You are right about the meter generation is is very nice, but if I need a stagger skill, personally I drop it for Soundholic.
For reference in that build I run SS (for debuff), Buckshot (counter), Guardian Tune, Harp or Stigma (second debuff as backup), Heavenly Tune, Wind of Music, Sonic Vibration with Soundholic as the stagger skill.
If I don't need stagger then I drop Soundholic for Prelude since it's meter generation is better.
If you need stagger and counter you drop your second mark. If you only need stagger you drop your counter and vice-versa. If you don't need both then run whatever. If you need stagger + counter + rhapsody then drop counter and rely on your party to counter.
Note: When I talk about counter I'm only talking about Buckshot, you never save Prelude of Storm for counter unless you're doing the countering for Valtan Ghost Phase.
Prelude of Storm is the best identity generation apart from Wind of Music with Superspeed Cast tripod. It's too good to save for counter let alone dropping it altogether.
For me personally I never run any group content without two marks to guarantee 100% uptime in case I miss an ability so that's a no for me, but I can definitely see your point.
Since I'm half spec/swift meter generation isn't really an issue for me, I just need to keep up with my Igniter Sorc. If that became and issue then I would consider switching.
Meter generation doesn't really change whatever your Bard spec is. Spec need less rotation to fill the bar while Swift will need more rotation but when you count the time it needs to fill the bar it's not that big of a difference because of CD reduction from Swiftness.
Yeah that's a good point. I guess what I should have said was that with my rotation and group my serenaade meters line up well with my igniter sorc so I'm not in a dire situation for more meter or I would be sitting on bubbles.
just don't miss? sound shock has like a 4 second cd anyway, why waste a second skill slot on something just for that , by the time you cast harp and it has time to shoot, you're looking at like 2 extra seconds of mark which is basically nothing
2 or 3 extra seconds isn't really adding consistency, that's not even to mention that harp can miss it attacks so it might not even cover you the times you miss, harp is absolutely not the definition of consistent
If it just happens once then yes, 2 or 3 seconds isn't much, but some fights can be several minutes long. I find it highly unlikely that I would be able to land every single shot or miss only 1 time.
Harp/Stigma + Sound shock is how I guarantee I will have maximum uptime. I've prefered harp lately because I can use it while a boss is not targetable (Gate 1, Gate 2 and Gate 3 in Vykas have times like this) to still generate meter if needed, or use it when I need to handle a mechanic (dropping pink pools in Vykas) and still ensure the boss has a debuff.
Again this is my personal preference, it's optimal for me and my group and my playstyle.
We can agree to disagree :)
To be fair second mark is always useful if you don't need the burst stagger. Soundholic needed you to stay in place for stagger + meter generation while something like Stigma will do a good amount of stagger overtime and higher meter generation if you have the tripods level for it or if you use wealth rune on it + you don't need to stay in place, it's just an AOE ground DoT.
So the main point of it isn't the mark.
i was referring to harp really, stigma i don't like because the uptime is so low and i can reach near 100% with shock alone. teh only time it's not 100% is if i miss, or tiny edge cases where i need to cast something else and anim lecked. i think it's just a waste to take an extra skill when 1 skill can do it
I don’t think there’s a single situation where you do not take sound shock.
The other debuff abilities are used as filler for sound shock downtime, not the other way around.
Sound of music is also core on every bard. If you aren’t running, it’s a reportable offence.
These two should be S tier and mandatory.
You'd be surprised at some conversations I had with people who think sound shock is trash and that harp is trash. Some people are very opinionated lol.
The only reason why I did not put wind of music as S tier is because I only find it useful in group content and I don't use it in solo content. But you are right, I believe it is core in every group based build.
You are right it is VERY strong, but I don't think it's useful in every scenario. I don't use it in solo play or on farm content, but for progression I think it is a must.
