Bard

Bards are one of the most interesting classes in Everquest. Bards are the truest of hybrids in the game. They can dual wield and wear platemail armor, yet they can not double attack. They can use a large amount of weapons that are only available to them and mage types, yet can not not use any of the nice two handed weapons in the game. They have a wide selection of spells, yet only receive on every level. They have some thieving skills, yet are lacking perhaps the most important ones(backstab, pick pockets and poison). They are a great assistance class with their group effect spells, yet they also have some spells which enable them to be one of the best soloing melee types. Bards are truly a jack of all trades, yet a master of none.

At level 10 you receive both dodge. Dodge is a very useful skill. Dodging prevents you from getting hit which is useful for a bard as your songs will often anger mobs causing them to attack you.

At level 12 you receive the forage skill. It will take a lot of patience and practice to get this skill up to a level where it will be useful. However it is a useful skill as with it you will never have to shop for food and water again.

At level 17 you receive your most important melee skill: Dual Wield. This skill will allow you to use two weapons at a time. This is important for a bard since you never receive the double attack skill. As soon as you can you should acquire a haste item such as the flowing black silk sash(thought that will be at least another 15-20 levels) to increase your attack speed. This will be important without double attack for your melee to stay viable.

Also at level 17 you also receive sneak. Sneak is sort of a poor man's invisibility but less effective and it will cut your speed in half. This skill will become obsolete when you receive the invisibility song at level 19.

At level 24 you receive the safe fall skill. This skill will allow you to fall from great heights without taking damage. It will take a lot of practice to be able to do so effectively though. I recommend jumping off the smaller buildings in town to raise the skill.

At level 25 you gain the ability to hide. Hide is not that important at this point because you can already sing the invisibility song. However hide and sneak can be used together to give invisibility as well though you will be moving at a very slow rate.

At level 30 you receive the disarm trap skill. This is one of those skills which would be very useful if traps actually worked properly in Everquest. Disarm traps only works on moving traps. There are a few moving traps in the game(mostly in the dungeons of Solusek) however the damage on these traps has been de-activated thus making this skill worthless.

At level 35 you gain the tracking skill. This is an extremely useful skill. It is essential in finding rare NPC's in outdoor zones. It can also be used in indoor zones to detect what NPC's have spawned.

At level 40 you receive the last of your skills in the form of pick locks. This skill can be useful I suppose. However there are not any locked doors in the high level dungeons. This skill is useful for some of the lower level dungeons, but it's nothing to write home about.

Before we delve into spells it's important to note the way bard spells work. Bard spells will continually sing once you select the spell. They will loop until you deselect the spell or begin singing another song. There are two tactics which should be noted for bard song singing.

The first is song stacking. Each song has a duration. This duration will remain in effect for a few seconds after you stop singing a song. With a little practice you can toggle between singing different songs and get multiple spell effects up at one time. It takes a little practice but it's an invaluable tactic at higher levels.

The second thing that should be noted is the effectiveness of instruments. You will notice that each song uses a certain skill. Certain songs use instrument skills which you may not have yet. Do not worry you can still sing the song. By using the instrument which the song desires however you can increase it's effectiveness. This makes for some interesting fight time decisions. Should you melee while you sing the songs or should you pull out your instrument and become a non-melee bard? In the end it's your choice to make and each can be an effective tactic under different circumstances.

The first type are combat buffs. These include songs such as the Chant of Battle and Anthem de Arms. These songs will increase certain abilities of your party such as strength or dexterity. They will effect the entire party. Songs such as Anthem de Arms also increase your parties attack speed(haste) which make them invaluable. This also includes songs such as the Whistling Warsong which will increase your abilities but are self only.

Bards also offensive spells. Some of these spells such as Brusco's Boastful Bellow are direct damage offensive spells which will damage one target. Others are damage over time spells which will do a few ticks of a certain amount of damage to your opponent. You also receive area effect direct damage and area effect damage over time spells. These spells are extremely effective when solo but lose their effectiveness in many instances in a group.

Bards also receives buffing spells. These spells will increase abilities such as strength or dexterity or resistances such as the resistance to fire or disease. A low level example would be the elemental rhythms(level 9) which increases resistance to fire, cold and magic for your entire party.

Another interesting type of spell is debuffs such as Largo's Melodic Binding. These spells lower the abilities of enemy mobs. Largo's is a good example as it not only lower's your opponents armor class but also their attack speed.

Perhaps the most sought after line of spells by bards in groups however are their downtime reducing spells. Bards have different spells which can increase themselves and their party members stamina, hit point and mana regeneration speeds. These makes bards invaluable additions to a party.

