Primary solo'er, interested in Bard. Help please?

[Boombastic]

I am primarily a soloist due to my guild not being incredibly active/friends having limited time to game with me. I've been curious about playing a bard for a while now, just never got around to making one. Would warchanter or spellsinger be better for soloing? I am a premium player, with no access to Iconics atm (though I am interested in snagging one or two of them when they go on sale). Also lack 32pt builds atm, though I am working on unlocking those on my primary server of Ghallanda on my main toon.

Any build/gear/tactics advice would be much appreciated. Thanks to everyone that comments ahead of time :)

[Khatzhas]

If you're willing to wait a bit, Swashbuckler will be coming out. That might give you a wider choice.

For soloing, currently Warchanter is probably best, given that you're still going to haver to kill quite a lot of things, and so melee capability is probably a priority.

[Boombastic]

If you're willing to wait a bit, Swashbuckler will be coming out. That might give you a wider choice.

For soloing, currently Warchanter is probably best, given that you're still going to haver to kill quite a lot of things, and so melee capability is probably a priority.

I saw the Swashbuckler enhancements on ddowiki, they definitely look like something I am interested in, especially when mixed with the spellsinger tree

[Battlehawke]

There are a few good bards in the link in my signature.

[mobrien316]

Before the enhancement pass, I had a drow bard virtuoso that was, by far, the most difficult character I had to solo. In groups he was great because he had terrific crowd control. When I tried to solo him his DPS was just so sub-par that it took forever to beat down mobs.

He's been an elf ranger for a few lives now, and I wanted to make him a bard again, but there is apparently no longer a virtuoso option...

[katz]

my bard (with build link at the bottom) (http://itsjustpointless.wordpress.com/pointless/) i've used more-or-less the same build for over 3 years... obviously with adjustments made for various feat and enhancement changes. solos some of the easier EEs... as a melee character... without too much trouble. attained the 375 for PDK favor almost entirely solo or duo BEFORE the new quests added more PDK favor sources, soloed normal Shroud (i'm the only bard i know of to have done this. if someone else has, PLEASE correct me... but right now that's a nice mark on my brag sheet. XD )

strong build of another bard i respect (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/435460-Avatar-of-Eilistraee?highlight=madcookiequeen). everyone who's tried this one swears by it, so i'll drop it here for your review also.

[Badmash]

My main is a bardcher (bard 16/rogue 2/ranger 2, elven arcane archer) spellsinger, and I usually solo. The crowd control options can make a big difference when facing otherwise problematic odds. He's no mean archer now, but that wasn't the case levelling up, and charm/suggestion were particularly handy in tipping the odds along the way.

Crowd control won't directly help against bosses, so you will need some sort of raw killing power. That's unlikely to be sonic spells, so you'll need some investment in melee or ranged combat. I've gone for archery: Dex-based build with elven AA and elven grace, manyshot, improved precise shot and improved crit (ranged). That said, it can take a long time to bring them down. Sometimes the boss will have minions that can be charmed, which does a bit of damage in itself, provides targets other than me, and allows me to keep my distance and plunk plunk away.

Also, I'm by no means suggesting warchanter has no crowd control options - even basic fascinate is a powerful ability.