Bard

Description

Bards are the do-it-all class of Norrath. Wandering minstrels, troubadours and satirists, Bards are equally at home on the battlefield as they are performing songs and plays for the royal courts of Norrath. Through his extensive travels, the Bard has learned from many of Norrath’s other classes: He picks locks and sneaks like the Rogue, tracks and forages like the Ranger, safe falls like the Monk, casts spells as well as many Wizards, and dual wields like the Warrior. Although he is not as skilled in any one of these abilities as more specialized classes, he has by far the widest range of skills and abilities of all the adventurers of Norrath.

Bards have the ability to wear plate armor, the sturdiest (and heaviest) of all armor types. The Bard also has an array of weapon skills to choose from, including One-Handed Slashing, Blunt and Piercing weapons.

The Bard’s trademark, though, is his ability to play magical songs. Songs are a powerful type of magic unique to the Bard class. Only a couple of these songs require mana, and songs can be played at any time, even in the middle of combat! Most Bard songs affect all members of a Bard’s group, multiplying the Bard’s usefulness to the group for every additional member that joins. Multiple Bards in the same group can only make things better, as there is no limit to the number of songs in effect at the same time. Even a single skilled Bard can some- times put up to three or four different songs into effect at once.

A Bard is a charismatic and popular jack of all trades. Bards can fill the role of tank in a group lacking a Warrior or Paladin. If the group needs a healer, the Bard’s very popular healing songs can help reduce downtime. The Bard can also play the role of Enchanter, by charming and mesmerizing enemies to do his bidding.

In the rare case that the adventuring Bard finds himself without a group of fellow adventurers, he can still draw on his considerable soloing prowess. The Bard’s speed songs enables him to run faster than any other class in Norrath, while his direct damage song can hit enemies from a distance.

Although Bards are formidable in offensive combat, with the ability to wield a weapon in each hand, they may also choose to play a musical instrument. Instruments increase the effectiveness of their songs dramatically, and the power of magical instruments can truly swing the tide of a battle.

For those that choose to go the way of player vs. player combat, the Bard is a fearsome class to face in a duel. It is the only class with a limitless supply of magic and this, combined with power in melee combat, makes the bard a truly formidable foe.

- Julien Beasley

Class Titles

Level 1-50	Level 51-54	Level 55-59	Level 60
Bard	Minstrel	Troubadour	Virtuoso

Creation Guide

It is important to make good decisions on Race, Starting Stats, and Religion. These things combined will allow you to create the Bard that makes you most happy.

Choosing Race

Human

The Human Bard is the strongest Bard, and the least dexterous. He has no night vision, and may only wear medium armor. Humans may start in either of the two Human cities, Freeport or Qeynos. Humans also have the highest Stamina, and thus the most hit points, of any Bard race.

Half-Elf

Half Elf Bards are the second strongest, and the most dexterous. Half Elves may only wear medium-sized armor, but they share the Infravision ability of their Wood Elf cousins. Half Elves also have the greatest choice of starting location — they may start in Kelethin, Freeport or Qeynos.

Wood Elf

Wood Elf Bards are the weakest Bards physically, and the second most dexterous. They have the ability to wear small or medium armor to offset their lack of Strength. They have night vision and the ability to Forage at level 1. Wood Elves also have the racial ability to Hide (although all Bards acquire this ability eventually) and are the most agile of Bards. Wood Elves start in the sylvan city of Kelethin, on the continent of Faydwer.

Starting Statistics

Race	Str	Sta	Agi	Dex	Wis	Int	Cha	Bonus
Wood Elf	70	65	95	90	80	75	85	25
Half Elf	75	70	90	95	60	75	85	25
Human	80	75	75	85	75	75	85	25

Spending Your Bonus Points

Bards have perhaps, the most number of useful stats of any class. Some have a bit more value than others though.

