Hi everyone,
First guide here since I'm bored :3.
Anyway, here goes!

First of all this needs to be said:

In this guide I will be putting additional information, so it would be a good idea to have a read through again from time to time.

HOW TO NOT BARD >:c
FACEROLL
SPAM STRAIGHT SHOT INSTEAD OF HEAVY SHOT.
PLAYING SONGS IF ITS NOT NEEDED.
ONLY USE HEAVY SHOT.
IF I SEE YOU USE SHADOWBIND IN YOUR ROTATION I WILL GUT YOU.
REAPPLY DoTS WHEN THERE'S STILL 4+ SECONDS LEFT ON IT.
USING AOES ON SINGLE TARGET
DON'T USE YOUR LIMIT BREAK UNLESS TOLD TO.
REPELLING SHOT OFF THE EDGE OR INTO A WALL AND DIE.
PLEASE DO NOT MACRO HEAVY SHOT, BLOODLETTER AND MISERY'S END TOGETHER. IT SOUNDS GREAT BUT IT REALLY ISN'T.
DO NOT BLUNT SHOT IF YOU NEED A SILENCE ON THE ENCOUNTER.


HOW TO ACTUALLY BARD

Bard is an extremely mobile DPS role with an arsenal of skills and abilities that let them provide good DPS, whether it be an encounter with a single mob or a group pull. They are special compared to other jobs since they do not have any combos they can use or a set rotation to follow. They also have one of the best opening burst rotations in the game and provide so much more utility compared to other DPS classes.

Edit: Bards favour Critical Hit and Determination. There is no other substitute. Accuracy will only matter if you do Coil, so if you do, then meet the accuracy cap and go ham on the two main sub-stats I mentioned above. Skill Speed isn't bad, but too much will burn your TP.

Also think about it:
Even if you overdose on SkS and can fire shots like a machine gun, you would be like shooting Nerf pellets at someone while the other bard is like a revolver and efficiently doing damage and not destroying his TP.

Bards love Crit long time cuz when DoTs crit, Bloodletter-senpai notices you and helps you little Bard kohai out with DPS. i.e. Windbite and Venomous Bite crits allow Bloodletter to reset its CD and will be your second go-to ability after Heavy Shot.

I'm going to assume you're a 50 bard that can read what your skills do and how your traits enhance them. The cross class skills I use are Blood for Blood, Internal Release, Second Wind, Invigorate and Mantra. The first four of those I would highly recommend and say that you can't really bard until you get those. The last one I would say is interchangeable and depends on your playstyle. Keen Flurry and Featherfoot are okay but I don't like leaving my life to chance and would like an incoming heal to top me up a little bit more with Mantra.

This is how I play Bard and these are the opening "rotations" I use in content.

Lets start with the opening rotation that I would recommend on a single target. If you know your tank has trouble, add a Quelling Strike at the start so you don't rip aggro (or atleast reduce the chance of that happening)

Straight Shot > Bloodletter > Internal Release > Windbite > Blood for Blood > Raging Strikes > Venomous Bite > Hawk's Eye > Barrage > Heavy Shot > Repelling Shot > Blunt Shot > Heavy Shot > Flaming Arrow…

The italics after Windbite mean that they are off Global Cooldown skills and that if Bloodletter is up, you should use it. The trick here in this rotation is to fit 2 off GCD skills between 2 GCDs. So if Bloodletter was up during the BFB and Raging, I would use Bloodletter after BFB and then replace Hawk's Eye with Raging and then Barrage with Hawk's. Reason is that you can fit 2 off GCDs in between (depending on your Skill Speed) so your Bloodletter can be enhanced by the buff before. In other words, just SHIFT the skill to the next off GCD skill forward. I would like to also add that you should not use Blunt Shot if you need a silence in a fight.

From here on out you just keep using Heavy Shot, Bloodletter if its up and reapply Straight Shot and your DoTs (Venomous Bite and Windbite). Keep in mind you can fit 2 off GCDs if I didn't say this enough throughout this guide. If you're not comfortable, fit 1 off GCD first and try get more comfortable with it.



My last suggestion is that after you have used all your buffs in your burst rotation, I would recommend saving them so you can use them in unison. I like to keep Internal Release with Raging Strikes, and the other 3 (BFB, Hawks, Barrage) so that I get more out of it. I usually have a nice DPS spike by doing this, about 10 - 20 more DPS more than average when I buff up like this.