Bards also possess party utility spells. Some examples of these spells include speed enhancing(for travel), water breathing, invisibility, ultravision or levitation spells. These spells are very useful for a party as they can effect everyone at once. They are require careful attention on the bards part as people can easily move out of range and get into trouble. It would be a bad thing for the party if they relied on a bard for water breathing and he went linkdead or died while they were deep in Kedge Keep for example.

Bards gain the ability to soothe monsters with Kelin's Lubugrious Lament and it's predecessors(such as his Lucid Lulliby). This spell is useful if your puller brings back more than you can handle. If your party concentrates on attacking a single monster you might be able to soothe all the rest and prevent them from attacking. This allows you to take on one monster at a time. The problem with this spell is that if it fails every monster will turn and attack the bard. It's a dangerous spell but can also be very effective.

Another great bard song allows you to charm your opponent. By using this song you will be able to take that impossible to kill pull of three monsters and change it into just two while adding one to your party. This spell can be a lifesaver. Beware however that once charm breaks the monster will hate you like no other.

Some other useful bard songs include the chain(root) song and fear songs. Chain is very useful to stop runners. Fear is generally not a useful spell. Many bards however employ a somewhat cheesy tactic where they will fear the monster then chain him over and over. This tactic will allow them to constantly hit the monsters backside without being hit. It is sort of a reverse kiting tactic. While it remains an effective tactic be warned that you probably won't make many friends if you employ it as a large amount of other players consider this cheesy or even an exploit.

Convinced you want to play a bard? Well now what do you do? You have three choices of race when considering a bard: human, half elf or wood elf. Each of the races have their own strengths and weaknesses and it is up to you to decide which one fits your playing style. Bear in mind the following skills are important for a bard.

Strength is important if you wish to wear all that shiny platemail and not be overweight. It is also useful for increasing your effectiveness in combat.

Agility helps you avoid damage and thus is important for a bard. Some of your spells will really anger monsters and the more damage you can avoid the better.

Charisma is also important for a bard. A high charisma will make you a more effective charmer. Charm will be an important spell for you at higher levels and this should not be overlooked.

I've done my best to describe the bard class now the rest is up to you. The most important lessons that you can learn in this game are learned from personal experience and not from any text document you read on the internet. Hopefully you have a better idea of what the class has to offer after reading this document and are ready to begin your journey. Good luck and happy hunting!


