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Bard Resonance should be its own Resource Bar! (and other suggestions on bard)

DagnarDagnar Member, Alpha Two
in Bard Archetype
I love the new update to the bard, it makes me feel more engaged and active in the fight instead of afk spamming auto attacks but 99% of the fight I have to stare at this extremely tiny resonance buff that may or may not even be there because too many buffs hides the extras. The resonance should be its own resource bar and potentially have some other visual indicator of how many stacks you have. 15 stacks could make an audible ringing of some musical instrument like a cowbell and then something like concentric circles around the bards feet could indicate increments of 5 (ie. 1 ring=5 stacks, 2 rings = 10, 3 rings = 15)

Another issue I have with resonance currently is that it promotes spamming instant casts and cancelling longer cast spells to get to 15 faster. It would be nice if say for instance instant cast spells gave the flat 1 stack, but casted spells could give stacks based on the length of cast, say for example 1 charge per second of cast.

The last thing I would love is a better indication of how many unique debuffs are on the target so I can better gauge when to use dark dream for maximum damage. It seems really inconsistent damage-wise to just "cast it when theres a lot of debuffs on the enemy."

Besides that, the class has been extremely rewarding to figure out the ins-and-outs and I can't wait to see what you guys cook for the future.
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Comments

  • TomizoTomizo Member, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Really in love with the bard archetype, to the point I got to twenty-five with it already. I have pretty similar thoughts to Dagnar. The audible and visual suggestions to resonance stacks would definitely help. The recent Bard changes were absolutely needed, and I'm glad the pendulum swung from being an auto-attack mana bot, towards utilizing our entire kit.

    But, I find resonance is very difficult to track as well in the current pass, to the point that I've given up and moved to just trying to keep a 'mental' note of what my stacks should be. I've begun to cast spells like dances for a single tick (not even caring if they are useful sometimes) and disfavoring spells that 'lock me in' like serenade. For difficult solo mobs I run in a circle casting twenty spells before engaging with menacing up for the burst.

    I think judging from my own behaviors that there's definitely still some quirks to iron out regarding how the new resonant weapon lacks visual clarity and the incentive to use spells just to stack it might be unintended. I really enjoy how shielding dance can generate extra stacks for instance. Having resonance come from proper spell utilization like that might be the way to go. Another example might be adding stacks to serenade if it applies glee when it heals someone.
  • WarlogicWarlogic Member, Alpha Two
    Tomizo wrote: »
    But, I find resonance is very difficult to track as well in the current pass, to the point that I've given up and moved to just trying to keep a 'mental' note of what my stacks should be. I've begun to cast spells like dances for a single tick (not even caring if they are useful sometimes) and disfavoring spells that 'lock me in' like serenade. For difficult solo mobs I run in a circle casting twenty spells before engaging with menacing up for the burst.

    I also agree that we need better visibility into resonance stacks. Surely they're already thinking about this though. I really liked someone's suggestion on another post of making channeled skills and dances grant a stack of resonance on each tick. I think that would solve a lot of the problems where it feels like we're currently spamming and wasting abilities just for the stacks.

  • seyonseyon Member, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    I feel that resonance needs to be its own button of sorts. Having it tied to the finishers while thematically kinda cool, it can lead to the play style of "oh shoot, no one needs healing or mana right now. Guess i'll do nothing" -- though i've noticed later everyone always needs mana so the point becomes moot.

    I tried leveling another bard to see how it felt at low levels and it felt pretty terrible tbh. You didn't have the points for a lot of spells to generate resonance and you couldn't Auto attack because then you spend all the resonance you just earned for very little gain (in a party). We only had 4 people, maybe it was a full party it would have felt less wasteful.
  • HarlowHarlow Member, Alpha Two
    I can't see the resonance stack number simply because it's too small (if it's not buried beneath other buffs). I shouldn't have to put on reading glasses to play this game, but here we are. And yes, I made my UI so awfully big but it doesn't really help. I find myself counting spells as I cast them so I know when there is "enough" to get good mana numbers back since I can't see the stacks. I have enough to keep track of with spot heals and Marionette and Clever Retort proper usage to keep our party alive - I shouldn't have to count bullets too like I'm in some CQB.

    I also spam unnecessary spells just to increase resonance numbers between fights and sometimes even during fights. For example, Get Off The Stage and Mesmerizing Dance when there's no mob near me, and Quick Wit to heal nothing when my party is full health, and everything else is on CD (thank goodness there's no dps or hps overheal meters because this nonsense would get me kicked from any group). Sometimes I can't cast anything more than Quick Wit, Clever Retort, and Shielding Dance because my other things are on CD or are AOE and we might be in a place where Discordance can and has bounced to unintended targets and brought several more uninvited guests to the fight. Yes I can respec but I am not going to do that for every fight, not to mention at some point in the future an instant and free respec won't be a thing, so I'm trying to come up with a toolkit that works in all situations.

    I love the idea of Resonance so I'm not just a wand spambot, but the current iteration is less than optimal in my opinion. Can I make it work? Of course, I AM making it work, but it's a little bit of a PITA - enough for me to join in this conversation in the hopes of bettering it. I would LOVE a separate bar, as OP mentioned.

    Otherwise, I'm loving the Bard!
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  • glugmongerglugmonger Member, Founder, Kickstarter, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    edited November 21
    I agree with the visuals, but I think the solution to spamming abilities ( just to get resonance) is to provide 1 resonance per tick when doing channeling abilities.
  • SpifSpif Member, Alpha Two
    edited December 2
    Resonance is going to hit a review pass I'm sure. I love the way it allows you to use abilities and then "catch up" on effect later with a finisher.

    A PvP note: I do think that the buildup of class specific resources should be visible to others. IE, momentum, resonance, cleric one, etc?

    One resonance stack per tick on channeled abilities would cause a nerf of resonance IMO. But I'm for each ability to have a condition where it would get an extra stack
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