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Thoughts on the Bard?

PaquPaqu Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
Once again they have knocked it out of the park with the animations and actual skills. It looks beautiful! Some issue I had and other chatters is although the book animations look incredible and are actually really impressive, I feel like it doesn't fit with the Bard... I know you're going outside the box but hmmm this feels a bit out there.

The sound:
I am well aware that this is a working progress, and I am literally just pointing this out... The Mage sound with the Bard offence abilities is very grating. Sounds like static... Again, this could be a work in progress so no real issue there.

The Combat:
This actually looks really good. Like really good. I know some people were complaining about the mobs... but they more than likely have not had a pass over yet and people need to chill.

The World:
Jesus this looks incredible. I mean talk about a art team that knocked it out of the park. The fields the house design all of it looks so good but you have never had issues with that.

The Armor:
In my opinion... if you are going to go flashy with the spells and abilities you MUST go big with the armor. I think bigger shoulders more pronounced helms and weapons would be excellent.

Finishing up the livestream now but so far this is my immediate feedback.
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Comments

  • DamoklesDamokles Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    The dance moves look awesome for one.
    I would like it, if we had a choice in the talent tree, where the dances deal damage while channeling.
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  • ImmortuiImmortui Member
    Im really confused about using any kind of weapon when in fact bard should be using someking of instrument...I love the book but more for a mage.
    The SFX I couldn't really hear, so not that great so far.
    VFX was incredible, spells are incredible.
    Love the mobility of the class and the gameplay. I wish to see different weapons as well not just the book.
    I also wish to see the augments finally, but I know we are early to the Alpha :D I have to be patient.
  • DamoklesDamokles Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    edited July 31
    Immortui wrote: »
    Im really confused about using any kind of weapon when in fact bard should be using someking of instrument...I love the book but more for a mage.
    The SFX I couldn't really hear, so not that great so far.
    VFX was incredible, spells are incredible.
    Love the mobility of the class and the gameplay. I wish to see different weapons as well not just the book.
    I also wish to see the augments finally, but I know we are early to the Alpha :D I have to be patient.

    I for one hate the bard fantasy about always playing an instrument. We are so much more than that! Bellowing out stancas and ballads while hitting our enemies in the face is so much fun!

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  • GarrtokGarrtok Member, Alpha Two
    I liked the spells and how they work, but again the effects are much too flashy. Imo a non magical class or non magical abilities shouldn't have big flashy circles
  • arkileoarkileo Member, Founder, Kickstarter, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Garrtok wrote: »
    I liked the spells and how they work, but again the effects are much too flashy. Imo a non magical class or non magical abilities shouldn't have big flashy circles

    It is a magical class, though. All the classes are magical.
  • PaquPaqu Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    I'm not against the book I just feel it doesn't fit well with the Bard archetype. That could be my bias I'm an old school D&D lover and I just associate bard with instrument. Maybe a change is good :). The dances and spell animations were sooooooo perfect. Really well done by the team.
  • CaerylCaeryl Member, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Bards should definitely get options to use instruments as weapons. The book looked really cartoony with how massive it is. Scaled down it wouldn’t be so bad, but still, bards should have instruments bundled into the class ability animations by default.
  • Rand118Rand118 Member
    Thought the Bard looked great! My main critique was the ability "Anthem of Alacrity." A single target buff that takes 2 seconds to cast and only lasts for 10 seconds on a single target seems completely underwhelming. Hopefully that's something they'll buff or change.

    Overall, LOVED the showcase!
  • VeeshanVeeshan Member, Alpha Two
    Rand118 wrote: »
    Thought the Bard looked great! My main critique was the ability "Anthem of Alacrity." A single target buff that takes 2 seconds to cast and only lasts for 10 seconds on a single target seems completely underwhelming. Hopefully that's something they'll buff or change.

    Overall, LOVED the showcase!

    its a slight bonus basicly trading 2 seconds on a bard for 2.5 seconds of addition action on other classes, that also being said u might see thing like cast speed or other modifiers to make it a stronger skill with archtypes, passives and gear and things you gotta think about that aswell
  • ZehlanZehlan Member, Alpha Two
    It gave me flashbacks of other bards from games gone by. Specifically 20% group speed run boost coupled with sleep means death to anyone without a bard, so you can't outrun them and you can't fight back when they catch you! Plus what about kiting? now you can always keep distance from a person or party without a bard and kill them at range? lol. I don't see this class adding anything other than griefing to the table tbh!
  • Uncommon SenseUncommon Sense Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    As a player looking to play Bard/Cleric most likely I am pleased with what was shown as a first impression of core fundamentals.

