Skylher

To make a long story short this is what a troub in a guild posted, and since according to him if you are not a troub you could not critique his game play so out of curiousity i think we should ask the experts




First and foremost i would plz ask that ppl not send me tells on how i should play my char. Trust me i know more than a lot of you how to play my char. So for the benifit of a couple of ppl i will explain why i do not get bladedance (group aoe immunity)

For those who do not know the bard tree i will explain it to you as best i can

STR line
Turnstrike (melee attack that gives self aoe immunity) I try my best to avoid aoes so this melee attack really is not a big deal

Bladeturn (improves avoidance buffs) this would be usefull for one ability which is my defense buff which i never use being in a scout group. Why would scouts need defense?

Bladesing (improves attribute buffs) Str/sta do scouts really need this? Its a small increase of 15%? Max. That would mean 15 extra str/sta for my group considering i have this spell mastered so it gives 100.

Then there is bladedance which is the aoe immunity every 10 mins.

Agi line
I wont go into these abilities because they are all self attacks that really are just there to try to improve bards dps so i do not even bother with this line nor will i ever because a bards job is not for dps it is for support

STA line
round bash (shield stun not effective vs epic mobs) only put 4 points in this so i can get a ability further down in the line

Skalds defense (allows chance to dbl attack when shield is equiped also gives a % chance to block incoming attack) atm i have this at 8 but am going to put it down to 4 very soon so i can use the points in INT line. I used this for solo as it is a pretty nice skill to have when taking on mobs in rok.

Fortissimo (this is a very important one and one well worth the points. It gives group a chance to dbl attack on melee and range) i have this at 8

The last spell in the line is called Lend shielding
I do not have this ability but it would allow me (if i were to wear a shield) to block incoming attacks on someone.) I have thought about getting this ability over and over still havent decided yet on it. While it would be nice to throw on the MT every once in a while the problem comes with having to stay in and having to be close to the MT and with how bad mobs aoe's are and my low hps it makes me leary. Might try it sometime just to see how it goes.

Wis line (most important bard tree line)
Messengers letter (bow shot that does some dmg but increases threat to target) usually do not use this ability because of the small dmg and the increase threat. Only have this at 4

Harbringers sonnet (increases in combat speed and group movement speed) have this at 7

Allegro (increases casting speed of group members) have this at 8.

Dont kill the messenger (increases all crit chances by 7.5 healing/meleeing/range/casting) Very usefull ability and almost a must have for bards. Really do not know of any bards who do not have this ability because of how it benifits everyone in your group no matter the class.

Int line
Rhythm blade (melee attack that puts a buff on me that improves a lot of my abilities) i put 4 points in this to get by it. While usefull for myself and a good tool to have dont see any reason to put more points into it when i can improve the group better. I am there for the group NOT FOR MYSELF (unlike some seem to think)

Minstrels aria (improves buffs that give combat skills and casting techniques.) as i usually have buffs up that do these things this ability is really good to have to maximize dps in the group that i am in. I have this at 6 but going to push it to 8 when i get rid of those shield points.

Minstrels Melody (improves songs that improve haste or damage per second) Another usefull ability to have in which benifits my group. If they are attacking faster this means more dps. Have this at 6 going to put it to 8 when i do respec.

heroic storytelling (improves the effectiveness of heroic opportunities by 50%.) rarely in the group i am in do i see ppl even firing off there heroic opportunities which i dont quite understand why not. I guess i am also partly to blame for this also because i dont take initiate it either.........


That is the bard tree that was bitterly argued in a tell to me of how i decide to spec my char.
Now for the reason i spec this way.
First off while bladedance is nice to have i consider it a crutch. Im not in a MT group where someone has to stay inside at all times. The group i am in should (as with everyone) be doing ins and outs or staying at range. While yes we will be getting hit still sometimes by aoes i just do not see having to spend all those points for this one ability. I used to think that it was worth it also until i started talking to a lot of other troubs in major guilds and like i said your group shouldnt be in a position to have to use this ability. Why spend all those points when you could be effectively increasing your groups dps. After much thought i saw the truth and had to agree with them.

Has not having this ability effected anything? Nope not in my eyes. Yes we are going to sometimes die to aoes that is part of the game but if everything is running smooth and everyone doing things right then we shouldnt be and personally resists are what makes up for that. If you are getting one shotted by a aoe then honestly you should not even come close to that mob and should check your gear and gear up accordinly. So instead of having this ability i am instead trying to maximize my groups dps. The more dps that is done the faster that mob will die and personally the way i chose to spec will be usefull against every mob in this game rather than 1 maybe 2 in a dungeon. Even those two mobs in MMIS did not need this ability. The way my old guild used to do it is by not relying on aoe immunity and by just using god spells to blast the guy down quickly and it worked like a charm every time.

With that being said you can keep critizing me all you want but all you will be effectively doing is pushing me away from the guild. I am sure some of you wouldnt mind that but i would not want it personally. I do not want to argue or be in heated discussions over silly matters with ppl. I play this game to have fun not for this drama bullshit. I will admit that i will be rude to ppl who are rude to me. Call it my bad attitude or whatever i think more of a eye for a eye than anything. Otherwise i can be a nice person if you are nice to me ya i joke sometimes and all that but who doesnt unless you are a stiff?
And to some of you (which i will not mention any names in this thread) how would you know anything about me if you have NEVER given me the chance? Making assumptions before you know any facts is not a good way to live life and can be very lonely way to live also.
Now i do not mind if ppl disagree with me because i know that will happen from time to time thats just human nature at work there. But at least give me a chance to explain why i am doing or saying what i am doing or saying instead of not listening and thinking 1 dimentionally.

