ok i agree with this entire thread regarding songs vs melee in regards to
damage, i know how our songs work after 56 levels (riposte is at 57 by the
way). however, i do melee pretty much 100% of the time, and i completely
disagree with the exaggeration of how close we are in melee ability to
casters.
"barely a notch above shaman and druids"
"not far beyond those of some of the "pure" casters"
"pathetic"
"horrendously behind the power curve"
"pretty much the same [as casters]"
ok we're going too far here. no bards are not tanks, we don't have near the
defensive or offensive capabilities of the melee classes or hybrids, but we
are not nearly as close to the priests (you keep saying pure casters, i
assume you mean priests only, if you think we are close to the pure casters
in melee ability i would be speechless). sure i would say we are somewhere
in between. if you want to do damage as a bard at high levels, as opposed
to group buffing, you are going to be using weapons. you are not going to
be using our AoE damage songs in dungeons. z-axis fixed or not (i say it's
still not), you do not want multiple mobs on you, let alone if you have an
enchanter in your group. the 3 chants are nice until they are resisted too
much, as well as the fact that you are not doing anything else for the group
when you are weaving these 3 songs (i'd say most of us can not weave more
than 3 songs).
i am not singing damage songs, i am helping my group. i am giving them
haste, mana, charming, resists, etc. in every fight. do songs outdamage our
weapons? yes. can you use them to be the most effective bard? no. what
are you left with if you feel the need to do damage? your weapons. sure i
have some good stuff (RBB+VoV with a breath of harmony and symphonic saber)
but even on average you are telling me i am barely out-meleeing a priest
against a mob? or for that matter, that if i stand up to a priest with no
songs for me and no spells for them, i can't out-melee him? put a bad ass
2h weapon into a priest's hands, and hear them miss after miss. put 2 fast
high-ratio weapons into a bard's hands and i think you see more than a
slight difference. no i did not say we are tanks, not even remotely close.
i am saying we are better at melee than you think, or at least a bit better
than you think we are compared to priests.
Shada Powa, L56 Wood Elf Troubador
<Afterlife> Mithaniel Marr
> Anyhow, bottom line: Our melee skills are, and always have been, only
> marginally better than that of a pure caster. Our songs
> always have been,
> and always will be (barring any major changes), far superior
> in dmg output,
> and prevention, if used properly with instruments after level
> 18 or so.