    Very happy. I just hope it won't fall completely flat in solo situations...
  • AtamaAtama Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Damokles wrote: »
    I for one hate the bard fantasy about always playing an instrument. We are so much more than that! Bellowing out stancas and ballads while hitting our enemies in the face is so much fun!

    I liked the Skalds in Dark Age of Camelot. A Skald is a poet and historian inspired by Viking culture who uses battle chants to heal and buff allies while bashing in heads with an axe, hammer, or sword.

    Totally fits the Bard template, without needing to stand in the middle of combat playing a lute.
     
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  • give bard a rapier and an instrument.
  • SathragoSathrago Member, Alpha Two
    edited August 1
    Rand118 wrote: »
    Thought the Bard looked great! My main critique was the ability "Anthem of Alacrity." A single target buff that takes 2 seconds to cast and only lasts for 10 seconds on a single target seems completely underwhelming. Hopefully that's something they'll buff or change.

    Overall, LOVED the showcase!

    This is going to be a massive swing skill in pvp. You have seen the ranger with a shortbow and the fighter with his greatsword. Now imagine they got this spell and the other buffs the bard has rolling, and run the other way.

    bow-arrows.gif

    https://youtu.be/rZmZPY3WnYA
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    Commissioned at https://fiverr.com/ravenjuu
  • GithalGithal Member
    edited August 1
    The thing i was most impressed with was The Story telling spells. These 3 spells + the Saga can make the bard gameplay fun and interesting only by themselves even if you dont have the other spells at all. With the 3 storytelling spells you will have 10 different Saga spell effects (and this is if the order of the uses dont matter. If triumph, triumph, carnival is different from carnival, triumph, triumph - then the combinations will be even more). These 10 skills can be Strong: Buffs/debuffs/status effects/healing/sheilds/CC, And the use of the right one in right moment will show the best Bard. Since to get the right spell on right time you will need 90 sec of preparations first. So Vision will be key here.

    Tho i am not sure how they plan to do it at the moment, But i would like the 3 story telling spells to share same CD. So you cant just press the 3 1 after another. This will allow all 10 saga effects to be strong. Else they will be forced to nerf some of the effects that can be cast instantly

    As a whole the other spells were interesting also. Great showcase.
  • GithalGithal Member
    Here is idea about the 2 choices you could make for the Story telling.

    1. Reduce the CD of all story telling skills and the Saga. And buff the base Story telling skills effect. For example from 15 crit rate buff -> 20%.

    2. Make the final Story telling of the 3 you cast provide buff for the Saga effect. For example:
    If you use Triumph as last - increase dmg/healing/shielding of Saga
    If Carnival is last - Increase defense of allies or decrease defense of enemies depending if the spell did dmg/CC to enemy or provided buffs to allies.
    The last story telling spell - increase duration of buffs/debuffs. So for apocalypse Saga would increase the burn duration.
  • DamoklesDamokles Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Githal wrote: »
    The thing i was most impressed with was The Story telling spells. These 3 spells + the Saga can make the bard gameplay fun and interesting only by themselves even if you dont have the other spells at all. With the 3 storytelling spells you will have 10 different Saga spell effects (and this is if the order of the uses dont matter. If triumph, triumph, carnival is different from carnival, triumph, triumph - then the combinations will be even more). These 10 skills can be Strong: Buffs/debuffs/status effects/healing/sheilds/CC, And the use of the right one in right moment will show the best Bard. Since to get the right spell on right time you will need 90 sec of preparations first. So Vision will be key here.

    Tho i am not sure how they plan to do it at the moment, But i would like the 3 story telling spells to share same CD. So you cant just press the 3 1 after another. This will allow all 10 saga effects to be strong. Else they will be forced to nerf some of the effects that can be cast instantly

    As a whole the other spells were interesting also. Great showcase.

    They showed the other three options in the tooltip for the Saga ability already, though it did not say what they did.
    One is called "Return the Verra" the second "The Silent Pantheon" and the third "The Myth of Creation".

    Every Saga needs three stacks of a Story.

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  • GithalGithal Member
    edited August 1
    Damokles wrote: »
    Githal wrote: »
    The thing i was most impressed with was The Story telling spells. These 3 spells + the Saga can make the bard gameplay fun and interesting only by themselves even if you dont have the other spells at all. With the 3 storytelling spells you will have 10 different Saga spell effects (and this is if the order of the uses dont matter. If triumph, triumph, carnival is different from carnival, triumph, triumph - then the combinations will be even more). These 10 skills can be Strong: Buffs/debuffs/status effects/healing/sheilds/CC, And the use of the right one in right moment will show the best Bard. Since to get the right spell on right time you will need 90 sec of preparations first. So Vision will be key here.

