HatsuharuZ
01-16-2014, 09:32 PM
My objective here is to give, without questioning anyone's competence or sanity, feedback on enhancements. I'm going to start with artificer, then work my way through the classes in alphabetical order. I'm not going to list all of the enhancements, just the ones that are either very interesting or very much in need of a change, then make a few comments. If anyone feels that they disagree, or have alternate suggestions, please feel free to post them. That's what the forums are for, after all. All comments and opinions made by the OP are talking from the standpoint of a single-classed character.
Note: If you see [enh. a]------->[enh. b] anywhere, that signifies an enhancement line, and that any comments made after that are talking about the entire line. [enh. a] is a prerequisite for [enh. b].
Note 2: I'm not going to list the descriptions of the enhancements, just the names, where they are found, and my comments concerning them. Again, not all enhancement will be listed, just the ones that deserve attention, one way or another.
General Comments:
The good thing about bard enhancements is that they combined Spellsinger and Virtuoso. Sadly, the Spellsinger tree suffers from a few enhancements that are either impractical or simply do not work. Warchanter is a nice start, however I feel that the way it was organized was messy, and many enhancements had unnecessary prerequisites. Gathering Cold was simply too complicated and gives very little benefit, while Skaldic Rage was made into a requirement instead of being improved upon, unlike some other first core abilities I can think of. Also, I greatly dislike how warchanter bards do not get any new weapon proficiencies until level 12, and only as a fifth tier ability. That alone is a reason for multiclassing to be mandatory for a melee-based bard.
Finally, I hope that the developers in charge of bards will keep in mind that some players would rather sing songs that affect multiple people, as opposed to songs that only affect one person. It's a time issue. I don't want to spend all of my time buffing the party.
Spellsinger
[Core Abilities]
1) Spellsinger ----> Music of the Sewers ----> Music of the Dead ----> Music of the Makers
Comments: After using Music of the Dead a few times, it seems to me that it's not as effective as regular fascinate is against regular enemies. Music of the Dead seems to have a lower duration than Fascinate, and undead are more likely to save against it.
2) Virtuoso
Comments: http://ddowiki.com/page/Anthem There are 3 items in the game that give the exact same song regeneration effect, all of them at a lower level than bard level 18.
3) Maestro of Life and Death
Comments: Heal is a very welcome addition to the bard spell list. Wail of the Banshee however, is a very odd choice, despite having a thematically appropriate name. It is neither an evocation, illusion or enchantment spell, for instance. Implosion would be a better choice, as would Weird, although that spell doesn't exist in the game. Mass Hold Monster would be nice, too~
[Tier 1]
1) Haunting Melody
Comments: I like the idea. However very few mobs actually have a lifespan of more than 20 seconds when one is playing with a group, so I don't find taking more than the first rank of this enhancement worthwhile.
2) Wand Heightening ----> Wand and Scroll Mastery
Comments: Pretty much every other class has these two enhancements combined into one. I don't see any point in keeping them apart.
[Tier 2]
1) Sharp Note
Comments: I like this one!
2) Flicker ----> Inspired Flicker
Comments: Under the current stealth mechanics, if you are standing directly in front of a hostile mob, it will automatically see you regardless of whether you are invisible or sneaking. Thus, this enhancement provides no defensive benefit in melee combat. I would recommend replacing this with an effect that gives a temporary miss chance due to concealment or incorporeality. Also, I greatly dislike single-target songs.
3) Marigold Crown
Comments: This would be a lot more useful if bards had a wider selection of illusion and evocation spells.
[Tier 3]
1) Enthrallment
Comments: Fascinate with Haunting Melody gives much better debuffs. Instead of making this a separate song, change this enhancement to add the remaining enemies-not-always-breaking-free-when-struck functionality to Fascinate. Or make this a mass hold spell that uses up a song.
2) Reviving Verse ----> Raucous Refrain
Comments: To my knowledge, none of the Energy Drain effects available to players have a save. An SR check, yes, but no save.
[Tier 4]
1) Sustaining Song
Comments: I don't understand why it has Enthrallment as a prerequisite.
2) Arcane Aid
Comments: Yet another single target ability on a song that the user cannot cast on himself.
3) Song of Arcane Might
Comments: It needs to add "+1 morale bonus to maximum caster level" as well, otherwise it will become useless at level 20 and above.
[Tier 5]
1) Advanced Musical Studies/Advanced Magical Studies
Comments: I like extra spell points/songs, certainly, but this is really just a more powerful copy of a first tier enhancement. One could save space by making it so that the first tier version gives an amount of songs/SP per a number of bard levels.
