Bard (Final Fantasy XIV)

The Bard is a Job in Final Fantasy XIV, introduced as the Discipline of Magic Archer (弓術士, Kyuujutsu Shi?) in the original release. Players start as an Archer, and then may upgrade to Bard using the Soul Crystal obtained from the quest A Song of Bards and Bowmen after Archer reaches level 30. The quest is given by Luciane after clearing The One that Got Away.

ProfileEdit

ArcherEdit

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. Bow techniques such as high-angle fire enable archers to assail their foes with deadly precision, even from 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. Along 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 long distance weapons, down to the simplest throwing rock.

—Lodestone

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 the unique trait of being able to attack while running away from aggressive enemies.

Archers do not possess any combo actions, but they do possess abilities that increase the chance of critical strikes, allowing them to quickly deplete an enemy's HP. Archers also have access to area-of-effect attacks and are able to inflict several status effects on their enemies.

BardEdit

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.

—Lodestone

Bard shares same role actions with Machinist, as both are classified as Physical Ranged DPS. Bards specialize in various songs that enchant allies, if they are in range, and self with buffs. Some songs can only be executed while other songs are being sung, while some can drain MP while being sung. Songs extends Archer's abilities by granting additional effects, such as resetting recast time of other abilities.

StoryEdit

ArcherEdit

This article or section is a stub about a quest in Final Fantasy XIV. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

BardEdit

This article or section is a stub about a quest in Final Fantasy XIV. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

HeavenswardEdit

This article or section is a stub about a quest in Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

StormbloodEdit

This article or section is a stub about a quest in Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

EquipmentEdit

Main article: Final Fantasy XIV weapons/Archer

The Archer class is defined by wielding bows. Unlike in version 1.0, arrows are no longer equipped.

In terms of late game armor and accessories, Archers and Bards wear "Aiming" gear sets, which tend to be more flamboyant than other DPS classes. While the armor is shared only with Machinists, the Aiming accessories are additionally shared with Rogues and Ninjas.

Job GaugeEdit

FFXIV BRD Mages Ballad Gauge — Mage's Ballad Gauge.

The Job Gauge was introduced to players in 4.0 Stormblood. The Bard uses the Mage's Ballad, Army's Paeon, and The Wanderer's Minuet Gauges.

FFXIV BRD Armys Paeon Gauge — Army's Paeon Gauge.

The Job Gauges share the same trigger effect called Repertoire. Repertoire can be triggered if either Caustic Bite or Stormbite has dealt critical damage over time. Repertoire grants more effect stacks, except for Mage's Ballad, and additional effects to songs.

FFXIV BRD Wanderers Minuet Gauge — The Wanderer's Minuet Gauge.

The Mage's Ballad Gauge indicates the time remaining for its duration. While Mage's Ballad is being sung, the Repertoire effect resets the recast times for Bloodletter and Rain of Death.

The Army's Paeon Gauge indicates the time remaining for its duration and the number of stacks it currently has. If the Repertoire effect is triggered while Army's Paeon is being sung, the bard is granted one stack and reduced action cast and recast time.

The Wanderer's Minuet Gauge indicates the time remaining for its duration and the number of stacks it currently has. The action Pitch Perfect will become available if the Repertoire effect is triggered while the Wanderer's Minuet is being sung.

