Bard

Lore

"The word "bard" ordinarily puts folk in mind of those itinerant minstrels, fair of voice and nimble of finger, who earn their coin performing in taverns and the halls of great lords. Few know, however, that bards in fact trace their origins back to the bowmen of eld, who sang in the heat of battle to fortify the spirits of their companions.
In time, their impassioned songs came to hold sway over the hearts of men, inspiring their comrades to great feats and granting peace unto those who lay upon the precipice of death." — Game Description

General Information

Bard is a job that specializes in buffing their allies with songs and other enchantments. Using bow in combat, Bard improves upon the archer class through the addition of group buffs. Bards have all the abilities and traits of Archers. The most important stat for the bard is dexterity, which increases attack power. The level of your Bard is equivalent to that of your Archer.

Requirements

• Level 30 Archer
• Completion of Main Scenario quest: Sylph-management

Trainer Locations

NPC	Location	Description
Luciane	New Gridania (x15,y11)	Job Start for ARC
Jehantel	South Shroud (x21,y21)	Job Trainer for 30-50
Jehantel	South Shroud (x21,y21)	Job Start for Heavensward
Sanson	Located in different locations based on level 52 - Foundation (x10,y12) 54 - Coerthas Western Highlands (x31,y37) 56 & 58 - The Dravanian Forelands (x33,y24) 60 - The Churning Mists (x30,y36)	Job Trainer for 52-60
Jehantel	South Shroud (x21.8,y21.3)	Job Start for Stormblood

Actions

Bards use all the Archer Actions in addition to having their own unique actions for their Job:

As of Final Fantasy XIV's 4.0 expansion Stormblood. There are changes in the skill set available for Bard/Archer, the list of abilities lost are as follows:

• Swiftsong
• Wide Volley
• Hawk's Eye
• Flaming Arrow

Action	Icon	Level	TP Cost	MP Cost	Cast Time	Cooldown	Range	Radius	Description
Mage's Ballad		30	0	??	1.5s	2.5s	0y	20y	Refreshes MP of all nearby party members while lowering own damage dealt by 10%. MP is drained while singing. Refresh effect is lost if party members move out of hearing distance, and ends upon reuse. Cannot be used with other songs.
Foe Requiem		35	0	??	1.5s	2.5s	0y	20y	Reduces the magic resistance of all enemies by 10%. MP is drained while singing. Effect is lost if targets move out of hearing distance, and ends upon reuse. Cannot be used with other songs.
Army's Paeon		40	0	??	1.5s	2.5s	0y	20y	Refreshes TP of all nearby party members while lowering own damage dealt by 10%. MP is drained while singing. Refresh effect is lost if party members move out of hearing distance, and ends upon reuse. Cannot be used with other songs.
Rain of Death		45	0	0	Instant	15s	25y	8y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 to the target and all enemies near it. Additional Effect: Lowers target's evasion by 10% for 20s Shares a recast timer with Bloodletter.
Battle Voice		50	0	0	Instant	180s	0y	0y	Doubles the effectiveness of all songs for 30s. Does not work with Swiftsong.
The Wanderer's Minuet		52	0	0	Instant	15s	0y	0y	Increases damage dealt by 30%. You cannot auto-attack in this stance. Cast times are added to all archer and bard weapon-skills. Can be used with other songs. Effect ends upon reuse.
Empyreal Arrow		54	60	0	1.5s	15s	25y	0y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 230. Can only be executed while under the effect of Wanderer's Minuet. This skill has a cast time but is off the global cooldown.
Iron Jaws		56	60	0	1.5s	2.5s	25y	0y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Can only be executed while under the effect of the Wanderer's Minuet. Additional Effect: If the target is suffering from Venomous Bite or Windbite inflicted by you, the effect timer of each of those skills is reset.
The Warden's Paean		58	0	0	Instant	45s	30y	0y	Removes a single detrimental effect from a party member or pet Creates a barrier on a target party member or pet that nullifies the next detrimental effect suffered. Can be used with other songs. Duration: 30s.
Sidewinder		60	180	0	Instant	60s	0y	20y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Additional effect: If the target is suffering from a Venomous Bite or Windbite effect inflicted by you, Sidewinder's potency is increased to 175 for one effect, or 260 for both.
Trubadour	??	62	0	0	Instant	60s	25y	0y	Adds an additional effect to the song currently being sung.

Role Actions

As of patch 4.0, cross-class actions have been removed in favor of role actions shared by all classes performing a given role. Below are the role actions for this job:

Ranged
Action	Icon	Level	Dewscription
Second Wind		8	Instantly restores own HP.
Foot Graze		12	Binds target.
Leg Graze		16	Infects target with Heavy +40%.
Peloton		20	Increases movement speed of self and nearby party members.
Invigorate		24	Instantly restores 400 TP.
Tactician		32	Gradually restores own TP and TP of nearby party members.
Refresh (Action)		36	Gradually restores own MP and MP of nearby party members.
Head Graze		40	Silences target.
Arm Graze		44	Stuns target.
Palisade		48	Reduces physical damage taken by party member by 20%.

