👑Ivy Posted October 2, 2015 Report Posted October 2, 2015 (edited) Please note that this guide assumes you already know about Combat Power (CP) and basic information regarding player stats. If you don't, I recommend you first take a look at Falaflame's guide, or the Mabinogi Wikia. ( Bits of information and pictures also used from the Mabinogi Wikia are included in this guide.) 1. Overview The bard skillset is mainly a support class. With a variety of skills that are focused on party-strengthening effects, a bard's best asset is, of course, their instrument. A bard that knows how to help their teammates with high-ranked skills is a strong asset in a party, if not a necessity. A bard will most often aim to get as much bonuses for music buff effect, buff duration, or enhanced effects for certain skills. Otherwise, the skillset enables you to compose and play your own music in-game via Score scrolls, which have a limited use and are only tradable from player to player. Let's have a look at the different skills this class has to offer : Dischord : Probably one of the most useful skills of the class, as well as the only offensive one. The player whacks their instrument on the enemy's head, making the instrument play a note as it does so. The enemy gets some damage dealt over time and a speed debuff, all for a few short seconds. Lullaby : The most useful skill. As its name states, it ''lulls'' the enemy to sleep, rendering them immobile for a duration that lasts longer the higher the rank. It also makes the enemy monster more vulnerable to attacks. *Beware though, you can only use the skill once per monster, and some very strong monsters, like Girgashiy, are immune to the skill. Enduring melody : Strengthens the affected players with bonus Defense, Magic defense, Protection, Magic protection, as well as Mana and Stamina restoration. It is particularly useful to help restore MP and Stamina, if used along with Fantastical Chorus. *Pet clouds's stamina regeneration, as well as Rest stacks over the skill's stamina regeneration, and thus makes it even easier to recover a lot of stamina quickly. Battlefield Overture : Augments the affected players's Minimum and Maximum damage, and provides them with a bonus in critical hit percentage for a short duration. Harvest Song : Gives bonuses towards Gathering speed, Gathering success rate, and production. The better the rank, the greater the effects will be. Vivace : Quickens up Magic casting speed, Alchemy charging speed and attack speed of players affected. March Song : Boosts the affected pets and players's running speed. The higher the rank, the greater the boost. Enthralling performance : For use with an instrument. to entice a nearby animal or Fomor. The creature will then follow the player. The number of monsters enthralled depends on the skill's rank and well as the CP of the player. Additionally, the instruments the player can use with the skill depends on the skill's rank as well. Ranks F through A may only use wind instruments. Ranks 9 through 6 may use wind and string instruments. Ranks 5 through 1 may use wind, string, and percussion instruments. Bass Drum, Music Bottle, Cello, Piano, and all Microphones cannot be used with Enthralling Performance regardless of rank. *Having a player that is using enthralling performance is usually the best way to train some skill requirements where a player needs to hit multiple enemies at once. Playing instrument : Allows the player to play an instrument. By playing an instrument near a homestead field, a time reduction bonus can be given to harvest crops faster. At Rank 9 and beyond, the player can use Magical music with magical Score Scrolls. The effects can be either: Status Boosts Str, Dex, Int, Will, or Luck. The status boost is of a random numerical amount each time the scroll is used; however, the upper limits will increase based on the player's rank of Playing Instrument. The boost dissipates very quickly if not being continuously renewed by the song. Although the maximum status increase due to music is high, reaching that amount is rare (i.e. At rank 4 Playing Instrument, it is not normal to initiate a status increase above 7). Playing Instrument Rank 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Stat Boost (0~#) 1 2 6 10 12 15 Healing Music When active, will heal either Life, Mana, or Stamina at a set rate for all party members. As with other magical music, the healing occurs at the listed rate once every 10 seconds while playing the song. Maximum healing rates will increase based on the character's rank of Playing Instrument. Playing Instrument Rank 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 % Healed (0~#) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 At Rank 5 and beyond, the player can use Special magical music with magical Score Scrolls, with chances of effect being : Berserker : Gives Outraged status. Makes anyone affected by the status unable to use the Defense skill. Causes all party members to exhibit 100% auto-defense rate towards all attacks, including skills which normally ignore passive defense such as Shadow Spirit. The player may still be forcefully knocked down by attacks such as Smash and Magnum Shot. Does not reduce damage from attacks received. Lasts for the duration of the song but is reapplied to party members within range every 10 seconds. Failure will give the Weakness status, shown by a dark cloud over party members, for one full hour, real-time. A successful play will override the Weakness status. During this, any attack made by the player will not stun the target at all as though the target has the outraged status. Attacks that knock down the target will still do so. Peaceful : If successful, cancels aggressiveness on active