A song of venom and wind to rust and ruin deez rampaging robots! Back as Bard in 3.2? Well, you’ve found the right place for 3.2 BRD BiS! Shoutout to Tiffany Faye!
Quicknotes: Of course, is very similar to MCH BiS. 3/29/16 I UPDATED THE BiS! I wrote this one quite early, and underestimated Skill Speed on BRD. I was stuck in the Gordias mindset and if given the choice choose DET over SS with a small stat weight difference. MORE ON THIS IN THE NOTES SECTION. The list below reflect the better stat weights of SS and actually being able to USE it. The change from the original list I posted is TWO items (chest) and 2-4 melds.
Navigation: Bard BiS
BRD BiS | Discussion | Lore Buy Order | Crafted TBA
3.2 Bard Best-in-Slot
| BRD | Item | Meld 1 | Meld 2 | ACC | CRIT | DET | SS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Midan Metal Bow | CRIT V | CRIT V | - | 110 | 118 | - |
| Offhand | - | - | - | ||||
| Helm | Midan Goggles of Aiming | ACC V | ACC IV | 69 | 69 | - | - |
| Body | Midan Coat of Aiming | CRIT V | CRIT V | - | 102 | - | 112 |
| Hand | Augmented Torrent Armguards of Aiming | ACC V | SS V | 60 | 69 | - | 12 |
| Belt | Midan Belt of Aiming | ACC V | - | 12 | 51 | 34 | - |
| Legs | Augmented Torrent Tights of Aiming | CRIT V | CRIT V | - | 102 | - | 112 |
| Boots | Midan Boots of Aiming | CRIT V | CRIT IV | 69 | 24 | - | 48 |
| Neck | Midan Neckband of Aiming | ACC V | - | 48 | 51 | - | - |
| Earring | Augmented Primal Earrings of Aiming | ACC V | - | 12 | 51 | 34 | - |
| Wrist | Augmented Primal Bracelet of Aiming | CRIT V | - | 51 | 48 | - | - |
| Ring | Augmented Primal Ring of Aiming | CRIT V | - | - | 48 | 49 | - |
| Ring | Midan Ring of Aiming | CRIT V | - | 36 | 12 | - | 51 |
| Food | Steamed Staff | - | - | - | 40 | - | 16 |
| Stats | Total stats from gear | 357 | 777 | 235 | 351 | ||
| End value | 711 | 1131 | 453 | 705 |
BRD BiS Discussion
Bard best-in-slot ain’t so bad this time around. This set features the ‘PRACTICAL’ absolute maximum critical hit chance a Bard can attain without gimping themselves.
— UPDATED BiS NOTES —
My original BiS list favored DET over SS even if SS had a tiny tiny edge over DET in terms of stat weight, due to reasons no longer valid in 3.2.
Skill Speed is actually pretty good these days! Why the change of heart? Well, the main reasons are its TP, Stat weight, Cast time and Scaling.
Lesser TP costs and encounter uptimes in 3.2 – TP isn’t really an issue these days. so that’s a tiny nod for SS.
Stat Weight? Even on its own, SS beats out DET by a tiny tiny margin.
Cast Time is a “non-tangible” bonus that you can move out of AoE faster, and may be able to get your skill off safely as compared to DET in some niche cases, providing a practical DPS boost that isn’t seen on the sheet.
Scaling? Det scales poorly, while SS scales better the more you have of it (but not quite as good as CRIT still). So in effect, if you’re gonna dump your other stats that “aren’t crit” into one pile – it’s better off in SS.
Do we really have to buy lore weapon? Yes, it’s a bitter pill to swallow but yes you do. The Sephirot Bows stats aren’t exactly magical… delay the weapon no later than after left-side purchases.
BRD Lore Tomestone Buy Order
The below spending strategy is purely to obtain BiS fastest:
- Weapon: Horrific stats, luckily you’re forced to buy other items due to waiting on Hypercharged Tomestone… “what do”. You’ll have to buy this at some point, man.
- Legs: Since Midan filler is A7.
- Hands: Ahh some much needed accuracy…
- Ring > Wrist > Earring in that order of value.
***THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE DELAY to buy WEAPON is after you’ve completed left-side items!***
ANYTHING ELSE IS OPTIONAL: left-side fillers first Body > Boots > Head > Belt, then accessories Neck > Ring(Unupgraded).
