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<b>Message ID:</b> 19701 <br/>
<b>Date:</b> Tue Jun 13 19:57:36 BST 2000 <br/>
<b>Author:</b> Gordon Hughes <br/>
<b>Subject:</b> RE: [eqbards] How did you play when you were 15th? <br/>
<br/><br/>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-1619595955"><blockquote><span title="ireply">&gt;<br/>
 </span></blockquote>Here&#39;s a question I haven&#39;t seen the answer of, can you use dual wield to<br/>
equip a weapon and a instrument?<br/>
<blockquote><span title="ireply"> &gt;<br/>
<br/>
 </span></blockquote>Unfortunately, no.  The reason being that all intruments require two hands<br/>
to play.  There&#39;s been some (non-official) discussion about giving Bards an<br/>
intrument that we can bash with while playing a song, but that seems<br/>
unlikely to come to fruition.<br/>
<br/>
At 15th, like you, I spent most of my time in Crushbone.  I started<br/>
branching out to Unrest and further afield to Oasis at about 17.<br/>
<br/>
A note on grouping/soloing:  I had limited play time through my early 20&#39;s<br/>
and as such tended to solo a lot.  Many people have said that you can&#39;t solo<br/>
effectively through your early-mid 20&#39;s, but it was the mainstay of my<br/>
experience.  I&#39;m now at 26 and have a lil more time on my hands so I get to<br/>
group more often.<br/>
<br/>
At 17, when you get Dual Wield, melee gets better, but pick your targets<br/>
carefully - high blues may still cause you problems; the mobs may con blue,<br/>
but you can&#39;t match their damage without some good song twists (Thulian<br/>
Claws and the Silver War Axe is an excellent combination, btw.)  Once you<br/>
get to your 20&#39;s, I would recommend the Lake of Ill Omen and the Swamp of No<br/>
Hope (where I completely solo&#39;d Frogloks, Man Eating Plants and Bloodwings<br/>
through 22-24.)  Soloing gets pretty monotonous after a while but it is<br/>
possible.<br/>
<br/>
When you do get in a group your focus of attention should be buffing your<br/>
group (Chant or Anthem for the tanks, Ryhthms for tanks + casters), healing<br/>
if you don&#39;t have a cleric or other to hand and debuffing the mob.  Melee<br/>
when you&#39;re running short of tanks.  If you get multiple pulls and don&#39;t<br/>
have anyone to mes, switch to an AE DD to start whittling down their health<br/>
or play Melodic Binding (when you get it) to slow their attacks and reduce<br/>
their AC.  Lullaby is a lost cause at the moment as the ubertaunt will most<br/>
likely result in the mobs beating on you.<br/>
<br/>
At 27, the world becomes shiny and new (so I&#39;ve been told) with the<br/>
introduction of Charm.  Our 23 song (Selo&#39;s Consonant Chains) has been<br/>
fiddled with recently and no longer snares as effectively as before.  This<br/>
makes the previously wonderful fear/chains kiting a royal pain in the<br/>
hiney... I got 26 a couple of days after the patch went in... oh, how I<br/>
wept. ;)<br/>
<br/>
Say Hi sometime if you see me on Bertoxx.  I&#39;ll be more than happy to answer<br/>
any of your questions.<br/>
<br/>
Out of interest, how many Bards from the Big Busy B do we have lurking here?<br/>
<br/>
Kyrisha Soerbaird<br/>
Bertoxxulous</div>