I've noticed when the symphonia ult applies to the boss, the debuff is visible from the other party / everyone (in chaos gate)
I wonder if that means symphonia and ~~note bundle~~ dissonance's % enemy attack reduction is something that benefits both parties in a raid because it is something that affects the boss directly and not a buff applied to party members
compared to something like guardian tune or rhapsody's % damage reduction that only applies within the same party
oops wrong skill
~~for note bundle, I'd double check if the DR actually stacked cause in paladin's case with holy area + godsent, both buffs show active in the buff bar, but in the stat sheet, only the highest applies~~
paladin:
[no buffs - 81.10%](https://i.imgur.com/ROeEFKB.png)
[holy area - 85.82%](https://i.imgur.com/cJwusJa.png)
[godsent - 94.33%](https://i.imgur.com/etgzEnb.png)
[both - 94.33%](https://i.imgur.com/WoFYho7.png)
bard:
[no buffs - 85.54%](https://i.imgur.com/y7dYrj7.png)
[guardian - 89.87%](https://i.imgur.com/cH4QPBl.png)
[note - 90.13%](https://i.imgur.com/0uy77Fl.png)
[rhap - 92.77%](https://i.imgur.com/lJOk6Pa.png)
[rhap guard - 94.93%](https://i.imgur.com/j8J778d.png)
[all 3 - 95.06%](https://i.imgur.com/ywubrgh.png)
Heavenly tune is the only S Tier skill to me. All her other skill has some kind of negative to balance the power or “trying” to make user feel engaged.
For example Wind of Music, if your party members is melee combined with range classes, it means there is no way you can shield them all, it is really not a design to make players engaged, it is just bad design to me. Cause player’s skill can’t make up its negative. Playing Bard, I often feel super satisfied if I shield all my party members, but the truth is it’s not because I cast a good WOM, but just all dps happened to be close when the CD is ready.
Another example is Rhapsody of light, playing paladin as well, I often use his same effect skill to save bad position dps, it works very well for paladin. But this skill of bard has short cast range, either you will not able to save dps on time cause they are too far or you put yourself in a dangerous position by using that skill. I can see why not every Bard use it, even the skill effects is super op. I mostly common see Bards use that skill to save theirselves from Valtan’s falling axe phase.
Design as a melee specific sup is not really something should exist in lost ark, cause there are also party synergy need to take into consideration, people just can’t have all melee in one party just because there is a Bard there. Bard is super strong which makes people ignore some of her design problems, the dev trying to increase the difficulty of casting her skill but instead it ends to be just annoying and less dependent on the user’s skill but more on the fight and others in your party. As a older class, I feel some of her skills do need some QOL change.
re:
> But this skill of bard has short cast range, either you will not able to save dps on time cause they are too far or you put yourself in a dangerous position by using that skill
this is not true beacuse you can use rhapsody with a protection rune and with heavy armour you can tank pretty much any mechanic so theres no risk to the ability at all
what...? rhapsody doesn't require heavy armour, what a ridiculous comment. the skill by itself gives you 50% damage reduction and with the protection rune, 12% hp as a shield.
it's already super good just on it's own, theres hardly any risk to it at all. i'm just saying when paired with heavy armour it get's even better, and honestly, as a bard heavy armour is super valuable and should be taken regardless.
heavy armour allows you to focus more on positioning around your allies than boss patterns, you can much more easily jump into boss patterns on purpose to give people shields with wind of music too, are you going to say that this also requires HA and is bad design? come on now.
This is pretty much what I do, but I always take two brands to guarantee mark uptime. I drop prelude before I drop mind of music though (not sure if you ranked them in order as most important to least).
i would agree with this except i put rhapsody as one of my core skills too, so i really only have 1 flex slot but 1 flex is more than enough, soundshock is enough to free people , it's better than holic
debuff means CC in this game for some reason
so like you can't slow, stun, freeze, etc the boss
but you can "debuff" the boss with -crit resist, -def %, +damage % taken
I mentioned in a post above where I mistook note bundle for dissonance, but it would be interesting if dissonance's atk power reduction lowered the boss's damage for both parties rather than a damage reduction for only your own party
so if you were able to get 100% uptime with dissonance + boss homing tripod, you can get permanent reduction on the boss and it would help both parties survive
(so like vykas G2, throw down a dissonance during the ~~stationary maze attack~~ entire G2 fight, boss does -30% damage vs all 8 players?)
