Allods Online Forum

Hi there!
I'm Worcs from the Pirati Astrali guild,and I'm a PVE DPS Bard,mainly.
Well,I'm writing this to explain my build and how it works to everyone,since I think it's pretty good u.u
Using it,i'm usually in the top 5 DPSs in Raids,and taking into account that my gear(Epic crafted),glyphs(Full Epic) and runes(665-555) aren't top notch,I think that's a good result.

Now,the build looks like this:
http://eu.allodswiki.ru/calc/#!9!321.3..…dqc/UDUMQDM!a/A

First of all,I'll list the changes made with the patch,Heart of the World:

-Sharp Chord now boosts Disharmony and Dissonance's damage instead of crit rate of 10/20%;
-Requiem for Enemies now boosts your Anger by 4/8/12 points;
-Rock and Roll now shortens Solo's CD of 5/10/15 secs each time a CC is used on you;
-Trickster now raises Vitality by 5/10/15 points;
-Virtuoso now raises Determination by 3/6/9 points;
-Perfect Ear now raises Proficiency by 3/6/9 points;
-Bully now raisess your Vigor by 3/6/9%;
-Rock and Roll and Child of Fortune were swapped(?);
-Overture cant' dispel the Holy Shield anymore;
-Fervor resets when you leave a group.

The stats were completely changed,but they're now easier to understand.

Let's explain why I choose to use these talents and rubies:
This build is a Group/Raid FULL DPS build,which means that your main job is one:YOU GOTTA KICK ASSES!
And,since you are in a group,you don't have to care much for your defenses,since you should always have a Tank that gets the hits in your stead,and some Healers who should keep your health in check.
That means that you focus on your purpose: Damage dealing.

Well,against normal mobs you just gotta stack Power Chord 3 times and spam Disharmony with Timpani when they're more than one,use Flying Blade whenever you got the chance,and Raving Blade if you're out of energy.Lullaby is always usefull if there are too many mobs.If you want to end it sooner,you can use Muse and Invigoration with Requiem,but that's it.
Instead,I'll explain how to use it in what Raids are usually about:
BOSS FIGHTING

Boss fights usually differ greatly from each to the other,but those are the main guiding lines:

STATS:
First of all,your stats,since they changed COMPLETELY from the prevuìious patch:
You are a full DPS Bard,right?
RIGHT
Wich means that you don't care about Determination,cause you don't get hit,Anger,Willpower and Tenacity,because they're mostly PVP stats,and Vitality and Bloodlust,since you got an healer,right?
RIGHT
That means that you should raise your Proficiency a lot,so that you do a lot of damage in every situation,right?
WRONG
Why ?Because you've some magical rubies called Funeral March,wich means that you deal 200% Astral Damage to targets with less than 25% health,wich means that all your main skills deal double damage...And,what was the name of that stats that boosts your damage like heck when the target is almost dead?
Oh,right...
BRUTALITY
For instance,with 42 Proficiency,you deal 42% more damage to ALL ENEMIES,wich means that your skills deal 284% damage to someone who's under 25% health,but With 42 Brutality,you deal 70% more damage to targets with 25% health,wich means that your skills deal 340% damage...cool,uh?
And,don't forget that Requiem and Unison take time to stack up,meaning that the enemy will have lost a lot of healt by the time he's got 20 stacks of Requiem or 9 of Unison,meaning that your damage,increases as the time passes,and the Boss's health decreases...wich means that you deal the highest damage when some bosses usually go into a rampage...
Obviously,that doesn't mean that you don't have any Proficiency,just remember to choose Brutality over Proficiency sometimes.
Let's say,33% Prof and 66%Brut is how you should distribute your stats in the gear you chose.


SONGS:

You're a Bard,wich means that you should sing,other than play your instrument,and this is this build's way of doing it
Your active songs must always be Aria and Cantata,while you use Requiem with Invigoration:
-Aria beacuse it greatly boosts the damage you deal with Disharmony;
-Cantata because deals good damage,especially when you're fighting AOE,and because when the enemies'health is less than 25%,they get double Astral damage,that means that Flying Blade,Power Chord and Disharmony deal double damage;
-You trigger Requiem with Invigoration,so that it boosts Cantata's damage(+62% at 20 stacks,with rubies).
Why using Invigoration with Requiem?
Because Cantata is a main damaging skill,so it has to hit as many times as it can,and Aria gives you 1 stack every 6 seconds,that doubled means 12 seconds,and a stack every 12 seconds is almost useless.Besides,Aria's stacks are used up each time you use Disharmony,PC or Solo,while Requiem's ones stay there even after Cantata hits.

