Galtin,

I like at least a portion of the songs haste being stacking on the other
haste buffs. As you say, our songs do urge our comrades to fight better.
And out of all the options, the one that has a possibility to succeed IMO.

Piemur

-----Original Message-----
From: Reece Tom R CPT 25 ID L G4 [mailto:g4mntofcr@...]
Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2001 9:47 PM
To: EQBards
Subject: [eqbards] Proposal to change how bard haste songs stack with
enchanter/sham an haste spells

Wanted to run this idea before everyone and get some feedback/recommended
changes before submitting it to Verant. I've posted it to both the Concert
Hall board as well as the eqbards mailing list.

I have played a bard since April 1999. I have followed all bard related
issues since that time. I am fully aware of Verant's position that bard
songs with haste components are not intended to stack with enchanter/shaman
haste line of spells. However, it is my opinion it would be worth the
effort of the bard community to try to change Verant's mind one more time
before the final tuning changes are made. In the past this might have been
wasted effort on our part. However, based on the fact that Aradune
currently appears to be open to suggestions on how to improve the game, this
time around we may get better results.

This entire proposal is based on the rationale that while our haste songs
have spell-like effects, they should NOT be treated as spells for stacking
purposes. Our voices alone inspire our comrades to fight better. There is
no "magic" involved. As a result, a bard song that has a haste component
(Anthem, Celerity, Berserker, etc) should stack with the enchanter and
shaman haste line of spells (Augmentation, Celerity, Swift Like Wind, etc).

There are a couple of ways to do this.

Option 1). Apply 100% of the bard haste bonus in addition to the
enchanter/shaman bonus. This may be overpowering so a compromise would be
Option 2.
Option 2). Apply a portion, perhaps 50%, of the bard haste bonus in
addition to the enchanter/shaman bonus. For example, Anthem provides a 10%
haste bonus. Under this scenario, while an enchanter/shaman haste buff is
in effect, Anthem would provide an additional 5% haste bonus (in addition to
the other stat bonuses it provides.

Another option is a lot more radical but I figured I would throw it out
there as well for discussion. Each class in EQ is generally considered to
be the "best" in one aspect of the game. As we all know, bards are
considered the best at reducing downtime as well as running speed. This is
all fine and dandy and something I can live with. However, IMO, bards
should be the best class in the game when it comes to "inspiring" our
groupmates in combat. This is an aspect of bards that can be found in every
piece of fantasy literature relating to bards. This "inspiration" is in the
form of haste buffs since they have a much bigger impact on combat than
primary stat buffs. So it is my opinion that bard songs that provide a
haste buff should be BETTER than enchanter/shaman buffs. You end up with
something along the lines of this:

Option 3) Double the current haste bonus of all bard songs but continue to
enforce the stacking rules with enchanter/shaman spells.

Either of these three options would be something that benefits every class
in the game. So in terms of garnering public support, this should be fairly
easy to do. The first two options do not impede on the abilities of the
enchanter or shaman classes in any way so they would have no reason to
complain. Option 3 would render enchanter/shaman haste buffs obsolete when
grouping with a bard but once again these are not "class defining" abilities
of these classes.

Of course the hard part is convincing Verant to adopt either one of the
three options. I'm no programmer, but I would imagine the actual coding
part would not be difficult at all. I have read reports that the two new
Ervaj songs, instead of functioning as mana drains, provide a minor haste
buff that stacks with enchanter/shaman haste spells. If that is actually
the case, then Verant already knows how to change the code to make all of
our haste songs stack.

So I request everyone's feedback on this proposal. If anyone thinks they
have a better idea that is more likely to get approved by Verant then feel
free to make a recommendation. Once I get enough feedback, I will rewrite
the proposal and post it to both the Concert Hall board and eqbards mailing
list as many times as necessary until the majority of us agree on its
wording. I am also more than willing to let a more well known bard present
this proposal to Verant. Who that may be I leave up to the bard community
to decide. Kaearia comes to mind since he has probably done more research
on how our songs work that any other bard who has played the game. Thott
also comes to mind since he appears to know someone who works for Verant.

Galtin Randayn
Bard of E'ci

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