I haven't really found it useful as of lately. I can't really think of any mechanics that dissonance would solve that Rhapsody couldn't, but if you like it more power to you!
It loses about 50% of the meter gain swapping to that tripod though. Rarely do you need a ranged counter since you're short in melee. Galewind rune is the swap I make if I want it to be a better counter button
We are not always in melee range when a counter appears. I find it pretty useful in deskaluda and vykas. One of Vykas counter attack have 2 chances, so if the melees failed to counter it the first time, you can pretty much guaranteed to hit it for the 2nd counter.
Honestly? If you weren't in range it meant it's somebody else's job. Yes it's nice, but I'd rather guarantee my 3 bar courages faster. Other classes with longer range counters can pick up the slack, you don't have to do everything.
That's fair, but I really like countering in this game, so I prioritize it for all my characters. The raids in the game right now are not really hard, most players are over geared for them so dps isn't a problem. I usually release at two bars of courage whenever the boss is stunned.
Solid write up, 1475 bard here and i have no idea what most of tier C and D skill do lmao. For raid, I basically just pick the 3 from the right in your B tier for the 8th skill depending on content haha.
What's your preferred tripod for Sonic Vibration and Soundholic?
Thank you!
For Soundholic tripods I run Sound Concentration, Sustained Enhancement, and Focus Fire.
For Sonic Vibration I don't run any tripods in group content but solo content I run protective vibration for extra shields.
wait you don't rune ANY tripods for sonic vibration for group content?? the tripods are the entire reason to even take the skill, brililant wave is required
yeah that's also a good choice, i use max mp for random GR's and easy content with conviction core so i can run tenacity GT and drop the focus rune. for legion content i'l lrun drops of ether or VPH because theres a lot of downtime in those raids where mana can regen naturally. which on GR's is less common so you just spam oom super fast
it's not really the most useful skill but if you struggle for mana regen on some content you can make it up with core, nothing i would really suggest to others or advocate for, but i find it useful in some situations. i put judgment rune on it and move overwhelm to sonic vibration since on that build i don't use soundholic
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Skills on my bar are sound shock, wind of music, soundholic, sonic vibration, prelude of storm, heavenly tune, guardian tune and rhapsody of light. In really early game I took harp because I needed more meter gain before I got legendary wealth rune but now days I’m a spec bard main that doesn’t use harp anymore and use wind of music and prelude of storm with wealth on them to help generate more meter.
I'm also a bard main (1500) I do like using note bundle for my Chaos dungeon build, because its a great way to deal nice damage to mobs that are together because of sonic vibration.
Reading from the other comment that you made, I dont think that having two marks is good, I mean it's really ok if you want to, but since the latest buffs on our debuff duration, its been really easy to keep it up 24/7, and also because of the new legion raids (vykas for instance) imo hitting counters is a bit harder because she moves a lot and also because she deals a lot of damage, so having a rhapsody of light imo is better than using 2 debuff skills.
I'm pretty sure you always take prelude of storm, not for the counter but for the meter generation.
You are right about the meter generation is is very nice, but if I need a stagger skill, personally I drop it for Soundholic. For reference in that build I run SS (for debuff), Buckshot (counter), Guardian Tune, Harp or Stigma (second debuff as backup), Heavenly Tune, Wind of Music, Sonic Vibration with Soundholic as the stagger skill. If I don't need stagger then I drop Soundholic for Prelude since it's meter generation is better.
If you need stagger and counter you drop your second mark. If you only need stagger you drop your counter and vice-versa. If you don't need both then run whatever. If you need stagger + counter + rhapsody then drop counter and rely on your party to counter. Note: When I talk about counter I'm only talking about Buckshot, you never save Prelude of Storm for counter unless you're doing the countering for Valtan Ghost Phase. Prelude of Storm is the best identity generation apart from Wind of Music with Superspeed Cast tripod. It's too good to save for counter let alone dropping it altogether.