STACKING UNISON:

Unison is really effective against Bosses,since it takes a bit of time to stack up.
You mainly stack it with:
-Flying Blade,wich must be used whenever it's ready;
-Raving Blade with Grand Finale,wich must be used when you're out of energy,so that it gives you time to recharge;
-You can use your Race Ability if Unison is fading and you don't have Flying Blade ready,or if you think that Grand Finale won't hit in time;
-If you want to stack it in a short time,just trigger Muse,since it reducese FB and RB's CDs;

SOLO:

The trick is using it after you've stacked Power Chord 3 times(obviously),and before using Raving Blade.
Why ?Because it takes 6 seconds to unleash 9 Disharmonies on your enemy,and in that time,you can't use Disharmony,so you can't really do anything besides using Flying Blade,Power Chord and Raving Blade,wich has a casting time of exactly 6 seconds,just like Solo.

ENCORE&MUSE:

Muse makes your energy recharge faster,and decreases your CDs,(not those of Invigoration,Encore,Muse and Race Abilities),meaning that you use MOAR SKILLS,and if Euphoria triggers too,then you'll spam Disharmony like hell.Not only that,it makes Unison stack much faster.
So,it's the skill that turns you from an occasional player into a living Orchestra.
So,why not using 2 in a row?
After the first one,you use Encore and TA-DAH!One more performance!
It's especially usefull when the Boss is under 25% health,since it halves FB and Solo's CDs,which are the kick-assest skills you've got.

Well that's it for this build...NOT!
Because,with a few more rubies or talents(BG,DC,TP,Great mage's diary,Sacrament Scrolls and so on),you can change it and adapt it to your style.
For istance:
You love Raving Blade?What about this?

http://eu.allodswiki.ru/calc/#!9!321.3..…dqc/UDUMQDM!a/A

Aria is the way you said?And your health is always at it's peak?Then you're gonna love this:

http://eu.allodswiki.ru/calc/#!9!321.3..…fqc/UDUMQDM!a/A

You think you're too squishy?What about now?

http://eu.allodswiki.ru/calc/#!9!321.3..…nbd/GUVQRDM!a/A

This instead is what I call "W's Dream Full DPS Build",the one I'm aiming for right now,that should deal the most possible DPS you can reach with your bard,but sacrifices Lullaby...

http://eu.allodswiki.ru/calc/#!9!321.3..…/UDUMQDM!mahd/A

And so on...

Thanks for reading my guide,hope you liked it!
By W

Citation de "Littya"

Hi! I really like this build but I have a doubt about Overture! I think it's quite usefull during a raid, for example against Light Sarn in Gorluxor Tower (he starts healing himself and Overture removes it). Why did you choose not to have it at least at rank 1?
Maybe I'm saying strange things but I'm obsessed by Overture and I'd like to understand how it works in all situations
Thank's.
Fatia

Yeah,as you said Overture is a pretty useful skill,because of its short cast time and istant CD,and I use it a lot in my PVP build(wich is mostly support),but it doesn't raise your damage in any way,and this is a FULL DPS build. If you notice in fact,the only thing that I took that doesn't raise my DPS in any way is Lullaby(and I was almost forced to do so lol).
But this isn't exactly my build as it is now. In fact I've go 1 more talent point and 2 more rubies,but since i got'em with shop items,I did not include them.I only counted those that came from "free"stuff,so with lvl ups,world mysteries up to GT,Geatness and Battleground. I actually made it so that if you want,you can customize it a bit. For instance,if you had the Lesser scroll of the Sacrament(I do),you'd have one more talent point that you could spend on Overture,and with DC & TP's rubies,you could get the one that boost your energy regeneration each time you dispell stuff with Overture.
Feel free to ask anything else and to give more hints,if you wish

Citation de "Perisemiotics"

