More bubble regen is probably going to be more beneficial.
You could drop guardian and sound shock to +7 (so you still get the shield and debuff) to help fund those other skills. You honestly dont need the full +10 on either where youre at. But it depends on you as well. Try out different combinations and see what you like.
Honestly, your better off maxing Guardian Tune, Wind of Protection, Heavenly Tune, and sonic vibration. the interchangeable skills would be sound shock, harp of rhythm, and soundaholic. having these support skills first would be better for u in the long run and then allocate whatever skill points u want to other skills. i’m a full support bard in abyssal/guardian hunts, but in chaos i just swap over to a aoe dps build.
Wouldnt you want both Soundshock and Harp of Rhythm (or Stigma) for permanent +10% dmg debuff?
as nice as the debuffs are for up time. u gotta remember that the bosses tend to move a lot. and yes, it happens a lot for me since i set up my harp for debuff as well as meter gain. as a full support, i actually don’t use sound shock. the skills that i use is raphsody of light, wind of music, sonic vibration, soundholic(personal damage), heavenly tune, guardian tune, rhythm buckshot, and harp. granted i have the skill points to use them at max with the exception to rhythm buckshot(counter ability). i use loawa to pretty much figure out how i wanna do my build and pick skills accordingly to what i wanna use but if u take a look at the builds, there’s barely some that has uptime on debuff.
Harp is a fast fire and forget, awesome if the mob doesnt move much. Else you have to patch either with stigma or soundshock. I really like it.
Stigma has the advantage and disadvantage of being an aoe, the casttime is pretty long, the cd too, but you arent animation locked.
Soundshock has a much longer range than stigma, its fast and very flexible, a true filler. Disadvantage would be single target and animation lock. The 2sec notebrand forces a lot of interaction (contrary to harp and stigma).
IMO the 10% debuff is important and I would like to have it in a party/raid scenario.
If I check lowa I see that most people used the soundshock skill, but Im unsure what the % number actually means.
https://loawa.com/stat/skills
(sort for english and bard)
I do not see (no korean knowledge) any build specifics and some strange ranking doesnt tell me anything.
In tier 2 7 points into Guardian tune with Endless protection will suffice for a dps spec (I combine it with 4 points into Core Conviction for more protection and a bit dps). The thing is that Guardian Tune with this tripod first reduces damage and THEN you get a shield makes it viable for all content. I assume you have both a dps and a support build? For support build you should also have the Wind of Music (10 points) with the tier 3 Wind of Protection (also keep your GT at 7 points). It’s great for raid content.
The more you play in groups the more you get a feel for what works. Aiyulol is a Korean youtuber and almost an expert in Bard and he has made more very good videos and a long and thorough write about bard skills. It’s really good!
Don’t forget your gems and runes. The wealth rune works amazingly well for bards to get the serenade meter up!
I ran Sonic Vibration and Guardian Tune at 7 when I was starved for Skill points. As Ayu says in his guide, you just have to git good with the smaller vibration aoe. Good practice for placing it correctly anyway.
In addition;
Rhythm Buckshot 0 - 4 - counter utility, can drop and replace e.g. with prelude if you have enough skillpoints to make it useful depending on situation
Wind of music 10 (must) shield, bubble generation
Soundholic 10 (must) stagger, bubble generation, tickling the boss for some dmg
Sound shock 7 (must) 1st debuff source
Heavenly tune 10 (must) duh
Harp of rhythm 10 2nd debuff source and passive bubble generation - you could also do prelude of storm to focus more on bubble generation but dont recommend it at this point
When I got additional skillpoints i pushed Guardian tune to 10 before sonic vibration. Now I am pushing until I have rhythm buckshot at 10 and will then switch it and harp of rhythm out with prelude of storm OR rhapsody of light depending on the raid.
all other skills I think should pretty much never be switched out. stagger checks are everywhere so soundholic should be a staple unless its very easy content; vital point hit (more stagger) is also a common engraving on KR bards. Stigma I never bothered with; when the boss is really mobile you just have to get used to spamming sound shock since they will jump out of stigma/ harp of rhythms range anyway.
I just read the guide someone shared and this is the answer you wanted.
“Wind of Protection protects against 1 attack that has a CC property, like stun, freeze, shock, etc. You can tell which attacks also have CC effects by their blue-colored area (instead of the usual red). This means it completely negates the next attack you would take while the buff is active: no damage, no CC”
Edit: I actually messaged him and its misworded. You take the damage but dont experience the CC. He updated it.
With “blue colored area” you mean the blue light (telegraph) on the ground of an attack soon to come?
Thats not very often I encounter that.
Really? I see it a lot in Abyssals and such.
So far I didnt counter anything. In my understanding you have to face the mob, it flashes blue and you have a short time-window to press buckshot.
