The Ultimate in Bardy Goodness - The Pinnacle Bard

[kazlady]

So I have played a bard with some fame for about 3 years now. The fame is more for my ability to gimp my character as I try to take on the roles usually done by other classes in an attempt to be recognized as awesome in the kill count or unprecidented in the healing realm. Needles to say, I have regularly failed at this. Not to say a bard can't deal damage or sufficiently heal a party, but do you really think you are ever going to see a first life level 20 bard tank Horroth? I also don't see a bard solo healing the Tower of Despair. Since I am a professional musician and aspiring inspirational speaker in RL, I have always enjoyed the bard class so I wanted to see what I could do if I focused instead on what the class was designed to do. I have made this plan several times and due to the fact I play on multiple computers in multiple households, I frequently don't have the information on hand at important turning points so I am posting the build here so I can always access it. I figured you might as well get to benefit from the project as well. If you play on the Sarlona server and are interested, find me in game. My 2 bards that will be following this build are Jaczawera 'Jazz' Lindale and Ditzzie Hawtness and yes, I am in actuality a female nerd (in case the names and language didn't give it away). ;-)

**Warning: THIS IS NOT A HEALER, DPS OR MULTIPURPOSE BUILD!! IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT, KEEP TROLLING THE FORUMS AS I HAVEN'T FOUND A REASONABLE ONE YET THOUGH MANY VALIANT ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE. THIS BUILD IS INTENDED TO BECOME THE PINNACLE OF BARD PERFECTION, AKA "THE PINNACLE BARD".**

This build capitalizes on the inherent benefits given to Bards. In roleplay, bards are usually not the ones to actually go in and get their hands dirty killing things, but instead talk even the wiliest opponents into doing the bard's messy work for them. Bards are either cruel in an epic proportion or deviously kind, depending on whose side they are on. They are persuasive enough to both paralyze their enemies and make them turn on each other, watching in horror as their closest friends become mortal enemies with the simple wave of a hand. The sweet, caressing music of the bard should also not be taken lightly as their song turns man, construct and zombie alike into mindless buffoons. Under the spell of the song, the bard has only to whisper a suggestion to their foe to further turn them against each other. It may take a little longer for a bard to serenade your foe into submission, but the effect is so strong that not even a beholder can dispel it. (I wonder if you can fascinate a beholder?)

It is my hope that this build will incapacitate your enemies enough that you can walk into a quest roughly 2-3 levels higher than usual that would usually wipe your party and instead lay waste to those that would previously have owned you. The goal here is to max charisma and perform to get enchantment DCs to be un-resistable. As well, I would like to get high enough AC to avoid getting hit under most circumstances with enough HP that I don't die on the off chance I do get hit. In addition, I would have high enough concentration to continue manipulating enemies under fire and enough UMD to use any scroll/wand in the game making my attacks completely unpredictable. An added bonus would be enough strength to carry my spoils without affecting my abilities in combat. Following is the build as made in rjcyberware's character planner though I have tweaked the output somewhat to add info not handled by the generator like buffs, pots and ship benefits.

Click here to download the planner http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO/DDOCharGen.html


Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 03.09.02
DDO Character Planner Home Page (http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO)

Jazz
Level 20 Neutral Good Elf Female
(20 Bard)
Hit Points: 200 Base
10 Draconic Vitality (Argonesson favor)
60 +6 item (PosEscMat/PosEscEth/PosEscEth off hand weapon)
45 GS Ex Stale goggles (PosEscMat/NegEscMat/PosEscMat)
30 GFL (Yellow augment crystal on belt)
20 Toughness (Epic Belt of the Mroranan)
20 ship Con buff
20 Yugo Con pots
405 (425 if I find a +4 tome)

Spell Points: 924
116 +7 item (Epic Cloak of the Silver Concord)
329 29 +1 and 2 Exc Cha,150 Wiz 6, 200 Elemental Spell Power
(PosEscMat/PosEscEth/PosEscEth off hand weapon)
29 ship Cha buff
29 Yugo Cha pots
1427

BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 17
Reflex: 24
Will: 31

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Abilities Base Stats Modified Stats
(36 Point) (Level 1) (Level 20)
Strength 8 20 (22 if I find a +3 tome)
Dexterity 18 30 (32 if I find a +3 tome)
Constitution 14 26 (28 if I find a +4 tome)
Intelligence 8 14
Wisdom 8 9
Charisma 18 46

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Strength used at level 3
+1 Tome of Dexterity used at level 3
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 7
+4 Tome of Charisma used at level 15

Starting Feat/Enhancement/Item GH/Focusing Chant/Prayer/Pot
Base Skills Modified Skills Modified Skills
Skills (Level 1) (Level 20) (Level 20)
Balance 8 30 39
Concentration 6 26 35
Jump 3 22 31
Perform 8 44 53
Use Magic Device 8 34 43

Notable Equipment
Icy Raiment
Jidz-Tet'ka (Epic)
Epic Cloak of the Silver Concord
Epic Spectral Gloves
Tharne's Goggles
Feather Falling Ring of Performing
Supreme Tyrant Green Steel Weave Boots of Positive
Smedgar's Ring
Supreme Tyrant +5 Green Steel Scepter of Positive
Epic Belt of the Mroranon
Xachosian Eardweller
Beacon of Tira
Epic Torc of Prince Raiyum-de II

Level Progression
Level 1 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Force of Personality
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Bard
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Bard
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Bard
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song I
Enhancement: Improved Perform I
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic I
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music I
Item: Ring of Performing +1


Level 2 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song I
Enhancement: Bard Charisma I
Enhancement: Bard Wand and Scroll Mastery I


Level 3 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Weapon Finesse
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack I
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage I
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Song I
Item: Ring of Performing +3


Level 4 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song II
Enhancement: Improved Perform II

Level 5 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Improved Spell Penetration I
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music II
Item: Ring of performing +5


Level 6 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Skill Focus: Perform
Enhancement: Bard Virtuoso I


Level 7 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage II
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song II
Item: Ring of performing +7


Level 8 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack II


Level 9 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Extend Spell
Enhancement: Bard Music of Makers
Enhancement: Bard Music of the Dead


Level 10 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song III
Enhancement: Improved Perform III


Level 11 (Bard)
Item: Ring of performing +11
Item: Supreme Tyrant Greensteel Boots of Air
Item: Supreme Tyrant Greensteel Goggles of Existential Stalemate


Level 12 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song III
Enhancement: Bard Virtuoso II
Enhancement: Bard Charisma II
Item: Supreme Tyrant +5 Greensteel Scepter of Positive


Level 13 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music III
Item: Ring of performing +13
Item: Beacon of Tira
Item: Circle of Hatred