USING UP PAGES AND MIDAS NORMAL PARTS
Click on the expandables below to see how you should spend pages, and which Midas Normal parts to get first –
Click the above!!!
BRD Crafted Gear Viability
I’ll update this later on so I can finish all the other BiS lists. Pretty much 90% of what ‘yer lookin’ for is here already anyways.
Navigation: Bard BiS
BRD BiS | Discussion | Lore Buy Order | Crafted TBA
Blood let the robots fool you – your loot is definitely out there! GL gearing your Bard 3.2 BiS!
=== 3.2 revised BiS ABOVE, comments cleaned up a bit to avoid confusion ===
Is it ok to skip the torrent bow altogether if I have the hyperconductive gandiva? Even the augmented torrent bow doesnt have crit with it.
Hyperconductive Gandiva is indeed a great “filler” by all means use it. I’m pretty sure it can compete.
What do you mean with eso boots being “not too amazing”? Critical – Spell Speed is what you want the most from gear in general. Meanwhile the gordian boots with their Acc – Det are horrible in a set that is already forced to overkill the accuracy cap in order to maximize stats.
Boots are a very solid piece of gear that you should be aiming for just as soon as your accuracy needs allow you.
Btw, as main bard who bought chest before that subpar weapon, I appreciate your guide for it offers way more logic reasonment than the mass of monkeys yelling others to buy weapon first or gtfo and l2p just because they have to try and infect you with their same mind narrowness.
Keep it up!
In comparison to the value gained off shirt, haha. It is great, but the lack of accuracy can be a painful buy for some. Yes I understand your statement, I didnt mean to sound so literal in mine haha.
bard much people preferred to buy craft pieces 220 and meld: BODY everything ,det. PENTAMELD;… HEAD,.. CRIT E ACC; AND GLOVES, ALL CRIT, THEN THE RINGS, BRACELETS AND EARRINGS ALL PENTAMELD… AND A DEAL OR A LOSS OF MONEY?
PAGE WAS BUGGY, SHOWING MCH GEAR FOR A DAY OR TWO, SHOULD BE OKAY NOW. ALL COMMENTS BELOW THIS ARE PRE-FIX and PRE 3.0!
So I’d like to say that this information is Machinist Best In Slot gear, not Bard Best In Slot Gear. And although their stat weights are probably the same, their gear stats per piece are not. For example, Machinist Goggles have Dex, Vit, Crit, Skill Speed, however the Aoidos’ Turban has Dex, Vit, Det, and Skill Speed. Which means that the gear and information is not exactly interchangeable. Like the example above, Machinist Goggles are BiS for Machinst, but for Bard the BiS Head piece is the Gordinan Hood of Aiming. I don’t know if this is on accident or you purposefully put Machinist BiS under Bard BiS thinking it would be the same, but just pointing it out even if it’s both. Either way, this information should definitely be under Machinist, not Bard.
Oh whut, that’s kind of buggy! lemme fix this
It should be okay now!
That looks like the right class now! Just a question on top of that, but how come the three new jobs don’t have a drop down under “Jobs”? Would be a lot easier to find their guides.
Yes yes! I want to do this, but i try to backup the site before that. The menu is NOTORIOUSLY BUGGY to update!
Look forward to it! i believe in you and the menu!
For those that can’t afford melding the crafted 4 star gear, there is an alternative way to make your bard viable.
http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/QT6I
Yoichi Bow – 18 ACC – 43 CRIT – 29 DET (Yes, ACC it makes it even more affordable to the average player)
Demon Hat of Aiming
Demon Tabard of Aiming
Augmented Ironworks Vambraces of Aiming
Dreadwyrm Sash of Aiming
Dreadwyrm Breeches of Aiming
Augmented Ironworks Leg Guards of Aiming
Augmented Ironworks Choker of Aiming
Dreadwyrm Earring of Aiming
Dreadwyrm Bracelet of Aiming
Augmented Ironworks Ring of Aiming
Ironworks Ring of Aiming
Flint Caviar (You can even go cheaper and get HQ Deviled Eggs and meet the T13 Cap with a good amount of Crit)
652-DEX/535-540ACC/626-632CRT/326DET
Any input on 2.5 stuff? The bard gear from WoD is pretty good, and I think it could very well be BiS with some tweaking.