monsters. A failure will cause all the neutral and enemy units within a set range to become aggressive. Animals with aggro AI, like dogs, will also attack if the song fails. The aggressiveness of the monsters only applies to members of your party. When the scroll is used, the effect will apply once, 10 seconds after the start of the scroll. A scroll with this effect will be labeled "Music of Peace." Sharp aiming Increases aiming speed of ranged attacks by 120%. Only works on stationary targets. A scroll with this effect will be labeled "Max Accuracy +" Fast Casting Reduces casting speed of magic spells to 90% of the original cast time. A scroll with this effect will be labeled "Magic Summon Speed +" Note that pets are not affected by those scrolls, unless a player is logged in as one. Musical Knowlege : Gives the player better chances at achieving inspiring performances. Also determines the score scroll's rank. Composing : Enables the player to write down MML songs on a scroll. The note length gets longer the higher this skill is ranked up. At Rank 1, a scroll can have 1200 characters in the melody, 800 in the first harmony and 500 in the second. A fourth slot was created during Diva's bard update to accommodate songs, and is only used for that purpose. The song skill or Fantastic Chorus must be used in order to be able to hear any code input in that area. With the Music Q update, you are also able to write down songs on free music score scrolls, which only have 20 uses compared to the ones you can buy or obtain from the Musical dungeon. Diva Skills (Not adding to Bard Talent experience if ranked) : Song : The Microphone equivalent to Playing instrument. Obtaining Rank 5 enables the player to use music buffs without an instrument. Enthralling performance and dischord does not count, as they are not buff skills. The player's gender will affect the 'voice' of the skill. Fantastic Chorus : Needs the player to have an instrument or a microphone equipped to use. Has two effects, depending on the skill used to activate it. Duration, buffs, as well as the circle's width are affected by rank. The player's gender also affects the 'chorus voice' of the skill. If Enduring Melody/March song /Harvest is used, the Life Anthem will be played. Life Anthem: All nearby party members and pets will receive a regeneration bonus for Health, Mana and Stamina at a set rate based on the skill's Rank. Meditation does not halt nor reduce the Stamina regeneration rate from Life Anthem. Life Anthem can slow down HP loss from Dark Knight's Disarm phase, albeit at a minimal rate. Pets are only affected if their owner is in a party. Summoned Golems, Summoned Golems, Colossus Marionettes, and Pierrot Marionettes are unaffected by the HP recovery buff. Life Anthem creates a green circle. If Battlefield Overture/Vivace/Lullaby are used, the Sorrow Sonata will be played. Sorrow Sonata: All nearby enemies will receive a reduction to Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Will, Luck, Movement Speed, Attack Speed, and Skill Loading Speed. Sorrow Sonata creates a red circle. Multiple Sorrow sonatas and Life anthems can't be stacked. However, one of each can be, which will result in a Yellow circle. Encore : Resets all current cooldowns on Music skills. Can be used even if the player isn't holding an instrument. Actions related to the skillset Jam session : While being an action, it enables a party of players in a jam band to perform a song together if they have the score scrolls of the song equipped. The party members use the skill first, then the leader starts the song. Chorus : The song version of Jam session, and can be used along with it. Performance : Sets up a donation box whenever the player is using Playing instrument. It once had its use, but nowadays you'll rarely find someone willing to give you some gold for a performance. Freestyle Jam: Obtained through equipping any instrument. The user plays an instrument with the current scroll equipped. Once the Jam is started, a countdown from 4 will repeat until F1 is pressed. Note that the song will never mess up in this mode. Pressing F1 when the circle turns red performs a flawless spin. Messing up causes the player to perform a more awkward, tumbling gesture. During Freestyle Jam, a glowing treble clef appears near the host. Other players can click on this symbol to join in. In order to play the same song as the one hosting, players must not have any scrolls equipped. Players can also join with empty hands to play air guitar, though this is only for appearances, as the player joining in such a way will not contribute any sound to the jam. A WASD mini-game appears during the jam. Freestyle Jamming in specific locations or with certain pets summoned can produce special effects after a combo is completed. 2. Goals : Master or Usefulness first Why are you taking on Music? To get it to Master level as fast as possible? Or for its usefulness? If you plan on ranking the bard talent for usefulness/combat, the main skills you'll need will be these : On the opposite, these are the skills you'll want to rank to reach master as fast as possible : *Note that Playing instrument is there since you need it ranked to get both March song and Vivace. Training tips: For song, you can stop at Rank 5, unless you want full music buff bonuses to be on par with playing instrument. Harvest Song is there only if you want to be able to provide gathering buffs. Playing instrument and Musical knowledge should be kept one rank apart to make training easier, with Musical knowledge being one rank above Playing Instrument's and Song. This will ensure better chances at great successes/inspiring performances if you make your own blank scrolls for training. You can also do Barry's