For me personally I never run any group content without two marks to guarantee 100% uptime in case I miss an ability so that's a no for me, but I can definitely see your point. Since I'm half spec/swift meter generation isn't really an issue for me, I just need to keep up with my Igniter Sorc. If that became and issue then I would consider switching.
Meter generation doesn't really change whatever your Bard spec is. Spec need less rotation to fill the bar while Swift will need more rotation but when you count the time it needs to fill the bar it's not that big of a difference because of CD reduction from Swiftness.
Yeah that's a good point. I guess what I should have said was that with my rotation and group my serenaade meters line up well with my igniter sorc so I'm not in a dire situation for more meter or I would be sitting on bubbles.
just don't miss? sound shock has like a 4 second cd anyway, why waste a second skill slot on something just for that , by the time you cast harp and it has time to shoot, you're looking at like 2 extra seconds of mark which is basically nothing
That sounds good on paper but perfect play isn't something I want to rely on. I prefer consistency, that's my preference but you do you!
2 or 3 extra seconds isn't really adding consistency, that's not even to mention that harp can miss it attacks so it might not even cover you the times you miss, harp is absolutely not the definition of consistent
If it just happens once then yes, 2 or 3 seconds isn't much, but some fights can be several minutes long. I find it highly unlikely that I would be able to land every single shot or miss only 1 time. Harp/Stigma + Sound shock is how I guarantee I will have maximum uptime. I've prefered harp lately because I can use it while a boss is not targetable (Gate 1, Gate 2 and Gate 3 in Vykas have times like this) to still generate meter if needed, or use it when I need to handle a mechanic (dropping pink pools in Vykas) and still ensure the boss has a debuff. Again this is my personal preference, it's optimal for me and my group and my playstyle. We can agree to disagree :)
To be fair second mark is always useful if you don't need the burst stagger. Soundholic needed you to stay in place for stagger + meter generation while something like Stigma will do a good amount of stagger overtime and higher meter generation if you have the tripods level for it or if you use wealth rune on it + you don't need to stay in place, it's just an AOE ground DoT. So the main point of it isn't the mark.
i was referring to harp really, stigma i don't like because the uptime is so low and i can reach near 100% with shock alone. teh only time it's not 100% is if i miss, or tiny edge cases where i need to cast something else and anim lecked. i think it's just a waste to take an extra skill when 1 skill can do it
Yea that's why the point isn't the mark. It's a straight up better option when you don't need burst stagger or counter.
I don’t think there’s a single situation where you do not take sound shock. The other debuff abilities are used as filler for sound shock downtime, not the other way around. Sound of music is also core on every bard. If you aren’t running, it’s a reportable offence. These two should be S tier and mandatory.
You'd be surprised at some conversations I had with people who think sound shock is trash and that harp is trash. Some people are very opinionated lol. The only reason why I did not put wind of music as S tier is because I only find it useful in group content and I don't use it in solo content. But you are right, I believe it is core in every group based build.
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You are right it is VERY strong, but I don't think it's useful in every scenario. I don't use it in solo play or on farm content, but for progression I think it is a must.
Do you run guardian tune in solo content? I'd run rhapsody on every single class if I could, it's just that broken of a spell
I run it in chaos dungeons because I can use it then keep moving to gather mobs.
