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Bards and Non Combat Performance
Insanemang
Member
My hope is that bards will be able to play instruments or do other things outside of combat like in FF14. My other hope is that they get an electric guitar to play if so.
2
Comments
Skills/abilities
Bards fill a tactical non-healing support role. They will have more significance based on their mobility and placement in the battle.[4][5][6]
Bards will have a wide range of abilities to choose from, such as wordsmithing, acting, and musical aspects.[7]
Bards will be able to play musical instruments, such as flutes and bagpipes.[8][7][9][10]
Bard buffs include Songs, Stories, and Dances.[4][11]
Bards can choose to activate buffs that augment tanking, evasion, DPS and healing abilities in their proximity.[12]
Some buffs are related to how the bard performs in combat: If a bard lands a skill shot against a target, allies within a certain range might be granted a temporary buff that relates to the skill that the bard used.[3]
Bards can offer proximity-based or proc-based healing, but to a much lesser degree than Clerics.[4][5][13]
Let's say the Bard is using a weapon, has a sword out and... does some gladiatorial looking performance attack and it looks so great. It inspires his friends around him to increase their multiplier on critical damage, and now they deal additional damage against targets for the next 10 seconds or 8 seconds. So, you're going to need to be active. You're going to worry about your position, the relation of the position of your party members to you in order to accentuate really what you offer the party.[3] – Steven Sharif
Bards are intended to not be purely support focussed. They will be a "jack of all trades", including offensive and defensive combat abilities in addition to support abilities and buffs.[14][15]
Certain higher tier Bard abilities will utilize proximity-based ground templates that require the party or raid to move into (and out of) formations indicated by the template to gain added benefits or buffs.[16][14]
Based on proximity, based on your mobility and placement within the battle you're going to have more significance. So it's going to be to a degree a tactical type scenario for those non-healing support classes to be cognizant of. You know, where on the battlefield they need to be positioned in connection with the group that they're trying to augment or support; and so that gives a little bit more tactical sense to these non-healing support classes that's more relevant to them than other classes per-se.[5] – Steven Sharif
info-orange.png Some of the following information has not been recently confirmed by the developers and may not be on the current development roadmap.
Bards will not be the "downtime" class. This is the role of social spaces within nodes.[15]
Bards will have utility outside of combat, like all other classes.[17]
Restoring rested XP will not be a Bard utility.[17]
In other games, Bards tend to be a relatively passive way of playing and that's really not the direction that we want to go with it. We want every class to be fun to play. We want every class to be viable. We want you to feel like you are doing something: That your moment-to-moment gameplay is fun; so a lot of that stuff is going to be based on combos, on reactive interactions between your party members and the mob that you're fighting, or the player character that you're fighting. There's going to be a lot of movement from the front lines to the back lines to help out and make sure that everybody is supported in the way that they're doing it; and that you are also being active in what you're doing. You're not just sitting in the back passively playing a lute and not having any fun.[18] – Jeffrey Bard
Musical abilities
Deepwood Syrinx flute pre-order pack cosmetic concept art.[19]
The Bard archetype will be able to play musical instruments, such as flutes and bagpipes.[8][7][9][10]
Other archetypes may also be able to play certain musical instruments at some future time.[8]
Custom music creation (using the likes of the Music Macro Language) will not be present in the game on release.[20]
There may be a specific gear slot for musical instruments, but this has not been finalized yet.[21]
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Bard
Bards will not be the "downtime" class. This is the role of social spaces within nodes.[15]
Bards will have utility outside of combat, like all other classes.[17]
The stranger's eyes lifted to the blood red cloud on the horizon.
'We have to move. It's not safe here.'
Most likely will be a Bard. I am excited to see how the Devs incorporate instruments in the class and skills. That update will have me very happy. Was happy to see Bards will be in A2. I just have to see gameplay
P. S. I do play the drums
Should be a bass
Lutes, Harp, Bagpipe, Pipe, Violin etc would be appropriate.
It was just to get a Drummer joke in, you're all good.
Yet to be revealed are Sockit and Amp trees. Although very rare, they are known to grow in tandem at secluded points on the map. Highly sought after by certain bards and said to be able to greatly increase their power and volume if they are within a certain proximity.
The stranger's eyes lifted to the blood red cloud on the horizon.
'We have to move. It's not safe here.'