Brd/Bst/Dru ungeared feasible?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by OtterRock, Sep 5, 2020.

  1. OtterRock

    OtterRock New Member

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    Hello new to the server, I've been leveling (22 now) a clr/mag/enc trio and loving the server so far. Getting to experience deep dungeon spots I've never seen before. But i kinda picked clr/enc/mag because I knew it'd be easy to start with zero gear. It's actually taking a lot more time to level and make plat than i thought. I'm really wanting to do a bard trio where the bard is my main (not just sitting there playing one song). Maybe even the tank. Could i do this with no gear? And would brd/bst/dru be good?
     
  2. Mukk

    Mukk People Like Me

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    Definitely feasible. You'll be able to kill Hill Giants or something soon enough, and buy some gear in the Bazaar. I'd swap the Bst for something non-melee as a box though.
     
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  3. Tesadar

    Tesadar Active Member

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    Idk about bard tanking early on especially with no twink gear. You'll have the health and defense of a naked wizard and the melee attack of a gimped warrior.
    Bard is something that grows later on over time.
     
  4. Walex

    Walex I Feel Loved

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    Bard tank will not work. Their aggro generation is absolute garbage. Songs are almost no aggro whatsoever.
     
  5. solar

    solar Administrator Staff Member

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    It's short lived because you end up high level pretty quickly, but bard is actually the strongest class before around level 40 and the drop off happens after that. It's all personal preference of course, but the bard songs are very powerful at low levels, relatively, since they stay the same at high levels too.
    The downside to bard is they can't generate aggro and actually be the tank, unless you mostly solo it with your other characters just watching. If you want a traditional melee type tank you need one of the spell casters - paladin, shadowknight, ranger or beastlord. You can of course tank with any of the priest or robe spell casters too, but casting spells is the only reliable way to get aggro.
     
  6. Palarran

    Palarran Well-Known Member

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    Beastlord pet would be very helpful at lower levels when you have little or no gear.
     
  7. solar

    solar Administrator Staff Member

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    If you really want to do a trio around a bard I think you should do that. Lots of stuff would go with it, but general consensus is that playing more than one melee in a trio sucks.
    If you just want the strongest trio it's probably knight/cleric/enchanter but there's no bard in that. I just reread your post and I see you have a cleric in your first trio already. I think it would make your life a lot easier to keep that in your trio even if you rebuild around a bard. As far as gear goes, I wouldn't worry too much about that. The buffs you can get in PoK from level 60 players make the low level game very easy. If you group up with someone, they may even bring their level 60s along to PL you, though I can see not wanting to do it that way and taking your time instead.
     
  8. Pithy

    Pithy I Feel Loved

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    Bards are great fun! I find myself on my bard during most of my play sessions these days. I've done a lot of bard/wizard/chanter, which is surprisingly versatile and powerful at high levels, and lately some bard/healer/chanter. I miss the bard when I'm not on him. Selo is a hell of a drug.

    It's true that bard aggro is bad on this server (as it was on AK and on Live in our era). Bard tanks can take hits -- they dodge pretty well, can wear plate, and get great returns on worn AC -- but they'll have a hard time keeping mobs off of debuffers and nukers.

    Pet classes mesh well with tanking bards, since pets hold decent aggro. As long as the pet has more hate than the other characters, the mob will keep attacking the bard tank. Pet classes also do really well with minimal gear, which sounds important to you.

    Druids also mesh well with bards. Ports and damage shields are great, and their level 58 mini-CH generates no hate. Clerics can also work. Their HoTs generate very little hate, and when they do get aggro they can take a few hits or DA.

    I think you're on the right track with bard/druid/pet class. Like @solar, though, I find it annoying to box two melees. Constantly repositioning to stay in melee range is a drag. I'd recommend swapping the BL out for a mage, necro, or (if you're interested in charming or PBAE) chanter.
     