• Strength - Affects maximum and average melee damage and also the bard's ability to carry armor and treasure. Bard armor can be heavy and they do melee, albeit not all the time.
• Stamina - Affects your total hitpoints. Bards recieve 4HP per stamina at level 60. Players receive very small benefits from stamina at lower level, which scales up as you level up.
• Agility - Affects how often melee attacks miss the bard, and lowers the average hit taken. A little.
• Dexterity - Affects how often weapons proc, how quickly you learn melee skills and reduces the chance to miss a note, bringing your song to a close (song fizzle). In a test comparing 100 songs on a 60 bard with 100 base DEX, 7 notes were missed. On geared 167 total DEX, 131 songs before a single note was missed.
• Wisdom - Affects the speed of general and craft skill gains if higher than Intelligence.
• Intelligence - Affects the speed of general and craft skill gains if higher than Wisdom. Increases the size of the bard's mana pool. Only two songs, Solon's Bewitching Bravura and Denon's Desperate Dirge, require mana to cast.
• Charisma - Affects bard lull, mesmerize, and charm abilities. However, all songs are on fixed duration (unless it breaks early), meaning duration can never increase past the song's tick-limit. Kelin's Lugubrious Lament (lull) is a fantastic pulling tool, and charm will also be frequently used by a skilled Bard.

Allocation Recommendations
All-Around: 25 points into Dexterity
Grouping: 25 points into Charisma

Religion

Generally speaking being agnostic is a fairly safe bet in Everquest. Religion serves only to get you into trouble in many situations. The disadvantage to doing this is that some items and some quests can only be done by followers of certain religions. Following a religion will at worst get you killed in some areas, but generally you can avoid these. In the end it will not make an enormous difference to your character which Deity you choose..

Skills

Male Bard from Casters Realm ~2000

Musical Skills

Level	Trained	Skill	Cap at Kunark Launch	Cap Until 50	Cap Above 50
1	No	Singing	200	235	235
5	Yes	Percussion Instruments	200	235	235
8	Yes	Stringed Instruments	200	235	235
11	Yes	Brass Instruments	200	235	235
14	Yes	Wind Instruments	200	235	235

Casting Skills

Level	Trained	Skill	Cap Until 50	Cap Above 50
10	Yes	Meditate	1	1

• The meditate skill for the bard has the sole purpose of allowing spells to be scribed into the spell book and memorised into song slots in a timely fashion. It does not increase bard mana regeneration.

Combat Skills

Level	Trained	Skill	Cap Until 50	Cap Above 50	Feb 21, 2001	Oct 8, 2001
1	No	1 Hand Blunt	200	225		250
1	No	1 Hand Slashing	200	225		250
1	No	Bind Wound	100	200
1	No	Defense	200	200?	252
1	No	Hand to Hand	100	100
1	No	Offense	200	215		252
1	No	Piercing	200	210?		250
1	No	Throwing	113	113
10	Yes	Dodge	125	155
17	No	Dual Wield	210	210
26	No	Intimidation	100	100
53	Yes	Parry	75	105?		185
58	Yes	Riposte	75	75

Miscellaneous Skills

Like all classes, a Bard can raise the following skills:

Level	Trained	Skill	Cap Until 50	Cap Above 50
1	No	Alcohol Tolerance	255	255
1	No	Begging	200+	237+
1	No	Fishing	200	200
1	No	Sense Heading	200	200
1	No	Swimming	200	200

Additionally, Bards get an assortment of utility skills:

Level	Trained	Skill	Cap Until 50	Cap Above 50
12	Yes	Forage	55	55
17	Yes	Sneak	75	75
20	Yes	Sense Traps	75	75
24	Yes	Safe Fall	40	40
25	Yes	Hide	40	40
30	Yes	Disarm Traps	100	100
35	Yes	Tracking	100	100
40	Yes	Pick Lock	100	100

Disciplines

Bard disciplines were introduced with the Velious expansion; they offer short term advantages with a long re-use: These are most useful in dragon/boss encounters.

Bards MUST turn off songs in order to start Disciplines, failure to do so will result in the Discipline being cancelled but the cool-down will still activate.

Discipline Name	Level Obtained	Description	Duration	Reuse Time	Expansion
Resistant Discipline	51	+10 to all resistances. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as you level.	1 Min	72 Min
Fearless Discipline	54	Immunity to "Fear" and all spells that cause "fear". The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as you level.	11 Sec	72 Min
Deftdance Discipline	55	Auto dodge attacks from the front and auto dual-wield.	10 Sec	72 Min
Puretone Discipline	60	Makes it as if you are wielding the best instrument of every type, whether or not you are actually wielding an instrument. Increases to 28 modifier, and does work on singing mod.	4 Min	72 Min

Messages for activation and ending

Resistant Discipline: Starting: You channel your will into magical resistance. / Ending: Your resistance fades.

