Part 110: Bard

Welp, my first and last classes got canceled today, probably because of all the fucking snow, so I've got a ton of time out of nowhere.

So...

Job dissection: Bard


Warrior who uses his voice as a weapon. Can 'Sing' songs that protect allies.

Requires level 4 Mediator and level 4 Summoner, Male only.

Pros:
+Songs hit only allies, regardless of distance
+PA, MA, Speed boosting songs
+HP/MP Healing
+Positive status songs
+Move +3, up with Teleport in terms of quality
+Songs are cheap in JP and have fixed speed

Cons:
-Holy balls, look at how bad those stat growths are. Besides Speed and MA being average, everything else is just utter trash
-Last two songs are very slow
-Reaction and movement abilities are really slow
-MA-based skillset on dudes only (Only affects recovery, though)

Okay, first, I rarely use bards. I don't have much experience with them.

Second, just use Cheer Song (Speed) or Angel Song (MP recovery). Last Song (full CT) might be practical but it's very slow.

Bards are the first gender-specific job, obtained by putting guys into the highest tier of magic jobs. Their songs hit all allies with positive things like stat boosts, recovery, and even positive statuses! Basically, they're pure support, but pretty good at it.

Problem is, songs are pretty slow. The recovery ones require only 6 clockticks, but they don't recover much. The PA and SP increases require 8, but only have a 50% chance of hitting. The MA increase and positive stat song require 10 and hit half of the time, and the full CT song requires 20 for also having 50% hit rate!

For a team as swift at killing as mine, Bards aren't very good. Their songs need to accumulate, hit a couple of times, before the boosts really start affecting things. A slower team will like them, since they start to pile on the bonuses. Get a bunch of guys with Sing and put them all on Cheer Song, watch as your guys start experiencing pronounced effects of relativity.

I just don't use them much, is all.