I am very angry, disappointed, and confused as I compose this
letter. My first inclination is to shout, scream, and curse.
However, I realize that is not the proper course of action to take
when you are attempting to communicate in a rational manner. So,
instead of all the above, I have simply sat back and tried to
evaluate my emotions. Why am I feeling this way? Why is it Verant
seems to totally misunderstand our plight? Surely it's a
misunderstanding because I honestly don't see Verant doing
something
to intentionally run players away or anger them. So where does this
lead me? I guess the big disparity, as I see it, lies in what
players of Bards see as their role in the overall scheme and what
Verant sees as the Bard's role. Obviously there is a big
disparity
here. Obviously I don't understand what Verant perceives as the
Bard's role in EverQuest.

All I know is how I perceive my role in EverQuest. Let me explain
how I see it in the hopes someone from Verant can explain where I
differ. For me, a bard is the ultimate group member. We are
designed to operate most effectively in the company of others. We
are often called a Jack of All Trades, but a master of none. We have
so many abilities that are spread among several other classes. Need
someone to buff your attack speed? A Bard can do that and more at
higher levels. Need to slowdown a mobs attack speed? A Bard can do
that and more at higher levels. Need a boost to your resistances? A
Bard is one of the best at boosting resistances. Need to regenerate
health or mana faster? Again, a bard can do this. Need to charm a
creature for a short while and make him your ally? Bards. Need
someone who can wear armor and take a FEW hits ok? Bards. Need to
get from one location to another fast and teleports or gates are not
feasible? Bards.

There are MANY things a bard can do but usually at a reduced capacity
compared to the class it is imitating. One thing that many bards
attempt to play is the role of limited crowd control. We have never
excelled at this ability nor did we ever expect to excel at this
ability. We certainly don't excel at any other abilities we
imitate. No, we saw our role as more of a contingency crowd
controller. Our line of songs designed for these roles were very
limited in scope. The first crowd control ability we receive is in
the form of a point blank area of effect song. By point blank I mean
it extends in a radius around the bard. This song would never be as
effective as enchanter's spells because it requires the bard to
be in
the thick of things and pretty much doing nothing else but playing
this song. The duration on the song was such that it did not lend
itself to being "twisted". Waking mobs would rightly attack
the bard
that had put them to sleep and the duration on the song was such that
mobs WOULD wake at some point. This song would work in an emergency
or a bad pull┬àat a minimum it would allow for the group to
collect
their thoughts rapidly and get organized or make the decision to
fight or flee.

The next form of crowd control a bard receives is in the form of a
targeted mez. Well, the duration on this song (and all bard songs
for the most part) dictate that a bard can only keep a very limited
number of creatures mezzed. With no resists and a good connection, I
would hazard the average bard could keep three separate targets
mezzed. This is not even considering the difficulty targeting
closely packed mobs. Now, a bard doing this type of crowd control is
also typically able to do little else. If he is only keeping one
target mezzed, then he may have time to twist in one or two more
songs and maybe melee for two rounds. Try to keep 2 mezzed and
it's
usually a full-time job. Keeping 3 mezzed would require a lot of
luck, but most likely would be the bard getting beat on a few times
as he remezzes one that resisted. Again, not nearly as effective as
an enchanter and the bard is effectively removed from combat (albeit
keeping other mobs also out of combat).

Still yet another form of crowd control available to the bard is his
ability to charm. This is a risky method and takes a lot of
practice, timing, and coordination. I daresay you see more bards
willing to charm creatures in combat than you do any other class.
There are some problems associated with this song that have never
been addressed. The biggest issue is that on a non-pvp server, this
song cannot be refreshed until it wears off. On a pvp server, this
song can be refreshed over and over as needed. What is more
confusing is the higher-level charm song. The level 39 song,
Solon's
Bewitching Brauvara, includes a Magic Resistance Debuff! Why would a
charm song that cannot be refreshed include a Magic Resist Debuff?
Players cannot cast on the charmed mob because it is now a pet. The
MR does not last any longer than the charm, so it does not make it
easier to reapply the charm. It really leads one to believe a few
things. This song is meant to be refreshable and that whomever
develops songs for the bard class sure doesn't pay attention to
detail. It also makes one wonder if anyone at Verant really has an
understanding how bard songs operate on a production server.

When you have an Enchanter in the group, then a bard is not needed in
the role of crowd control. That's fine and wonderful because
there
are many other roles the bard can fulfill. We can buff attack speed,
combat stat abilities, defensive abilities, add in health regen, mana
regen, buff resistances, slow-down mobs, debuff mobs, cast dots as
well as debuffs, and reduce downtime.

I guess what I am getting at is a bard looks at his group makeup,
then at his songs and best determines his role within the group. No
other class really needs to do much in this area. And this is where
things get confusing. Bards have a nice line of songs developed to
perform a role as crowd control. If there is not an enchanter in the
group, it might behoove the bard to memorize at least one of these
type of songs. Why would Verant give bards the ability to perform
this role if it is not one they really intended bards to perform?

Bard songs are known to improve as a bard levels. This has always
seemed to be the reason bard's only earned one song a level.
Unlike
SPELL casters, bard songs do not receive an upgraded version later.
Instead, the song increases in power as the bard increases in level.
The Hymn of restoration at level 6 that only healed a mere 4 points a
pulse now heals 19 points a pulse. Why is it unreasonable to think
the crowd control abilities would also not increase in power as the
bard levels? One would think a level 50 bard would have the same
chance to mesmerize that level 40 Drolvarg as he did at 15 versus
that level 5 Orc (not accounting for any magic resistance). One
would CERTAINLY assume the level 50 bard would have near 100% chance
to mesmerize that level 5 Orc now! This has not been the case.

So what is the role of a bard? Certainly more than a walking,
talking mana-battery! Does the loss of crowd control really define
the bard class? No, we have been surviving ok without it for these
past 10 months already. However, it severely diminishes the role
bards can play and it certainly forces groups into preset group make-
ups. Higher level groups learn they can't do certain things
without
an enchanter in a group. It takes a lot of the challenge out of the
game and it forces people into fewer and fewer group options. While
the bard may not be as effective as the enchanter may, he can be
somewhat effective. While a group may not delve as deep into a
dungeon with a bard instead of an enchanter, at least they can delve
somewhat into the dungeon with the hope the bard can manage a few
extra mobs. This is what I used to perceive as my role, to make up
for any deficiencies in a group to make it a productive group. This
is the challenge of the bard class that makes it one of the most
exciting classes to play. The ability to take a "broken"
group and
make it work is amazing. Crowd control is a significant part of this
role when there is no enchanter available. Bard's with crowd
control
abilities open up more groups to be able to accomplish things they
would not have dared without ONE other class being present.

So, I ask Verant. What IS the role of a bard? Please help clear up
this disparity and tell us how YOU see us using our songs.

Rosha Cristi, Bard of 51 {insert something musical here}
Guild Leader, Legends
Innoruuk