Fearless Discipline: Starting: Your will drives fear from your mind. / Ending: The specter of fear returns to your mind.

Deftdance Discipline: Starting: You dance about nimbly. / Ending: Your movements return to normal.

Puretone Discipline: Starting: Your voice becomes perfectly melodious. / Ending: Your voice loses its perfection.

Songs

Songs with Strikethrough indicate that they are unavailable on the server either due to being out-of-era thus far (songs added in later Kunark Era patches or Velious Era songs), or due to client limitations (Stamina is now Endurance).

Level	Song Name	Skill	Duration	Target	Range	Description	Expansion
1	Chant of Battle	Percussion	18s	Party	0	Increase AC by 1 (L1) to 6 (L70), Increase STR by 5 (L1) to 22 (L70), Increase DEX by 5 (L1) to 22 (L70), (Area 50)
2	Chords of Dissonance	String	18s	PB AE	0	Decrease Hitpoints by 2 (L2) to 19 (L70) per tick, (Area 30)
3	Jaxan's Jig o' Vigor	Percussion	18s	Party	0	Decrease Stamina Loss by 10 (L3) to 27 (L70), (Area 35)
4	Lyssa's Locating Lyric	Singing	0	Self	0	Locate Corpse, (Area 900)
5	Selo's Accelerando	Percussion	18s	Party	0	Increase Movement by 20% (L5) to 65% (L50), (Area 150)
6	Hymn of Restoration	String	18s	Party	0	Increase Hitpoints by 2 (L6) to 12 (L70) per tick, (Area 30)
7	Jonthan's Whistling Warsong	Singing	18s	Self	0	Increase Attack Speed by 16% (L7) to 25% (L40), Increase AC by 2 (L7) to 12 (L70), Increase STR by 8 (L7) to 40 (L70)
8	Kelin's Lugubrious Lament	String	30s	Single	200	Frenzy Radius(5/60), Reaction Radius(10/60), Pacify, Uses: Lute x 1
9	Elemental Rhythms	Percussion	18s	Party	0	Increase Magic Resist by 9 (L9) to 40 (L70), Increase Cold Resist by 9 (L9) to 40 (L70), Increase Fire Resist by 9 (L9) to 40 (L70), Increase AC by 2 (L9) to 6 (L70), (Area 50)
10	Anthem de Arms	Singing	18s	Party	0	Increase Attack Speed by 10%, Increase STR by 10 (L10) to 40 (L70), (Area 50)
11	Cinda's Charismatic Carillon	Wind	18s	Single	100	Increase Faction by 120 (L11) to 710 (L70)
12	Brusco's Boastful Bellow	Singing	0	Single	100	Decrease Hitpoints by 7 (L12) to 36 (L70)
13	Purifying Rhythms	Percussion	18s	Party	0	Increase Magic Resist by 11 (L13) to 40 (L70), Increase Poison Resist by 11 (L13) to 40 (L70), Increase Disease Resist by 11 (L13) to 40 (L70), Increase AC by 2 (L13) to 6 (L70), (Area 50)
14	Lyssa's Cataloging Libretto	Singing	0	Single	100	Identify
15	Kelin's Lucid Lullaby	String	18s	Single	100	Mesmerize(2/30)
16	Tarew's Aquatic Ayre	Wind	24s	Party	0	Water Breathing(1), Uses: Wooden Flute x 1, (Area 125)
17	Guardian Rhythms	Percussion	18s	Party	0	Increase AC by 3 (L17) to 12 (L70), Increase Magic Resist by 13 (L17) to 40 (L70), (Area 50)
18	Denon's Disruptive Discord	Brass	18s	PB AE	0	Decrease Hitpoints by 8 (L18) to 21 (L70) per tick, Decrease AC by 5 (L18) to 21 (L70), (Area 35)
19	Shauri's Sonorous Clouding	Wind	18s	Party	0	Invisibility, See Invisible(1), Uses: Wooden Flute x 1, Focus: Wooden Flute, (Area 45)
20	Largo's Melodic Binding	Singing	18s	PB AE	0	Decrease AC by 4 (L20) to 12 (L70), Decrease Attack Speed by 15% (L20) to 35% (L60), (Area 30)