Level 14 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Incredible Song I
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music IV
Item: Icy Raiments


Level 15 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell
Item: Ring of performing +15


Level 16 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic II
Enhancement: Bard Charisma III


Level 17 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Song II
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Incredible Song II


Level 18 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Focus: Enchantment
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic III
Item: Xachosian Eardweller


Level 19 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic IV


Level 20 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Musical Prodigy
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Song III
Item: Epic Jidz-Tetka
Item: Epic Cloak of the Silver Concord
Item: Epic Spectral Gloves
Item: Epic Belt of the Mroranan
Item: Epic Torc of Prince Raiyum-de II

[gwenniez]

force of personality and 3 bard past life feats is simply overkill for most things i think.
you can always slot +6 wisdom in your bracers and +1 exc from it +1 tome will set you
at a good 16 wisdom + bard past life feats +6 extra saves vs ech + illusion will
give you a good enough saving power vs spells that matter will save wise.

also lack of healing feats will really hurt this build end game.

weapon finesse .. alternative would be epic falcatta's wich have
both a cha dam and atk modifier, with 46 charisma this one is
well worth looking into.

skill focus perform.. and perform III in ap enh.. +15 perform item =
overkill in 99.99999999% of the cases. If you level up your perform
every level and you carry a +15 item you should easily end up in the
60s range wich is more then enough for anything in game. There's a point
where it just dosn't matter at all anymore. If you have it to trigger the sp
effect its not really worth a feat also nor ap points. Don't invest in something
where the benefits are near non existant that perform feat can easily be used
to get maximise wich will increase your healing by 100% or empower healer if thats
what you want wich are 100x more usefull then +4 to a skill wich is already heading
overkill in the first place

No inspire attack and damage III ap enh + spellsinger will hurt your buffing potential to
very weak compared to a warchanter.

Energy of music 4.. no, no 4 ap is worth 20 sp ever.

if your gonna play and lvl this character at least try to get the max out of it.. you gonna
have to enjoy the ride for almost 5 million experience points and finding out halfwise of the
journey that your character doesnt perform like you wanted it too is really frustrating.

[ferrite]

Some nice epics in there.. seems pretty solid to me, with nice healing enhancements.

Even though the bard is generally feat starved, for the Virt I prefer the skill focus perform as well (a prestige requirement) over spending 4 pts on BES IV, as you'll hardly need that extra song in the end. Still, its a toss up I guess but a good choice.

FoP is a nice choice for the high Cha, and I like the finesse style, seems to work with this build. The epic falcata would definitely kick this build into high gear, but you'd have to replace finesse, and worse yet the blade is a one trick pony, leaving you gear-stuck with little other options. Powerful but boring, so a judgment call.

I like the idea of getting Perform to max levels for ***** and giggles, will be interesting to see if it can get to 99 after all (and solve the mystery of song DC capping at 99 or 119? fellow bards will know..) Regardless, a natural 20 will always make the save regardless of the DC, and I find more than a few in a good sized mob seem to always get their 'lucky' 20 rolls against my DC 83 enthralls, which is quite annoying, but I'm still curious to see just how high the DC can reach. If you decide to run this build pls keep us advised as to your progress!

[transtemporal]

Huh, so that's what a pinnacle bard looks like.

Your gear looks like you hit some sort of bizarre random button. Jidz Tet'ka? Icy Raiment? Spectral Gloves? Why would you have any of these things on a bard?

With finesse and 8 str, your dps is not going to be high enough to be worth anything in the content you seem to want to run.

Your enchantment DCs will certainly be great - for dancing ball. Its a pity you won't be able to get through SR.

[karl_k0ch]

What's your projected AC? Is it really worth it spending so much build points for Dex when you barely hit 50 AC?

Why elf? If Elven Arcanum would be available to bards, this would be sweet. But it isn't.

Going HElf would allow a number of interesting options: You could take the paladin dilly for a straight +5 to all saves. You could go 15 Dex/14 Wis for the Monk Dilly and an effective +3 AC and +3 will bonus (+5 from wis, -2 from losing 2 Dex tiers; will bonus from increased Wis).

Why spend a feat on finesse when your melee contribution will be marginal anyway? Which weapons are you planning to use? Have you considered the Dynastic Falcata or the when/if the change comes, the revisited version of the Epic Elyd Edge.

Which are the benefits of Virtuoso for your particular style of play over Spell Singer?

I wouldn't feel to comfortable losing out 42 HP by not taking the Toughness Feat, but that's certainly a choice which advanced players can do if they feel confident enough.

[negativeprogression]

Whilst your fascinate will be pretty much irresistable, your enchant dc's leave a lot to be desired. You really need the max charisma you have stated for your enchants to be viable, whereas if you took both enchant focus feats, and the bard past life enchant bonus feat, they would be the same with just 40 cha, and be really nice with 46. Spellsinger is a better option for dc spells too, and maybe even drow for more charisma. For bards, all those +1's really matter.

[Chette]

If you want to do crowd control and enchanting there are far better ways to do it than this, there seems to be a lot going on here that really doesn't make any sense.

In terms of feats:

FoP is meh at best, There are very few spells with a will save that can't be buffed against. Handy for low levels I guess, but I'd swap it out.

Weapon Finesse - This makes absolutely no sense at all. With 8 starting strength and absolutely no melee feats other than than this you might as well be hitting things with a toothpick. If you want to manage some DPS, and I think that most bards should, drop your dex, bump your strength and pick up an epic sword of shadows or other appropriate 2 handed weapon.

Skill Focus Perform - Isn't really even needed on a warchanter with dumped Charisma. But I suppose you've done this for the virtuoso pre-requisite.

Other questionable choices:

AC - Calculate what you'll actually be at. By my quick cursory glance I think you'll be hard pressed breaking anything that will be useful past gianthold. Making all that dex and proposed equipment useless.

Elf - Why? You haven't taken a single elf enhancement that I've seen. Human gets you an extra feat. Half-elf gets you one of many useful diletantes (rogue for DPS or paladin for saves come to mind)

With no toughness feat your HP are extremely low. If you want to stand back and not DPS at all I suppose this is acceptable.

But with no DPS at all, you'll be expected to do something else other than be a charmer. That means you need at least maximize or empower healing, otherwise most of the time you'll either be piking or be dead.

I like virtuosos and I like spell singers, they're exceptionally powerful, but this one needs a fair bit of work.

