Minstrel

Bard primary archetype combined with Bard secondary is a Minstrel class.

Skills/abilities

Bards fill a tactical support role, including a broad range of offensive and defensive combat skills in addition to support abilities and buffs.

• Bard mechanics include melodies, dances, songs, and stories.
  • Bards (like other archetypes) cannot use their abilities while mounted, but this may change in future.

One of the big things we wanted to do with this Bard specifically was not to focus specifically on just song or dance, but have a culmination of a bunch of different of these themes all together in the same kit. – John Collins

• Bard AoE effects are generally not obstructed by line-of-sight.
• Bards may choose to activate buffs that augment tanking, DPS and healing in their proximity.
  • Bard buffs apply to characters in the same group.
• Bards offer proximity-based or proc-based healing, but to a much lesser degree than Clerics.
• Bards are able to aid in the restoration of Mana.
• Bards are able to play musical instruments.
• Sagas are powerful Bard ultimate abilities that can have big effects on the battlefield.
• Bards will have utility outside of combat, but this will not include restoring rested XP, and also may not include stealth type skills.
  • The ability to give buffs out of combat may be a post-level 25 skill that might be available later in Alpha-2.
• Bards are not intended to have siege summon capabilities, but sagas may fulfill a similar role on the battlefield.

Skill	Icon	Description
Anthem of Alacrity		Target ally gains Anthem of Alacrity: Attack speed increased by 25% and casting speed increased by 25%. Lasts 10 seconds.
Anthem of Alacrity (AoE)		You and the 3 closest allies in front of you gain Anthem of Minor Alacrity: Attack speed increased by 10% and casting speed increased by 10%. Lasts 10 seconds.
Cathartic Melody		Nearby party members gain Cathartic Melody Melodies can be played concurrently with other abilities. Multiple instances of the same melody do not stack.
Chaos		Nearby party members gain Chaos Generates Theme of Tragedy
Cheerful Melody		Nearby party members gain Cheerful Melody Melodies can be played concurrently with other abilities. Multiple instances of the same melody do not stack.
Chilling Lament		Target enemy is dealt (75%🢆) ice damage and afflicted with four seconds of Chilled every second. Deals bonus damage to frozen targets.
Chilling Lament (AoE)		Enemies in front of you are dealt (50%🢆) ice damage and afflicted with three seconds of chilled every second. Deals bonus damage to frozen targets.
Clever Retort		Interrupt your target with a clever retort, applying 1 stacks of Silenced. Applies Humiliated if the target is Demoralized.
Conflict		Nearby party members gain Conflict Generates Theme of Tragedy
Dark Lullaby		Deal (50-100%🢆) spirit damage to target enemy each second (scales in power over the course of the cast). This damage will not wake an incapacitated target. The final hit applies Stunned for 6 seconds if the target is incapacitated.
Dark Lullaby (AoE)		Deal (25-75%🢆) spirit damage each second to enemies in front of you (scales in power over the course of the cast). This damage will not wake incapacitated targets. The final hit applies Stunned for 6 seconds to any incapacitated targets.
Destiny		Nearby party members gain Destiny Generates Theme of Mystery
Discordance		Launch a wild burst of 3 discordant notes at your target, each dealing (75%🢆) Arcane damage and applying Staggered. The notes will bounce to random nearby enemies dealing reduced damage. Song Mastery: Dissonance
Epic Melody		Nearby party members gain Epic Melody Melodies can be played concurrently with other abilities. Multiple instances of the same melody do not stack.
Flourish		Slide forward gracefully in your aimed direction and gain Pep. Can be used concurrently with any other ability. Dance Mastery: EnergyDance Mastery: Power
Gambit		In a daring maneuver, transfer life to or from target party member, depending on who has a lower percent health. This ability will not reduce either player below 25% health. The character that loses life in this exchange gains Solace.
Get Off The Stage		Knockback enemies in front of you with your instrument, dealing (175%🢆) Bludgeon damage and applying 3 stacks of Snared that tapers off over the course of 6 seconds. Also applies Disarmed to targets with Staggered.
Hymn of the Mind		Target ally gains mana equal to 2+5% magical power. Every second Mana gained increases up to 200% based on the amount of Mana the target is missing.
Hymn of the Mind (AoE)		Up to 4 allies in front of you gain mana equal to 0.8 + 4% magical power every second. Mana gained increases up to 200% based on the amount of mana the target is missing. This ability will favor low mana party members and yourself.
Jest		Jest with target ally, healing for (150%🢆) healing and applying Glee and Pep. Shares cooldown with Mock.
Joy		Nearby party members gain Joy Generates Theme of Comedy
Lovely Serenade		Target ally is healed for (150%🢆) healing every second. The final hit applies Glee.
Lovely Serenade (AoE)		Up to five allies in front of you are healed for (50%🢆) healing every second. This ability will favor injured party members and yourself.
Maddening Dance		Deal (55%🢆) Arcane damage and dispel 1 buff on nearby enemies every second. Damage increases with less targets, up to (55%🢆) Arcane damage. Avert Your Gaze To your allies, this dance merely looks silly, but to your enemies, it is a maddening, horrific sight.
Marionette		Target enemy is afflicted with Marionette When Marionette expires, the target becomes Humiliated. "How embarrassing..."
Menacing Melody		Nearby party members gain Menacing Melody Melodies can be played concurrently with other abilities. Multiple instances of the same melody do not stack.
Mesmerizing Dance		Quickly strike a dazzling pose! Mesmerizes all nearby enemies, applying 1 stacks of Incapacitated for 10 seconds. Any targets with Staggered also become 1 stacks of Stunned for 4 seconds.
Misdirection		Use your wiles to reduce both your own and nearby party members' threat against nearby monsters by (1000%🢆) Magical damage. Additionally breaks all disabling effects on the caster.
Mock		Ridicule target enemy, damaging them for (110%🢆) Bludgeon damage and applying 1 stacks of Demoralized. Fierce Wit Shares cooldown with Jest.
Nimble Dance		Grants Nimble, Pep, and cleanses 1 debuff from yourself and nearby allies every second.
Pensive Melody		Nearby party members gain Pensive Melody Melodies can be played concurrently with other abilities. Multiple instances of the same melody do not stack.
Quick Wit		Jest with target ally, healing for (150%🢆) healing and applying Glee and Pep. Ridicule target enemy, damaging them for (110%🢆) Bludgeon damage and applying 1 stacks of Demoralized. Fierce Wit
Saga		Complete your tale with a grand finale, consuming all of your current themes. The specific saga you have access to is determined by the combination of your current themes.
Shielding Dance		Heal yourself and nearby allies for (50%🢆) healing every second and apply up to one instance of 1 stacks of Shield to each target as they enter the dance radius.
Triumph		Nearby party members gain Triumph Generates Theme of Comedy
Wonder		Nearby party members gain Wonder Generates Theme of Mystery