part-time job in Belvast for guaranteed successful performances, no matter your rank. You can train the requirement ''Give a buff to a party member'' by having one of your pets out while in a party. Note: No one likes to hear someone Afk-playing to train their skills. If you plan on training, do it somewhere with no people, or in your homestead. The world is big, and you don't need to train in dunbarton and force everyone to hear you fail! 3. Weapons : If you plan on going into battle with an instrument, Lutes and Mandolins are cheap instruments that do a good job early on. If you have the funds to obtain a battle mandolin, even better. You can either obtain one from players or by doing Barry's advanced part-time job in the Belvast pub, which rewards a random instrument (not counting microphones, guitars and pianos.). Lutes and mandolins are better in the sense that they are normal-speed weapons. The Bass drum is a Stronger alternative, but it is very slow and your hits might not always land if you face fast opponents, so i wouldn't personally recommend it for battling. However, it is ultimately up to you. You can think of the Bass drum to be the Wooden club of the Warrior talent, while Lutes and mandolins are your average Fluted short sword. Bass Drum : Very slow, 9-26 Base Damage Lute : Normal, 4-7 Base damage Mandolin : Normal, 4-8 Base damage Battle mandolin : Normal, 4-10 Base damage 3.5. Demonic Weapon : Demonic Gloomy Sunday : 5-12 Base Damage This is pretty much the best weapon a Master bard can get currently in-game. It is obtainable either through Carpentry, or by doing Saga season 1 episode 5. You get more chances to obtain it if you do the episode on a daily day, which is either Wednesdays, Saturdays or Sundays. It is also the most costly of instruments to repair, as with any demonic weapons, so keep that in mind. (See the Enchant section below for more regarding that topic.) Best Upgrade Sequence: Break Gloomy Sunday Seal (Endelyon, Walter, Art) Other than that one, the usual upgrades for mandolin are applied. Gem upgrades : Music buff Effect +2 (Any general shop) Special upgrade : Red Stones. 4. Enchants Please be reminded that if you fail the enchantment, any enchant of Rank 5 and above will result in destruction of the equipment you are trying to enchant. This is a purely optional step, however if you do desire more buff effect bonus as a bard, here are some enchants that might help you. Make sure to read up on the Mabinogi wiki as well for further information on those enchants, as well for those not listed here. Prefixes : Andante : Rank D Obtained From : Completing Yvona's Battlefield Overture quest Moderato : Rank A Obtained from : Trade assistant imp, 800,000 ducats Allegro : Rank 5 Obtained by completing the March Song quest Encore : Rank 5 Obtained from : Giant alligator raid, White dragon raid, Magic school uniform M (From White dragon Raid) Solo : Rank 5 Obtained From : Secret of Scathach caverns Lord mission, White Dragon Raid, Desert Dragon Raid Suffixes : Engineer's : Rank 9 **Due to the fact that it can be used on any equipment, it is particularly useful to put it on a Gloomy Sunday, or any costly equipment, as it cuts the repair fees of 50%. Obtained from :Emerald Bison, Hillwen's Nightmare Event Chord : Rank 8 Obtained From : The Other Alchemists Adv., Hard, Elite); (Alban Knights Training Grounds Hard S Rank) Opera : Rank 7 Obtained From : Broad Stick (Ciar Normal Hardmode Reward) Rythm : Rank 4 Obtained From : (The Sulfur Spider inside Shadow Realm, Hard, Elite, Peaca Abyss) Orchestra : Rank 2 Obtained From : (Tara Auction House, Desert Dragon) 5. Titles Last of all, as you keep on training, there will be a time where you will earn master titles when you complete the Rank 1 training requirements. For the Bard skillset, though, there aren't any master titles for Musical knowledge and Composing as of now. The most useful are : The Maestro (Music buff effect +5) : Reach Rank 1 in Playing Instrument, Lullaby, Battlefield Overture, Enduring Melody, March Song, Vivace, Harvest Song and Enthralling Performance. The master of Lullaby (Lullaby Effect +8) The master of Battlefield Overture (Battlefield Overture Effect +8) The master of Enduring Melody (Enduring Melody Effect +10) The master of Harvest song (Harvest Song Effect +10) The master of Vivace (Vivace Effect +10) The Fantastic Chorus master (Fantastic Chorus Duration +5 seconds) Among those master titles, there is also a variety of second titles that are obtained through events, title coupons or vouchers. Like with normal titles, Only one of those may be equipped at the time. Second titles that can come in handy : Starlet : Max ATT +10, Music Buff Skill Effect +8, Magic DEF +10,Magic Protection +6 Yvona : Music Buff Skill Effect +8 Hamelin : Max HP +30 Max MP +30 Music Buff Skill Effect +2 Effie : Max Damage +8, Music Buff Skill Effect +2 Ailla : Defense +6 Protection +7 Music Buff Skill Effect +2 Kaito : Magic Attack +8 Music Buff +3 Kagamine Rin : Protection +3% Music Buff +3 Kagamine Len :Critical +2 Music Buff +3 Hatsune Miku : Maximum Damage +5 Music Buff +3 8th Anniversary Fantasista: Max Attack +20, Magic Attack +6, Water/Fire/Wind/Clay Alchemy Damage +8, Music Buff Skill Effect +2, Magic Defense +4, Magic Protection +4 Pianissimo: Music Buff +7 Forte: Music Buff +8 Fortissimo: Music buff +9 If there is anything i have forgotten, or that you would like me to develop further, please state so, as this guide will serve me as model for future guides, please! I'd like to note that i am not too knowledgeable on reforges, and since they're a pay-to-be-OP thing, i won't address them, unless for archery. Edited February 6, 2017 by Ivy
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