[Samadhi]

**Warning: THIS IS NOT A HEALER, DPS OR MULTIPURPOSE BUILD!! IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT, KEEP TROLLING THE FORUMS AS I HAVEN'T FOUND A REASONABLE ONE YET THOUGH MANY VALIANT ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE. THIS BUILD IS INTENDED TO BECOME THE PINNACLE OF BARD PERFECTION, AKA "THE PINNACLE BARD".**


That one is pretty easy. 20 pure bard, HOrc max Str THF-style covers DPS, burn all feats on healing meta's (max, empHeal, quick) + spell singer. You can heal at over 90% of a clr/fvs, you can DPS and sing, fascinate + otto's covers some crowd control in case it becomes relevant again...

Lots of options that are a bit more on top of bard perfection (i.e. being a true jack of all trades)

[transtemporal]

That one is pretty easy. 20 pure bard, HOrc max Str THF-style covers DPS, burn all feats on healing meta's (max, empHeal, quick) + spell singer. You can heal at over 90% of a clr/fvs, you can DPS and sing, fascinate + otto's covers some crowd control in case it becomes relevant again...

What samadhi said :)

[unbongwah]

It is my hope that this build will incapacitate your enemies enough that you can walk into a quest roughly 2-3 levels higher than usual that would usually wipe your party and instead lay waste to those that would previously have owned you.
You do realize most (all?) bosses are immune to CC, right? That's been the downfall of any CC-focused bard I've played; even if I can make it through the mobs fine w/CC, the boss often wipes the floor with me. A divine or arcane caster can fall back on their DPS spells when CC is useless; bards, unfortunately, cannot. :(

The goal here is to max charisma and perform to get enchantment DCs to be un-resistable. As well, I would like to get high enough AC to avoid getting hit under most circumstances with enough HP that I don't die on the off chance I do get hit.
So, "irresistible" CC spells on a non-Spellsinger, useful levels of AC (for where, I wonder), and high-ish HPs on a low-HP class/race combo w/out Toughness?

Good luck & Gods' speed, ma'am (you're gonna need it).

[Galeria]

I have to wonder if you play with some sort of static group because in general, PUG's won't give you the time to do bard-style CC nor will they pay a bit of attention to what's fascinated when they start swinging two handed weapons and dropping AoE spells. The only CC that matters in a fast moving group is Hold and bard DC's just aren't enough to make it stick at upper levels.

My bard can fascinate with the best of them but just about the only time that's useful is eVoN6, where people actually want a bard to do what a bard can do... oh, and eInto the Deep it was handy on all the fire reavers at the end boss when everyone else was dead. Gave me time to grab stones and toss a ddoor.

I really have enjoyed my bard but have found there's not much that makes a bard really effective other than buffing the party with songs. They are sort of a swiss army knife of usefulness- not the best at any one thing but handy for getting a lot of tasks done.

I'd love to see the devs focus on giving bards enough enchantment DC ability to really rock CC and some sonic nuking ability along the lines of a savant- that ought to be where they shine but the reality is that you just can't beat a wiz or sorc when it comes to enchant DC's... might as well roll one of those instead if you really want to CC.

[negativeprogression]

I'd love to see the devs focus on giving bards enough enchantment DC ability to really rock CC and some sonic nuking ability along the lines of a savant- that ought to be where they shine but the reality is that you just can't beat a wiz or sorc when it comes to enchant DC's... might as well roll one of those instead if you really want to CC.

What I really want is mass hold monster, I know normally its a level 9 spell but I dont think it would be all that gamebreaking to let Bards have it as a level 6 spell, especially as other casters are all nuke and instakill these days.

[kazlady]

So I have LRd my bard into this build to see how it works. I have some minor tweaks I decided to do. Overall she works fantastically. Went into the sub and fascinated all the skellie giants. Still need most of the gear so its not completely there but looking like she'll do even better than I thought.

First the tweaks.

Strength - thanks to Raolin for reasoning with me about encumberance. Starting with the 8 strength is fine and if I am careful I don't have to worry about getting overloaded, but having 5 stacks of 10k dragonshard fragments had me seriously overburdened, almost to the point of being unplayable (I keep them because I am a Cannith crafter lvl 65 so far). I don't have my strength tome yet, but even still it would be nice to not have to worry about this so instead of 18 dex and 8 strength to begin with, I will now be using 17 dex and 10 strength. Instead of +1 dex tome, I'll use +2. The strength stat ends up 2 higher and the dex stays the same.

AP - I had forgotten about attack and damage III. I left out the last tier of energy of music as well as spell penetration and was able to pick up both.

So far those are the only tweaks. To respond to some of your suggestions/concerns:

First of all, some of you didn't read my opening about why I am doing this. I don't care about healing and I don't care about damage. This is going to be a bard of all bards. I am not going to gimp her in the name of roleplay, but some of these decisions are mildly based on my experience playing tabletop bards. I don't care about being in the kill count or saving the party because I'm such an uber healer. I want to buff and crowd control. When everyone else is killing the boss, I intend to go afk to fill my drink, grab a snack, smooch my husband or whatever else you guys do while I am buffing the party. Following is some concerns that have been brought up and my response to them.

FoP and bard feats - it doesn't make sense for me to have wisdom if I can take FoP. My perform is based on charisma as is UMD. THe only semi-useful skills for this build that are based on wisdom are spot and listen which I don't need either of. I am experienced enough to know where traps and mobs are and can use glitterdust to bring them out of hiding. Wisdom is a wasted stat for this bard as it makes me have to split my stats only to get a borderline good will save when my charisma will make that will save more than enough.

Lack of healing feats - I am not a healer. I will not do extra work to take anything that is outside a bard's inate abilities. I am amping out what a bard does best. I have the healing and sonic enhancements and I will have superior potency that I switch out in my off hand when I need it.

Weapon Finesse and epic falcata - I am taking this to monopolize on the high dex I took to get a high AC. The feat itself is an after thought of the build. I only intend to wield paralyzers and stat damaging weapons as I don't intend to do a significant amount of damage. You'd be amazed at how much damage a charmed orthon can do to your enemies and I'm convinced they have some sick healing amp cause I can keep a charmed orthon healed forever. The falcata is a kitchy weapon that will only work on some mobs and if I remember correctly, not very many. I can get the cha elsewhere and that frees me up to vary my weapon. I am always wary of putting required things on a weapon as that limits what I can use.

Skill Focus: Perform - It is required to take the Virtuoso PrC without waiting until I have Extra Song 4 which isn't necessary anyway. I'd rather have a higher DC than another song and have to wait until lvl 10 to take the PrC.

Overkill - I know the amount of enchantment focus seems like overkill, but I want to be able to enchant everything in the game that is not immune to it. Also, overkill enchantment is harder to nerf. If something comes up that increases mob saves or decreases the effectiveness of enchantment abilities, mine are high enough I probably won't have to change anything to still do what I wanted to do.