AbilitiesEdit

Ability	Level	Type	Cast	Recast	TP Cost	Range	Radius
Heavy Shot	1	Weaponskill	Instant	2.50s (Base value; the higher the character's Skill Speed stat, the lower the recast time will be)	50	25y	—
Heavy Shot	Delivers an attack with a potency of 150. Additional Effect: 20% chance next Straight Shot will deal critical damage Duration: 10s
Straight Shot	2	Weaponskill	Instant	2.50s (Base value; the higher the character's Skill Speed stat, the lower the recast time will be)	50	25y	—
Straight Shot	Delivers an attack with a potency of 140. Additional Effect: Increases critical hit rate by 10% Duration: 30s
Raging Strikes	4	Ability	Instant	80.00s	—	—	—
Raging Strikes	Increases damage dealt by 20% Duration: 20s.
Venomous Bite	6	Weaponskill	Instant	2.50s (Base value; the higher the character's Skill Speed stat, the lower the recast time will be)	60	25y	—
Venomous Bite	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: Venom Potency: 40 Duration: 18s
Misery's End	10	Ability	Instant	12.00s	—	25y	—
Misery's End	Delivers an attack with a potency of 190. Can only be executed when target's HP is below 20%.
Bloodletter	12	Ability	Instant	15.00s	—	25y	—
Bloodletter	Delivers an attack with a potency of 130. Shares a recast timer with Rain of Death.
Repelling Shot	15 (Complete Archer quest Violators Will Be Shot)	Ability	Instant	30.00s	—	5y	—
Repelling Shot	Jump 10 yalms back from current position. Cannot be executed while bound.
Quick Knock	18	Weaponskill	Instant	2.50s (Base value; the higher the character's Skill Speed stat, the lower the recast time will be)	120	12y	12y
Quick Knock	Delivers an attack with potency of 110 to all enemies in a cone in front of you.
Windbite	30 (Complete Archer quest The One That Got Away)	Weaponskill	Instant	2.50s (Base value; the higher the character's Skill Speed stat, the lower the recast time will be)	60	25y	—
Windbite	Deals wind damage with a potency of 60. Additional Effect: Wind damage over time with potency of 50 for 18s (combined total potency of 360).
Mage's Ballad	30 (Complete the quest A Song of Bards and Bowmen)	Spell	Instant	80.00s	—	25y	—
Mage's Ballad	Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: Increases critical hit rate of all party members within a radius of 20 yalms by 2% Duration: 30s Effect is lost if party members move out of hearing distance. Additional Effect: Activates Repertoire, resetting Bloodletter and Rain of Death recast time if critical damage over time is dealt by Caustic Bite or Stormbite
Foe Requiem	35 (Complete the quest The Archer's Anthem)	Spell	1.50s	2.50s (Base value; the higher the character's Skill Speed stat, the lower the recast time will be)	—	—	20y
Foe Requiem	Increases damage taken by nearby enemies by 3%. MP is drained while singing. Effect is lost if targets move out of hearing distance, and ends upon reuse.
Barrage	38	Ability	Instant	80.00s	—	—	—
Barrage	Triples the number of strikes for a single-target weaponskill. Additional effects added only once. Duration: 10s
Army's Paeon	40 (Complete the quest Bard's-eye View)	Spell	Instant	80.00s	—	25y	—
Army's Paeon	Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: Increases critical hit rate of all party members within a radius of 20 yalms by 2% Duration: 30s Effect is lost if party members move out of hearing distance. Additional Effect: Grants Repertoire if critical damage over time is dealt by Caustic Bite or Stormbite Repertoire Effect: Reduces weaponskill cast time and recast time, spell cast time and recast time, and auto-attack delay by 4% Can be stacked up to 4 times.
Rain of Death	45 (Complete the quest Doing It the Bard Way)	Ability	Instant	15.00s	—	25y	8y