Dants

I didn't read all of it but consider this.

Troubadors are very highly recruited and very seldomly played, because they were complete shit for multiple expansions and no one liked playing them. The class is still recovering from this which means there aren't many availible.

That being said, make your troubador happy and let him spec the way he wants to, so he doesn't quit and join another guild that'll let him.

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Poofe

Casting spell buff in int line is pointless, haste improvement is not worth the points, he should increase his own dps if he won't spec str line for BD (like his guild wants apparently).

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Poofe Fromage the Fragrant - 80 troubadour

Mellody

Damn this guys seems bit confused..

on the one hand he is saying he dies often of AE's and should not be near the mob .. on the other hand he says he is part of a SCOUT groupe .. scouts that are range fighters? Only one comes to my mind.

He's casting former Dove Song (Song of Magic now? can't change the names which lasted one year in my mind) to improve dps?? When almost everyone of the casters will hit for at least 95% ?? And IF he realy is in a scout groupe - why should he even cast it at all??

Turnstrike is one of the glorious spells around! It may save your ass A LOT if someone in Teamspeak got an AE Timer.

He's not DPS, but utility and does not want AE immun groupwide? This ability is one I am loved most for. Sure, if you have great gear and a realy good teamwork you might drop it - but then again for more personal DPS I would suggest. Still it makes sometimes the difference and is very nice to have (aggro Ranger pulling Mob into raid - no one dies in my group ;) )

But Dants is right - Troubs are highly demanded and they are not all playing the same role. Still a lot of pps underestimate the dps part of bards.... it is that special something which changes you from the buffbot to a buffbot which can even more contribute and try to max out all they can do

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Hash

I am no expert but want to write down few about my fellow classmate assuming the orijinal problem is lack of blade dance.
Normally in a raid, in a group where you find a troub you should find a fury as well. He says he has turnstrike and you want him to spend 17 precious aas just for 15 str/sta from bladesing and for a leet mt dirge's spell which also any druid can cast in every 2 mins instead of the troubs 5 mins. (bd was 10 mins if I remember right but not sure about the recast.)
Well try to work on your resists dear Sir instead of bugging others nerves imho.

Deadberry

You can spec for dps and still be as useful as needed in raids. Many bards use some variation of int and agi line to increase their dps if used properly. Troubs can put out some decent dps is specced properly.

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Kulanae

Hard to critique the Troub without knowing the guild to guage whether ya'll can survive AE's without it based on gear. That said:

He/she doesn't seem to understand this AA ability. It does not transfer agro to the Troub.....but to the current target of the MOB. It can be a useful ability to keep your Tank/Off tank the #1 target of any MOB and help them solidify agro after a mem wipe once they regain it. I actually use it quite a bit.

vojo

Bladdance is dead ...long live are dps,no need for bd any more and any of that stuff let the druid spec Tort shell better than bd with encounters with DS and dropping lava ball renders bladedance useless let him go dps spec, i am one handed few ppl think it a waste it is if you not got decent gear.
troubs hard to find well real one and not bots :D in nice grp should be getting close to 3 k dps on single target grps mobs even higher with the right kit ..so imo let the guy prove that he can play and ppl willing to trying and break the mold well hat off to you

Skylher

thanks for the responses, as i was curious what other troubs would agree/disagree with


this troub had some serious issues and would not take kindly to anyone suggesting things like him using jesters cap on people during a raid, or one time he was in a group with a pally and had his deaggro up, even though the wizard was giving the pally hate through amends. wouldn't get his adept 3's, and his dps was well below 1k. All of which drew responses from him of don't tell me how to play my class.

although troubs are sometimes hard to find, i don't believe in the notion to just take any troub and then cater to them even though they clearly don't have any idea how to play the class. I'd rather go without an xtra troub on raid then have one who is out for himself other than the other 23 people on raid.

but i am also always curious about classes i do not play, and at least wanted to give him some benefit of the doubt that maybe he actually knew what he was talking about even though he wouldnt upgrade his spells, or use jester's cap, etc...

our main troub tried assisting him in those area's, but he was not willing to listen to anyone, even a troub who clearly is great at playing the class. So i figured since the majority of the best troubs in the game post on these forums maybe they could enlighten he and myself, and just maybe the kid will listen to them and begin to become a better player.

greyfin10

I see a big difference between the first post (a snippet of the guy trying to explain why he chose a certain set of AAs) and the last post claiming he wouldn't JCap people. The first bit, in my opinion, is highly subjective: AAs are designed to allow someone to customize they're playstyle to their preference... as has been mentioned, there's debate as to the value of Bladedance, and so I'd say someone choosing NOT to spec it is reasonable (regardless of whether everyone agrees with him or not).

On the other hand (and I'm not sure why this was in the follow up and not the original post) not doing basic "class-defining" things would of course be a problem... I guess I get the "feel" that this was an afterthought because the response wasn't what the OP had hoped for. I could be wrong, but as I say, it seems odd.

Its really not all that complicated... if you have a guild that has a very clear vision of exactly what every player needs to be doing and this player is NOT living up to the vision, probation and then boot him. You'll both be better off in the end.

However, if this is a case of micromanaging someone, you'll both be better off if you stop.