Bosses - see upper note. I don't expect to CC bosses since I know they are immune to everything I have except crushing despair. I will use boss killing times to invis, shadow walk and hit the rest room. You guys get to do it when I am buffing. Why shouldn't I do it while you're doing what you do best? :-)

Expectations of the party - parties only expect bards/casters/fighters/whatever other class to do certain things if they are not told in advance not to expect it. As I already have a very useful lvl 20 arcane archer that doesn't even carry melee weapons, I am used to having to notify a party not to expect certain things of me. Sometimes it's kind of nice cause it makes me stand out and starts some interesting conversations.

Groups giving time for CC - This is the reason for the higher AC and HP. I am now able to run ahead of the group and lay the crowd control while they are laying waste to the last group of mobs. Being that I intend to be doing harder quests than the party is levelled for, I anicipate they will learn how to use the CC quickly as it will increase their chances of success.

DPS - I will reiterate: I don't want to DPS anything. I am not here to damage the stuff. I am here to make it turn on its friends and do the dirty work for me.

Virtuoso benefits: more songs since I will actually be using them and more bonuses to enchantment DCs. Currently I am running with a 33 will save on my spells and anywhere from 65 to 85 on songs depending on my roll.

Toughness - Bards and elves don't get the racial toughness enhancements to toughness so toughness is actually only worth 20 HP in this case. I don't consider that important enough to use up a precious feat. If I were to change to human I would definitely make toughness my next feat. THe reasoning behind elf? ... Because Jazz has been an elf with the same look for 4 years and I didn't want to change that. Logistically it would make more sense to take human for the extra feat and get toughness though.

The random gear - the icy, jidz, etc is because the combination of my dex bonus and the benefits from icy will be higher than the armor bonus I could get on any armor currently in game, crafted or otherwise. Im doing what I can to max my AC. Here's the breakdown

Base 10
Dex 10
armor 8 Jidz
shield 6 (skyvault shield when needed. No penalty to casting with tower shield benefit)
deflection 4 icy
dodge 5 4 from icy, 1 from haste
insight 7 from insight AC item that I can swap in for my SP item
50 (52 with defensive fighting on)

heroics 4
bark 5
recitation 2
pally aura 5
66 (68)

Might not be enought to tank Horroth but when it comes to trash its actually pretty decent.

Enchantment Spell DCs - They will hit 40 after all 3 lives. Here's the breakdown
base 10
spell level 6
charisma 16
GEF 2
Past Life 3
Spell Focus 1
Capstone 2
40

Mass Hold Monster - You already get Mass Hold Monster with this build. It's called a scroll with UMD throught he roof and yes I have pulled one of these scrolls out of a chest so I know they exist.

[karl_k0ch]

Some remarks. I have read your OP, but maybe I am missing the point what a Bard of all Bards is.

Lack of healing feats - I am not a healer. I will not do extra work to take anything that is outside a bard's inate abilities. I am amping out what a bard does best. I have the healing and sonic enhancements and I will have superior potency that I switch out in my off hand when I need it.
Casting MCWM or a CCW on yourself is an innate bard ability. If you are not going to use it, why bother with a Potency item? If you are going to use it (also only for personal use), why not optimize it in the most SP-efficient way? Or is it bard-innate to pay more SP to get some HP, compared to a self-sufficient Paladin or Ranger?



DPS - I will reiterate: I don't want to DPS anything. I am not here to damage the stuff. I am here to make it turn on its friends and do the dirty work for me.

Then drop Finesse. It gives you no benefit if you do not plan to attack. You might want to switch that feat for Dodge.



Toughness - Bards and elves don't get the racial toughness enhancements to toughness so toughness is actually only worth 20 HP in this case. I don't consider that important enough to use up a precious feat. If I were to change to human I would definitely make toughness my next feat.
In fact, Elves do get two racial toughness enhancements.



THe reasoning behind elf? ... Because Jazz has been an elf with the same look for 4 years and I didn't want to change that. Logistically it would make more sense to take human for the extra feat and get toughness though.
Helf would also be a viable choice, as explained above.
Sticking to a race for traditional reasons is fine, but, in my opinion, for the tag Pinnacle, the race choice should be justified by the build, not the customs of the player.



The random gear - the icy, jidz, etc is because the combination of my dex bonus and the benefits from icy will be higher than the armor bonus I could get on any armor currently in game, crafted or otherwise.

Not quite.

Meet Epic Duelist's Leathers (http://ddowiki.com/page/Epic_Duelist%27s_Leathers_%28Tier_3%29). Just a quick try, I am sure things can be optimized.

10 Base
10 Dex
8 Armor (No Jidz needed, see below)
4 Dodge
5 Protection (Epic Kundarak Warding Bracers (http://itemwiki.cubicleninja.com/Items/ItemDetails.aspx?itemID=710)*)
6 Shield (Skyvault)
1 Haste
4 Insight (Different Insight Bonuses do not stack)
===
48, compared to your 47 (50 corrected by 3 excessive insight bonuses)

*As they have +5 Resistance, instead of Icy's +3 Resistance, this will acutally yield better saves than your setup.

If you are really interested in amping your AC, I suggest to have a look at this thread (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=298303), were some viable options to great bard AC are discussed.

[TheDearLeader]

I'm sorry... I've read your OP, I've read your rebuttal, and I've looked at this build.

If you want a Buffbot, make Shade's Halfling Warchanter tastysauce.
If you want a CC Mastermind, a simple level 20 Human Spellsinger can do that.
If you want a Healer, the same level 20 Human Spellsinger can do that.

You've made an AC build with a max AC of 52, and that's Utilizing Epic Gear.
- In Epic Content, 52 does you as good as 22.
- In lower level Content... who cares? Any time you use level 20+ Gear in a lower level quest, you're going to be mopping things up.

Again, I apologize, but I have nothing good to say about this. If you enjoy playing it? That's great. You pay your subscription, I don't.

But expect more rebuttals from the Bard community when you roll in calling this "The Pinnacle".
Quick Edit : What I mean by the above statement is that if I called my Bard "the best dang Bard there is", even if I like it, I expect to get torn apart by the community as a whole.

[Valindria]

Ok I took what I think you want and made a build that I think would be worlds better than the op. It will play more like a SS but has the song of capering and song based CC. I want you to play what you think is fun, but honestly I was having trouble not being mean when you posted the original build.

What I think you want:
- Not a DPS build
- CC song and spell based
- Virtuoso (with SF perform though I would just spend the AP for Extra song 4 and free up a feat)
- Not an uber healer (but has plenty of heals)
- 3 bard TR
- Buffs - Has sustaining song and full bard song buffs with extend.

