(06-25-2015, 12:55 PM)Oswin Wrote:As a BRD main, that's not quite what I found. Now, mind you, I may not really be totally correct here, but what I found is that Wanderer's has its uses.(06-25-2015, 11:43 AM)Kage Wrote: As far as I know, Bard's are having a horrible time because of bugs. At the very least.
Some attacks just make them unable to attack for a long period of time.
So much so that a DRG might get like 1300 DPS but a BRD will get something like 700 ish or so?
It hasn't been fixed either.
I apologize for the double post, but I would like to directly reply to Kage on what is happening with bards.
So bards, normally a highly mobile class has a lot of skills off the global cooldown and procs. The change to a cast based system has not modified these off these key abilities.
Wanderer's Minuet removes auto attack damage for a 20% buff. It looks good on paper, until you realize that 25% of Bard damage is auto attack. Ok, that is a DPS loss so far. Next, they rely on the combination of Heavy Shot proccing a auto crit Steady Shot. The problem is that with the additional cast time on Heavy Shot it takes two full global cooldowns for the Steady Shot proc to go into effect. This is an issue that Blackmage has with Fire Starter.
The other issue they have is with their two DoTs resetting the Bloodletter recast timer. Being able to weave Bloodletter + Buffs into a Bard rotation was essential. Now with the cast timer they are only able to do one or the other, limiting their ability.
All together not only do Bards loose access to 25% auto attack damage for a 20% damage buff, they also lose the ability to use key attacks. Right now it's advisable to just ignore Wanderer's Minuet completely and continue the normal bard style.
First, Bloodletter actually remains without a cast time even when Wanderer's is up. In addition, a proc'ed Steady Shot also has no cast time. Plus, with the addition of Iron Jaws, you should only ever need to use both your DOTs once for the majority of a (boss) fight.
Plus, with the addition of Empyreal Arrow and the change to Barrage (it now makes the next skill hit three times for normal damage) you can get a really impressive blast off every 60 seconds when barrage is up (I'm hitting for about 3300 at 56 with that, since it can't crit).
So, really, Wanderer's isn't bad during boss fights if you manage yourself right. I can't say whether it's better or worse than not using it since I don't have a parser, but it feels at least as strong given a longer fight and good rotation.
(also, apologies for any typos or such, I'm on my phone)
(Forever a work in progress)
