Ballad... and it all went wrong!

[Djonma]

I've been learning the whole positioning thing as much as possible recently. I was in a party the other day where I still didn't have Ballad, but I put Mambo on the puller near the end of each fight for pulling.
I landed it just on him every time, and I was rather proud of myself.

Then yesterday we headed to the Jungles. I finally dinged 25, and it all went wrong!

I kept having to tell the pld to move back down the slope towards the mages so I could land ballad on everyone. He kept sneaking further and further away.
The thf couldn't stick to one side of the mob, and kept hanging around the ballad side.
Everyone kept moving around, and often the mob moved around, so the players moved even more!
And then there were the sleep's just as I was about to finish my song...

I did keep telling people their positions, and asking them not to move so much, but when a mob moves, it's peoples instinct to run after it (it's actually better to stand still and voke, but anyway).

Please tell me it'll get better!
I was LOVING Bard til yesterday, and I still do, but it was so difficult!
And I don't know how to factor in mob movement for my plans, as that completely ruins the nice positioning everyone had.

[Kutu]

Re: Ballad... and it all went wrong!

It gets easier anyway, mages tend to stay far enough back from the mobs. If the pld doesnt move for ballad then thats tough on there part really.

The main problem is folk who chase the mob, dont chase it to the mages please -.- voke it back, do whatever you gotta do, just dont chase the thing into the middle of us -.-

[Jei]

Re: Ballad... and it all went wrong!

At level 25, normal situation just give PLD the melee songs. Then after battle, sing Ballad at mages. If the PLD is smart he will come to you for the song himself.

Positioning PLD to get ballad during battle, while it is not that hard, it does require quite a lot of extra work from everyone. If the PT as a whole is willing to cooperate and pull it of successfully, then great. Go ahead and do it. But if you can't, don't stress yourself over. It's not your responsibility alone.

As a matter of fact, 90% of the PLD+BRD PT I have been with don't even bother to give PLD ballad.

[Rones]

Re: Ballad... and it all went wrong!

Pld+Brd+Thf do not mix. Any combination of the two is fine, but not three unless you have a rdm. If you party with a thief, he's just going to have to live with ballad. If you use the distance plugin with the windower, its very easy to ballad the pld and not hit the others during fights. You are going to be pulling teeth all the way to 75 to get people to not move while singing, let alone stand in the right spots.

[qaitakalnin]

Re: Ballad... and it all went wrong!

I wouldnt say pulling teeth, but at 25 is really when being in a pt with a bard gets a little more involved than the first 15 lvls with them (i solo all my jobs to 15 personally). As they lvl more and get used to the way postioning works, i say it gets easier, but there will still be some fowl ups. Dont get frustrated keep with it.

I personally let everyone know thier positions, what songs i will be singing, and you know, quite frankly if the pld doesnt come back for the ballad, then the pld dont get the ballad (on ps2 so whatever this distance thing is.....) That being said i do make an effort (at the start) to do the whole ballad on the pld in the middle of fights, but honestly, being part dd (not while i am bard, but main is rng) i think it is better for the pld to have the melee songs anyway and then resing ballad while/just before the pull is incoming, but that is strictly my own opinion and not the opinion of bards everywhere...in fact i dont know how many other bards think that...its just me...for now....

But anyway, stick with it, it will get better as you learn and as the parties (well some parties anyway) get better.

[Aanya_Ramuh]

Re: Ballad... and it all went wrong!

It can be done - and "should" become easier - but that really relies on the party and not totally on the BRD. It sounds like you did what you could, and really - just focus on the mages for Ballad. If the PLD doesnt come back for it, he doesnt get it. It isnt worth risking the main focus of the song (mages) for the one melee.

After a while, the PLD (and hopefully the theif) will learn more about placement.

If you are truly concerned... wait for ballad after the SA (I dont think SATA comes into play until level 35, that is when it becomes tricky... Placement becomes even more precarious. If they complain about the cone attacks and the mages being behind them, you can have the mages and pld lined up without the mages being directly behind.



-------------Mage ------------------------------Mage


--------------------------------Bard


-------------------------------Paladin

------------Melee w/Voke----Mob-----THF


By having the mages on either side of the PLD (or both cattycorner to the pld) - this way, the melee with the voke can also turn the mob for the THF to SA. Once you have SATA in play, the THF will have to move, or you will end up with a magical melee.

Sometimes if I know Im partying with a PLD - Ill bring a few juice ingredients and synth a bit - this helps if tere is a longer than normal fight. However, now that PLDs get Auto Refresh it should not be as big a challenge for a BRD to party with them.

[Ellipses]

Re: Ballad... and it all went wrong!

You'll rarely find a PLD+THF combo in a pick-up party that lets you perform at your absolute best. You'll more likely end up just doing what you can, which will usually be melee songs on the PLD during battle, and Ballad in between if you're lucky.

Now, if you get another party where people gang up on the mages every time hate bounces, that's much worse, but there is a solution. Simply explain to the party that every time they break position, you're going to sing Herb Pastoral and Scop's Operetta on everyone. Then follow through on the threat.

[Regenshire]

Re: Ballad... and it all went wrong!

Given time, you will get better at landing ballad on just the PLD and mages. However, even at high levels you will find PLDs / THFs / Melee who do not know how to position themselves in a BRD / PLD Party, and no matter how many times you tell them, they don't seem to figure it out. It is times like these that you just want to pull your hair out.

The best thing to do in these situations is explain to them several times how it works until they get it right. If that doesn't happen, just use melee buffs on the melee and Ballad on the mages and save yourself the anxiety.