What I added:

- Stealth - For invis enthralls and capers. Allowing you to go ahead and enthrall and not need high AC
- Toughness + toughness 2 = 44 hp
- More Con + Str Less Dex
- Enchant focus x 3
- Max Diplomacy in case you do it aggro (though I am not sure how you would steal it from a dps group)

What I dropped:
- AC - sorry but Bards AC = Blur/Displacement + HP + UMD of other things
- FoP - Just not needed. If you really want, take Extra song 4 and drop SF perform
- Weapon Finesse - I gave a little more STR. Could give more if lowered INT.

What I left off:
- Gear
- Tomes


Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.9.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page (http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO)

Pinnacle CC Virt
Level 20 True Neutral Human Male
(20 Bard)
Hit Points: 242
Spell Points: 786
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 9
Reflex: 11
Will: 11

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Abilities Base Stats Modified Stats
(36 Point) (Level 1) (Level 20)
Strength 14 14
Dexterity 8 8
Constitution 16 16
Intelligence 12 12
Wisdom 8 8
Charisma 18 28

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Base Skills Modified Skills
Skills (Level 1) (Level 20)
Balance 2 21
Bluff 4 10
Concentration 7 26
Diplomacy 8 37
Disable Device n/a n/a
Haggle 8 33
Heal -1 -1
Hide 3 22
Intimidate 4 10
Jump 2 2
Listen -1 3
Move Silently 3 22
Open Lock n/a n/a
Perform 8 42
Repair 1 1
Search 1 1
Spot -1 -1
Swim 2 2
Tumble 0 0
Use Magic Device 8 33

Level 1 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Extend Spell
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Bard
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Bard
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Bard
Feat: (Human Bonus) Toughness


Level 2 (Bard)


Level 3 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Past Life: Bardic Dilettante


Level 4 (Bard)


Level 5 (Bard)


Level 6 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Skill Focus: Perform


Level 7 (Bard)


Level 8 (Bard)


Level 9 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Focus: Enchantment


Level 10 (Bard)


Level 11 (Bard)


Level 12 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Focus: Enchantment


Level 13 (Bard)


Level 14 (Bard)


Level 15 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell


Level 16 (Bard)


Level 17 (Bard)


Level 18 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell


Level 19 (Bard)


Level 20 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song I
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song II
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song III
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack I
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack II
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack III
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage I
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage II
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage III
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song I
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song II
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song III
Enhancement: Bard Music of Makers
Enhancement: Bard Music of the Dead
Enhancement: Bard Virtuoso I
Enhancement: Bard Virtuoso II
Enhancement: Bard Musical Prodigy
Enhancement: Human Adaptability Charisma I
Enhancement: Human Improved Recovery I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Improved Perform I
Enhancement: Improved Perform II
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Song I
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Song II
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic I
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic II
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic III
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic IV
Enhancement: Bard Charisma I
Enhancement: Bard Charisma II
Enhancement: Bard Wand and Scroll Mastery I
Enhancement: Bard Wand and Scroll Mastery II
Enhancement: Bard Wand and Scroll Mastery III
Enhancement: Bard Wand and Scroll Mastery IV





Spells (adjust to taste):

Level 1 (Bard)
Spell (1): Expeditious Retreat
Level 2 (Bard)
Spell (1): Grease
Level 3 (Bard)
Spell (1): Master's Touch
Level 4 (Bard)
Spell (2): Blur
Spell (2): Rage
Level 5 (Bard)
Spell (1): Focusing Chant
Spell (2): Invisibility
Level 6 (Bard)
Level 7 (Bard)
Spell (2): Glitterdust
Spell (3): Haste
Spell (3): Good Hope
Level 8 (Bard)
Spell (3): Crushing Despair
Level 9 (Bard)
Level 10 (Bard)
Spell (3): Displacement
Spell (4): Hold Monster
Spell (4): Otto's Sphere of Dancing
Level 11 (Bard)
Spell (4): Dimension Door
Level 12 (Bard)
Level 13 (Bard)
Spell (4): Freedom of Movement
Spell (5): Greater Heroism
Spell (5): Mass Suggestion
Level 14 (Bard)
Spell (5): Mind Fog
Level 15 (Bard)
Level 16 (Bard)
Spell (1): Hypnotism
Spell (5): Mass Cure Light Wounds
Spell (6): Otto's Irresistable Dance
Spell (6): Heroes Feast
Level 17 (Bard)
Spell (2): Hypnotic Pattern
Spell (6): Mass Cure Moderate Wounds
Level 18 (Bard)
Spell (3): Slow
Level 19 (Bard)
Spell (4): Cure Critical Wounds
Spell (6): Greater Shout
Level 20 (Bard)
Spell (5): Greater Dispel Magic

[Alleyna]

Okay. I've read your OP and original build and I had some comments in line with what was stated above, but I held back posting as most people have given the same comments I would. However, after your response, I feel I need to comment.

Note, by posting your build on the forums and calling it the "Pinnacle," it is going to draw the eyes of new bard players. You have posted some misleading and incorrect statements and those need to be pointed out to prevent a new person from rolling your build and becoming severely disappointed.




FoP and bard feats
No real comment other than I feel this is a wasted feat. Spells and buffs grant you immunity or resistance to most things you make will saves on in end game. I don't think you need to put points into WIS or take this feat.



Weapon Finesse and epic falcata - ... The feat itself is an after thought of the build.

You yourself mention here that your feats are precious. I think both FOP and Weapon Finesse are wasted. You have a "high" Dex (and with a 30 you are going to be seeing a lot of misses as only your songs can boost your attack, and they don't stack with Epic Spectrals bonus...). I say dump it. You say yourself you are not focused on kills or DPS.



Skill Focus: Perform - It is required to take the Virtuoso PrC without waiting until I have Extra Song 4 which isn't necessary anyway. I'd rather have a higher DC than another song and have to wait until lvl 10 to take the PrC.

You can take this initially and swap it out at lvl 10 with your free feat exchange from the Lockannia quest. Again, feats are precious, and 4 AP is <<< cost than 1 feat. That is one of the many reasons virtuoso is an attractive PRE. You can take it with no feat prereqs.



Virtuoso benefits: more songs since I will actually be using them and more bonuses to enchantment DCs. Currently I am running with a 33 will save on my spells and anywhere from 65 to 85 on songs depending on my roll.

Virtuoso gives no buff to enchantment DC's, just gives a small bonus to perform skill.... (Oh, and 33 DC on spells will NOT cut it in epics. DCs 50's-60's is "overkill" for songs)



Toughness - Bards and elves don't get the racial toughness enhancements to toughness so toughness is actually only worth 20 HP in this case. I don't consider that important enough to use up a precious feat.