20	Cassindra's Chant of Clarity	Singing	Instant	Party	0	Increase Mana by 2
21	Melanie's Mellifluous Motion	Wind	0	Party	600	Shadowstep, (Area 200)
22	Alenia's Disenchanting Melody	String	0	Party	0	Cancel Magic(1), Uses: Lute x 1, Focus: Item #1, (Area 25)
23	Selo's Consonant Chain	Singing	18s	Single	150	Decrease Movement by 53% (L23) to 100% (L70), Decrease Attack Speed by 16% (L23) to 40% (L70)
24	Lyssa's Veracious Concord	Wind	18s	Party	0	See Invisible(1), Ultravision, Uses: Wooden Flute x 1, (Area 80)
25	Psalm of Warmth	Singing	18s	Party	0	Increase Damage Shield by 5 (L25) to 12 (L70), Increase Cold Resist by 35 (L25) to 80 (L70), Infravision, Increase AC by 3 (L25) to 6 (L70), (Area 50)
26	Angstlich's Appalling Screech	Brass	18s	PB AE	0	Fear(1), Uses: Horn x 1, (Area 25)
27	Solon's Song of the Sirens	Wind	18s	Single	200	Charm(1), Decrease Magic Resist by 4 (L27) to 9 (L70), Uses: Wooden Flute x 1
28	Crission's Pixie Strike	Wind	18s	Single	100	Mesmerize(2/45), Decrease Magic Resist by 5 (L28) to 12 (L70), Uses: Wooden Flute x 1
29	Psalm of Vitality	Singing	18s	Party	0	Increase Damage Shield by 5 (L29) to 12 (L70), Increase Disease Resist by 39 (L29) to 80 (L70), Increase AC by 3 (L29) to 6 (L70), (Area 50)
30	Fufil's Curtailing Chant	Percussion	18s	Single	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 11 (L30) to 24 (L70) per tick, Decrease Magic Resist by 9 (L30) to 19 (L70), (Area 30)
31	Agilmente's Aria of Eagles	Wind	18s	Party	0	Levitate(1), Uses: Wooden Flute x 1, (Area 80)
32	Cassindra's Chorus of Clarity	Singing	0	Party	0	Increase Mana by 5 (L32) to 7 (L48) per tick, (Area 30)
33	Psalm of Cooling	Singing	18s	Party	0	Increase Damage Shield by 6 (L33) to 12 (L70), Increase Fire Resist by 43 (L33) to 80 (L70), Ultravision, Increase AC by 3 (L33) to 6 (L70), (Area 50)
34	Cantana of Soothing	Singing	3 ticks	Party	0	Increase Hitpoints by 4 per tick; Increase Mana by 5 per tick; Decrease Stamina Loss by 4
34	Lyssa's Solidarity of Vision	Wind	24s	Single	10000	Bind Sight, Uses: Wooden Flute x 1
35	Denon's Dissension	Brass	0	PB AE	0	Decrease Mana by 22 (L35) to 40 (L70), (Area 30)
36	Vilia's Verses of Celerity	Singing	18s	Party	0	Increase Attack Speed by 20%, Increase AGI by 23 (L36) to 40 (L70), Increase AC by 5 (L36) to 10 (L70), (Area 50)
37	Psalm of Purity	Singing	18s	Party	0	Increase Damage Shield by 7 (L37) to 12 (L70), Increase Poison Resist by 47 (L37) to 80 (L70), Increase AC by 4 (L37) to 6 (L70), (Area 50)
38	Tuyen's Chant of Flame	Percussion	18s	Single	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 20 (L38) to 36 (L70) per tick, Decrease Fire Resist by 11 (L38) to 19 (L70), (Area 30)
39	Solon's Bewitching Bravura	Wind	1m	Single	200	Charm(1), Decrease Magic Resist by 5 (L39) to 9 (L70), Uses: Wooden Flute x 1
40	Syvelian's Anti-Magic Aria	Singing	0	Single	200	Cancel Magic(4)
41	Psalm of Mystic Shielding	Singing	18s	Party	0	Increase Magic Resist by 51 (L41) to 80 (L70), Increase Absorb Magic Damage by 15, Increase Hitpoints by 5 per tick, Increase AC by 4 (L41) to 6 (L70), (Area 50)