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  9. Mukk

    Mukk People Like Me

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    If you want to play bard, go for it. It's what I'm doing, and I've had no issues so far. I've been flip-flopping on which two characters to box with him, but I think I've decided on Shaman and Mage. Holding aggro will be more difficult as levels get higher, but so far it hasn't been a problem. And as long as it's a mob that the mage pet can tank somewhat, you can always just back off if you're managing aggro properly, and take turns tanking.

    Also, remember that charm wipes the hate list, and sticks the bard pretty high up from the start, so it can be used if someone pulls aggro accidentally after debuffing to keep aggro on your bard.

    Keep an eye on Alliance chat for MGB's and rots. I've gotten a lot of Moktor armor and a Curved Lunar Scimitar by doing this. Scimitar of the Emerald Dawn is a great, relatively cheap offhand too.

    Use your 20's characters to kill the orcs in Highpass, to spawn the named one that drops a weight reduction bag and Shiny Brass Idols, which you can sell for decent money at low levels.

    There's enough older players that are generous with their money for tradeskill related items that making money to get some gear shouldn't be too much of an issue.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2020
  10. Auyster

    Auyster People Like Me

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    With Bard/Shaman/Mage trio you would be tanking on the shaman more than the bard I'd say.
     
  11. Faults

    Faults I Feel Loved

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    Bard/druid/mage works very well and is my main trio with bard being the focus point.
     
  12. thucydides

    thucydides I Feel Loved

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    bards have so many play styles available that I think you sort of need to narrow down what you find fun about the class to figure out what trio might support it the best.
    as pithy mentioned above, bard / enc / wiz can do some pretty crazy and entertaining stuff, and is my go-to setup for any sort of trade skill farming or other tomfoolery that involves an outdoor zone. usually it ends up wrecking untold numbers of lower level mobs, but it's certainly capable of taking out whatever named or other big bad is standing in the way of you and a giant and beautiful train. it's not a trio that ever plans to use melee weapons on the bard.
    if you're more of a dungeon crawler, the suggestions above of a healer and a summoned pet have a lot more to recommend them.

    i think bard / bst / dru would be a fun and viable trio, but i think the bst would end up tanking a lot.

    Is this definitely true? I remember it being true for a long time on this server but i could have sworn there was a patch that changed the behavior.
     
  13. Mascha

    Mascha People Like Me

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    I am 99% sure a summoned pet can never hold aggro if a player character is next to the mob.
     
  14. Tuluvien

    Tuluvien I Feel Loved

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    The idea is that the pet's proximity keeps the aggro on the bard instead of it jumping to out-of-melee caster. Mob wants the pet but hits the bard because he's there instead of slipping to pet owner or a nuker/healer. So while bard can't build their own, they can stand on top of the pet's aggro.

    And I'm not sure if that still works or not.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2020
  15. thucydides

    thucydides I Feel Loved

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    Okay, it looks like that is still the case. It's funny that for 2 years I've been thinking it worked one way while in fact that was only in place for 2 weeks. It pays to read the changelog!
     
  16. Tuluvien

    Tuluvien I Feel Loved

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    A constant state of flux, keep us on our toes.
     
  17. rainessa

    rainessa People Like Me

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    I love my bard. Can solo and great group wise. Leveling up, I had a great duo with my cleric and grouped with a warrior/druid/mage who then switched in a rogue and I added shaman. On live, I 2 boxed bard/cleric in a much more bard agro world. Bard agro here is wonderful. If you want to tank as the bard, your other toons have to be careful with agro. Pets dont get agro as much so if you are careful with distance, you can keep agro or dump it on the pet, if one of your other toons is a pet class. I saw that when I stole an epic pet mage.

    What I suggest to everyone that asks is make a few characters that you are curious about and play them. Find what clicks with you. Play what makes you happy even if not the "perfect" trio. My trio is a bard, shaman, cleric. Pretty poor dps trio. But I work great in groups and I can manage as a trio just fine. Do what makes you happy.
     
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  18. Saenayil

    Saenayil People Like Me

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    Bard / Druid / Wizard

    Automez with bard, time nukes to land between mez ticks. Twist in mana regen for no downtime. Gear not required.
     
    Walex likes this.