PvP Actions

Action	Icon	Type	Cost	Cast Time	Cooldown	Range	Radius	Description
Heavy Shot (PvP)		weaponskill	-	0s	2.3s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 500. Minuet/Paeon Additional Effect: Grants Repertoire if used on target suffering from a Caustic Bite effect inflicted by you ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Straight Shot (PvP)		weaponskill	-	0s	2.3s	??	??	Delivers an attack to target. Combo Action: Heavy Shot Combo Potency: 1,000 Minuet/Paeon Additional Effect: Grants Repertoire if used on target suffering from a Stormbite effect inflicted by you ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Caustic Bite (PvP)		weaponskill	-	0s	2.3s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 250. Additional Effect: Poison Potency: 250 Duration: 15s ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Stormbite (PvP)		weaponskill	-	0s	2.3s	??	??	Delivers an attack to target. Combo Action: Caustic Bite Combo Potency: 500 Additional Effect: Wind damage over time Potency: 200 Duration: 15s ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Empyreal Arrow (PvP)		weaponskill	250 TP	0s	5s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 1,000.
Repelling Shot (PvP)		ability	300 TP	0s	10s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 500. Additional Effect: 10-yalm backstep Cannot be executed while bound.
Bloodletter (PvP)		ability	-	0s	15s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 750. Cannot use while under the effect of Army's Paeon or the Wanderer's Minuet ※Action changes to Pitch Perfect while under the effect of Army's Paeon. ※Action changes to Barrage while under the effect of the Wanderer's Minuet.
Sidewinder (PvP)		ability	-	0s	30s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 250. Additional Effect: If the target is suffering from a Caustic Bite or Stormbite effect inflicted by you, Sidewinder potency is increased to 750 for one effect, or 1,250 for both
Blunt Arrow (PvP)		ability	-	0s	30s	??	??	Silences target. Duration: 2s
The Wanderer's Minuet (PvP)		ability	-	0s	25s	??	??	Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 500. Additional Effect: Allows accumulation of up to 3 Repertoire Duration: 30s Repertoire Effect: Allows execution of Pitch Perfect ※Action changes to Army's Paeon upon execution.
Battlefield March (PvP)		ability	-	0s	120s	??	??	Restores 25% of maximum MP and TP for self and all nearby party members.
Pitch Perfect (PvP)		ability	All Repertoire	0s	3s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 500 when Repertoire stack is 1, 1,250 when Repertoire stack is 2, and 2,000 when Repertoire stack is 3. Can only be executed when the Wanderer's Minuet is active. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Barrage (PvP)		ability	-	0s	15s	??	??	Triples the number of strikes for a single-target weaponskill. Additional effects added only once. Duration: 5s Can only be executed while under the effect of Army's Paeon ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Army's Paeon (PvP)		ability	-	0s	25s	??	??	Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 500. Additional Effect: Allows accumulation of up to 4 Repertoire Duration: 30s Repertoire Effect: Increases damage dealt by 5% and reduces weaponskill cast time and recast time by 5% ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.

Quests

Quest	Level	NPC	Zone	Coordinates	EXP	Reward
A Song of Bards and Bowmen	30	Luciane	New Gridania	(x15,y11)	7410	,
The Archer's Anthem	35	Jehantel	South Shroud	(x21,y21)	9020
Bard's-eye View	40	Jehantel	South Shroud	(x21,y21)	11270
Doing It the Bard Way	45	Jehantel	South Shroud	(x21,y21)	12420
Pieces of the Past	45	Jehantel	South Shroud	(x21,y21)	12420	, , ,
Requiem for the Fallen	50	Jehantel	South Shroud	(x21,y21)	0	,
A Relic Reborn (Artemis Bow)	50	Gerolt	North Shroud	(x30,y20)	0
On the Road Again	50	Jehantel	South Shroud	(x21,y21)	24000
The Stiff and the Spent	52	Sanson	Ishgard	(x10,y12)	26400
Requiem on Ice	54	Sanson	Falcon's Nest	(x31,y36)	31200
When Gnaths Cry	56	Sanson	The Dravanian Forelands	(x33,y23)	36000
A Saint of Song	58	Sanson	The Dravanian Forelands	(x33,y23)	40800
The Ballad of Oblivion	60	Sanson	The Churning Mists	(x30,y36)	0
Three's a Company	60	Jehantel	South Shroud	(x21.8,y21.3)	0	-NA-
Masked Motives	63	Sanson	The Fringes	(x8,y11)	191700	737 Gil

Bard Guide

Bard Endgame Rotations

Images

Bard concept art