42	McVaxius' Berserker Crescendo	Brass	18s	Party	0	Increase Attack Speed by 18% (L42) to 25% (L70), Increase STR by 15 (L42) to 24 (L70), Increase AC by 6 (L42) to 10 (L70), Uses: Horn x 1, (Area 45)
43	Denon's Desperate Dirge	Singing	0	AoE	150	Decrease Hitpoints by 311 (L43) to 365 (L70), (Area 20)
44	Cassindra's Elegy	Singing	12s	Party	0	Increase INT by 12 (L44) to 18 (L70), Increase WIS by 12 (L44) to 18 (L70), (Area 100)
45	Jonthan's Provocation	Singing	18s	Self	150	Increase Attack Speed by 48% (L45) to 50% (L47), Increase STR by 13 (L45) to 19 (L70), Increase ATK by 13 (L45) to 19 (L70)
46	Tuyen's Chant of Frost	Percussion	18s	Single	200	Decrease Hitpoints by 24 (L46) to 36 (L70) per tick, Decrease Cold Resist by 13 (L46) to 19 (L70), (Area 30)
47	Niv's Melody of Preservation	String	18s	Party	0	Increase STR by 10, Increase Absorb Magic Damage by 10, Increase Hitpoints by 6 (L47) to 9 (L70) per tick, (Area 45)
48	Selo's Chords of Cessation	String	12s	PB AE	0	Decrease Hitpoints by 26 (L48) to 37 (L70) per tick, Decrease Attack Speed by 17% (L48) to 22% (L70), (Area 30)
49	Shield of Song	String	18s	Party	0	Increase Absorb Damage by 20, Increase Absorb Magic Damage by 20, (Area 150)
50	Verses of Victory	Singing	18s	Party	0	Increase Attack Speed by 30%, Increase AGI by 30, Increase AC by 15, Increase STR by 30, (Area 50)
50	Melody of Ervaj	Brass	3 ticks	Party	0	Increase Haste v2 by 5%; Increase AC by 5 (L50) to 6 (L65)
51	Selo's Song of Travel	Percussion	3 ticks	Party	250	Increase Movement Speed, Invisibility, See Invisible, Levitate
51	Largo's Absonant Binding	Singing	3 ticks	Single	150	Decrease AGI, AC, Attack Speed, Movement Speed
52	Nillipus' March of the Wee	Percussion	3 ticks	Party	0	Increase AGI, AC, Absorb Damage, Shrink
53	Song of Twilight	Wind	3 ticks	Single	100	Mesmerize (up to level 54)
53	Song of Dawn	Wind	Instant	Single	100	Decrease Hate
54	Vilia's Chorus of Celerity	Singing	3 ticks	Party	0	Increase Attack Speed
54	Selo's Assonant Strane	String	3 ticks	PB AE	35	Decrease Movement Speed, Attack Speed
55	Cantata of Replenishment	String	3 ticks	Party	60	HP Regeneration, Mana Regeneration, Endurance Regeneration
55	Brusco's Bombastic Bellow	Singing	Instant	Single	100	DD, Stun
55	Occlusion of Sound	Percussion (Required)	3 ticks	Single	200	Unresistable Decrease CR, FR, MR
56	Song of Highsun	Wind	Instant	Single	75	Stun, Remove Buffs, Short Distance Teleport
56	Song of Midnight	Brass	3 ticks	PB AE		DoT, Fear, Increase Movement Speed
57	McVaxius' Rousing Rondo	Brass	3 ticks	Party	0	Increase STR, ATK, Attack Speed, Damage Shield
57	Cassindra's Insipid Ditty	String	Instant	Party	0	Decrease Mana, INT, WIS
58	Niv's Harmonic	Singing	3 ticks	Party	0	Increase AC
58	Jonthan's Inspiration	Singing	3 ticks	Self		Increase STR, ATK, Attack Speed
59	Denon's Bereavement	String	3 ticks	PB AE	35	Dot, Poison, Stun, Decrease MR
59	Solon's Charismatic Concord	Singing	3 ticks	Party	0	Increase CHA
60	Kazumi's Note of Preservation	Wind	3 ticks	Party	0	Invulnerability
60	Angstlich's Assonance	Brass	1 minute	Single	150	DoT, Decrease Attack Speed
60	Composition of Ervaj	Brass (Required)	3 ticks	Party	0	Increase AC, Attack Speed