Rain of Death	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 to the target and all enemies near it. Shares a recast timer with Bloodletter.
Battle Voice	50 (Complete the quest Requiem for the Fallen)	Ability	Instant	180.00s	—	—	20y
Battle Voice	Increases direct hit rate of all party members by 15%. Duration: 20s Can only be executed while singing Mage's Ballad, Army's Paeon, or the Wanderer's Minuet.
The Wanderer's Minuet	52 (Complete the quest The Stiff and the Spent)	Spell	Instant	80.00s	—	25y	—
The Wanderer's Minuet	Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: Increases critical hit rate of all party members within a radius of 20 yalms by 2% Duration: 30s Effect is lost if party members move out of hearing distance. Additional Effect: Allows execution of Pitch Perfect if critical damage over time is dealt by Caustic Bite or Stormbite. Can be stacked up to 3 times.
Pitch Perfect	52	Ability	Instant	3.00s	—	25y	—
Pitch Perfect	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 when Repertoire stack is 1, 240 when Repertoire stack is 2, and 420 when Repertoire stack is 3. Can only be executed when the Wanderer's Minuet is active.
Empyreal Arrow	54 (Complete the quest Requiem on Ice)	Weaponskill	Instant	15.00s	50	25y	—
Empyreal Arrow	Delivers an attack with a potency of 230. This weaponskill does not share a recast timer with any other actions.
Iron Jaws	56 (Complete the quest When Gnaths Cry)	Weaponskill	Instant	2.50s (Base value; the higher the character's Skill Speed stat, the lower the recast time will be)	50	25y	—
Iron Jaws	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: If the target is suffering from Caustic Bite or Stormbite inflicted by you, the effect timer of each timer is reset.
The Warden's Paean	58 (Complete the quest A Saint of Song)	Weaponskill	Instant	45.00s	—	30y	—
The Warden's Paean	Removes one select detrimental effect from a target party member or pet. If the target is not enfeebled, a barrier is created nullifying the target's next detrimental effect suffered. Duration: 30s
Sidewinder	60 (Complete the quest The Ballad of Oblivion)	Ability	Instant	60.00s	—	25y	—
Sidewinder	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Additional Effect: If the target is suffering from a Venomous Bite or Windbite effect inflicted by you, Sidewinder's potency is increased to 175 for one effect, or 260 for both.
Troubadour	62	Ability	Instant	180.00s	—	20y	—
Troubadour	Adds an additional effect to the song currently being sung. Mage's Ballad Effect: Increases maximum HP by 15% Army's Paeon Effect: Reduces physical vulnerability by 10% The Wanderer's Minuet Effect: Reduces magic vulnerability by 10% Duration: 30s Can only be executed while singing Mage's Ballad, Army's Paeon, or the Wanderer's Minuet.
Caustic Bite	64	Weaponskill	Instant	2.50s (Base value; the higher the character's Skill Speed stat, the lower the recast time will be)	60	25y	—
Caustic Bite	Deals wind damage with a potency of 120. Additional Effect: Poison Potency: 55 Duration: 30s
Stormbite	64	Weaponskill	Instant	2.50s (Base value; the higher the character's Skill Speed stat, the lower the recast time will be)	60	25y	—
Stormbite	Deals wind damage with a potency of 120. Additional Effect: Wind damage over time Potency: 55 Duration: 30s
Nature's Minne	66	Ability	Instant	45.00s	—	30y	—
Nature's Minne	Increases HP recovery via healing magic for a party member or self by 20%. Duration: 15s
Refulgent Arrow	70 (Complete the quest Sweet Dreams Are Made of Peace)	Weaponskill	Instant	2.50s (Base value; the higher the character's Skill Speed stat, the lower the recast time will be)	—	25y	—
Refulgent Arrow	Delivers an attack with a potency of 300. Can only be executed while under the effect of Straighter Shot.

