I saw a bard fighting a mob for probably the first time. It was a terrifying amount of damage.
Only in 1.0, with a raged FG Zerk WM Elder have I seen comparable damage. The bard even had a really strong defense.
Do they fight like this in PK?
EDIT: I meant to put this in newbie help.. Whoops.
First rule of fl is don't $#@# with bards.
The obvious answer is to go fight one... It's like the first time I went to attack a vampire. Shits scary.
The bard was using a weapon that was a vuln to the mobs you are talking about.
So was the 1.0 raged FG Zerk WM Elder. 
Bards as a class are still the the process of fine tuning.
I've fought the majority of the bards out there right now with the exception of one. And I'll say this:
I've gotten my ass totally kicked by one, escaping with under a 100 hp and I've also almost three rounded that SAME bard 10 minutes later.
My biggest tip for fighting bards that I've discovered thus far is blinding them.
Absolutely agree with the above. They can be tough, but they have NO lag protection, and no blind fighting. People cried OP when they first appeared, but Morlhach had asked everyone to roll one, which meant that some really good player killers were playing bards, IMMS likely included. Funny how once players played them and learned the weaknesses the OP shouts died out. They did get a slight adjustment since then too. But I did not notice a difference with my Bard after the adjustment. Actually fun to play but time consuming to get what you need, how you need it. <Like everything else.
I'm really curious to see how they fight vs. a Shaman. They obviously have intense burst damage and with decent saves it would be tough to land silence. With their songs, plague/poison/dysentery would have very little effect.
I bet a shaman would win that attrition battle
no silence.
use blind x10 +
weaken
curse
visitation
desentry
and fight on water
summon the warlock, the high guardian and travl
While that's a legitimate strategy, it's also incredibly defensive. What happens when the bard chooses to leave that scenario and the Shaman must chase if it wants a kill?
It also assumes the Shaman can deal enough melee damage to take the bard down. If no silence, the bard can just flee and be full hp/mana/move unless there is a ton of pressure being put on.
Meanwhile, that bard will be pummeling the Shaman. I'm not saying it can't be done. Just in theory it seems really, really disproportionally in favor of the Bard. I would love to see a log of a fight between the two.
Also, I'm not saying this is a bad thing. Every class should fit somewhere in that rock paper scissor scenario. I'm still figuring where bards belong in that.
I think you're speculating, Mudder. Taking a stance on a scenario that you haven't tested or seen tested.
I think you're speculating, Mudder. Taking a stance on a scenario that you haven't tested or seen tested.
You're right. That is exactly what I'm doing. I wasn't trying to imply anything to the contrary.
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summon the warlock
You forgot to mention naming your character "Warlo".
Didn't we have a particularly long lived character at 50 with that name before?
We did of course. You thought I just mentioned it randomly? ;p
One thing I was wondering. Since the revamp, bards were made more pk viable like rogues. But bards can be dwarves, so why can't ninjas and thieves be dwarves?
Bards aren't rogues anymore.
Because new bards are not much at all like old bards, and they don't play like thieves and ninjas. They are more of a melee mage hybrid than a rogue mage hybrid. Also dwarves have never been agile enough to master subterfuge. Duergars enough so for thievery, but not the finesse of a ninja.