• Hail Guest!
    We're looking for Community Content Contribuitors to Stratics. If you would like to write articles, fan fiction, do guild or shard event recaps, it's simple. Find out how in this thread: Community Contributions
  • Greetings Guest, Having Login Issues? Check this thread!
  • Hail Guest!,
    Please take a moment to read this post reminding you all of the importance of Account Security.
  • Hail Guest!
    Please read the new announcement concerning the upcoming addition to Stratics. You can find the announcement Here!

spellweaving/bard

Tyrath

Grand Poobah
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
This is one skill I have never worked up to 120 and while I have worked the bardic skills, outside of disco I have never really used them. So I started working weaving and practicing with my bard using peace and provo. 120 Spell Weaving, Med, music, disco, peace, provo. Well 112.7 Weaving working to 120. It is proving to be a interesting template but leaves me feeling naked without mage or mystic. Looking forward to getting weaving all the way up and seeing how well this template works as a support character in a group.

Question I have is would I be better off dropping med to 50 and adding 50 mage and then jeweling them both up to 80 and carrying a mage book with 10-15 mage and building a suit with Mana Increase, Regen and LMC . Or would I be selling myself short on Mana Regen in long PvM fights? I don't like the idea of not having atleast enough mage to Rez, greater heal, greater cure, and at least be able to drop EVs and Mind Blast for a little better offense than natures fury and WOD. And being able to invis is kind of handy as well :) Just fishing for tips to make this template as effective as I can as a group support character. And playing in a group makes me nervous anyway since I have spent most of the last decade as a solo and tend to gear my templates to being effective at keeping me alive while delivering as much damage as possible while doing so. WOD is without question seriously powerful at the tail end of a fight in conjunction with Disco though...........

And another question does holding a mage slayer book work with spellweaving and WOD? Have not had time to try that yet.
 

Tanivar

Crazed Zealot
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
It is proving to be a interesting template but leaves me feeling naked without mage or mystic. Looking forward to getting weaving all the way up and seeing how well this template works as a support character in a group.
I've just started with playing a full Bard so I'm also new at this. The usual recommendation is all four Bard skills plus Mystic & Focus. Your main support being Bard Songs & Healing with your being able to cast RCs.

I like Meditation & Spellweaving with the Barding skills. Meditation gives better Mana recovery and Word of Death is handy finishing off monsters the others have beaten down to 1/3 health.

Magery & Meditation gives you the Rezz & Healing options but the EVs seem definitely weaker without Eval. Solo hunting, Disco & Provo can make up for the whimpy EVs. Having the Invisability spell is very nice since I'm used to running around with Hiding & Stealth and not being able to break monsters target lock on me by hiding or going invisable really messes up my usual tactics.

And another question does holding a mage slayer book work with spellweaving and WOD? Have not had time to try that yet.
No it doesn't.
 

Razz

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
EVs seem definitely weaker without Eval.
Did this change or was I just wrong about this from the start? I thought Eval didn't have an effect on EV's and Blades damage.

Update: apparently I was wrong from the start. Just looked it up.P
 
Last edited:

Eärendil

Legendary Mall Santa
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I would go with Mysticism instead of Magery. Better tank and a all-in-one healing. With gift of life you dont need ressing. Just my 5 cents.
 

Eärendil

Legendary Mall Santa
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Mysticism is the most powerful school of spellcasting these days. I would go with 120 music disco provo peace focus mysticism and scrolls for gating. Awesomely powerful and perfect for solo and group hunting.
 

Eärendil

Legendary Mall Santa
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
...you could also stone peace or one other and add 120. But with nowadays Artie loot of MR 4 and alike, you dont have to be legendary stoic.
 

Eärendil

Legendary Mall Santa
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Yeah. Love it, too. With the reaper SW has a 5 slot alternative to colossus. Doesn't hit as hard, however...
 

Mister Sinister

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
here's what I would run:

4 bard skills plus 120 weaving and magery.
gives magery for gating, heals and resses, because let's be honest, gift of life is nice to have but you can't res someone else with it and gift of renewal is also nice but it doesn't nearly manage to outheal any serious damage plus it has a nasty cool down. On top of that you get mindblast, EQ, fields, teleport, invis and last but not least your defence by using a mageweapon. I would ALWAYS prefer mageweapon with 4/6 casting over running in protection. There are very few scenarios in which I would temporarily switch to protection.

Instead of EVs or RCs use the SW mastery to cast a reaper. While it doesn't hit as hard as a RC it does area damage, which is nice to pull monsters towards it and it does also cast WoD, although the randomness of it is annoying. These reapers are quite durable, especially with arcane empowerment. The only big problem for them is greater dragons or other dispel happy monsters with high magery and eval int.
Always cast arcane empowerment before casting anything else (massive SDI bonus and better summons).
Reaper form also helps with SDI bonus.

While WoD doesn't work with slayer books it has no SDI cap and 600+ WoD dmg is absolutely possible.

With the above template I run a suit made from looted artifact pieces where each piece has at least 3 mr, preferrably 4 mr. That is usually enough for my needs. If it is not enough you can always switch one bard skill with meditation and still be effective.
 

Eärendil

Legendary Mall Santa
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
You can cast Gift of Life on your fellow players ;) Just to be correct...
 

Tyrath

Grand Poobah
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I have accumulated a piece LRC suit 25 per piece, and 3-6 per piece and a SC staff with 10 mana increase and 8 MR -21 mage weapon. So Jewels, and 2 suit pieces are open. I do have a set of 4/6 jewels with 60SDI and 16INT. Tossed a couple of imbued pieces with MI/MR/LMC and resit into the mix and came up with a pretty good suit with 70phys, 70 fire, 75 Energy 53 cold and 52 poison and a whopping 470 luck.

Reaper has became my best friend in conjunction with area peace and running away. The running away annoys me since invis is much easier. Think I will try that suit out this afternoon and see if the MR will keep the bard song going and leave me enough mana to spam WOD on the tail end. Giving up the mage spells hurts, but giving up the med and mana ain't easy either :)
 

chargar42

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Spellweaving more importantly WOD is the most powerful spell in all of UO. Much more powerful than mysticism. My humble opinion.
 

Eärendil

Legendary Mall Santa
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
No question, Char, but WOD cant tank. A colossus can ;) And WOD cant cure/heal at once, Cleansing Winds can ;)

And the question wasnt Mysticism or SW, right?
 
Last edited:

kelmo

Old and in the way
Professional
Alumni
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Dread Lord
I love template discussions with Siege rules in mind! I learn something almost every time.
 

Synbad

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Per UO guide gift of life can be casted on the caster or casters pet...gift of renewal is casted on a single target so you can cast this on other players
 

Eärendil

Legendary Mall Santa
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Correct. I mixed it up with gift of renewal. Thanks for clarifying...
 
Top