That means you have no time to get into position, so you better know the encounter-mechanics beforehand.
I have questions to buckshot:
Does a level 1 buckshot do the same as a lv 10 one, counterwise? (Can I just put the skill on the bar).
If I press buckshot with my mouse at the mobs head, does my char automatically turn and counter?
How much variance does the skill allow? Do I have to stand exactly in front of the mob, or can I deviate some degrees?
Yeah I got to T3 (1350 now) and finally swapped out Rhythm Buckshot. Usually I’m not in front of the boss to counter (where I go depend on team position), and keeping it saved up feels like a waste. For your question though as long as skill say counter (at level 1 too) it will. I’ve done counters at like 45 degrees to the front of boss before.
I’ve also not found a good use for blocking a debuff either? As in, all the content works fine (with margin) without that being 10
my best advice would be to go to the training room and practice countering there, it does require some practice but is very important for skilled play. I wouldnt position myself in front of the boss just to counter as a bard, but it happens often enough that I am at the right time at the right place- though you do need quick reflexes. most classes including bard bring a counter skill into raids, and it just feels plain nice to land a successful counter, giving everyone some time to dps. the higher the difficulty, the more essential countering fatal attacks becomes
Well, my reflexes arent the best, I will try if I reach content where counters do matter.
According to your list you dropped prelude of storms for buckshot. I thought about that, but do not see me making this swap. My meter generation isnt that good (actually it sucks) and harp/prelude is my number one meter tool. Sure it forces me to go melee, but thats the same problem with wind of music. Both spells suck range wise and dictate the combat distance.
If I ever reach T3 I hope to get better meter generation and than Im in the positon to drop it. Currently definitly not.
I think in the end it comes down to personal preference a bit as well. My meter generation is fairly good thanks to tripods and runes and my harp always being up (Im T3 though), and i can pop out heals frequently (and get another quick bar after my awakening), so I’d rather be running some counter utility.
Bards really do neeed to dive in and out of melee range for wind of music though (shields + builds a lot of meter, absolute must skill), and you have to be fairly melee for prelude and buckshot too… so no matter what you go with thats more or less a necessity; i personally also prefer to hang back a bit and then strategically move in for wind (and/or prelude if I swap it in).
That’s usually those moments where a boss decides to glow blue and I get to use my counter when I have it to avoid having the boss run over me, haha. (also this is very situational but I also use buckshort for destruction mechanics, its provided the last bit of destruction needed in a couple raids)
But honestly play what works to you at the level/progress you are (do try to experiment with skills though), I dont think anyone will bite your head off as long as you dont, say, bring dissonance or conviction core into raids
Staying on the sides for front/back players is what I usually do to hit all my skills, hit allies and be relatively safe.
For reference I am a 1415 Bard with 310 skill points.
When I was at 260ish I think I did follow guides but it’s not 100% set in stone. Here are key take sways though:
Sound Shock and Soundaholic are pretty mandatory as your primary damaging abilities and sound shock with sacred is crucial for party dmg.
Wind of Music is probably the most important ability in our toolset when used right with low cooldown, as you learn boss mechanics the shield can be considered effective healing.
So I’ve always run Wind 10, Heavanly tune 10, soundaholic 10. Sound shock 7, guardian 7, sonic vibration 7. Those are pretty much the basic thresholds you really want to hit. After that it’s preference on Stigma vs Rhapsody. If you plan on playing well into legion raids I recommend getting comfortable with rhapsody over stigma as it’s crucial
I prioritize my engravings as such Awakening> Desp Salv > Expert > Heavy Armor
you need to plan out the skill point potions and work on them asap. I find that bards require a lot of skill points compared to other classes to be effective.
Hello… I know this is an old thread but if it helps guardian tune is very important. However its not a cleanse its a negation, you will need to know the fight to utilize it best. The damage reduction of guardian tune is a must have, it should be up as much as possible. With your skill points under 300 I suggest guardian tune to be level 7.
Wide angle attack on sonic vibration is correct to do the more who can stand in it the better. Level 10 at this level is also correct.
The most noticeable abilities will probably be your heals and shields. Most dps will not notice the affect your guardian tune has (as well as you), until they play without you. Which is an unfortunate truth and it may not be believable but I’ve saved people with Rasphody of Light (75% damage reduction) before and they still dont know what happened.
The better your engravings are, stats, and skill points the more you’ll feel your own impact on the group. If you are at home in Mari play with me sometime and I can suggest a few easy collectables, and skill point potions that people sometimes forget about.
If not though good luck! Sorry about replying to this late, im sure you’ve already have it figured out. Have a wonderful day.
It’s good but not needed until you have the spare points to pick it up.
356 points is when you ideally should be getting that.