Bard Song Merchants

North Freeport

• Lysric Loresinger - Song: Chant of Battle, Song: Chords of Dissonance, Song: Hymn of Restoration, Jaxan's Jig O' Vigor, Song: Jonathan's Whistling Warsong, Song: Lyssa's Locating Lyric, Song: Selo's Accelerando
• Inisis Trimpet - Song: Anthem de Arms, Song: Brusco's Boastful Bellow, Song: Chant of Battle, Song: Chords of Dissonance, Song: Denon's Desperate Dirge, Song: Denon's Disruptive Discord, Song: Denon's Dissension, Song: Fufil's Curtailing Chant, Song: Jonathan's Provocation, Song: Jonathan's Whistling Warsong, Song: Largo's Melodic Binding, McVaxius Berserker Crescendo, Song: Tuyen's Chant of Flame, Song: Tuyen's Chant of Frost, Song: Verses of Victory, Song: Vilia's Verses of Celerity

Kelethin

• Beleth Streamfoot - Song: Chords of Dissonance, Song: Hymn of Restoration, Song: Jaxan's Jig o' Vigor, Song: Jonthan's Whistling Warsong, Song: Lyssa's Locating Lyric, Song: Selo's Accelerando
• Astar Leafsinger - Song: Cassindra's Chorus of Clarity, Song: Hymn of Restoration, Song: Purifying Rhythms, Song: Psalm of Warmth, Song: Psalm of Purity , Song: Psalm of Cooling, Song: Niv's Melody of Preservation, Song: Psalm of Mystic Shielding, Song: Elemental Rhythms, Song: Guardian Rhythms, Song: Psalm of Vitality
• Serilia Whistlewind - Song: Angstlich's Appalling Screech, Song: Cinda's Charismatic Carillon, Song: Crission's Pixie Strike, Song: Kelin's Lucid Lullaby, Song: Kelin's Lugubrious Lament, Song: Solon's Bravura, Song: Solon's Song of the Sirens, Song: Syvelian's Anti-Magic Aria

South Qeynos

• Topala Xenem - Song: Alenia's Disenchanting Melody, Song: Cassindra's Chorus of Clarity, Song: Elemental Rhythms, Song: Guardian Rhythms, Song: Hymn of Restoration, Song: Niv's Melody of Preservation, Song: Psalm of Cooling, Song: Psalm of Mystic Shielding, Song: Psalm of Purity, Song: Psalm of Vitality, Song: Psalm of Warmth, Song: Purifying Rhythms
• Lysric Loresinger - Song: Chant of Battle, Song: Chords of Dissonance, Song: Hymn of Restoration, Jaxan's Jig O' Vigor, Song: Jonathan's Whistling Warsong, Song: Lyssa's Locating Lyric, Song: Selo's Accelerando
• Chalea Volesga - Song: Anthem de Arms, Song: Brusco's Boastful Bellow, Song: Chant of Battle, Song: Chords of Dissonance, Song: Denon's Desperate Dirge, Song: Denon's Disruptive Discord, Song: Denon's Dissension, Song: Fufil's Curtailing Chant, Song: Jonathan's Provocation, Song: Jonathan's Whistling Warsong, Song: Largo's Melodic Binding, McVaxius Berserker Crescendo, Song: Tuyen's Chant of Flame, Song: Tuyen's Chant of Frost, Song: Verses of Victory, Song: Vilia's Verses of Celerity

Erudin (Library)

• Altrusan Belstince - Song: Cassindra's Elegy, Song: Lyssa's Cataloging Libretto, Song: Lyssa's Locating Lyric, Song: Lyssa's Solidarity of Vision, Song: Lyssa's Veracious Concord, Song: Psalm of Cooling, Song: Psalm of Warmth, Song: Shauri's Sonorous Clouding, Song: Shield of Song

Highkeep

• Justin Ryhmes - Song: Agilmente's Aria of Eagles, Song: Jaxan's Jig O' Vigor, Song: Melanie's Mellifluous Motion, Song: Selo's Accelerando, Song: Selo's Chords of Cessation, Song: Selo's Consonant Chain, Song: Tarew's Aquatic Ayre

Note: Instrument information marked with an (*) was pulled from an archive of EQ Casters Realm [1]. If you can confirm (or correct) this with in game information or experience, the help would be much appreciated.

