Wait a minuet and stop wandering around! You’ve found the Bard BiS for 3.0!!! Thankfully, after a string of patches where BRD BiS was sucky, this patch offers a bit of value! Here we discuss BiS and possible options, ESO and Page buy order, and crafted gear viability for Bards.
Quick stat summary: CRIT >>> DET >> SS
Navigation: Bard BiS
BRD BiS | Discussion | Esoterics Buy Order | Crafted
Heavensward Bard Best-in-Slot
For the sake of “interchangeable filler slots”, Aoidos’ <-> Gordian serve as natural replacements to each other (May or may not be discussed within guide, but take that as an ‘unspoken truth’).
| BRD Slot | BiS | filler | filler |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Gordian Longbow | ||
| Offhand | - | - | - |
| Head | Gordian Hood of Aiming | ||
| Body | Aoidos' Cloak | ||
| Gloves | Gordian Armguards of Aiming | ||
| Belt | Fabled Belt of Aiming | ||
| Legs | Aoidos Tights OR ANY | ||
| Boots | Aoidos' Thighboots | ||
| Neck | Gordian Neckband of Aiming | ||
| Earrings | Fabled Earrings of Aiming | ||
| Bracelet | Fabled Bracelet of Aiming | ||
| Ring | Fabled Ring of Aiming | ||
| Ring | Gordian Ring of Aiming | ||
| Food | Baked Pipira Pira |
This set is actually great! It hits from the front 99.9 percent of the time WITHOUT FOOD, and not relying on Gordian Shirt!
BRD BiS Discussion, Notes & Options
All the slots are pretty clear cut. The only piece of contention would be the Legs (more on this later).
Weapon: Berimbau – to buy or not to buy? Truthfully yes, the stats suck. However, unless you’re farming A4S, this is up there in bang for your buck in terms of pure damage. You can (and probably shoud) buy the body first, which is what I would do as Bard.
When do I buy the weapon? Man… this is a tough call. If it were ME, personally, I would buy the weapon after the 4~ body pieces. Then I would begrudgingly buy the weapon. Since your stats have refined a bit at this point, I wouldn’t feel THAT bad. Bards who outright REFUSE to buy the weapon are just being special snowflakes. I mean, it’s ok to hold off – but if you’re stuck in A4S and not spending that ESO… Don’t be that guy.
Legs – the only slot that’s not set in stone: In terms of pure stats, the below quote is really the only ‘choice’ you have to make…
ESO Legs 63 DET (vs.) Gordian Legs 94 Skillspeed
So base your decision of BiS on that. They both have upsides and the difference is honestly microscopic in terms of overall effect of performance. Some say, by math the 63 DET beats 94 SS and saves more TP (less than 5 DEX of DPS difference). Others say 94 SS provides a threshold of reduced GCD to squeeze off certain skill, and might even be better than 63 DET. But honestly, this difference is damn microscopic. It’s up to preference. I hate to shoot myself in the face here: But I might go for Gordian…. (But I listed Aoidos or ANY in the BiS list above)
Filler gear? Where is it? It’s quite sad really. In terms of 210 <-> 210 gear substitution bards are severely gimped. Oftentimes, the “other piece” is just so bad. You even have three pieces with no crit at all.. amazing, right?
A1S Pages: Ring > Neck > Filler
A2S Pages: Gloves > 3x Gobcoat > Filler
A3S Pages: Head > 3/4 Gobtwine > Legs (Here’s where your leg choice matters)
A4S Pages: WEAPON > Filler (seriously there’s nothing else you want)
3.0 Bard Esoterics Buy Order
“What should I buy first with Esoterics for my BRD!?” Well, here you go!
- Body: Aoidos Cloak is so good that you can buy it over the weapon.
- Weapon: Since you’re almost forced to. (YOU CAN PUSH THIS TO AFTER BELT/BOOTS)
- Boots: A risky buy since it has no Accuracy – careful!
- Belt: Value, can be bought above boots.
- BRACELET: is the first thing you should pick up in right side!
- Ring > Earrings (any order)
- EVERYTHING ELSE IS OPTIONAL, and NON-BiS
- The AOIDOS TIGHTS make a lot of sense if A3S if far off.
On belt: If you have the Illuminati Gobcoat, buy it sooner than you would have.
BRD Melded Gear Viability? VIT Accessories?
If you feel your Bard needs some VIT/HP: First off we identify the worst accessory. That’s probably Fabled Ring of Aiming . Bad news is, the “not too good BiS accessories” don’t line up with the “value melded ones”, so I’ll just list down the options here- (Check the MCH BiS for the simplified version)
GOOD CHOICES: Citrine Choker of Aiming, Chrysolite Earrings of Aiming
MEH CHOICE: Chrysolite Bracelet of Aiming
BAD: Chrysolite Ring of Aiming
Melding Strategy? Each of these holds (24 Accuracy, Skill Speed or Crit) (23 DET) and (29 Vitality). Sample melds would be…
- MAXIMIZING VIT: would requite VIT IV – VIT IV – VIT IV – FREE – VIT III and leaves ONE SLOT FOR ANY DPS STAT.
- HYBRID requires (example: Accuracy) ACC IV – ACC IV – FREE – FREE – ACC III and has TWO SLOTS FOR VIT.
- Personally, if you’re finding you need the VIT – go for the first meld.
Bard crafted 180 left and melding
Griffin Leather Blinder of Aiming: ACC IV – ACC IV – ACC IV – CRIT III – CRIT III
It caps crit with the above, and ACC can be freely changed out to DET.
Griffin Leather Longcoat of Aiming: ACC IV – ACC IV – DET IV – DET IV – DET IV
This is the best possible meld here. Again, ACC can be changed to DET.
Griffin Leather Gloves of Aiming: DET IV – DET IV – Any ACC/SS from here.
Strange item… It caps det with DET IVx2, and the rest basically doesn’t matter.
Astral Silk Sash of Aiming: ACC IV – Any DET from here.
Another weird one. After ACC IV, just stick any DET afterwards.
Astral Silk Slops of Aiming: CRIT IV x 5.
Well… not much to say. Use some III’s if you’re poor.
Griffin Leather Thighboots of Aiming: CRIT IV x 4 – CRIT III
Cleanly caps crit with the melding above.
Usefulness Summary:
Head: Luxury… stats are great, maybe a good investment if A3S is hard.
Body: Great stats but Aoidos Cloak smashes it – and should be one of your first purchases.
Hands: Hmmm 190 is right there, and compares favorably. Luxury.
Belt: Since no 210 has crit, this can be used all the way. It’s a minor piece, but not wasted.
Legs: Not a bad investment since NO OTHER LEG has crit! But the 200 ESO may beat this. Your call.
Boots: I wouldn’t bother since the 190 beats it easily.
Navigation: Bard BiS
BRD BiS | Discussion | Esoterics Buy Order | Crafted
Best of luck gearing up your Bard and CRITting with Sidewinder!
=== 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!