Greagoir Pendragons Bard Guide GM and beyond - Updated Current Version

Discussion in 'New Player Welcome' started by Duke Gréagóir, Mar 30, 2020.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    5,676
    Likes Received:
    11,810
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Location:
    Dara Brae
    Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Bards everywhere rejoice as you are now able to use your songs to help and hurt your friends and foes.

    I am excited about this and I hope you are too.

    My goal is to help you starting on a barding journey that you find fun. Please share your experiences and tips with us to help build this guide.

    Here are my current skills I have GMed all of the skills.
    [​IMG]

    In SotA, GMing a skill is a good achievement. That is where the skill starts. Getting your skills to 120 - 140 will greatly help your effectiveness. Aim to these levels with the Bard song skills you want to excel at.

    Barding Tools
    - Learn the bard song skill first
    - Place a Bard skill into your hot bar.
    - Use the skill from your skill hot bar that appears when you press the Z key.

    Where is the Bard Trainer?
    - Take the galleon from Kingsport (Hidden Vale) or Brittany (Novia) to Mistrendur.
    - Travel NorthWest from the starting Galleon, around the left Mountain to the Ruins of Utheim.
    - Enter in the North Entrance (if it is your first time here run around the "circle").
    - Oski will be there ready to train you.

    Barding Food
    The only food that will help Bards is Iolo's Cat Gut Goulash
    Effects


      • +1 Health Per Second
      • +1.5 Focus Per Second
      • +0.3 Combat Health Per Second
      • +0.5 Combat Focus Per Second
      • +25 Safe Fall Modifier
      • +5% Rhythmic Readiness (Singing Speed)
      • +25 Focus
      • all for 1 hour
    Crafted from 1 Recipe...
    Cooking [30] (Cooking Pot) Re-Teachable
    Makes 2 Iolo's Cat Gut Goulashes
    Ingredients:
    1 Chunk of Coal
    1 Lemon
    1 Onion
    1 Pepper
    8 Sinew
    1 Jar of Vegetable Stock


    ** Pro Tip ** All of the Bard Skills are AOE so if you are in an area with 5 mobs they will eventually all target you. This makes the Bard better in groups and not solo if you want your tamed pet to keep arggo.

    Bard Skills

    Songs that help you and your party:

    Melody of Mending - Healing song ** Generates Aggression towards you **
    A soothing melody that heals all friends targets.
    At 100 it will heal 22 hit points every 2 seconds for 6 seconds.
    At 120 it will heal 24 hit points every 2 seconds for 6 seconds.
    Specialization at 100 gives you a Heal Others Bonus at 120 it is 22.4%
    Specialization at 120 gives you a Heal Others Bonus at 120 it is 24.5%
    How to train: Play the song to gain.
    @Violet Ronso mentions - duration and heal/2 seconds increases as you stack it (60 health/2 seconds at lvl 100 with 5 stacks)

    Anthem of Alacrity - Increase your attacks and movement.
    A high-energy marching song that grants a speed boost to all friendly targets who hear it.
    At 100 it will +10.4% move rate and Attack speed. +8.9 Dexterity for 4.5 seconds.
    At 120 it will +11% move rate and Attack speed. +9.8 Dexterity for 4.5 seconds.
    How to train: Play the song to gain.

    Savage Sonata - Boost your strength (and Hit Points) and Dexterity, plus give you a greater chance to critical hit with weapons.
    Gives allies and tamed creatures combat bonuses.
    At 120 it will increase +16.7 strength and dexterity and +25.2% weapon critical damage, both for 2 seconds.
    Specialization at 100 gives you +1.1% Weapon Critical Modifier for 2 seconds.
    Specialization at 120 gives you +1.2% Weapon Critical Modifier for 2 seconds.
    How to train: Target your tamed pet or group up with other players and Play the song to gain.

    Rhapsody of Recovery - Gives you focus
    A upbeat song that helps with recovery of focus.
    At 120 it will recover 9 focus every 1.3 seconds for 3.4 seconds.
    At 120 it will recover 10 focus every 1.1 seconds for 3.4 seconds.
    How to train: Play the song to gain.