Ciao!
I like your build and rationales, just would like to add a couple things I deem relevant enough...
I used to have Grim Rhymes and Invigoration at r2 as well before patch, yes it's great and all but... really, it is unnecessary, and so it is also a waste when you could more significantly increase your dps with those 4 rubies - more obviously on Bully r3, a must-have in every build let alone a "full DPS build." You may think that would hinder your Invigoration rotation down to a useless scrap but not nearly so - just time it well with Encore, after a few runs you'll have it straightened out even for fast allods; losing the boost on Cantata from GR is alright when you'll gain a lot more from Bully r3, on all spells, at all times (unlike GR). Also, Octave Doubling... for raids may be good I suppose, then again, clearly Loud Chords is the better choice here: the extra dmg is much higher especially when many (if not most) AoE pulls won't be really worth spending even a single application of Power Chord on; when it is, it's usually a single target fight but even there the benefit from an extended PC won't outdo the extra dps from Loud Chords through the AoEs, for any given run, allod or raid.

Well,about that,I tried to take only useful rubies in my build,to optimize their usage.To get to the +9% Vigor rubies I'd have to take an empty ruby,but you're right that it may probably raise the DPS more than Grim rhymes+Invigoration 2...but as I said,I didn't take into account some rubies in my build.In fact,with rubies from DC,TP,BG and The First Page of the Great Mages Diary,you can "easily" take them.The build I published here,is just the first stepping stone,the starting point to something bigger...
I'm still testing out wich combination is better between some of them,but I just added at the end my "Dream Build",the one I'm trying to get(but as I said,I need MOAR rubies).
You're right on the fact that most pulls don't even give you TIME to cast 3 Power Chords with Timpani,but are pulls what a Raid or Astral is about?I think not...It's bosses.While pulls may be not easy,bosses are hard.That's were you gotta hit as hard as you can.And against them,it's most useful.

Citation de "Perisemiotics"

Secondly, on the very idea of a "full DPS" build... I have a hard time taking that in. Especially about the bard - the support class per se. Yes, our class does superb DPS all around but that's no excuse at all to neglect the support spells. I have seen plenty of bards keep up their high damage even while running Nocturne and being full on the other "minors" too. I'm not a fan of Nocturne myself but I have all the support spells - simply because they do come in handy in dire situations -, they do make a difference. Perhaps Nocturne the least of them all, but neevr hurts having it running when you may or do not wish to have Cantata on, for example. Ballade, there are actually more than a few cases you (and your party) would love to have it: Astral, raids, even maze (r1 should be fine for PvE). Finally, 3 Talents for Solo r3... hard to justify that (some would even deny another 2 Talents for just r2) when you could allocate those Talents into maxing out either Cantata or Raving Blade - the DPS gain from doing that is obvious enough =)

Well,my build comes from a very simple way of thinking:when I reached lvl55 in the earlier patch,I said to myself:"What is it that I want?"the answer was simple:"Hit stuff in the hardest way I can,trying not to waste any rubies or talent points on stuff I don't actually use.Oh,and I want to do that in PVE.That means that there's always a tank that takes hits and an healer that heals me in cases of AOE or debuffs."So I tried all skills and almost all rubies,and noticed that there were some that I NEVER used.Between them there are Ballad,Overture,Nocturne,Fugue in A minor.So i just ditched those.And I found that I had lots of Talent Points that I didn't know were to put...So,I made a few calculations,and I found stupid spending 6 points to raise some skills to r3,because their damage increase was less than 10%,like Cantata.So,i spent 6 on Disharmony r3 since it was my main damaging spell in 1vs1,and 3 on Solo,because with 1 more hit it increases its damage of 12.5%.
And,when the enemies'health is beneath 25%,they deal double damage,unlike Cantata and Raving Blade.
For the "full DPS in not the bard's way"thing,well,a couple of days ago I went to TP with my guild for the first time since the release of the new patch,and I was third in DPS:above me there were a Warrior with Pat5 and attack runes 988,another bard with Pat5 and runes 888,wich are more or less a +33-35% damage boost given by shop items I don't have.Just under me there was a mage with Pat5 and runes 766...That means that I dealt more damage than someone with a +22% damage boost,and a full DPS class no less...Oh,and those 3 people had higher gear score than me.
Now,I'm not boasting or anything,those are just examples of how a Bard can deal some pretty damage,and not only support people.

