other jobs depending on what you learn towards melee or mage. If you prefer melee, then THF, RNG, NIN are probably for you. If you're more of a mage, then you'll go with WHM, RDM, and BLM. Notice I didn't say SMN or BST, not everyone can cope playing those jobs, they drive some people a little mad.

[Czarcastic]

Re: Bard Questions...

Thanks for the suggestions, input, and feedback klvino and Balodoth, as well everyone that responded to my thread. After reading and digesting as much I can, plus the helpful comments here, I feel as if I have a better handle on everything. Thank you kindly folks, I'm much obliged.