Leveling 11-20

Level 10
You made it in a blaze of speed to level 10! And now you get even MORE speed! Levels 11-20 have a lot to look forward to, but now what you really need to concentrate on are your tactics and songs. You will also need to learn about group dynamics, because you are not meant to solo. That is not to say that you cannot solo, but you are most effective in a group.Groups also give you valuable and much needed buffs, and of course your healers are going to be crucial to your success. Although bards are considered offensive fighters, and can wear medium armor and use medium weapons, the fact is, we are not major damage dealers. Don?t imagine you will be doing 2000 damage on an epic hit. You are a steady damage dealer, but nothing eye-popping. Your strengths lie elswhere.

Ok, lutes tuned, drums a?rolling?? Let?s go!

First, you want to look at your songs and also make sure you have updated and upgraded all your weapons, armor and abilities. Your instruments really don?t change at this time. Unless you actually want to stand in back and equip a horn or lute or flute instead of weapons, then you will have to accept that your damage songs will not be maximized. At this time, all instruments are two-handed; thus, you must unequip your weapons to use. Obviously, for your speed/run song, you don?t need a weapon and would equip your drum, as always. I have implemented using a lute while group buffing during my ranged attack, but I see very little benefit thus far.

If you use macros (check out Xeldar?s Hotkeys for Dummies) , it is extremely important to make sure you have updated them, and continue to do so each time you get new stuff. Using a /wear macro that equips a copper shortsword, when you are actually using a snapjaw?s tooth, will leave you fighting with bare fists, and dying a lot.

Another interesting upgrade is to your bow. No matter what, try to keep your bow damage as high as you possibly can, including upgrading the arrows/bolts when allowed because you will be doing a LOT of kiting (see Grimore?s Kiting 101 for a few basics that apply even to Bards), and your initial damage should always be a ranged pull. In many cases, your ranged damage will exceed that of any of your other normal specials. If you are at max range, you can generally get in two shots, and if you keep running backwards, kiting, maybe even 3. After your ranged attack, you will then use Eaon?s Blasting Bellow. If you seem to be having a little trouble, you can snare your target and back up for another shot. But if you are really going down fast, the same holds true as for levels 1-10. RUN AWAY.

Levels 12-14
New Songs, Components and Moves

Mellarien?s Requiem of War: Increases the damage of all attacks made by you or your allies.
Weirlaun?s Long rest: A rest that reduces your song cost by 5 ( be sure to re-do your songs that might need this!)
Calming Lullaby: Calms your opponent, reducing its hatred of you by 30%
Fence: Raises your chance to parry incoming attacks for 60 seconds or until you parry. The only point in using Fence is to gain the ability to to use your Echoing Cut.
Azriel?s Assonance of Pain: Deals arcane DoT. Yes, your first DoT Song! Be sure to use it.
Briel?s Lyric of Descent: The mad skillz of Safe Fall. You and your group can fall safely from ANY height.
Swirl of the Tempest I: This is your first and only AoE attack at this point. Use it wisely.

Upgrades to current specials include Echoing Cut II, Razor Parts Silk II and Humming Blade II.

Levels 15-20
More upgrades to our repetoire are Eaon?s Blasting Bellow II, Hinder II, Hewing the Mountain II, Striking the Mountain III, Sever the Tie III, Razor Parts Silk III and Humming Blade III.
Note: Sever the Tie III will be your most used special. Sadly, you do not get any new melee damage specials until level 24, so get used to what you have and maximize their use, according to endurance costs, as best as you can.

Split the Clouds I: Another chain, AoE, that inflicts melee damage plus 126 to all opponents within 8 meters.
Suann?s Call of Slumber: Puts your opponent to sleep, preventing it from assisting nearby allies for 18 seconds.

New Songs and Components

Suann?s Entrancing Trill : This is your mezz! Use it, love it! Stop an opponent in their tracks for 18 seconds or one hit. Best when used upon a second opponent, while you smack down the first.
Asilam?s Lament of the Sea : Finally, underwater breathing, for when you jump off those high cliffs into the ocean, or just teleport into Khal?s bay.
Hazoc?s Harmony of Haste: Increases the attack speed of you and your allies by 8-10%. VOICE.
This is great because you don?t need an instrument to maximize the use of this melody.

You also get several new choruses, embellishments, lyrics and another rest. Be sure to play with these, because song composition is very personal. I suggest you go to an area with mobs at least 3 levels below you, in order to test out what works for you. An important thing to note is that it is not always essential to get your song costs to 0. Unless your song is costing you 11 energy per second, the chance of running out of energy is nearly non-existent, even using Humming Blade. Your greatest concern will always be Endurance, since that is currently and lamentably, fixed at 100.

So now that you know your tools and songs, it is time to figure out how to use them!

Soloing
Again, grouping is your best option, but failing that, at least try to score a few buffs before wandering out into the wilds. Otherwise you will really need to level in an area much lower level than you. It is also important to note whom you are fighting against. I cannot emphasize enough how the amount of dots a mob has next to its name will affect you. While other classes will brag about being able to solo 3 yellow dots, chances are you cannot. As stated previously, your ranged attack is your first move and best friend. Then Eaon?s Blasting Bellow. I would not use Calming Lullaby, as it is more geared towards protecting a clothie. You will want to use Razor Silk or Thread the Needle as often as possible, to trigger your crits. Then slap in a finisher. You have to make sure you have enough Endurance left for the finisher though, so don?t be spamming. Set up a couple of macros to trigger your finishers when you hear or see the chain effect. And always have your speed song macro ready to trigger if you get overpowered. Be VERY careful about your AoE because you simply can?t handle more than 2 mobs, and in some cases, barely one, when soloing. At this level, Careen of the Cunning is your best combat form, although again, you might want to play around with that. I have two seperate damage songs that I play: one that uses a bit less endurance but gives consistent damage and melee speed for the long haul fight, and one that triggers when I use a finisher and maximizes overall damage.

Grouping
Actually grouping is not a lot different from soloing, except that you don?t generally need to run away if there is a good Shaman or other healer type in your group. You will also want to keep an eye on your clothies, and use your lullaby or mezz if the mob aggroes them.You do not get a Charm until Level 24. While you can play the main tank, it is suggested that you slip into off tank. Using an assist macro will enable you to use Hinder effectively. You can use your ranged to pull if the group wishes. Try to trigger your crit hits as often as you can, and feel a bit freer to use your AoE. I use a group buff song while I do my ranged attack to allow tanks and casters to get in a strong first hit, with less mana used by the clothies. This lets them heal more, too. I then switch to my damage songs, the same as when solo. I also have a healing/buffing song set up to play should we need it after a fight. I have a shielding song set up, but thus far, have seen very little positive reasons to use it in a group with healers