2) Prodigy
Comments: I like this one~
3) Frolic
Comments: I don't recall every needing Song of Freedom, and so I'm not too thrilled about this one. It seems unnecessary.
Warchanter
[Core Abilities]
1) Skaldic Rage
Comments: I like not having to splash barbarian to get some extra strength, but this ability never gets upgraded at all. At some point they should have added a +4 rage bonus to constitution. After all, bards are a d6 class and unless you have really good gear HP will be an issue. Alternatively, they could have made it so that Inspire Courage gives the singer a +1 rage bonus to constitution and strength per Warchanter core ability. Or something like that. The latter idea has the advantage of getting rid of another buff that clutters up the bard's hotbars.
2) Fighting Spirit
Comment: This is perfectly good level 3 core ability. It would have a perfect place to put Martial Weapon Proficiency. If a wizard or sorcerer can get both shield and martial weapon proficiencies at level 2, why not give martial weapon proficiency to bards at level 3?
3) Warmaster
Comments: I am very grateful that the developers decided to give a +2 bonus to both strength and constitution as part of the capstone. However, the active portion of this is not very impressive, given that the damage bonuses do not stack with items available as random loot. Instead of this ability, which has a short duration, make Inspire Heroics an AoE ability. And maybe add some DR that stacks with Ironskin Chant.
[Tier 1]
1) Inspired Bravery
Comments: I would suggest getting rid of this, and combining it with "The Poetic Edda". Of course that might require making TPE a 2 AP-per-rank ability, but it's worth it.
2) Enchant Weapon
Comments: This is fine, I suppose. However, I think it could have been better if this had been a 3-rank enhancement that gave Elemental Weapons and Adamantine Weapons as second and third level bard spells on the second and third ranks.
3) Rough and Ready
Comments: I like this one. Now if only this enhancement got rid of the -4 AC penalty from Skaldic Rage...
4) Focused
Comments: Bards do not have intimidate as a class skill.
[Tier 2]
1) Boast
Comments: There are a few problems with this one. First off, the +1[W] to damage lasts only as long as the temporary HP. The amount of temp HP is static, however damage taking from enemies tends to go UP as one gets into higher level content. Therefore, the duration of the damage bonus goes DOWN. Even worse, this is a prerequisite for two abilities that it has nothing to do with. I would suggest making this an intimidate effect based on the perform skill, then making it so that the temporary HP and duration of the damage bonus scale with bard level or perform skill.
2) Words of Encouragement
Comments: Usually, one tends to sing Inspire Courage at the beginning of a quest or in between fights, so the one-minute duration of the temporary HP makes no sense to me. Why not make it last as long as Inspire Courage? Regardless, the positive energy spellpower is always good to have.
3) Gathering Cold ----> Iced Edges
Comments: This enhancement is too complicated, is very unlikely to activate and gives a very small benefit. I would suggest making it a retributive effect that damage the enemy with cold and somehow reduces the physical damage the user takes in melee at the same time. Also, please get rid of Iced Edges and put in a Damage Boost.
[Tier 3]
1) Obstinance
Comments: I like this one. All of it.
2) The Frozen Fury
Comments: This would be a lot better if the DC formula took either bard level or the the number of core abilities taken into account.
3) Northwind
Comment: I like the effect, I suppose, but I don't understand why it HAS to have the Skaldic Rage requirement. Since the user has to use up a song to get this effect, it should be more powerful, or the Skaldic Rage requirement should be removed.
[Tier 4]
1) Inspire Recklessness
Comment: I like how one can remove the effect if one doesn't want it. However, I don't understand why it has Ironskin Chant as a prerequisite.
2) High Spirits
Comments: VERY useful~
[Tier 5]
1) Armorer
Comments: Wizards and Sorcerers can get the same thing as a fourth tier ability, however they do not get enough ASF reduction to wear it without ASF penalty until level 12. So functionally, this enhancement is the same as the one in the EK tree, but in EK it isn't a fifth-tier enhancement. I hope this gets moved down one tier.
2) Rallying Cry
Comments: Odd how the movement speed benefit increases with ranks taken, but the saves bonus does not.
3) Howl of the North
Comment: What is this 'trained weapon' they talk about? heh. I don't see a reason for the -5 to-hit penalty. My bard always uses power attack. Also, the prerequisite makes no sense, yet again.
