Stuck testing Bard skills and some feedback.

We got a group together yesterday and discovered none of the buffs worked on each other - so that put an end to the testing right now.

Worked on pets though, so I did have a great morning building a tamer/archer/bard - great feedback from people on the stream also with everything. Despite things not being 100% people are excited on the potential.

The long cast time on the bard attack spells meant that by the time I had built a deck I could work with, they were removed and the buffs for the pet stayed. Even with wands, then more so when changing to archer. The damage was quite nice on Torc the few times I did use it to start with using a mage build.

There is NO WAY whatsoever you can stack a bard skill while actually in combat. It just takes too long, either your dead, your pig is dead, your party is dead lol somethings dead. Time vs Reward doesn't pay off.

It will be nice to see what Bard Spec adds to the mix once it works and applies to the trained skills.

Are there going to be any other pretty effects for the other skills similar to the Melody of Mending? I have to say it was pretty fun streaming music, singing with the bard music notes flying across screen!

Dying for a QA update Rav & Chris!

 

Really loved the effects as well, but i'm seeing these same issues. It might help us to see a developer using a bard "as intended" with say all skills locked at level 80 and playing in an adventure level appropriate scene. Right now, i don't understand the intent for this set of skills.

 

Bard buffs should begin when the music starts playing. You don't get the benefit of music 15 seconds into the song, music is instant.

 

Is it cancellable now? because right now you get the effect at the end + it isn't cancellable (or at least last time I tested). I don't mind spending my time "playing" music, but right now I just feel like I'm sitting there waiting to be useful, and if I don't start my buffs early enough, I am useless to a party.

 

@Chris
There is a 10 second wait after activating/casting/stacking. Why is that necessary ?

 

It makes no sense.

Am I playing? Yes: I'm creating the effect I have selected.

Did I stop? Yes: Effect ends.

Did I change abc songs? Yes: Am I playing that new song? Yes: I'm creating the effect I have selected.

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I think the current approach is flawed, perhaps because a round hold square peg problem of trying to make the combat system work in a way it is not intended.

 

I don't use a dynamic deck and it takes 40 seconds to 5-stack 2 of the 3 that ARE stackable, AND then another 10 sec wait after that for it to finally "go off". That's just way too long, IMO.

 

Skill channelling, that is the mechanic this game (and skill tree) needs.

 

I was doing a long think about it on our sunset walk. It sounds like this has inadvertently become the "Ritualist" or as you say "Channeler" tree. It might be wise to nix bards for a moment, retitle everything and work with it is as it is.

A Ritualist consumes large quantities of reagents, takes a long time, and produces greater results than all other magic users. That almost sounds like what we've got here already, just switch music for reagents.

 

Bards need to make impromptu changes to what they're playing based on audience reaction and situation. Great bards can spin on a dime to recover from a bad audience response or to heighten an unexpected favorable reaction.

Current setup sounds more like classical orchestra. Fixed and formalistic. I think you got it Vlad

 

For comparison, Bards in EverQuest have songs that have very short cast times and are very difficult to interrupt. However, they only provide benefits for a short time after the spell ends, so mixing more than 2-3 songs is very difficult.

Have you considered an approach where each song is in effect a stance? While in that stance, playing sheet music or an abc song would provide the effect every six seconds, but only last 18 seconds? Good bards would start a song, set a stance, wait for the cast, switch stance, etc. Between those pulses, they could still get autoattacks in, and take advantage of instrument artifacts.

I feel like that would make bards interesting, useful, and reward player skill. At the moment, if you are the bard you have to be very dedicated to the role, because you won't get to do much else. And picking up the skills is useless for solo or offline players, whereas stance based ones would still be viable.

 

Currently the Bard skill could probably be evaluated and adjusted and tested for another month on QA before going to Live as a release.

You are probably just going to add it as it is now in the next release to live anyways. But that’s just my own feedback.

 

I have mentioned Bards using "stance like" system before as well.

If the tech were developed to leave a skill on indefinately and immidiately switch to another when activated, it could then be moved over to stances, which has been asked for and postulated on quite a bit. Everyone thinks it is weird that a fighter would suddenly not be in a stance anymore. Mr Miyagi thinks it is weird too.

Same for Bards. The songs are (should be) always playen, the benefits should always be there.

The way the ABC music works, you could actually play some random wrong notes when the Bard gets hit, too. And, if they are getting hit, reduce the effectiveness of the buff temporarily.

But music is immidiate, so this should all be VERY temporary. A second of not getting bashed on and the buff is back.