    Tho i am not sure how they plan to do it at the moment, But i would like the 3 story telling spells to share same CD. So you cant just press the 3 1 after another. This will allow all 10 saga effects to be strong. Else they will be forced to nerf some of the effects that can be cast instantly

    As a whole the other spells were interesting also. Great showcase.

    They showed the other three options in the tooltip for the Saga ability already, though it did not say what they did.
    One is called "Return the Verra" the second "The Silent Pantheon" and the third "The Myth of Creation".

    Every Saga needs three stacks of a Story.

    mhmwo0p5ka6s.jpg

    So they showed 4 out of 10 names. Like Red/yellow/yellow. And things like this.
  • TheDarkSorcererTheDarkSorcerer Member, Alpha Two
    edited August 1
    I wasn't a fan of this recent showcase and disagree with OP. The world looks desaturated and different from previous showcases. And don't get me started on the constant zoomed out camera perspective.

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  • GithalGithal Member
    edited August 1
    I wasn't a fan of this recent showcase and disagree with OP. The world looks desaturated and different from previous showcases. And don't get me started on the constant zoomed out camera perspective.

    What I would want and need from Intrepid is do a list of who they are "What we are/What we are not". It's just not clear to me.

    Its pre alpha 2. Be real. As Intrepid said Countless times - Focus your feedback on the class and spells. Visual effects, light, spell effects, terrain and stuff are all work in progress.
  • TheDarkSorcererTheDarkSorcerer Member, Alpha Two
    edited August 1
    Githal wrote: »
    I wasn't a fan of this recent showcase and disagree with OP. The world looks desaturated and different from previous showcases. And don't get me started on the constant zoomed out camera perspective.

    What I would want and need from Intrepid is do a list of who they are "What we are/What we are not". It's just not clear to me.

    Its pre alpha 2. Be real. As Intrepid said Countless times - Focus your feedback on the class and spells. Visual effects, light, spell effects, terrain and stuff are all work in progress.

    lol... You just made no sense as entire game is a WIP. They also never said you can't give feedback on environment/vfx. But enjoy your day.
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  • DamoklesDamokles Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    edited August 1
    Githal wrote: »
    So they showed 4 out of 10 names. Like Red/yellow/yellow. And things like this.

    I just finished all the bard abilities, they did show for a second all (for now) existing stories.
    There are two for each color.

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  • StewBadStewBad Member, Alpha Two
    Githal wrote: »
    I wasn't a fan of this recent showcase and disagree with OP. The world looks desaturated and different from previous showcases. And don't get me started on the constant zoomed out camera perspective.

    What I would want and need from Intrepid is do a list of who they are "What we are/What we are not". It's just not clear to me.

    Its pre alpha 2. Be real. As Intrepid said Countless times - Focus your feedback on the class and spells. Visual effects, light, spell effects, terrain and stuff are all work in progress.

    lol... You just made no sense as entire game is a WIP. They also never said you can't give feedback on environment/vfx. But enjoy your day.

    You're not completely wrong. However the request from the team during the showcase is for specific feedback, in this case the Bard archetype and the abilities. You're welcome to present your feedback on environment/vfx, this just isn't the thread for it.
  • GithalGithal Member
    Damokles wrote: »
    Githal wrote: »
    So they showed 4 out of 10 names. Like Red/yellow/yellow. And things like this.

    I just finished all the bard abilities, they did show for a second all (for now) existing stories.
    There are two for each color.

    m704o7rz83sr.png
    kd6sj99djfg6.png
    zk5oaev7kzau.png
    17923b2ik7mg.png
    bm5ommo1if8r.png
    g7hsns316jo7.png

    Thats nice info. Thanks.

    Tho i was talking about the Saga skill. Which will have 10 different effects based on the 3 story colors used. 1 of which effects which was the apocalypse.
  • GithalGithal Member
    I am WORRIED about the "Get OFF the stage" ability.
    From the looks of it the knock back was happening with like 1 sec delay after the hit. This may be serious issue with the servers meshing.
  • TheDarkSorcererTheDarkSorcerer Member, Alpha Two
    edited August 1
    StewBad wrote: »
    Githal wrote: »
    I wasn't a fan of this recent showcase and disagree with OP. The world looks desaturated and different from previous showcases. And don't get me started on the constant zoomed out camera perspective.

    What I would want and need from Intrepid is do a list of who they are "What we are/What we are not". It's just not clear to me.