Bard-Specific Quests

Original

• Lambent Armor Quests
• Hero Bracers Quest
• Rare Coins Quest
• Vampire Teeth Quest
• Broken Lute Quest
• Aenia and Behroe Quest
• Going Postal Quest
• Kilij's Plans Quest
• Fabian's String Quest
• Bard Reports Quest

Original - Plane of Sky Era

• Bard Plane of Sky Tests

Kunark - Epic Era

• Bard Epic Quest

Velious

• Bard Thurgadin Armor Quests
• Bard Kael Armor Quests
• Bard Skyshrine Armor Quests

Gearing

IMPORTANT - The "best" gear for a bard varies widely depending on what the bard is doing. The best drum and the best lute a bard can afford are the two single most important items a bard will ever need.

RAIDS - Almost all the time, a bard is best served in raids by wearing gear with the appropriate resists in every equipment slot possible. Bards provide HUGE resist boosts (and sometimes other songs) to their whole group, so it is crucial that the bard never be killed or feared by AE and expose his groupmates to the same. Most raid encounters require magic resist.

GROUPS - In experience groups, bards usually will be meleeing while singing 3+ different songs as needed. Different groups will need different songs (won't need haste when there is an enchanter, etc.). When doing this bards are probably best off in str, dex, hp, and ac gear. When a bard is pulling or doing CC, magic resist can be very helpful to avoid snare/root/blind/stun, and charisma can be important to helping with the success of lull.

SOLO - If a bard is AE kiting, getting hit probably means you are going to die no matter what gear you're wearing. Resist gear, especially magic resist, can help protect a bard from a death while pulling or if he accidentally picks up a caster and doesn't notice. When fear kiting, a bard again will want str, dex, hp, and AC gear (and perhaps charisma gear for lulls).

Consequently bards end up with multiple backpacks full of different gear they may need in any different situation. Tweaking which pieces of resist gear you wear in a fight where multiple resists are needed (for example, on Talendor) depends on how high your main resist (MR) can get. If you are at 400 MR at level 60 with buffs/gear/songs, you may consider swapping in great FR pieces in a few slots to bump up your FR without significantly increasing your chance of being feared.

Keep these things in mind when looking at the gear lists below, which are generally set up for a grouping or soloing bard

Illusion Clickies

For Illusion clickies, see List of Illusion Items.

Instrument Progression

Thanks to Grimmly Fireforge for first compiling this instrument progression list.

Vendor

• Percussion: Hand Drum
• Strings: Mandolin, Lute
• Woodwind: Wooden Flute
• Brass: Horn

Entry level

• Percussion: Mistmoore Battle Drums
• Strings: Lute of the Gypsy Princess
• Woodwind: Minotaur Horn, Scorpion Pincer
• Brass: Horn, Conch Shell Horn

Intermediate

• Percussion: Sharkskin Drum, Nostrolo Tambourine
• Strings: Lute of the Gypsy Princess
• Woodwind: Brahhms Horn, Unicorn Horn, Faun Flute
• Brass: Horn, Conch Shell Horn

High End

• Percussion: Walrus Skin Drum, Selo`s Drums of the March
• Strings: Kelin`s Seven Stringed Lute
• Woodwind: Lyssa`s Darkwood Piccolo
• Brass: McVaxius` Horn of War

Kunark High End

• Percussion: Selo`s Drums of the March
• Strings: Lyran's Mystical Lute
• Woodwind: Ervaj's Flute of Flight
• Brass: Denon's Horn of Disaster
• All: Singing Short Sword (Epic)