    Refrain of Resistance - Gives magic and damage resistances.
    A short tune that grants friends that hear it an extra level of resistance to all magic.
    At 1o0 it will +22.4 magic resistance and +11.2 damage resistance for 20.2 seconds.
    At 120 it will +24.5 magic resistance and +12.2 damage resistance for 20.2 seconds.
    How to train: Play the song to gain.
    ** Bard Spec Adds the Damage Resistance **

    Songs to fight with:

    Atonal Aria - Attack song - ** Generates Aggression towards you **
    A painful song that irritates all who hear it and damages unfriendly targets.
    At 100 it will cause 50 - 150 physical damage
    At 120 it will cause 55 - 164 physical damage
    At 140 it will cause 59 - 177 physical damage
    Specialization at 100 gives -40% Melee and Ranged Critical Hit Damage Reduction for 2 seconds.
    Specialization at 120 gives -43.8% Melee and Ranged Critical Hit Damage Reduction for 2 seconds.
    How to train: Play the song to gain.

    Change from Catnip Games - Twitter
    Atonal Aria will no longer benefit from being stacked/charged. This is currently the most broken skill balance wise and this feels like a good step to balance it until real fix is rdy

    3:28 PM · May 3, 2021·

    Psalm of Stagnation - ** Generates Aggression towards you **
    A slow-paced, low energy tune that causes nearby enemies to slow down.
    At 100 it will -29.3% Move Rate for 6.7 seconds
    At 120 it will -31.2% Move Rate for 6.7 seconds
    Specialization at 100 gives -22 Dexterity for 4.5 seconds
    Specialization at 120 gives -26.6 Dexterity for 4.5 seconds
    How to train: Play the song to gain.

    Concussive Canticle - ** Generates Aggression towards you **
    Once charged and executed, releases a massive concussive force emanating from the musician.
    At 100 it will cause 105 - 209 physical damage and -157 focus cost.
    At 120 it will cause 105 - 209physical damage and -157 focus cost.
    Specialization at 100 gives 10% chance to knock back 3 meters.
    Specialization at 120 gives 11% chance to knock back 3 meters.
    How to train: Select a target and Play the song to gain. ** using a gustball or Practice Target will also work. Thank you to @Mac2 for sharing this tip with me. **
    @Violet Ronso mentions - damage scales off of your max focus. Focus cost is reduced but damage stays the same when stacked. Canticles damage is based off of your max focus, so if you set yourself with some good Fustian gear you should see much higher numbers.
    Violet also says: Concussive Canticle removes 10% of YOUR focus from your target, and will remove even more if you stack it. Casting Torpid Torment on the target before casting Concussive Canticle will result in the target taking Health Damage from the focus loss, resulting in very high hits... with about 2.4k focus, and Torpid torment at lvl 40, I can do about 700 damage from concussive canticle, and an extra 1.8k damage from "Chaotic Feedback" (which is the Torpid Torment I cast on my target).


    Mesmerizing Melody - Stun your targets
    Has a chance to mesmerize all of those nearby.
    At 100 - 80% change for 9 seconds
    At 129 - 90.3% chance for 9 seconds
    Specialization at 120 changes the chance to 10 seconds instead of 9 seconds.
    How to train: Play the song to gain.
    ** PRO TIP - I found out that at level 139 with Bard Spec at 120 this will be almost at 100% effectiveness. Without Bard spec this is 60ish %. Bard Spec boosts this skill up.

    Passives that help your Bard songs:

    Rhythmic Readiness -
    Reduces the activation time for bard songs.
    At 100 +50 Singing Speed.
    At 120 +60 Singing Speed.
    At 140 +70 Singing Speed.
    How to train: This gains when you play any Bard song.
    ** this will reduce the execution time of Atonal Aria from 9.9 to 9.4 if your Rhythmic Readiness is at skill level 120. The higher the less your Bard songs will take to execute.

    ** PRO TIP** @Margaritte says to eat Iolo's Cat Gut Goulash and have a Rhythmic Readiness of 139 and this will decrease your Atonal Aria down to 8.6 execution time.

    Resounding Reach -
    Increases the range of all bard songs.
    At 100 +50 reach bonus.
    At 120 +60 reach bonus.
    How to train: This gains when you play any Bard song.

    Musical Fortitude -
    Increases the duration of song bonuses persist.
    At 100 +50 duration of the song.
    At 120 +60 duration of the song.
    How to train: This gains when you play any Bard song.
    ** The Ringmaster's Vest will add a +% to this. An uncommon will add +12.5%.. Rare - Epic will add more.


