Bard (Final Fantasy XIV)



The Archer is a Disciple of War in Final Fantasy XIV.

Overview
The enduring popularity of the Bow is a testament to its elegant design, but this simple weapon would be of little worth without the surpassing skill of those who master it - the archers. Projectile techniques such as high-angle fire enable archers to assail their foes with deadly precision even at great distances.

Constant assessment of the battlefield enables them to carefully determine the most advantageous ground from which to loose, as well as the nature of the arrows best suited to their enemy. Together with the longbow sentries of the Elezen military, the shortbow hunters among the Miqo'te are widely regarded as the most skilled with a bow. The guild's teachings cover a variety of projectile weapons, down to the simplest throwing rock.

Role
Archers wield a bow and, while not possessing as much damage dealing potential as other DPS classes, Archers have the advantage of range. While their HP and defense is rather low compared to other disciplines, Archers possess a unique trait of still being able to attack while running away from aggressive enemies, a technique known in the MMORPG community as kiting.

Archers do not possess any combo actions, but they do possess abilities that deal damage, allowing them to let loose an extra attack whilst waiting for the weaponskill recast timer to expire. Archers also have access to Area-of-effect attacks early on in their development and are able to inflict several different status effects on their enemies.

Abilities
Note: Weaponskills that have multiple class affinity will have their range reduced to 3 yalms when used in classes other than archer. Conversely, most weaponskills learned from other classes will have a range of 25 yalms when employed as an archer.

Bard
The word bard ordinarily puts folk in mind of those itinerant minstrels, fair of voice and nimble of finger, who earn their coin performing in taverns and the halls of great lords. Few know, however, that bards in fact trace their origins back to the bowmen of eld, who sang in the heat of battle to fortify the spirits of their companions.

In time, their impassioned songs came to hold sway over the hearts of men, inspiring their comrades to great feats and granting peace unto those who lay upon the precipice of death.

The Bard Soul Crystal can be obtained by completing the quest A Song of Bards and Bowmen that becomes available when the player reaches Archer level 30 and Black Mage level 15; it allows the player to learn several support abilities without a noticeable reduction on his damage dealing potential, but only allow the use of BLM, and Lancer cross class skills. Bards can only keep one song up at a time, but multiple bards can use multiple songs on the party.

Abilities
Every Bard ability can be used only after completing specific quests.

Gallery
Waldläufer (FFXIV) Archer/Final Fantasy XIV