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:

Action	Icon	Level	Type	Cast Time	Cooldown	Range	Radius	Description	Stormblood Adjustment
Heavy Shot		1	weaponskill	0s	2.5s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 150. Additional Effect: 20% chance next Straight Shot will deal critical damage Duration: 10s	Additional effect removing the cast time of Straight Shot while under the effect of Wanderer's Minuet has been removed.
Straight Shot		2	weaponskill	0s	2.5s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 140. Additional Effect: Increases critical hit rate by 10% Duration: 20s	Action now exclusive to archer and bard.
Raging Strikes		4	ability	0s	80s	??	??	Increases damage dealt by 10%. Duration: 20s	Action now exclusive to archer and bard. Recast time reduced from 180 to 80 seconds. Damage bonus reduced from 20% to 10%.
Venomous Bite		6	weaponskill	0s	2.5s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: Venom Potency: 40 Duration: 18s	Requirement changed to archer and bard only. TP cost reduced from 80 to 60.
Misery's End		10	ability	0s	12s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 190. Can only be executed when target's HP is below 20%.	Now acquired at level 10 (previously level 8).
Bloodletter		12	ability	0s	15s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 130. Shares a recast timer with Rain of Death.	Potency reduced from 150 to 130.
Repelling Shot		15	ability	0s	30s	??	??	Jump 10 yalms back from current position. Cannot be executed while bound.	Is now an ability. Potency has been removed.
Quick Nock		18	weaponskill	0s	2.5s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 110 to all enemies in a cone before you.	TP cost reduced from 140 to 120.
Windbite		30	weaponskill	0s	2.5s	??	??	Deals wind damage with a potency of 60. Additional Effect: Wind damage over time Potency: 50 Duration: 18s	TP cost reduced from 80 to 60.
Mage's Ballad		30	spell	0s	80s	0y	20y	Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: Increases critical hit rate of all party members within a radius of 20 yalms by 2% Duration: 30s Effect is lost if party members move out of hearing distance. Additional Effect: Activates Repertoire, resetting Bloodletter and Rain of Death recast time if critical damage over time is dealt by Caustic Bite or Stormbite	Is now an ability. The effects of this ability have been completely revamped. Cast time has been made instant. Recast time increased from 2.5 to 80 seconds.
Foe Requiem		35	spell	1.5s	2.5s	0y	20y	Increases damage taken by nearby enemies by 3%. MP is drained while singing. Effect is lost if targets move out of hearing distance, and ends upon reuse.	The effect "Reduces all enemy magic resistance by 10%" has been changed to "Increases damage taken by nearby enemies by 3%." “Cannot be used in battle or with other songs” has been removed.
Barrage		38	ability	0s	90s	??	??	Triples the number of strikes for a single-target weaponskill. Additional effects added only once. Duration: 10s	Now allows for critical strikes with weaponskills.
Army's Paeon		40	spell	0s	80s	0y	20y	Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: Increases critical hit rate of all party members within a radius of 20 yalms by 2% Duration: 30s Effect is lost if party members move out of hearing distance. Additional Effect: Grants Repertoire if critical damage over time is dealt by Caustic Bite or Stormbite Repertoire Effect: Reduces weaponskill cast time and recast time, spell cast time and recast time, and auto-attack delay by 4% Can be stacked up to 4 times.	Is now an ability. The effects of this ability have been completely revamped. Cast time has been made instant. Recast time increased from 2.5 to 80 seconds.
Rain of Death		45	ability	0s	15s	25y	8y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 to target and all enemies nearby it. Shares a recast timer with Bloodletter.	The additional effect "Lowers target's evasion by 10%" has been removed.
Battle Voice		50	ability	0s	180s	0y	0y	Increases direct hit rate of all party members under the effect of your Mage's Ballad, Army's Paeon, or Wanderer's Minuet by 15%. Duration: 20s	The effects of this ability have been completely revamped.
the Wanderer's Minuet		52	spell	0s	80s	0y	0y	Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: Increases critical hit rate of all party members within a radius of 20 yalms by 2% Duration: 30s Effect is lost if party members move out of hearing distance. Additional Effect: Allows execution of Pitch Perfect if critical damage over time is dealt by Caustic Bite or Stormbite Can be stacked up to 3 times.	Is now an ability. The effects of this ability have been completely revamped. Cast time has been made instant. Recast time increased from 2.5 to 80 seconds.
Pitch Perfect		52	ability	0s	3s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 when Repertoire stack is 1, 240 when Repertoire stack is 2, and 420 when Repertoire stack is 3. Can only be executed when the Wanderer's Minuet is active.	New Action
Empyreal Arrow		54	weaponskill	0s	15s	25y	0y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 230. This weaponskill does not share a recast timer with any other actions.	Requirement of Wanderer's Minuet has been removed. TP cost reduced from 60 to 50.
Iron Jaws		56	weaponskill	0s	2.5s	25y	0y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: If the target is suffering from a Caustic Bite or Stormbite,Venomous Bite or Windbite effect inflicted by you, the effect timer is reset	Requirement of Wanderer's Minuet has been removed. TP cost reduced from 60 to 50.
The Warden's Paean		58	ability	0s	45s	30y	0y	Removes one select detrimental effect from a target party member or pet. If the target is not enfeebled, a barrier is created nullifying the target's next detrimental effect suffered. Duration: 30s	Can no longer be used to both remove a detrimental effect and prevent a subsequent effect.
Sidewinder		60	ability	0s	60s	0y	20y	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: If the target is suffering from a Caustic Bite or Stormbite,Venomous Bite or Windbite effect inflicted by you, Sidewinder potency is increased to 175 for one effect, or 260 for both
Troubadour		62	ability	0s	180s	25y	0y	Adds an additional effect to the song currently being sung. Mage's Ballad Effect: Increases maximum HP by 15% Army's Paeon Effect: Reduces physical vulnerability by 10% The Wanderer's Minuet Effect: Reduces magic vulnerability by 10% Duration: 30s Can only be executed if a song is being sung.	New Action
Caustic Bite		64	weaponskill	0s	2.5s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 120. Additional Effect: Poison Potency: 45 Duration: 30s	New Action
Stormbite		64	weaponskill	0s	2.5s	??	??	Deals wind damage with a potency of 120. Additional Effect: Wind damage over time Potency: 55 Duration: 30s	New Action
Nature's Minne		66	ability	0s	45s	??	??	Increases HP recovery via healing magic for a party member or self by 20%. Duration: 15s	New Action
Refulgent Arrow		70	weaponskill	0s	2.5s	??	??	Delivers an attack with a potency of 300. Can only be executed while under the effect of Straighter Shot.	New Action

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