4) Weapon Group Training
Comments: I'll have to check my bard character, but does this still have Weapon Focus as a feat prerequisite like it says on the wiki? I hope not. Also, bards need a weapon proficiency at a much lower level, please. Having to keep casting Master's Touch on my weapons every time I log in gets old after a while.
Note: If you see [enh. a]------->[enh. b] anywhere, that signifies an enhancement line, and that any comments made after that are talking about the entire line. [enh. a] is a prerequisite for [enh. b].
Note 2: I'm not going to list the descriptions of the enhancements, just the names, where they are found, and my comments concerning them. Again, not all enhancement will be listed, just the ones that deserve attention, one way or another.
General Comments:
The good thing about bard enhancements is that they combined Spellsinger and Virtuoso. Sadly, the Spellsinger tree suffers from a few enhancements that are either impractical or simply do not work. Warchanter is a nice start, however I feel that the way it was organized was messy, and many enhancements had unnecessary prerequisites. Gathering Cold was simply too complicated and gives very little benefit, while Skaldic Rage was made into a requirement instead of being improved upon, unlike some other first core abilities I can think of. Also, I greatly dislike how warchanter bards do not get any new weapon proficiencies until level 12, and only as a fifth tier ability. That alone is a reason for multiclassing to be mandatory for a melee-based bard.
Finally, I hope that the developers in charge of bards will keep in mind that some players would rather sing songs that affect multiple people, as opposed to songs that only affect one person. It's a time issue. I don't want to spend all of my time buffing the party.
Spellsinger
[Core Abilities]
1) Spellsinger ----> Music of the Sewers ----> Music of the Dead ----> Music of the Makers
Comments: After using Music of the Dead a few times, it seems to me that it's not as effective as regular fascinate is against regular enemies. Music of the Dead seems to have a lower duration than Fascinate, and undead are more likely to save against it.
2) Virtuoso
Comments: http://ddowiki.com/page/Anthem There are 3 items in the game that give the exact same song regeneration effect, all of them at a lower level than bard level 18.
3) Maestro of Life and Death
Comments: Heal is a very welcome addition to the bard spell list. Wail of the Banshee however, is a very odd choice, despite having a thematically appropriate name. It is neither an evocation, illusion or enchantment spell, for instance. Implosion would be a better choice, as would Weird, although that spell doesn't exist in the game. Mass Hold Monster would be nice, too~
[Tier 1]
1) Haunting Melody
Comments: I like the idea. However very few mobs actually have a lifespan of more than 20 seconds when one is playing with a group, so I don't find taking more than the first rank of this enhancement worthwhile.
2) Wand Heightening ----> Wand and Scroll Mastery
Comments: Pretty much every other class has these two enhancements combined into one. I don't see any point in keeping them apart.
[Tier 2]
1) Sharp Note
Comments: I like this one!
2) Flicker ----> Inspired Flicker
Comments: Under the current stealth mechanics, if you are standing directly in front of a hostile mob, it will automatically see you regardless of whether you are invisible or sneaking. Thus, this enhancement provides no defensive benefit in melee combat. I would recommend replacing this with an effect that gives a temporary miss chance due to concealment or incorporeality. Also, I greatly dislike single-target songs.
3) Marigold Crown
Comments: This would be a lot more useful if bards had a wider selection of illusion and evocation spells.
[Tier 3]
1) Enthrallment
Comments: Fascinate with Haunting Melody gives much better debuffs. Instead of making this a separate song, change this enhancement to add the remaining enemies-not-always-breaking-free-when-struck functionality to Fascinate. Or make this a mass hold spell that uses up a song.
2) Reviving Verse ----> Raucous Refrain
Comments: To my knowledge, none of the Energy Drain effects available to players have a save. An SR check, yes, but no save.
[Tier 4]
1) Sustaining Song
Comments: I don't understand why it has Enthrallment as a prerequisite.
2) Arcane Aid
Comments: Yet another single target ability on a song that the user cannot cast on himself.
3) Song of Arcane Might
Comments: It needs to add "+1 morale bonus to maximum caster level" as well, otherwise it will become useless at level 20 and above.
[Tier 5]
1) Advanced Musical Studies/Advanced Magical Studies
Comments: I like extra spell points/songs, certainly, but this is really just a more powerful copy of a first tier enhancement. One could save space by making it so that the first tier version gives an amount of songs/SP per a number of bard levels.
2) Prodigy
Comments: I like this one~
3) Frolic
Comments: I don't recall every needing Song of Freedom, and so I'm not too thrilled about this one. It seems unnecessary.
