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New to barding - not sure I "get it" :)

G

Guest

Guest
Hi there, as per title of thread - Im new to this and not sure I get it!
Actually still quite new to UO really, so am learning much every day


So onto my questions/queries!

Firstly, is the FAQ still correct and up to date? (just asking cos its a few years old
) Which stats are important to a Bard? Dexterity for faster playing? I notice that there's quite a long (well seems long to me while I am running away from things waiting to try and peace them again! :p) gap between skill uses, does that get better with higher skill, or higher stats?

From all the reading I've been doing, it seems a bard can't actually kill a beastie just with barding skills, so I'm going to have mage as well as bard, is that a good choice? Also, fire horns, it says they use 4 sulphurous ash, will a 100% lrc suite still need the sulphurous ash?

I plan on doing 100 each of the bard skills, and 100 mage and EI - I'm not likely to be able to afford scrolls for more than 110 on anything - and from what I read, seems if I have 110 music and 100 on the other bard skills, then that is equivalent to 110 on the others anyway?

I'll probably have more questions as I go - but I think that's it for now!
I've just started the character yesterday
Thanks a real lot to anyone answers!
 
J

joblackjon

Guest
First off, I only PvM so my comments don't apply to PvP at all.

I haven't read all of the Bard FAQ in a really long time so I don't know how accurate it is.

Go to the top of the Bard forum page and find the Barding Calculator. Stats have no effect on Bardic skills.

I believe every Bard would agree that the gap between Barding attempts is waaaay to long espcially on a failure which often is fatal! And no, it does not improve with skill gains. It's a challenge!

In fact, a pure Bard can kill monsters with Provocation but it's not very efficient. A Bard needs, and has room for, another damage skill.

Sorry, I tried Firehorns years ago and didn't like them. Don't know.

I have a Provo/Mage that is fun and powerful. Dex = 30, Int = all you can get and Str = whatever is left.

I have 2 Tamer/Disco/Peace Chars that are seriously fun and seriously powerful. 120 Disc decreases the target's Skills and Resists by 28%! They each have a bit of Chivalry for healing/curing. Str = all you can get, Int = 75 and Dex = whatever is left.

Remember, settling on a template is not as important if you have Soul Stones or Frags. Adjustments can be made. Most of the time my Tamer/Disco/Peace Chars have their Peace Soul Stoned and replaced with Resist. When they want to Tame something, the Resist is Stoned and Peace is loaded. Flexibility.

In my opinion, there is a huge difference between 100.0 Bardic skill and 120.0. The failure rate at 100.0 is awful and big game will break Peace in 1 second. You must scroll up as high as you can. Don't shop in Luna (rip-off!)...shop around! I give away 105 & 110 scrolls on my vendors.

At the top of the Bard forum page are some excellent Bardic skill training manuals; however, if you train by simply playing the game, you will amass a lot of gold and be able to buy the scrolls you need. It will take a bit longer but you will learn a lot more about how to "be" a Bard. Just remember to always use a normal, store-bought (not Exceptional) instrument for training and train all your Bard skills at the same time (to keep them in the same "range").

Something you need to know about...

The Stratics' Hunter's Guide: web page . Do an Advanced Search and sort by Barding Difficulty. Now you can locate all the monsters that are within 20 points of your Bard skills. That's the skill gain sweet spot. While you're at it, why not pick the highest gold-yielding beast within your range?

Once you've located your appropriate training partners, the Hunter's Guide has a "Found At" section that tells you where to find your target. Always check this so you know what you're getting into!

If you're on Baja...I can help!
Good hunting
 
I

imported_Fran Fury

Guest
Not sure how much help I can be either but I will try.


I reccommend using Poo's disco primer for advice or what to train at what skill level. It works for both disco and for provo. Use Gamens instead of giant beetles if you want and you can also use unicorns when you get a little higher. (73ish to 90ish I believe)
I highly reccommend going over gm for sure.As high as possible. 120 scrolls can be expensive and to be honest I am still waiting for my 120 music.

110's are cheap or free if you look around (as suggested... not in Luna) You can get some good deals on 115 if you shop around as well.
I am also on Baja and willing to help you out with the 110's if you are here.