    Its pre alpha 2. Be real. As Intrepid said Countless times - Focus your feedback on the class and spells. Visual effects, light, spell effects, terrain and stuff are all work in progress.

    lol... You just made no sense as entire game is a WIP. They also never said you can't give feedback on environment/vfx. But enjoy your day.

    You're not completely wrong. However the request from the team during the showcase is for specific feedback, in this case the Bard archetype and the abilities. You're welcome to present your feedback on environment/vfx, this just isn't the thread for it.

    Part of OP's thread is about the world "The World: Jesus this looks incredible. I mean talk about a art team that knocked it out of the park. The fields the house design all of it looks so good but you have never had issues with that.". Hence what I responded to, about the world looking desaturated from previous showcases.... lol...
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  • DamoklesDamokles Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    edited August 1
    Githal wrote: »
    Tho i was talking about the Saga skill. Which will have 10 different effects based on the 3 story colors used. 1 of which effects which was the apocalypse.

    Well, for now they only showed 4 Saga modes.
    3 blue buffs
    3 yellow buffs
    3 red buffs
    1 of each buff color

    Did they say in the stream that it will end in 10 different sagas?
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  • LodrigLodrig Member
    edited August 5
    Githal wrote: »
    Damokles wrote: »
    Githal wrote: »
    The thing i was most impressed with was The Story telling spells. These 3 spells + the Saga can make the bard gameplay fun and interesting only by themselves even if you dont have the other spells at all. With the 3 storytelling spells you will have 10 different Saga spell effects (and this is if the order of the uses dont matter. If triumph, triumph, carnival is different from carnival, triumph, triumph - then the combinations will be even more). These 10 skills can be Strong: Buffs/debuffs/status effects/healing/sheilds/CC, And the use of the right one in right moment will show the best Bard. Since to get the right spell on right time you will need 90 sec of preparations first. So Vision will be key here.

    Tho i am not sure how they plan to do it at the moment, But i would like the 3 story telling spells to share same CD. So you cant just press the 3 1 after another. This will allow all 10 saga effects to be strong. Else they will be forced to nerf some of the effects that can be cast instantly

    As a whole the other spells were interesting also. Great showcase.

    They showed the other three options in the tooltip for the Saga ability already, though it did not say what they did.
    One is called "Return the Verra" the second "The Silent Pantheon" and the third "The Myth of Creation".

    Every Saga needs three stacks of a Story.

    mhmwo0p5ka6s.jpg

    So they showed 4 out of 10 names. Like Red/yellow/yellow. And things like this.

    Their is no evidence for 10 options. Thouse 4 combos are very likely the only options.

    I predict the system will work as follows, you can store at most 5 of thouse themes, if you have 5 already and gain a new one then the oldest one is lost.

    When you have 5 themes then 1 and only 1 of the 4 Saga options will be available. Thus you will never have more then 1 saga as an option and their will be no sub-selection nessary in the UI, the Saga button will simply change to reflect that available saga.

    But this dose mean that you can stack 5 themes, Saga, cast to gain 1 new theme and then Saga again in an almost back to back combo. But you must cast the correct theme to pull it off.
  • GreatPhilisopherGreatPhilisopher Member, Alpha Two
    edited August 1
    Githal wrote: »
    The thing i was most impressed with was The Story telling spells. These 3 spells + the Saga can make the bard gameplay fun and interesting only by themselves even if you dont have the other spells at all. With the 3 storytelling spells you will have 10 different Saga spell effects (and this is if the order of the uses dont matter. If triumph, triumph, carnival is different from carnival, triumph, triumph - then the combinations will be even more). These 10 skills can be Strong: Buffs/debuffs/status effects/healing/sheilds/CC, And the use of the right one in right moment will show the best Bard. Since to get the right spell on right time you will need 90 sec of preparations first. So Vision will be key here.

    Tho i am not sure how they plan to do it at the moment, But i would like the 3 story telling spells to share same CD. So you cant just press the 3 1 after another. This will allow all 10 saga effects to be strong. Else they will be forced to nerf some of the effects that can be cast instantly

    As a whole the other spells were interesting also. Great showcase.

    yea , i hoped they do something like that with the notes but its okay i guess , they have 4 different sagas hopefully they just go full invoker from dota with it and have many combinations cuz it literally works the same way as his spells, thats an easy and unique 6 or so more skills for the bard , would add al ot more personality , diversity and skill to the bard too
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  • MorashtakMorashtak Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    I'm generally liking the vibe so far. Will be interested in how group dynamics change when very creative players get their hands on all the classes and augments - Bard spam will need to be guarded against. Tho' it's pretty much guaranteed that across-the-board changes will have to be made when metas arise that do not reflect Steven's vision or the devs intentions.
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