Role ActionsEdit

Role actions replaced cross-class actions with the release of patch 4.0. Role actions are abilities common to classes and jobs with the same role. Archer and Bard shares the same role actions with Machinist, as both as classified as Physical Ranged DPS.

Action	Level	Type	Cast	Recast	Range	Radius
Second Wind	8	Ability	Instant	120s	—	—
Second Wind	Instantly restores own HP. Cure Potency: 500 Cure potency varies with current attack power.
Foot Graze	12	Ability	Instant	30s	25y	—
Foot Graze	Binds target. Duration: 10s Cancels auto-attack upon execution. Target unbound if damage taken.
Leg Graze	16	Ability	Instant	30s	25y	—
Leg Graze	Inflicts target with Heavy +40%. Duration: 10s
Peloton	20	Ability	Instant	5s	—	?y
Peloton	Increases movement speed of self and nearby party members as long as they remain within distance. Duration: 30s Effect ends when enmity is generated. Cannot be used in battle.
Invigorate	24	Ability	Instant	120s	—	—
Invigorate	Instantly restores 400 TP.
Tactician	32	Ability	Instant	180s	—	?y
Tactician	Gradually restores own TP and the TP of all nearby party members. Duration: 30s Additional Effect: Halves enmity
Refresh	36	Ability	Instant	180s	—	?y
Refresh	Gradually restores own MP and the MP of all nearby party members. Duration: 30s Additional Effect: Halves enmity
Head Graze	40	Ability	Instant	30s	25y	—
Head Graze	Silences target. Duration: 1s
Arm Graze	44	Ability	Instant	25s	25y	—
Arm Graze	Stuns target. Duration: 2s
Palisade	48	Ability	Instant	150s	25y	—
Palisade	Reduces physical damage taken by a party member by 20%. Duration: 10s

TraitsEdit

Name	Level	Description
Heavier Shot	8	Adds to Heavy Shot a 20% chance that your next Straight Shot will deal critical damage. Duration: 10s
Enhanced Dexterity	20	Increases dexterity by 8.
Increased Action Damage	20	Increases base action damage by 10%.
Enhanced Dexterity II	40	Increases dexterity by 16.
Increased Action Damage II	40	Increases base action damage by 20%.
Enhanced Dexterity III	60	Increases dexterity by 24.
Bite Mastery	64	Venomous Bite and Windbite are upgraded to Caustic Bite and Stormbite respectively.
Enhanced Empyreal Arrow	68	Guarantees the trigger of the additional effects for Mage's Ballad, Army's Paeon, and the Wanderer's Minuet when these actions are executed while under the effect of Empyreal Arrow.

PvP ActionsEdit

Action	Type	Cast	Recast	Cost
Heavy Shot	Weaponskill	Instant	2.30s	—
Heavy Shot	Delivers an attack with a potency of 500. Minuet/Paeon Additional Effect: Grants Repertoire if used on target suffering from a Caustic Bite effect inflicted by you ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Straight Shot	Weaponskill	Instant	2.30s	—
Straight Shot	Delivers an attack to target. Combo Action: Heavy Shot Combo Potency: 1,000 Minuet/Paeon Additional Effect: Grants Repertoire if used on target suffering from a Stormbite effect inflicted by you ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Caustic Bite	Weaponskill	Instant	2.30s	—
Caustic Bite	Delivers an attack with a potency of 250. Additional Effect: Poison Potency: 250 Duration: 15s ※Action changes to Heated Clean Shot when executed while a Gauss Barrel is attached and the Heat Gauge is 50 or higher. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Stormbite	Weaponskill	Instant	2.30s	—
Stormbite	Delivers an attack to target. Combo Action: Caustic Bite Combo Potency: 500 Additional Effect: Wind damage over time Potency: 200 Duration: 15s ※Action changes to Cooldown while a Gauss Barrel is attached and the Heat Gauge is 50 or higher.
Empyreal Arrow	Weaponskill	Instant	5.00s	250 TP
Empyreal Arrow	Delivers an attack with a potency of 1,000.
Repelling Shot	Ability	Instant	10.00s	300 TP
Repelling Shot	Delivers an attack with a potency of 500. Additional Effect: 10-yalm backstep Additional Effect: Bind Duration: 3s Cannot be executed while bound.
Bloodletter	Ability	Instant	15.00s	—
Bloodletter	Delivers an attack with a potency of 750. Cannot use while under the effect of Army's Paeon or the Wanderer's Minuet ※Action changes to Pitch Perfect while under the effect of Army's Paeon. ※Action changes to Barrage while under the effect of the Wanderer's Minuet.
Sidewinder	Ability	Instant	30.00s	—
Sidewinder	Delivers an attack with a potency of 250. Additional Effect: If the target is suffering from a Caustic Bite or Stormbite effect inflicted by you, Sidewinder potency is increased to 750 for one effect, or 1,250 for both
Blunt Arrow	Ability	Instant	30.00s	—
Blunt Arrow	Silences target. Duration: 2s
The Wanderer's Minuet	Ability	Instant	25.00s	Oath: 20
The Wanderer's Minuet	Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 500. Additional Effect: Allows accumulation of up to 3 Repertoire stacks Duration: 30s Repertoire Effect: Allows execution of Pitch Perfect ※Action changes to Army's Paeon upon execution.
Troubadour	Ability	Instant	45.00s	—
Troubadour	Adds an additional effect to the song currently being sung. Army's Paeon Effect: Reduces damage taken by 5% The Wanderer's Minuet Effect: Increases damage dealt by 5% Duration: 10s Can only be executed while singing Army's Paeon or the Wanderer's Minuet.
Pitch Perfect	Ability	Instant	3.00s	All Repertoire stacks
Pitch Perfect	Delivers an attack with a potency of 500 when Repertoire stack is 1, 1,250 when Repertoire stack is 2, and 2,000 when Repertoire stack is 3. Can only be executed when the Wanderer's Minuet is active. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Barrage	Ability	Instant	15.00s	—
Barrage	Triples the number of strikes for a single-target weaponskill. Additional effects added only once. Duration: 5s Can only be executed while under the effect of Army's Paeon ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Army's Paeon	Ability	Instant	25.00s	—
Army's Paeon	Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 500. Additional Effect: Allows accumulation of up to 4 Repertoire stacks Duration: 30s Repertoire Effect: Increases damage dealt by 5% and reduces weaponskill cast time and recast time by 5% ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.