I have a bard/mage (still in training but already having fun), a bard treasure hunter, and a peace tamer.
Good luck! Being a bard can be a lot of fun but it can also be a challenge at times.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Thanks very much both of you
I did use Poo's guide yesterday when I came back on to try some more, and I also tried firehorns once I got my music high enough (you do need sulphurous ash, 100% LRC doesnt help :p)

I'm also not sure I'm going to keep this character, I might train the skills up then stone them off (Maybe add them to my tamer, and try bard/tamer, instead of archer/tamer
)

Having 7 characters still isn't enough :p I'm new enough at the game still that I want to try EVERYTHING!

joblackjon - when I do the advanced search on the hunter guide, I should be looking for things 20 points below my skill level? Or above? Or doesnt matter, just 20 points either side?

I'm on Oceania, by the way, not Baja, but thank you both for the offers
I'm sure I'll find 110's no worries, but wasnt sure it would make that much difference
 
J

joblackjon

Guest
If your Barding skills are ~50, you want to train on stuff with 30 - 70 Barding Difficulty. The Devs say you can only gain skill on succesfull attempts but in my exerience that is just plain wrong. If you train at the low end (30), you will succeed more often. At the high end (70) you will fail more often. Experiment to find what gives "you" the best gains.

Train all Bardic skills at the same time and try to keep Provo, Disco and Peace equal so you can use the same training partner for all. Peace the critter, Disco it and then Provo it on another. Let Music go but...

Lock your Music skill as soon as it hits 100.0. Music gains really fast and easy but going over 100.0 in Music actually make it more difficult to gain in the other Bardic skills.

You should really try a Tamer/Peace/Provo. It's an incredibly fun, challenging, powerful template and you can make a ton of gold. One of my chars has:
Lore = 115
Taming = 120
Vet = 120
Music = 115
Disco = 120
Peace or Resist = 115
Chiv = 50
Str = 135
Dex = 55
Int = 100
That's with jewelry, armor and stuff.
It took me about a 18 months to train but I trained only by playing. I must have banked around 30 mil training this char.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Firehorns are great once your skills are higher. They still use 4 ash regardless of LRC, but when provoke/discord/music are high they can pack quite a punch (pretty sure peace doesn't increase the horn's damage). I find them useful for finishing off monsters, especially if I have them discorded. Also good when you have a group of stuff you want to blast quickly, say when you're surrounded by a lot of nuisance spawn.
 
L

Luvan

Guest
You are right. Fire horns do require the 4 ash regardless of lrc.
But once u reach high barding skills they are your best friend. Easily doing 40-60 damage to everything in a group. And what makes them truly great is they require no mana. So you can drop them and still be able to cast your spells. Or in the case of a bardfighter... If you have very little mana, you can use them as added damage to your attacks.

peace does add to their effectiveness. There is a fire horn calc somewhere on stratics. It says at 4X120 a fire horn will do 120 base fire damage. Of course then whatever your attacking has some fire resist. But still good damage.
Barding is an art. Very dificult to do alone. But so worth the effort. Make sure you have a macro for hiding, you will use it a lot.
I find that after 4X120 (with jewels) 110 magery and med, with gm spell weaving works really well.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Thanks for the extra info on firehorns both of you
Afriad my bard in training has been set aside while I was beating up demons in Mag
But I'll be getting back to her soon


I think when I eventually get the skills high enough, I might try soulstoning skills around a bit, and see how I like mage/bard and tamer/bard.

I like my tamer/archer right now, cos I can use my pet as a weapon, as well as my weapon (and with my lag I need all teh help I can get) but it sounds like maybe tamer/bard would give me similar advantages


I've been collecting lots of firehorns off the various daemons in Mag too, so I have a stash of about 20 so far
 

ZidjiN

Babbling Loonie
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Dont put your bard aside! Its one of the most entertaining chars to play if you ask me. Its allso one of the absolute strongest PvM chars in this game!

My Bard Runns
120 Music
120 Peace
120 Provo
120 Discord (with items as it is now. To slow to train!!)
120 Meditation
115 Magery
I use this char for a lot of things when it comesto PVM. Doom, gathering Leather, Thunting and the list goes on! Discordance is the best PVM skill in the game if you ask me, it makes Balrons turn in to moongbats ^^

Just learn to dance as abarrd and you will do fine
 
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