Wrong wrong wrong. Every race gets a minum of 2 racial enhancements. The feat gives 22 hitpoints, plus the absolute minimum of an additional 20 hitpoints for 3AP, giving 42 hitpoints for one feat for an Elf bard. That is DEFINITELY worth it!



Base 10
Dex 10
armor 8 Jidz
shield 6 (skyvault shield when needed. No penalty to casting with tower shield benefit)
deflection 4 icy
dodge 5 4 from icy, 1 from haste
insight 7 from insight AC item that I can swap in for my SP item
50 (52 with defensive fighting on)

heroics 4
bark 5
recitation 2
pally aura 5
66 (68)

So as long as you carry a ranger, paladin (with full aura specs) and cleric/favored soul around with you everywhere you go, you can have AC that does something in the Vale. If not, you will be hit quite hard in Gianthold. Also, bard's get displacement, which gives a 50% miss chance for most mobs, which will do better than your 50 AC. In epics, even a 70 (or a 90, 100) AC could be an 8.



Enchantment Spell DCs - They will hit 40 after all 3 lives. Here's the breakdown
base 10
spell level 6
charisma 16
GEF 2
Past Life 3
Spell Focus 1
Capstone 2
40

3 Past Life feats do not give a boost to enchantment DCs, they give you a boost to your saves. You can take the active bard past life feat (which I do not see listed in your bard feat list) to get a +1 to your enchantment DCs (can only take once). So, more like a 38 DC in your case. That is what my first life bard is hitting for DCs unbuffed, and it is okay in epics. I am TRing her into a wiz then back to a bard and will hit in the 40's for DC unbuffed.

I ignored a lot of other things that were flat out wrong and your opinions of your role in the party and what you think your party thinks of you (I promise you, any group of experienced players would NOT think you only need to buff and CC).

If you enjoy playing this build, that is fine. It should just be made clear to the rest of the bard community that what you consider the "Pinnacle" of what is a bard, really is not, at least in DDO.

(I have to say though, I agree with you in the fact that I consider a virtuoso to be the ultimate in Bard CC over spellsingers ;) :D)

[Samadhi]

Note, by posting your build on the forums and calling it the "Pinnacle," it is going to draw the eyes of new bard players. You have posted some misleading and incorrect statements and those need to be pointed out to prevent a new person from rolling your build and becoming severely disappointed.

No real comment other than I feel this is a wasted feat. Spells and buffs grant you immunity or resistance to most things you make will saves on in end game. I don't think you need to put points into WIS or take this feat.

You can take this initially and swap it out at lvl 10 with your free feat exchange from the Lockannia quest. Again, feats are precious, and 4 AP is <<< cost than 1 feat. That is one of the many reasons virtuoso is an attractive PRE. You can take it with no feat prereqs.


Virtuoso gives no buff to enchantment DC's, just gives a small bonus to perform skill.... (Oh, and 33 DC on spells will NOT cut it in epics. DCs 50's-60's is "overkill" for songs)


Wrong wrong wrong. Every race gets a minum of 2 racial enhancements. The feat gives 22 hitpoints, plus the absolute minimum of an additional 20 hitpoints for 3AP, giving 42 hitpoints for one feat for an Elf bard. That is DEFINITELY worth it!


So as long as you carry a ranger, paladin (with full aura specs) and cleric/favored soul around with you everywhere you go, you can have AC that does something in the Vale. If not, you will be hit quite hard in Gianthold. Also, bard's get displacement, which gives a 50% miss chance for most mobs, which will do better than your 50 AC. In epics, even a 70 (or a 90, 100) AC could be an 8.


3 Past Life feats do not give a boost to enchantment DCs, they give you a boost to your saves. You can take the active bard past life feat (which I do not see listed in your bard feat list) to get a +1 to your enchantment DCs (can only take once). So, more like a 38 DC in your case. That is what my first life bard is hitting for DCs unbuffed, and it is okay in epics. I am TRing her into a wiz then back to a bard and will hit in the 40's for DC unbuffed.

I ignored a lot of other things that were flat out wrong and your opinions of your role in the party and what you think your party thinks of you (I promise you, any group of experienced players would NOT think you only need to buff and CC).

If you enjoy playing this build, that is fine. It should just be made clear to the rest of the bard community that what you consider the "Pinnacle" of what is a bard, really is not, at least in DDO.


On all the quoted agreed x10098442

[TheDearLeader]

Many Good Points

I like it. Keep up the good work.

Personally, I'd like to dispel the notion that FoP is necessary on a Bard especially. Magic Circle Against Evil, FoM, and Boots of Anchoring take care of most PvE Will-Based Spells.

[aristarchus1000]

a seriously, above and beyond attempt to fix a really broken build.



You deserve a medal. Really. +1.

To the OP. I'm going to join the chorus here and recommend you look at some of the other builds in the forums, or follow what Valindria recommended.

[FastTaco]

My personal favorite is the Classic Rocker build. :)

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=249865&highlight=bard


My current and almost finalized gear:
Helm - Pirate Hat +6 seeker +15 perform
Necklace - Torc
Trinket - Litany with +1 resistance ritual
Armor - Cavalry plate (+5 resist, demonic shield,5/chaotic dr, Sup. False Life) slotted with toughness
Cloak - Conc Op +150 sp/+5 charisma skills
Boots - +45 hp Greensteel
Gloves - Epic Claw set 30% heal amp
Bracers - Epic Claw set Heavy fort, +2 exc con (+4 damage set)
Belt - Ravager set belt(Colethenis) +6 con
Ring 1 - Thamors ring +6 charisma/+1 con with +20% healing amp
Ring 2 - Ravager set ring +6 strength/+1 and +2 strength
Weapons - +4 HBoGLOB Silver Falchion, LitII Falchion, Epic Hellstroke, +2 anarchic Falchion of smiting, working on eSOS
Many other things for swap/sp regen/etc...

487 HP unbuffed
just over 1000 sp

42 strength with yugo+ship+rage
32? constitution
26 charisma

It doesn't have effective dance balls, but irrestible dance or fascinate work nicely. Mines only a human but she still does some nice damage.

[Chette]

Wizards of the coast classified bards with sorcs and wizzies as arcanists too. Just saying. ;)

Yes, and a well built caster bard I would classify with wizzies and arcanists too...not this abomination.

[Valindria]

I am just wondering if the OP had a chance to look at what I specced up? I would like to hear what you think.

