BETAServer is in pre-launch beta · official launch date TBAWhat this means →
Crushbone

Classes

Bard

The jack — songs give speed, DPS, pulls, resists, mana, rescue.

Bards are the hybrid of hybrids — chain-mail melee with a song book. Songs are short-duration buffs the Bard refreshes continuously, shifting between run speed, DPS procs, mana regen, resistance buffs, health regen, and pull utility in the same fight. Played well, the Bard is the most complex class in the game.

Role

The Bard is a utility everything. A Bard can lead runs (Selo's Accelerando speeds the group), pull dungeons (Swarm kiting), DPS melee (with chain-song DPS rotation), and emergency-heal (Hymn of Restoration). In raid content, the Bard does mana regen for the caster cohort and melee-proc enhancement for the tank.

Key abilities

  • Selo's Accelerando — the group run-speed song. Always on, everyone loves it.
  • Hymn of Restoration — HP regen for group.
  • Cassindra's / Brusco's / Angstlich's — mana regen, resistance, aggro songs.
  • Kelin's Lugubrious Lament — enemy-only song. Mezz.
  • Pull songs — Largo's / Blightbringer's / Melody of Ervaj. Swarm-pull + kite-safely.
  • Twist — the Bard chain — cycle 3–4 songs in rotation to maintain active effects. THE Bard skill.

Primary weapon paths

Bards use instruments (to boost song potency) and weapons. Drums, flutes, lutes, and horns each favor a song category. Bard epic 1.0 is Singing Short Sword with instrument clickies.

Group fit

Any group. The Bard's run-speed + regen + utility make them welcome everywhere. Solo-content-first Bards are less common than group-content-first Bards because the class design rewards group buffs.

Solo

Excellent. Bard solo via swarm kiting — pull an entire area, keep them stuck to you with snare songs, run in circles while Brusco's or Cassindra's DoTs them. Advanced Bards swarm-kite entire dungeons on foot. Basic Bards solo on the outdoor edge of every zone.

Leveling path summary

  • 1–15: Freeport, Kelethin, or Qeynos bard guild.
  • 15–30: Warrens, Paludal (Luclin), Mistmoore. Swarm kite starts viable here.
  • 30–45: Swarm-kite in Paludal / Marus Seru / any outdoor Kunark zone.
  • 45–60: Swarm kite Frontier Mountains, Dreadlands, Velketor's.
  • 60–65: PoP mana cohort + melee party. Bard becomes raid-critical.

Play note

The Half Elf Bard is the canonical build — balanced stats and Kelethin starting city (bard guild). Wood Elf Bard is a close second (forage helps). Human Bard is fine. Bards must be played with keyboarding comfort — song-twist is fast.

Patron deity

See Class-Deity Alignment Map.

Related