>Let's face it, bards are best at low level. I was talking to a higher
>level bard, Uulas, 22nd level, and he said he NEVER uses any songs from
>13th level - 18th level. Good old Anthem de Arms and Hymn of Restoration
>with a bit of the Bellow are it, pretty much. Don't just ignore his
>advice, either, he is widely regarded as one of the best bards and an
>excellent party member on this server. I have heard it said that "Uulas
>could make any group good." Looking over the bard song list, only the
>invisibility, flight, and mana regeneration spells look that much
>different from what we already have.

Uulas is correct. My most frequently used songs (in melee areas) are Anthem
and the mana song, with bellow and chains right behind them. Getting into
or out of areas brings in the invis song and of course, our dear
accellerando song. For getting out of trouble fast, the screech song. I
get a lot of requests for the charm song, but for me, it is unreliable
(never put enough time into using it so that it would be reliable).

>So, to all of us who are hoping to hit the higher levels someday: don't be
>down about it, but bards don't make a good "core" party member. We just
>make any party MUCH BETTER. Last night I hooked up with a cleric, a
>wizard, and a rogue. Almost the perfect group, right? Tank, nuke, and
>heals. With me in there, the efficiency skyrocketed. We fought a solid 2
>hours with perhaps 10 minutes of down time. We were taking little to no
>damage, mowing through the beetles and lesser undead in Unrest like a
>Catholic priest who was also the Orkin man. ;)
>
>I guess that's my main point. Not a CORE member, but one heck of an
>accessory. Does that make sense?

Yes, that was a point I was trying to make earlier when I said bards are
never "required" in a group, like a tank or a healer. Even nukes are not
really required if a group knows what they are doing and has one healer for
every 2 tanks.

Linako Lindenlyre
Mithaniel Marr