    Voice Training -
    Increases the power of Bard songs when not holding an instrument.
    At 100 +50 Voice Training
    At 120 +60 Voice Training
    If you want to use a weapon and use Bard songs - you need to raise this up. BUT this will only get you to 75% strength at GM (100). To get 100% Strength - hold an instrument only OR level VT up to level 200 if you want to use a weapon.
    *Thank you @Cora Cuz'avich and @Barugon for the further explanation.
    How to train: This gains when you play any Bard song.


    Bard Specialization - Gives bonuses to all other Bard song skills.
    Bard Specialization is the devotion of oneself to the power of music.
    How to train: Play other Bard skills.

    Specialization gives you additional abilities listed above in the individual skills.

    ** The Gloves of Control common will add +20% to Taming Specialization Bonus. The higher the power of gloves (uncommon - Epic) the higher the bonus.

    R89 - changes to Bard effectiveness

    Thanks to @Violet Ronso for the below information. When he updates his table, we will update too.

    This was done using a Bard Spec of at least 80. If you don't have the Bard Spec at least 80, your numbers could be even lower.
    [​IMG]

    Cast times - Longer in some cases in R89.
    [​IMG]

    How much xp will I need to train these skills up to 100 (GM)?

    Melody of Mending - 1,211,933
    Anthem of Alacrity - 1,211,933
    Savage Sonata - 1,211,933
    Atonal Aria - 1,211,933
    Pslam of Stagnation - 1,211,933
    Concussive Canticle - 1,211,933
    Mesmerizing Melody - 1,211,933
    Rhapsody of Recovery - 1,211,933
    Refrain of Resistance - 1,211,933

    Passives:
    Rhythmic Readiness -- 6,075,347
    Resounding Reach - 6,075,347
    Musical Fortitude - 6,075,347
    Bard Specialization - 24,249,107

    Voice Training - 24,249,107
    *Thank you to @FrostII for the updated information!


    I used an Obsidian scroll of Unlearning to get a rough estimate of these above skills. All of my skills are GM (100) level but with any learning, extra skill points can flow in depending if the Obsidian Potion of Guidance was used (I was using that at the time to rapidly learn).


    Can I do something else while I am play a Bard song?

    Yes, your combat bar will be accessible while playing a Bard song.
    *Thank you to @FrostII for the updated information!

    I found while the skill is "singing" the combat bar will be locked and you cannot do any other skills. BUT if you are stacking your cards, you can still stack other cards together.

    Old "Bard Skills"

    These are still available where you put the an instrument in your instrument slot, a piece of sheet music in your tool bar, then click the sheet music to play. These will not be covered here in this guide.


    Sincerely,
    Lord Greagoir Pendragon, ONBE
    Duke of Dara Brae
    Guildmaster of Druids and Bards of Dara Brae



    Edits:
    2020/03/30 - Original
    2020/04/19 - Added individual skill xp to level 100 GM.
    2020/04/01 - Added Bard new skills and Specialization. [4/30/2020 1:27:30 PM]
    2021/03/02 - Added Bard new skill - Voice Training - now active if you hold a weapon in your hand. (03/25/2021)
    2021/04/03 - Added Iolo's Cat Gut Goulash - Bard food, and added more explanations. Added Violet's tip on CC and Chaos Torpid Torment combo.
    2021/04/11 - Added more skills information. P
    2021/04/27 - Plus what skills Bard Spec affects. Plus what skills adds arggo on you.
    2021/05/03 - Atonial Aria change - no stacking while the Bard tree is being reworked (sometime in 2021/2022) Twitter message did not say when.
    2021/05/10 - Added in Violet's information for R89.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2021
  2. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    5,676
    Likes Received:
    11,810
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Location:
    Dara Brae
    Reflecting on my Bard Experience

    Since I trained in the Bard skills, I helped do a control point and I had a lot of fun.

    Early on I noticed that they needed a healer more than another DPS person, so I switched and used three Bard skills to help my allies. Melody of Mending, Anthem of Alacrity, and Savage Sonata. These helped speed up their attacks, gave them more Hit Points due to the Strength bonuses, and healed them up for a bit.

    I noticed that with the strength boost the timer it "blipped" about 24 times. The Bard song would repeat 24 times before finishing. Their health would also "blip" as each cycle started and stopped.

    It takes 10 seconds to cast any of the Bard Spells when my Rhythmic Readiness is at 100 (GM) level.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2020
  3. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    5,676
    Likes Received:
    11,810
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Location:
    Dara Brae
    ** Saved for Expansion **
     
  4. Violet Ronso

    Violet Ronso Avatar

    Messages:
    2,632
    Likes Received:
    5,108
    Trophy Points:
    153
    2 details I could add :

    Concussive Canticle's damage scales off of your max focus, with a 2k focus pool, the tooltip gave me 709 as max damage.

