Bard

The Bard has the unusual ability to play magical songs, whose supernatural effects last as long as the Bard continues to sing.
 He has some passing knowledge of the Warrior ways (self-defense), but his main focus is always his art.
- EverQuest manual

Description

Bards are jack-of-all-trades adventurers who use songs to create a wide variety of magical effects. Though they often use melee weapons, bards are primarily a magic-using class, with the ability to wear plate armor and wield many different types of weapons and instruments.

Bards can do a little bit of everything. Their songs can regenerate health and mana, increase attack speed and accuracy, momentarily charm angry enemies, help friends resist many types of damage and even directly damage enemies. Bards are perhaps best known, however, for their ability to greatly increase the foot speed of their group.

Bards have the unique ability to create multiple effects at once. By weaving different songs together, a bard can customize effects to any situation. This makes nimble fingers and quick thinking a must for those who want to play a bard.

Bards do well both alone and in groups. With the right combination of songs, they can adapt to many different challenges. The bard is a great class for players who enjoy a wide variety of play options but are quick to adapt to a changing situation.

Class Titles

Level 1-50	Level 51-54	Level 55-59	Level 60
Bard	Minstrel	Troubadour	Virtuoso

Creation Guide

Picking the Right Race

The first thing you have to pick then is your race. Which race you pick will determine the foundation of you character for the rest of your life in Norrath so it is kind of important you pick one you like. The majority of Bards tend to be Half-Elves since they have the highest overall melee stats. Wood Elves trade off their strength in damage for some extra agility in avoiding being hit. Humans, like always, have consistent base stats.

Humans are the only race with no night vision abilities, and none of the races level any faster than another. Since all Bards get the ability to hide and forage, the wood-elves natural abilities are not so important.

Race	Str	Sta	Agi	Dex	Wis	Int	Cha	Bonus
Dwarf	90	100	90	75	83	60	55	25
Halfling	75	100	75	95	80	67	60	25
Wood Elf	70	65	95	90	80	75	85	25
Half Elf	75	70	90	95	60	75	85	25
Human	80	75	75	85	75	75	85	25

Spending Your Bonus Points

There are no definitive ways to spend your bonus points, but here are some guidelines for each statistic:

• Strength affects how often bards hit for maximum damage and also the bard's ability to carry armor and treasure. Plate armor, which bards wear, is generally among the heaviest of armors while bard melee damage is amongst the lowest for all melee classes. Strength is also an easy stat to raise with gear and buffs. This is an OK location to allocate creation points.
• Stamina affects your total hitpoints. The conversion to raw Hit Points from Stamina is only mediocre for bards, but Stamina is a good statistic to put extra points for any class, bards included.
• Agility affects how often melee attacks miss the bard, as well as the bard' armor class. Since bards are not tanks, and the returns on this statistic are minimal, it is recommended to avoid adding additional points to Agility.
• Dexterity affects how often weapons proc and reduces the chance to miss a note, bringing your song to a close (fizzle). In a test comparing 100 songs on a 60 bard with 100 base DEX, 7 notes were missed. On geared 167 total DEX, 131 songs before a single note was missed. (Small sample, not definitive)
• Wisdom does not affect the size of a bardic mana pool, as bards are considered intelligence casters. This statistic serves no function for a bard and additional creation points should not be spent here.
• Intelligence will increase the size of the bard's mana pool. Only one song, Solon's Bewitching Bravura, requires mana to cast and thus the size of a bard's mana pool is largely inconsequential. Additional creation points should not be spent here.
• Charisma affects lull, mesmerize, and charm abilities. However, all songs are on fixed duration (unless it breaks early), meaning duration can never increase past the song's tick-limit. Kelin's Lugubrious Lament (lull) is a fantastic pulling tool, and charm will also be frequently used by a skilled Bard. It is recommended to put at least some of your starting points in CHA.