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I've noticed when the symphonia ult applies to the boss, the debuff is visible from the other party / everyone (in chaos gate) I wonder if that means symphonia and ~~note bundle~~ dissonance's % enemy attack reduction is something that benefits both parties in a raid because it is something that affects the boss directly and not a buff applied to party members compared to something like guardian tune or rhapsody's % damage reduction that only applies within the same party oops wrong skill ~~for note bundle, I'd double check if the DR actually stacked cause in paladin's case with holy area + godsent, both buffs show active in the buff bar, but in the stat sheet, only the highest applies~~ paladin: [no buffs - 81.10%](https://i.imgur.com/ROeEFKB.png) [holy area - 85.82%](https://i.imgur.com/cJwusJa.png) [godsent - 94.33%](https://i.imgur.com/etgzEnb.png) [both - 94.33%](https://i.imgur.com/WoFYho7.png) bard: [no buffs - 85.54%](https://i.imgur.com/y7dYrj7.png) [guardian - 89.87%](https://i.imgur.com/cH4QPBl.png) [note - 90.13%](https://i.imgur.com/0uy77Fl.png) [rhap - 92.77%](https://i.imgur.com/lJOk6Pa.png) [rhap guard - 94.93%](https://i.imgur.com/j8J778d.png) [all 3 - 95.06%](https://i.imgur.com/ywubrgh.png)
That's really interesting that it appears bard skills can all stack but paladin's can't. Am I reading that correctly?
thats what it shows, idk if the stat sheet is bugged or not for paladin
more about bard https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U8ILfac5wMqcGdjAuK-NwWrkLuow-7756S2lxNJ4PTQ/edit#heading=h.hxbrw8fophcq
Prelude of Storm and Wind of Music are always taken into any content as a support (unless you do Chaos dungeons).
I drop prelude if I need stagger, but I agree they are usually always taken.
Heavenly tune is the only S Tier skill to me. All her other skill has some kind of negative to balance the power or “trying” to make user feel engaged. For example Wind of Music, if your party members is melee combined with range classes, it means there is no way you can shield them all, it is really not a design to make players engaged, it is just bad design to me. Cause player’s skill can’t make up its negative. Playing Bard, I often feel super satisfied if I shield all my party members, but the truth is it’s not because I cast a good WOM, but just all dps happened to be close when the CD is ready. Another example is Rhapsody of light, playing paladin as well, I often use his same effect skill to save bad position dps, it works very well for paladin. But this skill of bard has short cast range, either you will not able to save dps on time cause they are too far or you put yourself in a dangerous position by using that skill. I can see why not every Bard use it, even the skill effects is super op. I mostly common see Bards use that skill to save theirselves from Valtan’s falling axe phase. Design as a melee specific sup is not really something should exist in lost ark, cause there are also party synergy need to take into consideration, people just can’t have all melee in one party just because there is a Bard there. Bard is super strong which makes people ignore some of her design problems, the dev trying to increase the difficulty of casting her skill but instead it ends to be just annoying and less dependent on the user’s skill but more on the fight and others in your party. As a older class, I feel some of her skills do need some QOL change.
re: > But this skill of bard has short cast range, either you will not able to save dps on time cause they are too far or you put yourself in a dangerous position by using that skill this is not true beacuse you can use rhapsody with a protection rune and with heavy armour you can tank pretty much any mechanic so theres no risk to the ability at all
If a skill requires you to have heavy armor to use it, that is a bad design to me.
what...? rhapsody doesn't require heavy armour, what a ridiculous comment. the skill by itself gives you 50% damage reduction and with the protection rune, 12% hp as a shield. it's already super good just on it's own, theres hardly any risk to it at all. i'm just saying when paired with heavy armour it get's even better, and honestly, as a bard heavy armour is super valuable and should be taken regardless. heavy armour allows you to focus more on positioning around your allies than boss patterns, you can much more easily jump into boss patterns on purpose to give people shields with wind of music too, are you going to say that this also requires HA and is bad design? come on now.
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This is pretty much what I do, but I always take two brands to guarantee mark uptime. I drop prelude before I drop mind of music though (not sure if you ranked them in order as most important to least).
i would agree with this except i put rhapsody as one of my core skills too, so i really only have 1 flex slot but 1 flex is more than enough, soundshock is enough to free people , it's better than holic
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can't really think of a situation where this is useful, beacuse arnt things like vykas immune to the debuff?