	The Sterling \| home Bard \| Cleric \| Druid \| Enchanter \| Magician \| Monk \| Necromancer \| Paladin \| Ranger \| Rogue \| Shadowknight \| Shaman \| Warrior \| Wizard Bard Bards are one of the most interesting classes in Everquest. Bards are the truest of hybrids in the game. They can dual wield and wear platemail armor, yet they can not double attack. They can use a large amount of weapons that are only available to them and mage types, yet can not not use any of the nice two handed weapons in the game. They have a wide selection of spells, yet only receive on every level. They have some thieving skills, yet are lacking perhaps the most important ones(backstab, pick pockets and poison). They are a great assistance class with their group effect spells, yet they also have some spells which enable them to be one of the best soloing melee types. Bards are truly a jack of all trades, yet a master of none. In this guide we will first focus on the various skills which bards acquire in the game and we will then focus in on bard spellcasting. At level 10 you receive both dodge. Dodge is a very useful skill. Dodging prevents you from getting hit which is useful for a bard as your songs will often anger mobs causing them to attack you. At level 12 you receive the forage skill. It will take a lot of patience and practice to get this skill up to a level where it will be useful. However it is a useful skill as with it you will never have to shop for food and water again. At level 17 you receive your most important melee skill: Dual Wield. This skill will allow you to use two weapons at a time. This is important for a bard since you never receive the double attack skill. As soon as you can you should acquire a haste item such as the flowing black silk sash(thought that will be at least another 15-20 levels) to increase your attack speed. This will be important without double attack for your melee to stay viable. Also at level 17 you also receive sneak. Sneak is sort of a poor man's invisibility but less effective and it will cut your speed in half. This skill will become obsolete when you receive the invisibility song at level 19. At level 24 you receive the safe fall skill. This skill will allow you to fall from great heights without taking damage. It will take a lot of practice to be able to do so effectively though. I recommend jumping off the smaller buildings in town to raise the skill. At level 25 you gain the ability to hide. Hide is not that important at this point because you can already sing the invisibility song. However hide and sneak can be used together to give invisibility as well though you will be moving at a very slow rate. At level 30 you receive the disarm trap skill. This is one of those skills which would be very useful if traps actually worked properly in Everquest. Disarm traps only works on moving traps. There are a few moving traps in the game(mostly in the dungeons of Solusek) however the damage on these traps has been de-activated thus making this skill worthless. At level 35 you gain the tracking skill. This is an extremely useful skill. It is essential in finding rare NPC's in outdoor zones. It can also be used in indoor zones to detect what NPC's have spawned. At level 40 you receive the last of your skills in the form of pick locks. This skill can be useful I suppose. However there are not any locked doors in the high level dungeons. This skill is useful for some of the lower level dungeons, but it's nothing to write home about. Before we delve into spells it's important to note the way bard spells work. Bard spells will continually sing once you select the spell. They will loop until you deselect the spell or begin singing another song. There are two tactics which should be noted for bard song singing. The first is song stacking. Each song has a duration. This duration will remain in effect for a few seconds after you stop singing a song. With a little practice you can toggle between singing different songs and get multiple spell effects up at one time. It takes a little practice but it's an invaluable tactic at higher levels. The second thing that should be noted is the effectiveness of instruments. You will notice that each song uses a certain skill. Certain songs use instrument skills which you may not have yet. Do not worry you can still sing the song. By using the instrument which the song desires however you can increase it's effectiveness. This makes for some interesting fight time decisions. Should you melee while you sing the songs or should you pull out your instrument and become a non-melee bard? In the end it's your choice to make and each can be an effective tactic under different circumstances. The first type are combat buffs. These include songs such as the Chant of Battle and Anthem de Arms. These songs will increase certain abilities of your party such as strength or dexterity. They will effect the entire party. Songs such as Anthem de Arms also increase your parties attack speed(haste) which make them invaluable. This also includes songs such as the Whistling Warsong which will increase your abilities but are self only. Bards also offensive spells. Some of these spells such as Brusco's Boastful Bellow are direct damage offensive spells which will damage one target. Others are damage over time spells which will do a few ticks of a certain amount of damage to your opponent. You also receive area effect direct damage and area effect damage over time spells. These spells are extremely effective when solo but lose their effectiveness in many instances in a group. Bards also receives buffing spells. These spells will increase abilities such as strength or dexterity or resistances such as the resistance to fire or disease. A low level example would be the elemental rhythms(level 9) which increases resistance to fire, cold and magic for your entire party. Another interesting type of spell is debuffs such as Largo's Melodic Binding. These spells lower the abilities of enemy mobs. Largo's is a good example as it not only lower's your opponents armor class but also their attack speed. Perhaps the most sought after line of spells by bards in groups however are their downtime reducing spells. Bards have different spells which can increase themselves and their party members stamina, hit point and mana regeneration speeds. These makes bards invaluable additions to a party. Bards also possess party utility spells. Some examples of these spells include speed enhancing(for travel), water breathing, invisibility, ultravision or levitation spells. These spells are very useful for a party as they can effect everyone at once. They are require careful attention on the bards part as people can easily move out of range and get into trouble. It would be a bad thing for the party if they relied on a bard for water breathing and he went linkdead or died while they were deep in Kedge Keep for example. Bards gain the ability to soothe monsters with Kelin's Lubugrious Lament and it's predecessors(such as his Lucid Lulliby). This spell is useful if your puller brings back more than you can handle. If your party concentrates on attacking a single monster you might be able to soothe all the rest and prevent them from attacking. This allows you to take on one monster at a time. The problem with this spell is that if it fails every monster will turn and attack the bard. It's a dangerous spell but can also be very effective. Another great bard song allows you to charm your opponent. By using this song you will be able to take that impossible to kill pull of three monsters and change it into just two while adding one to your party. This spell can be a lifesaver. Beware however that once charm breaks the monster will hate you like no other. Some other useful bard songs include the chain(root) song and fear songs. Chain is very useful to stop runners. Fear is generally not a useful spell. Many bards however employ a somewhat cheesy tactic where they will fear the monster then chain him over and over. This tactic will allow them to constantly hit the monsters backside without being hit. It is sort of a reverse kiting tactic. While it remains an effective tactic be warned that you probably won't make many friends if you employ it as a large amount of other players consider this cheesy or even an exploit. Convinced you want to play a bard? Well now what do you do? You have three choices of race when considering a bard: human, half elf or wood elf. Each of the races have their own strengths and weaknesses and it is up to you to decide which one fits your playing style. Bear in mind the following skills are important for a bard. Strength is important if you wish to wear all that shiny platemail and not be overweight. It is also useful for increasing your effectiveness in combat. Agility helps you avoid damage and thus is important for a bard. Some of your spells will really anger monsters and the more damage you can avoid the better. Dexterity is important for playing your songs, combat and and to make your weapons proc more often(this is important at higher levels). Charisma is also important for a bard. A high charisma will make you a more effective charmer. Charm will be an important spell for you at higher levels and this should not be overlooked. I've done my best to describe the bard class now the rest is up to you. The most important lessons that you can learn in this game are learned from personal experience and not from any text document you read on the internet. Hopefully you have a better idea of what the class has to offer after reading this document and are ready to begin your journey. Good luck and happy hunting!