Bards in most fantasy games serve as go-to songsmiths and musicians to aid parties and irritate enemies. Interestingly, they take up a contrasting Physical Ranged DPS role in Square Enix's Final Fantasy 14. In the Final Fantasy MMO, Bards serve as one of the Job upgrades for the Archer, serving as its iteration under the Discipline of War. As with Archers, Bards specialize in using Bows, which in turn depends on their Dexterity to boost their overall attack potential.
As with most DPS classes, Bards rely on maximizing their skill speed, direct hit, and critical hit potential to dispatch foes as soon as possible. However, fans seem to divide themselves when it comes to the overall "usefulness" of the Bard Job. On one hand, players praise FF14's Bards for their ranged specialization. Likewise, others say they're possibly the worst Job in the game. So what gives?
Updated on December 27, 2021 by Russ Boswell: Final Fantasy 14 has exploded in popularity over recent months and the addition of a new expansion with Endwalker has seen a massive spike in the player base. New players from all walks of life are flocking to Eorzea in the hopes of joining in on the fun, with many of them struggling to decide between all of the potential jobs. Those that are seeking something different, with a lot of variety and some serious style may want to consider the Bard. FFXIV's Bard is a truly entertaining class that mixes music with combat prowess, making for one elegant powerhouse on the battlefield. To help shine a better light on what makes the FFXIV Bard so special, the following list has been updated and includes even more information.
12 Reactive, Not Proactive
Bards don't necessarily rely on "go-to" rotations. Unlike Jobs like the Dragoon that requires precise positioning and combos, Bards "react" to situations based on elements at play.
Essentially, Bards keep to their stereotypes of music and singing - with their Songs in FF14 providing various buffs, depending on the situation. However, a Bard adjusts their priority casts depending on which effects currently proc. In turn, Bard's choices become heavily influenced by RNG - providing them with a ton of flexibility, perhaps even more than the Black Mage and the Dancer.
11 Learn Complex Gameplay Via Multiple Variables
At first, the many variables surrounding the Bard might make newcomers a bit overwhelmed by their gameplay. However, learning how to “vibe” with the Bard’s mechanics can allow players to get used to more complex gameplay elements. That way, they can learn more difficult rotations and gimmicks from other more intensive Jobs such as the Astrologian or the Red Mage.
For instance, Caustic Bite and Stormbite allows Bards to choose just how they want their damage-over-time to work against enemies. Likewise, the multi-effect nature of Songs and the timing-intensive Iron Jaws can motivate Bards to adapt rotations based on multiple gameplay elements. When mastered, the Bard can become a player’s gateway to more complex endgame strategies.
10 Mobility, Utility Powerhouse
Most - if not all - of the Bard's spells have instant cast times, allowing them to roam around the battlefield if necessary. This allows Bards to stay close to other DPS members that can dish out damage with them, especially with useful utilities. Bards can greatly improve the party's performance with offensive buffs such as Mage's Ballad (increases damage dealt), Army's Paeon and Battle Voice (increases direct hit rate), and The Wanderer's Minuet (increases critical hit rate).
Meanwhile, Bards also offer useful defensive utilities. For instance, Bards can increase the party's survivability, courtesy of Troubador (decreases damage taken), Wanderer's Paean (removes a debuff), and Nature's Minne (increase healing).
9 Core Benefits Encourage Party Composition
The Bard’s supportive nature encourages the right party composition. Instead of looking at a Bard as a direct healer, a party should look at a Bard as their offensive buffer. At its core, the Bard is a hands-on, all-around support Job, courtesy of their situational utilities, debuff removers, damage buffs, and light healings.
In turn, Bards excel when added to a party with set roles. Being present with a hard tank such as a Paladin, a deadly DPS like a Black Mage, and a healer like a White Mage will enable Bards to diversify their support options. Moreover, the Bard and their emphasis on buffing damage can greatly boost any team’s potential against tough opponents.
8 Situational Abilities Enhance Flexibility
Similar to the Astrologian, Black Mage, and the Dancer, the Bard greatly capitalizes on their situational utilities. However, whereas the Black Mage possesses devastating AOE setups, Bards rely heavily on their utilities to take advantage of any situation. Moreover, even as the novice Archer Class, Bards inherently don't have insanely high damage numbers. Unlike the robust Lancer, Archers and Bards whittle enemy strength with their debuffs and scaling damage.
In turn, Bards possess the potential to be on par with heavy-hitters with the right rotation. For instance, Raging Strikes serves as a great prepull ability in tandem with Stormbite and Bloodletter. However, players may consider this rotation timing-dependent, as some of its cooldowns might collide. Alternatively, tinkering with the order of these skills might be more forgiving with ping at the cost of some overall damage.
