Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Bard Feedback - level 9
Zilgz
Member, Alpha Two
This archetype has so much potential and I am absolutely loving it!
There does appear to be some common themes amongst other players I tend to agree with and am curious if these themes will change with ongoing feedback:
Melodies
- I am sure this will happen, but making this into a buff vs a channeled ability. Just adds more clutter to the HUD with having the channeling running in addition to utilizing other abilities.
- Forced into Mana Melody. It is the best by far and weaving mana/healing seems to be the main usage of melodies. I can see instances where movement speed or damage can be used, but overall ongoing flow of mana return will be hard to pass up as all archetypes utilize this resource. I wonder how impactful mana melody would be if it didn't benefit all archetypes the same.
- I saw a post with the suggestion of boiling down from 5 to 3. I am in favor of that idea. Broken down by: resource replenishment health/mana, damage/crit output, and utility like movement/stamina based. I am sure there will be times where the leech melody will have some use, but I am struggling to see how that will outperform others.
Status Effects
- So much potential! I would be lying if I said this wasn't confusing
I myself have been playing MMOs for a long time and love complex systems. There will be a massive difference in Bard players if this system persists to launch. I am still undecided how I feel and would like to test this more. Really thinking is this too overwhelming or just right. The synergy between spells and basic attacks is nice and has meaningful choices which I greatly appreciate. Dark lullaby does very well 
Healing
- I am a bit shocked how well the Bard can heal. There have been multiple instances where we did not need a cleric. I feel I can solo heal the group fine and have plenty of output available. Shielding Dance and Lovely Serenade go really well together and are up for just about every multiple mob pull. Along with Bard CC, it really does seem like a great mix.
- I was reading a post about how Clerics have all types of heals (ex: direct, instant, hots, long casts, etc.) and I wonder how much more will be available for the Bard. I can see the potential for being a legit healer through skill and weapon tree.
Final Thoughts
- Sorry to be so wordy, but I am pleased with the direction and fluidity of the Bard. This really does remind me so much of a Druid is early WoW. Heals are not as good as a Priest, but they can still manage. With the lack of healing, they can save allies with the use of their crowd control. It is exactly what I have been crossing my fingers for after Bucky showed it on the livestream. Looking forward to test as much as I can!
- Please add Lute as an instrument option! Please please please give Bard some archetype ability to "Perform/Play instruments" out of combat.
Thanks Intrepid!
There does appear to be some common themes amongst other players I tend to agree with and am curious if these themes will change with ongoing feedback:
Melodies
- I am sure this will happen, but making this into a buff vs a channeled ability. Just adds more clutter to the HUD with having the channeling running in addition to utilizing other abilities.
- Forced into Mana Melody. It is the best by far and weaving mana/healing seems to be the main usage of melodies. I can see instances where movement speed or damage can be used, but overall ongoing flow of mana return will be hard to pass up as all archetypes utilize this resource. I wonder how impactful mana melody would be if it didn't benefit all archetypes the same.
- I saw a post with the suggestion of boiling down from 5 to 3. I am in favor of that idea. Broken down by: resource replenishment health/mana, damage/crit output, and utility like movement/stamina based. I am sure there will be times where the leech melody will have some use, but I am struggling to see how that will outperform others.
Status Effects
- So much potential! I would be lying if I said this wasn't confusing
I myself have been playing MMOs for a long time and love complex systems. There will be a massive difference in Bard players if this system persists to launch. I am still undecided how I feel and would like to test this more. Really thinking is this too overwhelming or just right. The synergy between spells and basic attacks is nice and has meaningful choices which I greatly appreciate. Dark lullaby does very well Healing
- I am a bit shocked how well the Bard can heal. There have been multiple instances where we did not need a cleric. I feel I can solo heal the group fine and have plenty of output available. Shielding Dance and Lovely Serenade go really well together and are up for just about every multiple mob pull. Along with Bard CC, it really does seem like a great mix.
- I was reading a post about how Clerics have all types of heals (ex: direct, instant, hots, long casts, etc.) and I wonder how much more will be available for the Bard. I can see the potential for being a legit healer through skill and weapon tree.
Final Thoughts
- Sorry to be so wordy, but I am pleased with the direction and fluidity of the Bard. This really does remind me so much of a Druid is early WoW. Heals are not as good as a Priest, but they can still manage. With the lack of healing, they can save allies with the use of their crowd control. It is exactly what I have been crossing my fingers for after Bucky showed it on the livestream. Looking forward to test as much as I can!
- Please add Lute as an instrument option! Please please please give Bard some archetype ability to "Perform/Play instruments" out of combat.
Thanks Intrepid!
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