Citation de "Perisemiotics"

Bottom-line - it's perfectly possible to have a stand-alone PvE build that comprises all DPS essentials along with the support spells which, being also unique to our class, should be taken. (Unless of course you have a VoD or don't feel bad about spending the ever higher amounts for respecking...)

I wish I had one of those Fountains I could try all my crazy-as-hell bard builds,like Bard Tank that doesn't aggro,PVP annoying-only build,full support build,hardcore full DPS selfish bard build and so on...

Citation de "Perisemiotics"

(Your last 2 builds are identical - I'm guessing the last one would be different?)

Thanks for making me notice that,I probably pasted 2 times the same URL It should be fixed now.

Citation de "Perisemiotics"

Scusate la mia pretesa per sollecitudine; grazie dell'attenzione
Opera - Dark Council - New Frontier

Figurati,sono sempre contento di discutere di builds,se ne impara sempre qualcosa che aiuta a migliorare !

Citation de "Hilver"

I quite agree with opera and I also wanted to add: how about getting Menacing tune rubies(15% more shadow damage and makes your overture slow enemy down if its successful) instead of grim rhymes rubies?Not only the % difference between both is better but also its 15% to all shadow damage and not cantata only so this means it increases aria's damage and unison's damage as well and more over you don't need 10 stacks of requiem on a single target to get the damage boost..I know it will cost you 2 more rubies to reach it but IMO the DPS outcome from it would be more worthy,don't you think so? O_o Oh also I like how you explained stats with calculations,it really sounds logical and interesting..Nice job and good luck!

That's because they're not main skills.Taking Grim Rhymes rubies is the only way to take r2 Invigoration that boosts your DPS.With Requiem r3 and Grim Rhymes r3,your cantata deals 62% more damage,while with Menacing tune 65%,sure...but how do you plan to get 20 stacks of Requiem when they take 6 secs to stack?Taking Invigoration r3 makes Requiem stack 33% faster,meaning you get that 50% damage boost in almost half the time...and you don't have to take 2 useless rubies.
My way of thinking in my builds is this:never take COMPLETELY useless rubies or talent,meaning it's stuff that boosts skills you don't even use,unless it's really worth the pain. For Bully it could be,and it's only 1,but 2 for Menacing Tune? No way.

Thanks for reading my guide and for sharing your doubts and tips with me,by the way

Citation de "Scientology"

@ last spec

ran something similar and surprisingly you'll do more picking up all the energy cost rubies, also that requires more attentiveness than most people would normally have since it'd involve using 3 songs and for optimization you'd have to turn one off, turn one on, then put the other back on since you aren't running the cdr rubies.

Mmmm I didn't catch what you meant with your post O.o

Citation de "Perisemiotics"

That last spec pretty close to what I used to have - but definitely you want Loud Chords there, probably instead of OD since will boost aoe and keep your single-target DoT from Unison intact.

About what you said, not wasting a single ruby... yes you'd be wasting ONE ruby on Frivolity (not technically a waste since you can always use it anyway instead of being something you'd never usel) to gain THREE rubies from an obvious damage increase. You could thing about going back one step and go three forward, is that going backwards or forwards? =P (In this case it's more like going one back for 10 forward.)

Aria as a 3rd song - ofc it's still an increase but at one stack every 12 seconds?... probably more useful just run Nocturne there if you really have to run a 3rd song (for GR boost if nothing else). Where or when would you swap Aria and Requiem, or why?

It may sound strange hearing it from a bard,but this is mostly a single target build. I mean, against AOE pulls formed by 5 or more mobs,you deal a ton of damage,but usually big pulls have low Hp,meaning that you don't really need a DPS boost when you fight them,since they usually don't last that much...and when those pulls are stronger,long lasting ccs are often used,making Timpani unusable...while against a boss,it's better if you have to refresh your Power Chord stacks less times,to optimize energy usage,in my opinion.

As for Aria as a 3rd song,that's pretty useless,since:
1-1 stack every 12 seconds is nothing;
2-Requiem stacks much faster than Aria,and its stacks remain there,while Aria's are used up every time you use Disharmony.