How will Bard songs/abilities work?

ArchivedUser

Bards are going to be a support class, and I am wondering how their support is going to work. Will their songs/abilities be similar to the realistic Everquest (EQ1) with 99% of them being PBAE (Point Blank Area Effect), or will they just be spells/auras that are labeled "songs"? I am hoping they are similar to EQ1 where the Bard can maintain a song or twist a small list of songs. [Twisting is when the Bard sings 2-3 songs and each song's effects linger long enough until sung again.] EQ1 didn't have enough songs to make the choices hard on which to twist. I really hope they are benefits of maintaining a single song over twisting songs, but still give the option to twist.

ArchivedUser

Wait until the reveal in probably January is all that anyone can tell you.

ArchivedUser

The treatment of the Bard class in any MMO is always interesting great question probably have to wait for more details to come through.

ArchivedUser

Bard will likely play a instrument and sing you a song, if AOC decides to go a more tradition route, but.. they could just buff you?!

ArchivedUser

He will just sing "skraaaaa" and all rangers will have rapid fire for a minut.

ArchivedUser

I picture they will have a skill like the one used by the pied piper of Hamelin

ArchivedUser

Asides from this we don't really know much   We know from streams bards will be an "engaging" role and they don't just have to sing or play flutes~

Direct reference to stream! 

ArchivedUser

Prolly plays songs that gives buffs to friends and a few songs that debuff or crowd control foes. So a very strong support class 2 help give the extra boost over on bosses or even in major big fights.

ArchivedUser

Bards have typically been a jack-of-all-trades and master of none type class that I've experienced.  Depends on the game, but in a addition to their songs, they have some spells, some rogue abilites, mixed in with some fighting ability.  Just depends on the game since a lot of folks have different views of what a bard should be.

ArchivedUser

Bards are traditionally the buffer/de-buffer in a party.  So ideally the bard class will deal with buffs like hp restoration and increase in damage.  Also the idea of maintain and twisting songs is pretty interesting for someone who wants supports to have a bit more skill to them.  However, that kinda distracts the Bard's role of supporting if they are constantly focusing on the song rather than focusing on who to buff.

ArchivedUser

I did ask the question in live chat when they were at PAX... They had people playing the game in the background and Bacon was at the desk with a few others. I asked if bards were going to be more like EQ1 (song) or more like EQ2 (spell)... A few people were talking at once, but I heard someone read out the question and the response was "We'll be more creative then that"...

That's all I got...

ArchivedUser

Carefully -insert Kappa-

ArchivedUser

I would like it if bards would start singing something soothing as they heal us, and then they start screaming Dovahkiin when the fight gets hardcore.

ArchivedUser

I like something more dynamic than a blanket area of affect, stroke of the lute gameplay. It wouldn't strike me as fun to see a bunch of Sona-like (LoL) bards running around. Back in LOTRO there was this cool magic class where you had an affinity to either fire or ice magic depending on whether you wanted to attack or debuff. To use strong fire spells for attacking you had to build up your affinity by using fire magic spells, which after a certain threshold would open up stronger spells that could raise your affinity even more, which opened up stronger spells, but if you suddenly needed to debuff people, you had to lower your affinity to zero by using the basic ice spell before you could unlock the stronger ice spells.

I'd like to see something akin to that for bards, but instead of spells it's more like you start off with something simple that builds up to something epic -- like a stairway to heaven kind of song -- i.e., you wouldn't get the fullest effect until you reach the crescendo of the piece. And it would be cool if the effect could be compounded if there are bards with difference instruments. Like an individual bard might be able to boost your attack power by 15% at the crescendo, but maybe there are 4 instruments bards can play. If you have 4 bards playing the same song, you might be able to stack an additional 5% per different instrument for up to a 30% bonus. 

Alternatively, it could be like a build up and release for single targets. You play a simple riff that becomes more complex to charge up the boon or debuff and you can "release" it to a single target with a stronger effect than you would have for an AoE skill. 

Also for effects, rather than seeing floating notes or a glowing aura, I would rather see a synesthesia kind of effect, like that deaf girl from the old show Heroes. Like a colorful orgy of string-like tendrils that coalesce into something cool like a mask, or a hawk. Or you could make it a generic AoE thing, but magical songbirds appear flying in a cool pattern within the AoE and the stronger the buff or the later into the song you get, the more birds appear. That kind of thing would look cool. The birds could fly into nearby allies to give them the buffs or enemies for the debuffs. 

Any combination of the above would elate me and I would definitely choose the bard. I love support classes. The usually aren't as fun to play because they have a slower pace or underwhelming effects. So you end up with high demand for those kinds of players. If the gameplay can be made to feel more active or at least something interesting and fun to see on the battlefield, that would grab many more players.