Spells

Spell Name	Level	Mana	Skill	Target Type
Chant of Battle	1	0	Percussion_instruments	Group
Chant of Chaos	1	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Chant of Flame	1	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Chant of Frost	1	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Chant of Magic	1	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Chant of Plague	1	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Chant of Venom	1	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Chords of Dissonance	2	0	Stringed_instruments	Area of effect around the caster
Lyssa's Locating Lyric	4	0	Singing	Self only
Selo's Accelerando	5	0	Percussion_instruments	Group
Hymn of Restoration	6	0	Stringed_instruments	Group
Jonthan's Whistling Warsong	7	0	Singing	Self only
Kelin's Lugubrious Lament	8	0	Stringed_instruments	Single target
Elemental Rhythms	9	0	Percussion_instruments	Group
Magical Monologue	9	0	Singing	Self only
Anthem de Arms	10	0	Singing	Group
Cinda's Charismatic Carillon	11	0	Wind_instruments	Single target
Brusco's Boastful Bellow	12	0	Singing	Single target
Purifying Rhythms	13	0	Percussion_instruments	Group
Lyssa's Cataloging Libretto	14	0	Singing	Single target
Kelin's Lucid Lullaby	15	0	Stringed_instruments	Single target
Song of Sustenance	15	0	Stringed_instruments	Group
Tarew's Aquatic Ayre	16	0	Wind_instruments	Group
Guardian Rhythms	17	0	Percussion_instruments	Group
Denon's Disruptive Discord	18	0	Brass_instruments	Area of effect around the caster
Shauri's Sonorous Clouding	19	0	Wind_instruments	Group
Cassindra's Chant of Clarity	20	0	Singing	Group
Largo's Melodic Binding	20	0	Singing	Area of effect around the caster
Melanie's Mellifluous Motion	21	0	Wind_instruments	Group
Alenia's Disenchanting Melody	22	0	Stringed_instruments	Group
Selo's Consonant Chain	23	0	Singing	Single target
Lyssa's Veracious Concord	24	0	Wind_instruments	Group
Psalm of Warmth	25	0	Singing	Group
Selo's Rhythm of Speed	25	0	Percussion_instruments	Group
Angstlich's Appalling Screech	26	0	Brass_instruments	Area of effect around the caster
Solon's Song of the Sirens	27	0	Wind_instruments	Single target
Crission's Pixie Strike	28	0	Wind_instruments	Single target
Psalm of Vitality	29	0	Singing	Group
Amplification	30	0	Singing	Self only
Fufil's Curtailing Chant	30	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Agilmente's Aria of Eagles	31	0	Wind_instruments	Group
Cassindra's Chorus of Clarity	32	0	Singing	Group
Psalm of Cooling	33	0	Singing	Group
Cantata of Soothing	34	0	Stringed_instruments	Group
Lyssa's Solidarity of Vision	34	0	Wind_instruments	Single target
Denon's Dissension	35	0	Brass_instruments	Area of effect around the caster
Vilia's Verses of Celerity	36	0	Singing	Group
Psalm of Purity	37	0	Singing	Group
Tuyen's Chant of Flame	38	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Katta's Song of Sword Dancing	39	0	Percussion_instruments	Group
Solon's Bewitching Bravura	39	60	Wind_instruments	Single target
Sionachie's Dreams	40	0	Wind_instruments	Single target
Syvelian's Anti-Magic Aria	40	0	Singing	Single target
Psalm of Mystic Shielding	41	0	Singing	Group
McVaxius' Berserker Crescendo	42	0	Brass_instruments	Group
Tuyen's Chant of Disease	42	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Denon's Desperate Dirge	43	800	Singing	Area of effect around the target
Cassindra's Elegy	44	0	Singing	Group
Forpar's Aria of Affliction	44	0	Singing	Group teleport
Aria of Asceticism	45	0	Wind_instruments	Group teleport
Jonthan's Provocation	45	0	Singing	Self only
Rizlona's Embers	45	0	Singing	Group teleport
Tuyen's Chant of Frost	46	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Niv's Melody of Preservation	47	0	Stringed_instruments	Group
Selo's Chords of Cessation	48	0	Stringed_instruments	Area of effect around the caster
Selo's Accelerating Chorus	49	0	Percussion_instruments	Group
Shield of Songs	49	0	Stringed_instruments	Group
Melody of Ervaj	50	0	Brass_instruments	Group
Tuyen's Chant of Poison	50	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Verses of Victory	50	0	Singing	Group
Largo's Assonant Binding	51	0	Singing	Single target
Resistant Discipline	51	0	Defense	Self only
Selo's Song of Travel	51	0	Percussion_instruments	Group
Aria of Innocence	52	0	Wind_instruments	Group teleport
Battlecry of the Vah Shir	52	0	Brass_instruments	Group
Forpar's Psalm of Pain	52	0	Singing	Group teleport
Nillipus' March of the Wee	52	0	Percussion_instruments	Group
Rizlona's Fire	53	0	Singing	Group teleport
Song of Dawn	53	0	Wind_instruments	Single target
Song of Twilight	53	0	Wind_instruments	Single target
Elemental Chorus	54	0	Percussion_instruments	Friendly area of effect
Fearless Discipline	54	0	Defense	Self only
Selo's Assonant Strain	54	0	Stringed_instruments	Area of effect around the caster
Vilia's Chorus of Celerity	54	0	Singing	Group
Aura of Insight	55	0	Brass_instruments	Self only
Brusco's Bombastic Bellow	55	0	Singing	Single target
Cantata of Replenishment	55	0	Stringed_instruments	Group
Deftdance Discipline	55	0	Defense	Self only
Occlusion of Sound	55	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Purifying Chorus	56	0	Percussion_instruments	Friendly area of effect
Song of Highsun	56	0	Wind_instruments	Single target
Song of Midnight	56	0	Brass_instruments	Area of effect around the caster
Cassindra's Insipid Ditty	57	0	Stringed_instruments	Single target
McVaxius' Rousing Rondo	57	0	Brass_instruments	Group
Chorus of Replenishment	58	0	Stringed_instruments	Friendly area of effect
Dreams of Ayonae	58	0	Wind_instruments	Single target
Jonthan's Inspiration	58	0	Singing	Self only
Niv's Harmonic	58	0	Singing	Group
Denon's Bereavement	59	0	Stringed_instruments	Area of effect around the caster
Solon's Charismatic Concord	59	0	Singing	Group
Ancient: Lcea's Lament	60	0	Stringed_instruments	Friendly area of effect
Ancient: Lullaby of Shadow	60	0	Wind_instruments	Single target
Angstlich's Assonance	60	0	Brass_instruments	Single target
Composition of Ervaj	60	0	Brass_instruments	Group
Ervaj's Lost Composition	60	0	Brass_instruments	Single target
Fufil's Diminishing Dirge	60	0	Percussion_instruments	Single target
Kazumi's Note of Preservation	60	0	Wind_instruments	Group
Puretone Discipline	60	0	Singing	Self only
Warsong of the Vah Shir	60	0	Brass_instruments	Group