    I have noted that 2 skills have an impact while stacking.

    Melody of Mending : duration and heal/2 seconds increases as you stack it (60 health/2 seconds at lvl 100 with 5 stacks)

    Concussive Canticles' focus cost is reduced but damage stays the same when stacked (good when used with Chaotic Feedback)

    The only one I did not check was the DOT one, but the buffs do not have any more power or longer duration as you stack them.
     
  5. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    5,676
    Likes Received:
    11,810
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Location:
    Dara Brae
  6. Violet Ronso

    Violet Ronso Avatar

    Messages:
    2,632
    Likes Received:
    5,108
    Trophy Points:
    153
    You might want to remove that bit I had added about "Good when used with Chaotic Feedback" on the concussive Canticle description, since CF is no longer supposed to work with bard skills (To be tested, heard Melody of mending still worked!)
     
  7. Adosean

    Adosean Avatar

    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    1
    I tried to locate the area using shroudoftheavatar.com/map/? But was unable to find the spot where the trainer is supposed to be. Is it a problem with the website, or something else?
     
    Time Lord likes this.
  8. Violet Ronso

    Violet Ronso Avatar

    Messages:
    2,632
    Likes Received:
    5,108
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Hehehe, I think you got confused in which Greagoir's guide you were replying to!

    For the Bard Trainer, he is in the new(ish) adventuring zone, The Ruins of Utheim, which can be found on the new continent "Mistrendur". To reach the new Continent, any "Cross-Continent Galleon" outside major cities will offer you the option, then, once you get there and find the ruins, the trainer should be standing by the default entrance of the zone!
     
    Time Lord and Anpu like this.
  9. Barugon

    Barugon Avatar

    Messages:
    15,678
    Likes Received:
    24,293
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    Is this the old Ulfheim?
     
    Time Lord and Violet Ronso like this.
  10. Anpu

    Anpu Avatar

    Messages:
    7,944
    Likes Received:
    9,015
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Location:
    Hemut
    Yes.
     
    Time Lord, Barugon and Violet Ronso like this.
  11. Morgathys

    Morgathys Avatar

    Messages:
    209
    Likes Received:
    321
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Gender:
    Male
    Great guide =)

    I would add some precision on this:
    The damage resistance is added only when you have the specialization.

    and also on this one:
    I think is more like 909,318 (x0.75) than 1,211,933 (x1) but that may have changed since I skilled up
     
    Time Lord and Elgarion like this.
  12. Nick

    Nick Avatar

    Messages:
    1,039
    Likes Received:
    1,944
    Trophy Points:
    113
    @Duke Gréagóir, can i have the permissions to put this in print and list them at my bookshops?
     
    Time Lord, Aiyarree and Anpu like this.
  13. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    5,676
    Likes Received:
    11,810
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Location:
    Dara Brae
    Yes, Please go ahead.
     
  14. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    5,676
    Likes Received:
    11,810
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Location:
    Dara Brae
    Added Voice Training skill.
     
  15. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    5,676
    Likes Received:
    11,810
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Location:
    Dara Brae
    2021/04/03 - Added Iolo's Cat Gut Goulash - Bard food, and added more explanations. @Elgarion you may of forgotten about my Bard Guide.
     
  16. Elgarion

    Elgarion Dev Emeritus Dev Emeritus

    Messages:
    3,223
    Likes Received:
    9,292
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    I see it on the resources page and the forum version, just do a CTRL-F for "bard" presto ;) Unless you're talking about something else I've forgotten? Happens a lot... hehe.
     
  17. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    5,676
    Likes Received:
    11,810
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Location:
    Dara Brae
  18. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    5,676
    Likes Received:
    11,810
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Location:
    Dara Brae
    2021/04/11 - Added more skills information.
     
  19. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    5,676
    Likes Received:
    11,810
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Location:
    Dara Brae
    2021/04/27 - Added what skills Bard Spec affects. Plus what skills adds arggo on you.
     
  20. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    5,676
    Likes Received:
    11,810
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Location:
    Dara Brae
    2021/05/03 - Atonial Aria change - no stacking while the Bard tree is being reworked (sometime in 2021/2022) Twitter message did not say when.
     
    Time Lord likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.