Some of the following information has not been recently confirmed by the developers and may not be on the current development roadmap.

• Some buffs are related to how the Bard performs in combat: If a bard lands a skill shot against a target, allies within a certain range might be granted a temporary buff that relates to the skill that the bard used.

• Certain higher tier Bard abilities will utilize proximity-based ground templates that require the party or raid to move into (and out of) formations indicated by the template to gain added benefits or buffs.

Bard augments

Bard schools of augmentation currently include Regeneration and Buffs. The remaining two schools will be revealed later in Alpha-2 as designs are finalized.

What are the core purposes of the Bard? These are regenerative effects. These are buff effect types. When you think about then the active skill that you might apply those augments to, you are likely going to be adding certain effects types that relate then to those Bard primary effects. So, if you're a Tank and and right now you have an ability to cast Aegis that absorbs damage from nearby party members, now you might be conferring a certain buff to those party members as a result of that, or inspiration, or you might be applying some type of regenerative healing effect, or mana restoration as a result that's available. So, we haven't fully fleshed out what those augments are going to look like on a per-archetype basis. Our Focus for Alpha-2 has been establishing the core archetypes, the active ability archetypes, and then when we get into having the Rogue and Summoner added into the base archetypes, that's when we're going to start focusing on augmentation and the secondary class choices. – Steven Sharif

See also

• Classes
• Archetypes