Give it to the Emofist as a third choice between Psymet and Acrobatics. Pleeeease.

Support classes do not sell as well as classes that stand on their own two legs and can actually fight.

To take WoW as an abstract example, there is a small demographic that enjoys healing as a Priest, Druid, Shaman or Paladin (I feel like I'm dangerously forgetting one..). However, there is a larger demographic (even in those classes) of people who want to do damage to people as one of their main jobs, or tank a mob as their main job.

What I'm getting at here is that if you made the Bard classes drastically support oriented, you'd find that it wasn't what you're looking for. Keep their 1v1 viability, tune up their support songs, and give them either a new tertiary, or one of the pre-existing ones that would mesh well with them as a support class. Support classes do not work in IRE based off these things - but it also imbalances a solo environment entirely or encourages a very powerful and often times detrimental group mentality to corrupt said environment. Making Bards a support classes heavily implies that they'd be as necessary as a Mage/Druid: can you survive with one? Narrowly, possibly. Would your time be one-thousand times easier if you had one? Absolutely. A support role would encourage a Bard tagging along with a Warrior or Monk and buffing him while he smashes people to the ground (oh wait, nevermind, Avenger system stops that and anything below it in severity.. wait, and above it ). Do not say the players would just make a taboo - Imperian put a taboo on spamming judge, and we got Tiaz.

Honestly? In the end, I'd rather a one on one fight than some massive zerg rush of forty people all depending on one Mage or Druid to disable their enemies while they pulp them with maces or swords or axes.


EDIT: This post is based off my own assumption that Mages and Druids are powerful raiding tools via demesne effects.

I thought when bards were introduced, they were introduced as a support class mainly too.

I can't see anything wrong with making a support-heavy tertiary skill choice though. Glamours/Tarot for 1v1, option C for support.

That's basically what I said.

Except I said it shorter.

It's 4X2=8, not 4+2=6 and 4X3=12 and not 4+3=7.

Can we please upgrade the Shiribot to do simple arithmatic?

Mathing is over-rated.

I prefer guessing.

I'm telling you this because I'm a math major and you all should avoid making the same mistake

You did not gather enough data then, because stupidity is 33%

don't forget they get high/low magic as well.

I agree completely with Lendren. To address Acrune's concern, support classes usually are extremely good at either escaping or very hardy (due to buffing themselves). If bards were really made a support class in the true sense of the word like Lendren is suggesting, I would definitely play one (as an alt, at the very least). Support classes can be quite a bit of fun, especially since the vast majority of conflict in Lusternia is based around groups, not around individuals.

If I haven't said so already, if bards had another support-focused skill choice, and it was good for escaping/tanking and crappy 1v1, I'd definitely consider switching once I got demi.

Though I think I've already said that somewhere

;x

Like starleaper and hermit?

Yeah, if skills like that were incorporated into another support skillset, it would be attractive to me.

/agree

Only if you accept that (bonecrusher + moon)/(blademaster + moon)/(pureblade + moon) are sufficiently different from (bonecrusher + stag)/(blademaster + stag)/(pureblade + stag) to count as 6 different choices rather than the 5 actually included there.

It could go either way, but way to be snarky when "simple arithmatic" isn't actually the issue...sheesh.

I wish people would stop with that reaction. It'll be very embarassing if I end up popping the question to the current one and she turns around to hurl.

Just be glad the Glaive of Glib didn't come into play. That damn thing is so OP compared to Sword of Snark. Nerf.

My concern is that the support class thing is made to work, but not about which skillsets serve which roles in making it happen. It can happen in the tertiary skill or the primary or some synergy or whatever. The thing is, the Music specs seem more designed to do the support thing than the primary offense thing, so I think they'll have to end up as part of it. But I am confident that that's not a problem. A slightly-toned-down Glamours combined with working Music specs will make an entirely viable primary offense option, while the same working Music specs combined with a more support-oriented tertiary like Healing could make the support class mix work fine.