Warchanter
[Core Abilities]
1) Skaldic Rage
Comments: I like not having to splash barbarian to get some extra strength, but this ability never gets upgraded at all. At some point they should have added a +4 rage bonus to constitution. After all, bards are a d6 class and unless you have really good gear HP will be an issue. Alternatively, they could have made it so that Inspire Courage gives the singer a +1 rage bonus to constitution and strength per Warchanter core ability. Or something like that. The latter idea has the advantage of getting rid of another buff that clutters up the bard's hotbars.
2) Fighting Spirit
Comment: This is perfectly good level 3 core ability. It would have a perfect place to put Martial Weapon Proficiency. If a wizard or sorcerer can get both shield and martial weapon proficiencies at level 2, why not give martial weapon proficiency to bards at level 3?
3) Warmaster
Comments: I am very grateful that the developers decided to give a +2 bonus to both strength and constitution as part of the capstone. However, the active portion of this is not very impressive, given that the damage bonuses do not stack with items available as random loot. Instead of this ability, which has a short duration, make Inspire Heroics an AoE ability. And maybe add some DR that stacks with Ironskin Chant.
[Tier 1]
1) Inspired Bravery
Comments: I would suggest getting rid of this, and combining it with "The Poetic Edda". Of course that might require making TPE a 2 AP-per-rank ability, but it's worth it.
2) Enchant Weapon
Comments: This is fine, I suppose. However, I think it could have been better if this had been a 3-rank enhancement that gave Elemental Weapons and Adamantine Weapons as second and third level bard spells on the second and third ranks.
3) Rough and Ready
Comments: I like this one. Now if only this enhancement got rid of the -4 AC penalty from Skaldic Rage...
4) Focused
Comments: Bards do not have intimidate as a class skill.
[Tier 2]
1) Boast
Comments: There are a few problems with this one. First off, the +1[W] to damage lasts only as long as the temporary HP. The amount of temp HP is static, however damage taking from enemies tends to go UP as one gets into higher level content. Therefore, the duration of the damage bonus goes DOWN. Even worse, this is a prerequisite for two abilities that it has nothing to do with. I would suggest making this an intimidate effect based on the perform skill, then making it so that the temporary HP and duration of the damage bonus scale with bard level or perform skill.
2) Words of Encouragement
Comments: Usually, one tends to sing Inspire Courage at the beginning of a quest or in between fights, so the one-minute duration of the temporary HP makes no sense to me. Why not make it last as long as Inspire Courage? Regardless, the positive energy spellpower is always good to have.
3) Gathering Cold ----> Iced Edges
Comments: This enhancement is too complicated, is very unlikely to activate and gives a very small benefit. I would suggest making it a retributive effect that damage the enemy with cold and somehow reduces the physical damage the user takes in melee at the same time. Also, please get rid of Iced Edges and put in a Damage Boost.
[Tier 3]
1) Obstinance
Comments: I like this one. All of it.
2) The Frozen Fury
Comments: This would be a lot better if the DC formula took either bard level or the the number of core abilities taken into account.
3) Northwind
Comment: I like the effect, I suppose, but I don't understand why it HAS to have the Skaldic Rage requirement. Since the user has to use up a song to get this effect, it should be more powerful, or the Skaldic Rage requirement should be removed.
[Tier 4]
1) Inspire Recklessness
Comment: I like how one can remove the effect if one doesn't want it. However, I don't understand why it has Ironskin Chant as a prerequisite.
2) High Spirits
Comments: VERY useful~
[Tier 5]
1) Armorer
Comments: Wizards and Sorcerers can get the same thing as a fourth tier ability, however they do not get enough ASF reduction to wear it without ASF penalty until level 12. So functionally, this enhancement is the same as the one in the EK tree, but in EK it isn't a fifth-tier enhancement. I hope this gets moved down one tier.
2) Rallying Cry
Comments: Odd how the movement speed benefit increases with ranks taken, but the saves bonus does not.
3) Howl of the North
Comment: What is this 'trained weapon' they talk about? heh. I don't see a reason for the -5 to-hit penalty. My bard always uses power attack. Also, the prerequisite makes no sense, yet again.
4) Weapon Group Training
Comments: I'll have to check my bard character, but does this still have Weapon Focus as a feat prerequisite like it says on the wiki? I hope not. Also, bards need a weapon proficiency at a much lower level, please. Having to keep casting Master's Touch on my weapons every time I log in gets old after a while.