[kazlady]

FYI, I did read everyone's feedback. Yes, I did LR into this build. I would appreciate you not referring to it as an abomination. I understand that you might not play the same way I do and therefore don't understand the point behind this build, but that is the wonderful thing about MMOs. There is no correct way to play except the one which lets you have fun. If you read the OP, I didn't ask for feedback. I have been playing this game for 4 years now and am experimenting with my own innovative ways of solving challenges other people don't catch. I lead a guild of new players. They are often weak and under powered until they have themselves learned how to covercome every day challenges. This build will allow me to accompany new players to the guild into dungeons and watch for times when they are getting overwhelmed. It gives me the opportunity to stop the mobs in their tracks while I explain the strategy to the players and then unleash them on the mobs again. Some concerns raised were "why bother with weapon finesse if you don't intend to hit things?" I intend to hit things when I am soloing and have run out of charmed monsters to do the damage for me. I need to be able to deal the final damaging blow. Instead of wasting points in strength, I decided to utilize my already high dexterity. "Why go overkill on the Charisma/Perform?" For s***s and giggles and so I can walk into PVP with my guildies/friends and surprise them with tactics they haven't seen used before. All of the feats taken that were questioned were prereqs for my PrC so I can take the music of the makers and music of the dead right at level 6. Makes me even more effective at stopping the mobs for these strategy sessions.

I have taken all of the feedback into account when creating this character and have made some minor adjustments (thanks Raolin for the suggestions on the strength issue) but ultimately, I learn and enjoy things through experience. I actually get a kick out of rolling a character like this and running into the sub to see if I can survive icy runs. If I can't who cares, I had fun anyway and I'll change it up and start again. If I can, cool. I don't ever expect anyone else to pick up one of my builds and play with it since I play very differently than a lot of people. Personally, I hate the fact that I am sitting here defending my choices because only 1 person was kind enough to look at this build and give me credit for thinking outside the box. If you stop looking at things as if there is only 1 way to do it and start appreciating other peoples' approaches to the game, you'll find you enjoy this game a lot more. If you can't do that, go play WoW. You'll be much happier there.

[Galeria]

I don't care about healing and I don't care about damage.
This is going to be a bard of all bards.
When everyone else is killing the boss, I intend to go afk to fill my drink, grab a snack, smooch my husband or whatever else you guys do while I am buffing the party.

This is a piking bard, not a pinnacle bard. Bards like this are the ones that give all bards a bad name, honestly.

I will never forget being in a level 25 Crystal Cove run, working our butts off, racing around like crazy, cleric barely able to keep everyone up while the bard stood at the foreman and "buffed the kobolds" for us. And announced it proudly in party chat each time. Then hid behind the shrine when bad guys made it up there to kill said buffed kobolds.

I so wanted to smack he/she/it. It was quickly dropped from the next run before it could pike another 300 shards off the rest of the group's hard work.

[Aashrym]

FYI, I did read everyone's feedback. Yes, I did LR into this build. I would appreciate you not referring to it as an abomination. I understand that you might not play the same way I do and therefore don't understand the point behind this build, but that is the wonderful thing about MMOs. There is no correct way to play except the one which lets you have fun. If you read the OP, I didn't ask for feedback. I have been playing this game for 4 years now and am experimenting with my own innovative ways of solving challenges other people don't catch. I lead a guild of new players. They are often weak and under powered until they have themselves learned how to covercome every day challenges. This build will allow me to accompany new players to the guild into dungeons and watch for times when they are getting overwhelmed. It gives me the opportunity to stop the mobs in their tracks while I explain the strategy to the players and then unleash them on the mobs again. Some concerns raised were "why bother with weapon finesse if you don't intend to hit things?" I intend to hit things when I am soloing and have run out of charmed monsters to do the damage for me. I need to be able to deal the final damaging blow. Instead of wasting points in strength, I decided to utilize my already high dexterity. What is that DEX doing for you in the first place? "Why go overkill on the Charisma/Perform?" For s***s and giggles and so I can walk into PVP with my guildies/friends and surprise them with tactics they haven't seen used before. If they are in the PvP pits I expect they've seen these tactics. ;) All of the feats taken that were questioned were prereqs for my PrC so I can take the music of the makers Untrue - force of personality is not a requirement and 3 bard past lives help with that regardless and music of the dead right at level 6. Your planner shows you taking them at level 9. Makes me even more effective at stopping the mobs for these strategy sessions. Just to clarify, that means you plan on watching those groups, telling them what to do, but not doing anything until they need help? Forgive me, but that does sound like piking.

Even dropping force of personality for spell focus, dropping skill focus perform (requiring you to take extra song IV somewhere) will allow you to add the active bard past life and you have 2 more DC's on your spells. That would give you the added bonus of 3 songs dedicated to IC and more left over for your song CC.

If you don't plan on doing a lot of healing you may as well drop those enhancements to take extra song IV (free up a feat), inspired damage III, and more wand and scroll mastery possibly. Use wands and scrolls to heal. Energy of the music and lyric of song are a poor return on your AP as well. You have room to remove those and do quite a bit of juggling.

STR would be better than DEX. I don't see the DEX doing anything for you except possibly ranged to hit which is a worse than normal option with no feats devoted to it.

Those are some quick thoughts. I would recommend reviewing other bard threads and advice. What you are doing is not thinking outside the box; it's more like someone handed you a perfectly good box and you decided to kick it a few time and tell everyone it's a better box because of the personal touch. :D

The build has room for improvements, and I am sorry if you do not really want advice.

[Veileira]

What you are doing is not thinking outside the box; it's more like someone handed you a perfectly good box and you decided to kick it a few time and tell everyone it's a better box because of the person touch. :D

The build has room for improvements, and I am sorry if you do not really want advice.

...I <3 you!

[Veileira]

I could say a lot about this but will restrain myself to just saying you will want more than 14 con on a bard these days.

[Alleyna]

I don't ever expect anyone else to pick up one of my builds and play with it since I play very differently than a lot of people. Personally, I hate the fact that I am sitting here defending my choices because only 1 person was kind enough to look at this build and give me credit for thinking outside the box. If you stop looking at things as if there is only 1 way to do it and start appreciating other peoples' approaches to the game, you'll find you enjoy this game a lot more. If you can't do that, go play WoW. You'll be much happier there.

Question - if you don't want people to critique your build and admit that you don't expect people to play this build, why did you post it on the forums? There are a lot of us that do want to help out, but the presentation of your build and the tone you used in responding to feedback (granted some feedback was not diplomatically communicated) is what is causing people to get all stirred up.

I agree with what you have said. If you enjoy the build, and if it works for your purposes, then by all means. I think you will get a lot less passionately worded responses (and bard players are passionate :D) if you would have presented it that way initially.