Best in Slot

Original Pre-Planar

• Ears – Opalline Earring
• Fingers – Golden Star Ruby Ring, Electrum Star Ruby Ring, Platinum Fire Wedding Ring
• Neck – Cape of Midnight Mist, Gypsy Medallion
• Head – Crested Helm, Blackened Iron Coif, Skull-shaped Barbute, Executioners Hood
• Face – Mask of Deception, Leering Mask, Dented Brass Mask
• Chest – Lambent Breastplate, Mithril Breastplate
• Arms – Mithril Vambraces, Lambent Vambraces
• Back – Hooded Black Cloak, Cloak of Shadows
• Waist – Troll-Hide Belt, Thick Banded Belt, Flowing Black Silk Sash
• Shoulders – Gilded Cloth, Crested Spaulders, Carnal Pauldrons
• Wrists – Hero Bracers, Granite Bracer, Runed Mithril Bracer
• Legs – Drake-Hide Leggings, Silver-Plated Leggings
• Hands – Lambent Gauntlets, Charred Gauntlets, Dark Mail Gauntlets, Elf-Hide Gloves
• Feet – Kobold-Hide Boots, Dwarven Work Boots
• Primary – Crystalline Blade, Runed Falchion, Shark Tooth, Cat O' Nine Tails, Enameled Black Mace, Silvery War Axe
• Secondary – Enchanted Fine Steel Rapier, Mistmoore Battle Drums, Lute of the Gypsy Princess
• Range – Dragoon Dirk, Runed Bone Fork

Original - Planar

• Ears - Black Sapphire Electrum Earring
• Fingers - Djarns Amethyst Ring, Platinum Fire Wedding Ring, Platinum Jacinth Wedding Ring,
• Neck - Black Sapphire Platinum Necklace, Fae Amulet
• Head - Lustrous Russet Helm, Crown of King Tranix
• Face - Mask of the Songbird
• Chest - Lustrous Russet Breastplate
• Arms - Lustrous Russet Vambraces
• Back - Cloak of Flames, Hooded Black Cloak
• Waist - Bone-Clasped Girdle, Runed Bolster Belt
• Shoulders - Mantle of the Songweaver
• Wrists - Lustrous Russet Bracer
• Legs - Lustrous Russet Greaves
• Hands - Lustrous Russet Gauntlets
• Feet - Lustrous Russet Boots
• Primary - Harmonic Spear
• Secondary - Kelin`s Seven Stringed Lute, Selo`s Drums of the March, Denon's Horn of Disaster, Lyssa`s Darkwood Piccolo, Ervaj's Flute of Flight
• Range - Runed Bone Fork

Kunark

• Ears - Earring of Essence, Fingerbone Hoop, Black Sapphire Electrum Earring
• Fingers - Platinum Diamond Wedding Ring, Djarns Amethyst Ring, Platinum Fire Wedding Ring, Platinum Jacinth Wedding Ring
• Neck - Necklace of Superiority, Amulet of the Fae
• Head - Crown of Rile, Lustrous Russet Helm, Crown of King Tranix
• Face - Mask of Song
• Chest - Lustrous Russet Breastplate
• Arms - Lustrous Russet Vambraces
• Back - Hierophant's Cloak, Cloak of Piety
• Waist - Bone-Clasped Girdle, Runed Bolster Belt
• Shoulders - Imbued Granite Spauldors
• Wrists - Lustrous Russet Bracer, Sarnak Bracer of Honor, Dragon Hero Bracer
• Legs - Singing Steel Greaves, Blazing Greaves of Fennin Ro
• Hands - Lustrous Russet Gauntlets, Blazing Gauntlets of Fennin Ro
• Feet - Grey Suede Boots, Lustrous Russet Boots
• Primary - Singing Short Sword, Breath of Harmony
• Secondary - Katana of Flowing Water, Edge of the Nightwalker, Sebilite Croaking Dirk, Guardians Mace, Crystalline Short Sword, Sionachie's Partisan
• Range - Idol of the Thorned, Runed Bone Fork
• Instrument - Selo`s Drums of the March, Lyran's Mystical Lute, Kelin`s Seven Stringed Lute, Selo`s Drums of the March, Denon's Horn of Disaster

References

Classes

Bard :: Cleric :: Druid :: Enchanter :: Magician :: Monk :: Necromancer :: Paladin :: Ranger :: Rogue :: Shadowknight :: Shaman :: Warrior :: Wizard