Basic Support Bard Build Guide for PvE

rotation

1. Cast to maintain the note brand debuff on the boss (you can find the debuff's duration under the boss' HP bar) that gives only your party a +10% damage buff
   
   
2. Cast and off cooldown to cycle the +15% Atk. Power buff based off the caster's Atk. Power, it also increases your Atk. Power by +6%. Note that these buffs don't stack so ensure you cycle them for maximum buff uptime.
   
   
3. is your ultimate skill, use this to give your party a great shield, but most importantly to give yourself 1 mar of Serenade meter:
   • ideally, cast Serenade of Courage with 3 bars as it gives the most damage.
   • ideally, cast Serenade of Salvation with 1 bar - it heals enough with 1. Note that in the majority of cases you want to aim to use Serenade of Courage instead unless your party members are getting hit by many mechanics.
     • Serenade of Salvation has a set amount of healing, this means that it's not mainly based on duration, but rather how many ticks of healing are taken.
       
       
4. Cast to generate Serenade meter.
   
   
5. Cast and mostly off cooldown to keep a shield up for your party, try to not stack these skills. also provides damage reduction. If you know there is a specific mechanic where your party may take damage, ensure that you have one of these skills available (e.g. Vykas typing mechanic in case someone failed.)
   
   
6. Cast beneath melee players whilst they are dealing damage to make their experience a more comfortable one. Save this shield for yourself and others for specific hard hitting abilities (e.g. the smash after Valtan's tomahawks in case someone can't reach the edge in time.)
   
   
7. Cast to counter the boss. Following a counter, there is a 30 second cooldown before another boss counter ability can take place, utilise this counter downtime by casting this skill to generate additional Serenade meter. You can also use for destruction. This skill can be replaced by if you need an ability to stagger.
   

• as your counter
• and for destruction
• and, if you are using it, for stagger.

Bard only requires cooldown gems. It is recommended to have all your skills with cooldown gems.

If you absolutely cannot afford to get all of the gems, you can delay the cooldown gem for .

The most important tripods Bard has are the ones that help generate Serenade meter, such as .

gear set

Bards should go for the Yearning gear set to provide their party with a swiftness buff and damage increase.