Additional PvP ActionsEdit

These actions are common to all jobs, and can only be used in PvP areas. The number of additional actions that can be set is limited to two.

Action	Type	Cast	Recast
Recuperate	Ability	Instant	45s
Recuperate	Restores 25% of maximum HP.
Muse	Ability	Instant	90s
Muse	Restores 25% of maximum MP.
Enliven	Ability	Instant	90s
Enliven	Restores 50% of maximum TP.
Purify	Ability	Instant	45s
Purify	Removes Stun, Sleep, Bind, Heavy, Slow, and Silence from target. Can be used regardless of own status affliction.
Concentrate	Ability	Instant	45s
Concentrate	Creates a barrier preventing Stun, Sleep, Bind, Heavy, Slow, Silence, and knockback effects. Duration: 10s
Safeguard	Ability	Instant	90s
Safeguard	Reduces damage taken by 25%. Duration: 10s
Bolt	Ability	Instant	45s
Bolt	Reduces damage taken by 25%. Duration: 10s

PvP TraitsEdit

These traits are common to all jobs, and only take effect when in PvP areas. The number of PvP traits that can be set is limited to three.

Traits	Effect
Increased HP	Increases maximum HP by 5%.
Increased Action Speed	Decreases weaponskill and spell cast and recast times by 3%.
Increased Damage Dealt	Increases damage dealt by 3%.
Decreased Damage Taken	Decreases damage taken by 3%.
Increased Healing Potency	Increases spell-based HP restoration by 5%.
Decreased Recast Time	Decreases recast time of additional actions by 20%.
Increased Resistance Duration	Increases duration of resistances by 50%.
Increased MP Regeneration	Increases MP regeneration rate by 25%.
Increased TP Regeneration	Increases TP regeneration rate by 40%.

Limit BreakEdit

Main article: Limit Break (Final Fantasy XIV)

Archers' and Bards' Limit Breaks focus dealing powerful damage to enemies in a straight line in front of the player. They both share the same Level 1 and Level 2 limit breaks as Machinist.

Ability	Level	Description
Big Shot	1	Deals damage in a line to enemies in front of player.
Desperado	2	Deals damage in a line to enemies in front of player.
Sagittarius Arrow	3	Deals damage in a line to enemies in front of player.