The problem is that you are presenting your build using words like "ultimate" and "pinnacle" and posting it in the forums for the world to see. You admit this build is not for the power-gamers or the min-maxers or the more streamlined player. A new player (who is probably looking for a build that IS "ultimate" or "pinnacle") is going to pull up your build, think it is the best bard build, roll it up, and then be disappointed when it doesn't work for their purposes.

So, I am happy that you have fun with your build. Enjoy it. Utilize the feedback or ignore it, your choice. Just next time, think why you are posting (what are you looking for from the bard community?) and please consider the community (especially new players) when you present and post your build. I think there has been sufficient responses to hopefully make a new player reconsider rolling up this build unless their playstyle aligns with yours.

[bartosy]

there once was a bard who claimed endless fame,
and his build was the pinacle,or so was his claim.
So he published the build on the bard forum thread,
4 years of playing made him elite,a real true pro vet !

The build could crowd control any mob in the game,
play a song and stand back, and let others take aim.
No healing feats needed,on raid boss its all out on strike,
the famous bard got out his records and turned to mcpike.

[mrpipo]

there once was a bard who claimed endless fame,
and his build was the pinacle,or so was his claim.
So he published the build on the bard forum thread,
4 years of playing made him elite,a real true pro vet !

The build could crowd control any mob in the game,
play a song and stand back, and let others take aim.
No healing feats needed,on raid boss its all out on strike,
the famous bard got out his records and turned to mcpike.

Got me charmed with your song good bard,

+1 in your hat

[karl_k0ch]

there once was a bard who claimed endless fame,
and her build was the pinacle,or so was her claim.
So she published the build on the bard forum thread,
4 years of playing made her elite,a real true pro vet !

The build could crowd control any mob in the game,
play a song and stand back, and let others take aim.
No healing feats needed,on raid boss its all out on strike,
the famous bard got out her records and turned to mcpike.

ftfy. :)

[Indoran]

you Deserve A Medal. Really. +1.

To The Op. I'm Going To Join The Chorus Here And Recommend You Look At Some Of The Other Builds In The Forums, Or Follow What Valindria Recommended.

+2

[kazlady]

I would like to reiterate that I have read and even agreed with many people's comments here. Yes some of these builds are much more powerful than the one I posted. To Alleyna's comment

Question - if you don't want people to critique your build and admit that you don't expect people to play this build, why did you post it on the forums? There are a lot of us that do want to help out, but the presentation of your build and the tone you used in responding to feedback (granted some feedback was not diplomatically communicated) is what is causing people to get all stirred up.

I would like to point you to my opening paragraph of my post. I have no personal webspace to uplad this info to where I would universally be able to access it so I posted it here


I have made this plan several times and due to the fact I play on multiple computers in multiple households, I frequently don't have the information on hand at important turning points so I am posting the build here so I can always access it. I figured you might as well get to benefit from the project as well. If you play on the Sarlona server and are interested, find me in game. My 2 bards that will be following this build are Jaczawera 'Jazz' Lindale and Ditzzie Hawtness and yes, I am in actuality a female nerd (in case the names and language didn't give it away). ;-)

On the topic of the name


This is a piking bard, not a pinnacle bard. Bards like this are the ones that give all bards a bad name, honestly.

I will never forget being in a level 25 Crystal Cove run, working our butts off, racing around like crazy, cleric barely able to keep everyone up while the bard stood at the foreman and "buffed the kobolds" for us. And announced it proudly in party chat each time. Then hid behind the shrine when bad guys made it up there to kill said buffed kobolds.

I so wanted to smack he/she/it. It was quickly dropped from the next run before it could pike another 300 shards off the rest of the group's hard work.

I agree the "Piking Bard" is annoying. I hope to be useful enough that people are ok with me not running in to smack the boss and so far it is working.

I will openly and honestly admit that "Pinnacle Bard" was not the best name for the build and you have a good point about new players looking for "ultimate" builds. I was originally looking for a name that had the connotation of exploiting what I consider the keys to an RPG bards personality to be. If you recall from my OP


This build capitalizes on the inherent benefits given to Bards. In roleplay, bards are usually not the ones to actually go in and get their hands dirty killing things, but instead talk even the wiliest opponents into doing the bard's messy work for them. Bards are either cruel in an epic proportion or deviously kind, depending on whose side they are on. They are persuasive enough to both paralyze their enemies and make them turn on each other, watching in horror as their closest friends become mortal enemies with the simple wave of a hand. The sweet, caressing music of the bard should also not be taken lightly as their song turns man, construct and zombie alike into mindless buffoons. Under the spell of the song, the bard has only to whisper a suggestion to their foe to further turn them against each other. It may take a little longer for a bard to serenade your foe into submission, but the effect is so strong that not even a beholder can dispel it. (I wonder if you can fascinate a beholder?)

I still don't like the name "Pinnacle Bard" or "Ultimate in Bardy Goodness" as they don't incorporate the manipulative nature of the bard so if anyone has any suggestions THAT ARE NOT JUST SLANDEROUS EXPRESSIONS OF OTHER PEOPLE'S LOW OPINIONS OF MY BUILD you can PM me and I will edit the post when I have found a better name for it.


there once was a bard who claimed endless fame,
and his build was the pinacle,or so was his claim.
So he published the build on the bard forum thread,
4 years of playing made him elite,a real true pro vet !

The build could crowd control any mob in the game,
play a song and stand back, and let others take aim.
No healing feats needed,on raid boss its all out on strike,
the famous bard got out his records and turned to mcpike.

Huge kudos and cred to bartosy. Though I don't agree with your opinion, I am impressed that you created something like that :-)

Again, thank you for your feedback :-)

[HungarianRhapsody]

I always thought that singing songs and then piking for the rest of the quest (maybe refreshing the songs occasionally and maybe not) *was* the pinnacle of Bardly goodness.

[sweez]

I always thought that singing songs and then piking for the rest of the quest (maybe refreshing the songs occasionally and maybe not) *was* the pinnacle of Bardly goodness.

Only if you're holding an eSOS while doing it :p

[Gorbadoc]

**Warning: THIS IS NOT A HEALER, DPS OR MULTIPURPOSE BUILD!! IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT, KEEP TROLLING THE FORUMS AS I HAVEN'T FOUND A REASONABLE ONE YET THOUGH MANY VALIANT ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE. THIS BUILD IS INTENDED TO BECOME THE PINNACLE OF BARD PERFECTION, AKA "THE PINNACLE BARD".**

Edit: Okay, the OP has taken enough grief. I should tone down my remarks. It just seems a bit odd; bards are known for being multipurpose, and I've seen and played good healing and DPSing bards. The OP wants to define "The Pinnacle of Bard Perfection" as not having those things?