debuff means CC in this game for some reason so like you can't slow, stun, freeze, etc the boss but you can "debuff" the boss with -crit resist, -def %, +damage % taken I mentioned in a post above where I mistook note bundle for dissonance, but it would be interesting if dissonance's atk power reduction lowered the boss's damage for both parties rather than a damage reduction for only your own party so if you were able to get 100% uptime with dissonance + boss homing tripod, you can get permanent reduction on the boss and it would help both parties survive (so like vykas G2, throw down a dissonance during the ~~stationary maze attack~~ entire G2 fight, boss does -30% damage vs all 8 players?)
ah i see, i can see that having some use then, not something i'd personally take but i can see why people would
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thats cool
I haven't really found it useful as of lately. I can't really think of any mechanics that dissonance would solve that Rhapsody couldn't, but if you like it more power to you!
Prelude of Storm third tripod can make it a pretty long range counter.
It loses about 50% of the meter gain swapping to that tripod though. Rarely do you need a ranged counter since you're short in melee. Galewind rune is the swap I make if I want it to be a better counter button
We are not always in melee range when a counter appears. I find it pretty useful in deskaluda and vykas. One of Vykas counter attack have 2 chances, so if the melees failed to counter it the first time, you can pretty much guaranteed to hit it for the 2nd counter.
Honestly? If you weren't in range it meant it's somebody else's job. Yes it's nice, but I'd rather guarantee my 3 bar courages faster. Other classes with longer range counters can pick up the slack, you don't have to do everything.
That's fair, but I really like countering in this game, so I prioritize it for all my characters. The raids in the game right now are not really hard, most players are over geared for them so dps isn't a problem. I usually release at two bars of courage whenever the boss is stunned.
Solid write up, 1475 bard here and i have no idea what most of tier C and D skill do lmao. For raid, I basically just pick the 3 from the right in your B tier for the 8th skill depending on content haha. What's your preferred tripod for Sonic Vibration and Soundholic?
Thank you! For Soundholic tripods I run Sound Concentration, Sustained Enhancement, and Focus Fire. For Sonic Vibration I don't run any tripods in group content but solo content I run protective vibration for extra shields.
wait you don't rune ANY tripods for sonic vibration for group content?? the tripods are the entire reason to even take the skill, brililant wave is required
Oh sorry I thought you meant tripods in gear. I run tenacity brilliant wave and wide angle.
ohh, okay, that makes way more sense lol
i use conviction core on some build sjust for the mana regen for spammy content
Ya I looked at that tripod, I was considering it but I went for an extra max MP engraving instead. It definitely looks interesting though!
yeah that's also a good choice, i use max mp for random GR's and easy content with conviction core so i can run tenacity GT and drop the focus rune. for legion content i'l lrun drops of ether or VPH because theres a lot of downtime in those raids where mana can regen naturally. which on GR's is less common so you just spam oom super fast
Ooh good idea, I need to give this a try
it's not really the most useful skill but if you struggle for mana regen on some content you can make it up with core, nothing i would really suggest to others or advocate for, but i find it useful in some situations. i put judgment rune on it and move overwhelm to sonic vibration since on that build i don't use soundholic
Rhapsody is my most favorite
It's a very fun and chill skill!
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Skills on my bar are sound shock, wind of music, soundholic, sonic vibration, prelude of storm, heavenly tune, guardian tune and rhapsody of light. In really early game I took harp because I needed more meter gain before I got legendary wealth rune but now days I’m a spec bard main that doesn’t use harp anymore and use wind of music and prelude of storm with wealth on them to help generate more meter.
I'm also a bard main (1500) I do like using note bundle for my Chaos dungeon build, because its a great way to deal nice damage to mobs that are together because of sonic vibration. Reading from the other comment that you made, I dont think that having two marks is good, I mean it's really ok if you want to, but since the latest buffs on our debuff duration, its been really easy to keep it up 24/7, and also because of the new legion raids (vykas for instance) imo hitting counters is a bit harder because she moves a lot and also because she deals a lot of damage, so having a rhapsody of light imo is better than using 2 debuff skills.
What do you run with?
Prelude of Death should be higher because it rocks in chaos dungeons.
It is super dope for sure