A thought on Bards

Beastmaster is currently at 55 and on hold for the time being.

Lately I've gotten back to my love for mages and support roles and I went back to Bard. Now I'm essentially the type of Bard that most career Bards hate, a 3rd job merit whore. I'm not leveling Bard because I want a new main, I just want a side job I can use in merits, most people who share the same goal as me tend to be crappy Bards who rush to 75 and I can understand why the career Bards hate that.

I never really could imagine being a career bard. Sure they have tons of awesome endgame gear choices, more than most jobs, but the job is just so limited to me in use at 75 that I would never want it as my first and only 75 job. We've had Bard mains in our LS, sure they can come along on the odd event like a NM and things like that but when it comes to most things, they just don't fit in much. Things like assaults, bcnms, ksnms, and CoP missions that have defined setups that work (commonly referred to as cookie cutter), often times there just wasn't room for a Bard. And during my time in endgame linkshells, the only purpose the Bard ever served was being a Ballad whore for the Black Mage pts. I'm sure a career Bard could argue they're more useful than just what I mentioned above but for my case and what I do in the game, I just view Bard as a very limited job.

So no I'm not leveling Bard to take priority over my current jobs, it's just a situational 3rd job that can come in handy every now and then, such as merit pts. This absolutely does not mean I'm gonna be a gimp Bard, I do understand where the career Bards are coming from and I do take the time to make sure my gear is comparable to the Bard mains out there. I obtained the HQ staves and +1 instruments I need, I spent hours in Phomiuna to get a Gaudy Harness, I camped the minstrel's coat, I got all the items for an opo-crown, and I splurged on a wind torque. Even if I'm just gonna be a merit whore, I'm gonna be the best damn merit whore I can be.