Here is my list:
Yoichi Bow (49Crit/35Det)
Augmented Mask
Demon Tabard
Dreadwyrm Bracers
Augmented Belt
Dreadwyrm Breeches
Augmented Leg Guards
Augmented Choker
Dreadwyrm Earring
Dreadwyrm Bracelet
Augmente Ring
Ironworks Ring
Flint Caviar HQ
Giving 651Dex, 539Acc,604Crit, 343Det and no SS.
I am rather curious about this, there are now added Zodiac quests up to i135 with the latest patch too, possible making the Zodiac a real competitor against the Dreadwyrm
I am working through my Zodiac weapon at the moment and just cleared T5. I’ve been told to expect Additional Stats when I get to my Novus. Do you have any suggestions which stats I should use as planning my Yoichi Bow.
“Players can upgrade additional stats such as Piety, Determination, Accuracy, Spell Speed, Skill Speed, Critical Hit Rate and Parry up to a total of 75 points. Accuracy, Spell Speed, Skill Speed, Critical Hit Rate and Parry cap at 44 points each. Piety caps at 33 points and Determination caps at 31 points.”
Short Answer: 44 crit if you have the money. 31 DET.
If I had Yoichi Bow: 44 Crit 22 Accuracy 11 DET
Long answer: http://64.227.107.16/ffxiv-novus-stats-materia-guide/
Why no mention of the Yoichi Bow? The stats on the Magitek bow are so awful that a perfect zodiac is better than the augmented bow.
Yes it goes without saying.. lemme add that. The Magitek bow is to freakin terrible the Zodiac easily trumps it.
Hey I have full 110 set What should I meld on other pieces ? same as the chest/legs or something different?
As a general rule: as much CRIT as you can.. ACC if needed and DET wherever you can fit it. ill add some more ideas
Is there a reason you choose crit/det materia over dex materia when melding?
DEX cannot be melded onto any crafted gear which already has DEX :) Main stats are generally capped by default.
Ran the 2.4 gear through a calculator and the difference between Standard and Practical on Crit is just ridiculous. Hard to believe the sets only have an average ilvl difference of 2 but 85 point (at least) difference on Crit favouring Practical. Granted that’s not counting food but it still hardly seems like a contest. Is it really even worth considering the Standard one just for those extra 2 ilvls?
There are so many factors to consider! To be completely honest if i mained a bard i would never go for the standard… in fact Ironworks Ring + Vit melded Iolite are NEEDED to clear t13 (in any semblance of speed)…
Also, sweating about BiS in this patch is a little low priority since heavensward gear will be level 60 – making our current gear OBSOLETE!
Finally, almost any coil drop you need in the practical list can be replaced easily with kirimu!
Interesting… I’m actually working on the kirimu brais right now. Not exactly a cheap upgrade path and finding a trustworthy and cheaper omnicrafter is a bit of a problem.
I just hope SE thinks about the stats a little more for heavensward. This is 2 major patches with terrible stats on the bard tome pants. If it happens again I either have to give up on bard or spend the rest of my days in the shard mines
Where is the 2.4? Everything else is updated!
posted! sorry for the wait ;_;
Why is this the only article that is not updated :/
Oh man… Im about to post the update to this… but i fear the backlash haha.
Need some poetics buy order for poetics so bad~ please post! :D
Any information on when the update will be posted? :D
posted! sorry had a tough weekend
What the hell is taking so long for this update for Bard I’m sitting on unspent poetics because with all the s.spd I can’t make up my mind what’s worth having?
Posted!! :D
So… where was that update?
posted!
2.4!!! :)
The link at the bottom of the article (‘”[Page 2: Pre-Turn 6 Gear]”) which supposedly points to page 2 actually points to WHM page 2.
/FIXED! Thanks macmog
Would you ever go back to redo the PRE-TURN 6 gearing options?