AOE Rotation
Straight Shot > Bloodletter > Internal Release > Wide Volley > Blood for Blood > Raging Strikes > Wide Volley> Hawk's Eye > Barrage > Wide Volley > Repelling Shot > Blunt Shot > Wide Volley > Flaming Arrow…

Note that its really the same as the single target burst rotation but with the Heavy Shots and DoTs replaced with Wide Volleys. Also note that the Wide Volleys in bold italics mean if you get your free proc on Rain of Death or Quick Nock, then replace it with that. Since you don't have DoTs up, you're not going to get procs on Bloodletter. When you get used this rotation, you can mix your single target and your AOE rotation together by starting with the single target rotation up to Venomous Bite on a target and continue with the AOE rotation with Wide Volley for group pulls on a different target so that you don't murder your Bloodletter proc generator i.e. the mob with the DoTs.

Invigorate when needed (at about 500 TP.)

SONGS

These are the songs of our people. I mean that the Bard can sing for their party.
Mage Ballad - mana song (the one the healers and summoner keep screaming at us to play)
Army's Paeon - TP song (the one that the tanks and melee dps keep screaming at us to play if there is no ninja in the party).
Foe's Requiem - Magic DPS buff song (the one the casters and even healers keep screaming at us to play)
Swiftsong - Gotta go fast cos if you ain't first you're last. Useless in combat.

Bards aren't the best DPS (even though we still do shitloads) but we provide great utility to the party. Song management involves good eyes and excellent communication with the party. In a long fight, people's mana and TP will go down so if they are emptied out on juice, there's less output of heals and damage and the thing you're killing will probably get the best of you. It's also important you look at your own mana bar and know when to stop playing a song. A good amount of mana you should keep instead of depleting it completely playing a song is around 500, in case that one healer gets owned and gets raised so you can sing a mana song so that they are up and running again with the heals. In other words, just be cautious and have backup mana for emergencies.

That's where you come in lowly song dispenser! You control the tide of the battle by singing songs. A good bard will have the initiative to play Mage Ballad for your healers (and maybe summoner if they are low) before they even need to scream obscenities at you since you can take quick glances at mana bars in the party list.

TP song will require communication since you can't see the TP bar. It's a good idea to ask the party who needs it especially about 4-5 minutes in a fight without downtime. You can try to get a feel when someone is low on TP. After a few tries into a fight, you can predict when it's TP song time but communication is still recommended.

Foes Rekt-quiem is for those casters who want that godly opening burst and rip aggro from the tank. It's also a great way of pulling when the tank in the Crystal Tower raids don't pull fast enough and everyone starts panicking… jokes aside, it's a nice song to play at the start of a fight OR during a DPS check fight
e.g. T8 - when dreadnought drops down, foes should be up so it dies quickly, T4 - all times lel.

Take care when playing these songs; timing is crucial. Playing a song at a bad time in a fight can lead to you losing more DPS than you should or getting rekt by an AOE. Downtimes in fights are good times to sing Mana or TP Song, whichever is in more demand. While learning a fight, you might find moments where its not dangerous to stand still and cast, such as T9 before the Fire Ins and Outs start (i.e. just before or during Bahamuts Favor) or a more recent one I've found in T11, where the boss casts Secondary Head. As long as the thing you're trying to kill isn't going for you and you know that it won't turn around and smack you for a bit, then that's a good time to sing a song. After that just go ham again; 20% damage reduction can't really pull you down that easily if you just keep using the "code" in mind.

These songs can be enhanced by Battle Voice. It's all up to you and how the fight is going. These are moments where I think Voice should be used





And that's really it to Bard. Pew pew. \o/

I hope you enjoyed my Bard guide and hope to see more bards from Heart that enjoy the role as much as I do. I'm Arashi Yaburu in Hearts of Eorzea / Bowen Getsuga in Equilibrium and I wish you the best!

Message me in-game on my characters or on GW if you need any other tips or if there's something you don't understand. Also give me suggestions as to how I can improve this or any future guide I may or may not submit :P

Thanks a lot bowen great guide, lots of information :)

"MUST use shadowbind in rotation" ;p