7 Bard Has Great "Fashion"
It's definitely not something that affects the gameplay but it's hard to deny that some classes have a better visual flair in Final Fantasy XIV than others. Bard is definitely one of the better options for players seeking to flaunt their fashion amongst the player base. Their elaborate outfits feature flowing fabrics and are very in-line with the types of "Bard attire" that players might see in old medieval paintings or modern-day Dungeons & Dragons art.
The addition of instruments and a beautifully-designed weapon rounds out a visual style that is simultaneously powerful, unique, and elegant.
6 Lower Base DPS Encourages Challenge, Adaptability
Due to their nature as utility-based support, it’s natural for the Bard to suffer in terms of low base DPS. When compared to the other Jobs the Archer Class expands into, the Bard is definitely lackluster in the damage department. However, what the Dancer excels in AOE debuffs and what the Machinist deals in burst damage, the Bard drastically compensates with an adaptable toolkit.
The Bard’s vast range of support skills and DOT-based attacks allow them to adjust to virtually any combat situation. Granted, the lack of damage certainly adds a layer of difficulty on part of the player. However, mastering the Bard’s knack for adapting to different combat roles can make them the life of the party.
5 Apex Arrow, Soul Voice Gauge Adds DPS
Once Bards learn the Soul Voice trait, they unlock a new gauge called the Soul Voice Gauge. This gauge works with the Song Gauge, which increases the more Repertoire the Bard gets. At a certain point, a Song Gauge can allow Bards to cast Pitch Perfect, a powerful attack that grows in power the more Repertoire stacks players have. Like the Song Gauge, a filled Soul Voice Gauge also allows Bards to unleash a powerful attack - this time called the Apex Arrow.
Once unleashed, the Apex Arrow deals a 100 Potency attack to all enemies in a straight line via their Bow. Moreover, using Apex Arrow with 100 Soul Voice Gauge amps up Potency to 500. In turn, Apex Arrow easily becomes a powerful attack worth waiting for, especially for Bards with flexible rotations.
4 Apex Arrow, Soul Voice Gauge Can Work With Rotations
Some worry that due to the power limitations of Apex Arrow, it might underperform in the long run. Similar to Pitch Perfect, Apex Arrow works best with the scaling of a maximum Soul Voice Gauge. In turn, Bards need to time their Apex Arrow usage to maximize its damage output. While this might mean Bards suffer a DPS setback like the White Mage, this also encourages more creativity with rotations.
Moreover, some eagle-eyed fans notice that the Apex Arrow doesn't have optimum scaling as a GCD. After all, Refulgent Arrow only has a 2.5-second cooldown, and has a potency of 340. Granted, players need to have a charge of Straight Shot ready to cast Refulgent Arrow, but it's still much faster compared to Apex Arrow. In turn, Bards can reserve Apex Arrow as a finisher when transitioning between rotations.
3 The Bow Is A Truly Striking Weapon
One of the best aspects of any MMORPG is designing and dressing up a character. Players are usually given access to a wide array of clothing options and weapon skins and Final Fantasy 14 is no different in this regard. But as beautiful as the clothing items for Bard are, the visual bread-and-butter for the class is their bow.
Although the Bard has access to a wide array of interesting instruments, and many dedicated Bards are capable of producing some truly elaborate songs, the first thing that many players will notice about these stylish maestros are their often massive and beautifully-designed weapons. These impressively-sized ranged tools help to give the Bard some much-needed DPS and are capable of clearing groups of enemies.
2 Make Music Out Of Instruments
Playing into their stereotype, Bards in FF14 possesses not just combat weapons but also various instruments. For instance, Bards can play the clarinet, fiddle, fife, flute, harp, lute, panpipes, piano, and the oboe. Perhaps one of the best perks of being a Bard is having the ability to actually play musical instruments and create music with them.
Bards that finish the "Plucking the Hearstrings" quest can create music with their instrument of choice. In fact, players can add certain notes to their hotbar, allowing them to create actual music in the process. In turn, even Square Enix warned users against performing music from third parties.
1 Song Play Encourages Versatility
Bards gain access to three Songs they can play, all with varying effects. Due to this gimmick, Bards have a quick way of adjusting to most combat situations. When used, Songs unleash Repertoires or effects, each of which can be activated whenever Bards deal DOT damage to enemies. These make Bards a more optimal support Job compared to the supreme healing of the White Mage.
The Wanderer’s Minuet is a great damage tool for Bards, as they can unleash the powerful Pitch Perfect oGCD. Alternatively, Mage’s Ballad resets Bloodletter when proc’d, giving Bards access to a decent DPS while recharging a GCD. Lastly, Army’s Paeon is a great Song to use to speed up GCD recharge time.
Final Fantasy 14 was released on August 27, 2013 and is playable on Windows, PS4 and PS5, and OS X.