I find it a very useful gearing guide, but I feel they are heavily out dated. Maybe you have a Gearing for Turn 5 table to help us newbies :)
Honestly gearing for turn 5 should be extremely easy with access to i100 Soldiery gear. If you’re having a hard time with TT i’d recommend to learn the fight (as it was doable with i85 no echo): Twintania Guide
The guide is great, but u can always change it up. For example use Soldiery gear and ST gear prior to your coil drops :D
Weapon: Novus or Rosenbogen
Head: Allagan Visor Of Aiming
Body: Auroral Tabard
Hand: Amon’s Sleeves
Waist: Auroral Sash
Leg: Amon’s Breeches
Boots: Amon’s Boots
Neck: Ribbon of Aiming
Ears: Auroral Earrings
Wrist: Auroral Wristlets
Ring: Auroral Ring
RIng: Myth Ring/Weathred Ring/Ramuh Ring
Food: Lava Toad/HQ Lava
I find these as the BiS prior to your 2nd coil drops, I wouldn’t waste any more solidery gear on brd and spend them on alt classes. Your Acc should sit above 475+ with these items (depending if you put acc onto novus, if u don’t you’ll be looking at 475-478 acc)
I’ve use these as my BiS and cleared up to T8 without accuracy issues, as long as you keep the food. And u won’t need the food in T6 i believe, I haven’t miss in T6 with 476 acc.
Yep! Amons stuff is enough to clear t9 even.
A Crit/DET melded Novus is a significant DPS increase on the Rosenbogen. Why is it not listed? :(
For many, Novus is extremely grindy to get. We could list all novus items, but in the end HA is much better. Rosenbogen can be obtained in a fraction of the time it would take a novus, and HA bow shouldnt be far off
It shouldn’t matter. This is a best in slot guide, not a “Best in slot that’s easy to get” guide, right? The difference between Novus and Rosenbogen based on stats (using the weights given to Ariyala) is as large as the difference between the Novus and the High Allagan Bow. At the very least mentioning it while acknowledging the grind is the correct thing to do, because it is without a doubt the second best bow. (For most classes, it’s the second best weapon.)
notice on the leftmost column, the HA weapon is listed. It is, far and away, the best in slot weapon for BRD. Novus is second, and Rosenbogen is third. The latter two are both fillers, however. Novus is quite obvious, and I guess It should be listed. The LACK of novus, however, still does not detract from the leftmost column being BEST. The other 2 columns are merely easier to obtain fillers and other notable gear.
dude, what they are saying “until you can get this, use this”, you are not going to use novus until you can get HA unless you suck. in that case just forget the BiS guide cuz your not getting t9 drops.
HA bow isn’t better than a correctly melded Nexus anyway and BRD has one T9 drop that’s awful. But hey, congrats on posting on a 3-month old post!
Quite Confused on the Gloves and Boots (Auroral).
Wouldn’t it be a better choice to go with HA, since they offer Determination instead of Skill Speed?
The glove slot is definitely HA, maybe you saw it wrong.
TBH either boot works. HA Boots of aiming would be my choice for Turn 9, Auroral in other instances.
how are hq deviled eggs still not the best food with crit 24 vit 14 and acc 10?
Simply because Apkallu Omelette gives 27 crit, 11 acc and 19 vit, superior to deviled eggs in ALL aspects. (XIVDB cannot link HQ food)
Also deviled eggs max at 22 crit…
http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/M7NF This list could potentially be higher DPS. Either way Lava Toad legs is required for either of these sets to achieve 100% accy on T9.
Only set 2 needs lava toad (rosenbogen). Set 1 Uses Apkallu Omelette.
ACC/CRIT/DET/SS
499/497/333/408 (artemicon)
502/511/305/433 (listed)
The only diff in your set would be to switch the boots, and use buttons. Like we mentioned the slight choice between SS/DET are possible refinements depending on your preference.
Nice work, but I’m wondering why you chose the Auroral Boots over the High Allagan Boots when the latter has more acc, determination instead of skill speed, and drops in T6?
Either can be used and still be BiS in our opinion! Using the boots, there is ZERO combination of items wherein that determination will be worth the extra accuracy! It’s kind of hard to explain… but there is a quote in the guide…
“the only refinements being your preference of DET/SS, but even so that is extremely marginal”
Don’t worry about it! If you get one or the other! With the amount of Base DEX bard have in this patch SS isn’t so bad anyway!
Cool thanks a lot!
2.2 Bard Soldiery Tomes Buy Order–>Update please
updated!