Bard usefulness.

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Are bards of any good use in IWD 2?
I like bards but if they suck at their songs i wont have one.

Whats your opinion?

 

Does anyone know that a level 1 bard is the best minions summoner of all classes?

Take a sorcerer, with limited CON, huge INT, you might maxed you concentration. Then you attempt to summon your minions, take Animate undead for example. Your sorcerer, no matter how many level, can only summon one minion at a time, expecially those high level ones, correct? Your sorcerer, no matter how many level, still need some duration for a spell to fully cast and the minion to appear, correct? Your sorcerer, no matter how many level, still has a chance to fail the concentration check and lose your spell before you can finish it, correct?
But, a bard, a lvl 1 bard can use a horn that you've gotten from the werewolf merchant in western pass foothill and summon 3~6 barbarians in no time.

No one expect these barbarians to withstand a single battle. But, due to the fact that it require no time at all to cast so many barbarians, they are instant meat shields. It is so instant that these barbarians can laugh at how not instant those Japanese instant noodles are.

3~5 barbarians is for the horn you found in normal mode, 4~6 is for the horn you found in HoF mode.

 

There are much better bard songs in IWD2 than in previous IE games, so I think if you like to play bards you'll definitely enjoy them here. I love that you get new songs with different abilities as you level up. The other advantage is that there are a lot of interesting and useful magical items in the game that can only be used by bards, and it's so much fun to find them and actually be able to use them!

 

My answer still hasn't changed from last time.

Bards are excellent.

But, they are not fighters. And they are not wizards. They can support a fighter; and they can support a wizard (or cleric or druid).

They are listed under support. Use them to support, and you will see the benefit of a bard seriously stand out. Especially over a ranger. And the bards really help out when you start getting +3 two-handed weapons.

 

"Bard usefulness" is a perfect oxymoron!

(Oxymoron: a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (as cruel kindness)

 

at Earl Grey

Oxymoron in this case is a Fallacy.

If you don't want a support character, don't take a support character.

[ April 06, 2003, 18:16: Message edited by: Yago ]

 

Yago, it's a matter of opinion, isn't it? I find bards less useful than some other character classes.

 

[yep, opinion and playstyle.

 

S-U-P-P-O-R-T

Find out what it means to me.

My Bard learns the spells that I don't want to waste sorcerer slots on, but are still spells I would like.

Favorite Bard Songs: Tymora's Melody and War Chant of the Sith

And even if you just go to lvl 11 and mc with theif or sorcerer or both or whatever, this character will have it's uses if you put them to good use.

Summoning the barbarians are fun, not just for "meat shields" , but when you blow the horn it makes a funny sound and the barbarians RAARGH like all barbarians should.

 

Do you think Bards are good enough Thiefs?

Not to go off topic, but if not, why? and who would you use instead?

 

they're ok theifs but not anywhere near as good as a normal one. i dont usualy use bardsthough they are pretty good they are like half of two classes- mage-theif i usually go around that though cuz i like my theifs and mages and the benifits of them separate

 

bards are an exellent choice. They can work as thiefs and cast spells and the songs are not
so bad either.

 

Bards can actually replace Clerics in healing. Too bad they don't get Raise Dead because I've been itching to kill my Cleric.

Bards are (to me) meant to be used for support, because they are pretty lousy in everything. But, they do get *really* powerful spells later. Like Wail of the Banshee...

And the Horn summons 2-4 Barbarians, and 3-5 Barbarians in HoF. And they are funny ("Look at me, I'm a frosting ravaging barbarian!!")

 

Don't hold your breath waiting for Wail of the Banshee - it's an 8th lvl Bard spell so you won't get it 'til you're lvl 26. and there are only enough xps to get a party of 6 to lvl ~ 16. Only ever found 1 scroll of it.

Having played a bard through IWD2 my opinion is still the same, great for roleplay, crummy in CRPGs. A fighter/sorc or rogue/wiz makes a better support.