The Underestimated Class

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I want to find out if anyone here likes or uses BARDS!!! In my opinion bards are very missunderstood in BG but the truth is, they are not all that bad!!!

So give me your opinions on the bard class (and kits) even if it is bad!!!

Thanx....

 

The bard does seem to be rather versatile with spell casting, bard song, lore and some proficiency with armor - but still he seems to be a back up character. But then I've also played as a druid (who's also a secondary character) and had lots of fun with that...

The Blade seems to be a fighter/mage - only with less weapon proficiencies and spell levels. But I haven't really played one, maybe the spins compensate? And regarding armor the F/M can still use the Bladesinger Chain and cast spells at the same time...

The Jester seems to loose power in mid- and endgame where most enemies will save (save vs. magic at +4) against his song. Skald seems to be the most interesting - and more bard-like than the Blade who's song doesn't improve by level... (and again the Blade is just a weaker version of the F/M)

But maybe I should try one out some time...? If so, I think I'll go with the Skald.

 

I've only played a bard once, and although he has a pretty good stonghold in terms of choices you can make, I wasn't overly impressed. I do like to have two characters in the party who are capable of casting mage spells, and the bard will function nicely as a second mage, but overall, they seem like more of a luxury than an essential part of a party. Perhaps if they allowed more than 6 characters in a party (and really the limit of 6 is a completely arbitrary decision and one that would not be encountered if you were truly role-playing) then I would use them more.

 

@Rewisuk
I think you should try and elaborate why you think the bard class is underestimated, maybe throw a few bard strategies in there as well...

 

bard is underestimated in bg2 because they are too weak and do not offer anything really special.
download The Darkest Day mod and have fun with some cool bards

 

You need to read this thread:

Bard vs. Mage/Thief...who da man?

 

I agree totally with Aldeth. In fact, if all npcs can be included in my party at the same time, I would have all of them in my party.
Unless this topic is at IWD II, I would have said that 1 bard in a party would make a huge different.But in SOA or TOB, they are not that important. I don't mean bard are useless, just that they are less useful and less powerful than other class. Anyway,don't be discouraged to use bard just because of this comments. If you can use a bard to play successfully, that only mean you are good.

 

Underestimated?
No way, they are just as lousy as you may think.
They are a mix of to many classes to be useful in any. I think you would be stronger as a F/M/T than a Bard even though you´d be a couple of levels behind in the end. This is the only thing I dont like about BG2. I wish they had made another useful class instead of putting in the Bard class.

Cant have everything though

 

I think Bard is very cool, and powerful too.

My favorite strategy with my Blade is buff him up with protection/benefit spell (stone skin, protection from XX, Improved Haste, etc), and then send him into battle (dual wield Belm and Kundain), and with Offensive Spin he can attack 10 times/round, and max damage too!! Not to mention his Skeleton Warrior...

Bard RULEZ!! (well, at least its kit do )

Edit: remove TOB content (lucky mods dont notice )

[ July 16, 2003, 03:33: Message edited by: Pal ]

 

Love bards - they are a great class. Even completed BG1 with a Bard.

The number of spells per level are limiting, but the power is cool.

Lore is very useful and being able to steal items with pick-pocket is always beneficial.

They can wear some decent armour and have a good selection of weapons which helps.

I especially love the Blade kit for the extra attacks and the fantastic spins, but the Skald is pretty cool too. I use the Blade if I want to melee more and the Skald if I want to use a bow more (or a two-handed weapon).

Do you prefer playing a good, neutral or evil bard? I usually play CN or NE.

 

Ya want bard strats?

Okay take Blade. You gotta think on it to really think up something, but they really are quite powerful. Realize that bards can reach much higher levels than mages, meaning spells based on levels are much more effective (including duration) that means Skull Trap, Mislead, and Tenser's Transformation. Combine Imp. Haste, Mirror Image, Shield, Stoneskin, 4 singing Misleads (yes they can do that) for true invisibiltiy, and Tenser's and you have one kick ass bard. Then you offensive spin for haste and one more attack and max damage, just think about it. Underpowered my butt. In ToB they get even more disgustingly powerful, but that's another story.

 

I just posted a similar post to this in "the Fab Four -1" and a lot of the text was copied.


The bards best aspect being able to use almost any magical item in BGII
(wands, scrolls, etc.) this means that if you have enough wands (I have 10 or something, including 4 wands of fire and I havent left Athkatla yet - well planar sphere and astral prison)

This makes them incrdibly powerful and great back up mages especially if you already have a sorcerer, as they cant learn from scrolls.

They can also use all of those musical instuments, which seem to be incredibally powerful.

 

You guys are far too interested in fighting.
I did play with a bard in BG2 once (a Jester) but the thing that endeared him to me was the way in which he would proclaim "I have taken something!" LOL. All the citizens of Athkathla were walking around with empty pockets. For me the Jester made a passable frontliner with some magik capabilities which were a bonus. Though the designers of BG2 are a bit biased against Bards. In IWD my bard is far more useful and has a lot of articles usable by her only.

 

Well, my party of 3 Bards is struggling, but squeaking by... I'm in the Underdark and getting along O.K.....

I tried the fight with the Demon Knights and royally got my butt kicked - but, so far, they've done just well enough to progress.

They aren't good at anything, but they can DO most anything... therein lies the challenge - to take advantage of what you CAN do. And the above post is right - I spend all I can on wands. Monster summoning is great - and fast! They all cast spells and shoot bows and then, eventually, fight in HtH.... but only as a last resort. Umberhulks give me fits. One hit and I'm near death. I have to run away from some monsters..., charm, confuse, etc...hide, go invisible, etc. or swap out hand combatants... it ain't easy!

 

@spoogemonkey

Are you able to cast Tensers Transformation yet? This makes such a difference in melee, especially if you have a blade dual-wielding - think of all those attacks plus the improved THAC0 and double hitpoints.

Have you used the bard song(s) much? I have found it can make a difference if you can spare the bard for singing.

If all this fails then the tried and tested method of summon summon summon works every time.

 

theyre an ahem*interesting* class.....but if you think about it, theyre not that great.
they might be fun, but youll probably get pounded if ur run around with kundane and belm.....when you get to the end with THOSE two? uh oh

 

@the assassin: not many creature in SOA require more than +2 weapon to hit, and you should use some other weapons in that case (I use Mace of Disruption), or just Slayer change and kill them all.

 

Bards can wield almost any weapons, except Bastard Swords, Composite Long Bows and possibly a couple of others. If you are dual-wielding then you possibly don't need belm. There are plenty of cool Katanas and Longswords you could dual-wield, even axes if you felt like it.

 

Bards in general are not a must in my party, but the blade kit is nice. Bards seem to be a combination of two or three classes which can make up for short-commings in your party, although they in themselves are not usless. Once they can cast spells like breach (I think they can get that high ) they can make some tough fights a bit easier since BGII is more mage friendly.

 

up to level 20 a Bard is a must for some spells that increase damage with level (i.e. Magic missile, Skull Trap, etc...). I believe that most level oriented spells are capped at L20, so once your mages reach L20 (SOA or TOB?) the bard loses this benefit. Although it does take the mage quite a bit longer to get there than a bard.

Have you tried defensive spin and spell casting? It is awesome and vastly improves the chance of successfully casting a spell. If you have the ring of free action as well then you can still move.