MP Usage For Bard.

[Osaka]

<（　⌒　,⌒）> Rone is right, if your playing BRD as Healer Support, meaning that its you and the Main Healer only. In most of the PT's I had been in before the NA release, and before I had first retirement, BRD was used to keep the PT running fast, along with a RDM and WHM, not as specifically Healer Support. Of course you are expected to help out if things start going south in a PT with those magically super hard mobs. If your a 4 fighter PT (Two Tank, Two DD) with only two mages, (WHM or RDM and BRD), then yes, if your not using your MP to help the Healer with heals then your not doing your job. I had found that even as a Taru BRD, a Galka WHM would feel no pinch if they used their cures effectively.

So I guess as I don't play BRD anymore, the role of BRD has changed significantly, but that is the way of FFXI as time passes. We live and learn and try new things. Especially me as I had just recently come back out of retirement.
v <（ ⌒　。⌒）> v

[Rones]

I never see parties with 3 support characters anymore (eg: brd, rdm, & whm). Parties have reached the point of efficieny where 3 is just wasteful of a slot. Brd & whm or Brd & rdm with 3 DD + tank goes a lot farther these days, but it only works if the brd understands the need to be support healing. Sure if your party already has a rdm & whm, then you won't likely ever need to heal as brd. However, the party could get by with one less support and still not have downtime if the brd helps out.

[Icemage]

Case in point, I did some merit points last night on my bard. Setup was NIN RNG RNG SMN RDM BRD. SMN was on offense 90% of the time, consistent chain 7++, and I think we could have gotten more had the SMN been a 3rd RNG since I could have dispensed with Ballad I.

To do this, though, I had to radically change my gear to max out my MP, even at the cost of losing significant CHR. I got more resists than usual, but my MP reserves (347, would have been 397 if I could have activated my Republic Gold Medal...) were such that I was basically able to act as a front-line healer in between songs with the RDM dealing with major damage.


Icemage

[ClydeArrowny]

From my limited experience in mnk PTs(as thf75/mnk37[its actually equivalent to the DoT of a 71mnk/war]) every bit of MP helps for constant chaining. Once you get to the chain 17s with a mobile PT MP will wane, even with rdm+whm+brd backline. Brd healing helps make the MP last longer, plus blindna assist also helps a ton.

[kuu]

In my experience, the Brd's MP should be the first to get drained, because your hate is usually going to be nowhere near everyone else. This is except links and situations...

A whm is usually a conservative job, and I don't see good whms drain pass 10% of the MP unless there is good reason. This means that healer might sit the begining or the end of the fight out, to increase the MP tick rate.

In that case it's the Brd's job to do bandaid like curing. curaga spells are usually best for AoE monsters where your whm runs into cast timer/hate situations, and cure3 if it's just in trouble.

Since you're fighting bones, with monks it should be an even better idea to drain most of your MP, as MNKs get beaten around waaay too much. As long as you get those songs in before SC.. it's all good, piles those cures on within reason.

Also in such a case, you might want to cure over songs earily in chain, to save the healer MP, and Songs over curing late in chain. This is logical as low chains are allowed more time then high chains.

Even more so, if you're killing so fast that there is no time for curing, song's wouldn't disappear that fast anyway, so where's the priority?

[Calyx (Bismarck)]

I find MP to be an essential for BRD, I have upgraded MP for almost the 6th time for merits because I really feel I DO need the MP as an elvaan. Merits work nice because you don't have to sacrifice any endgame equipment for +MP. I tried using electrum rings in a party while sacrificing the CHR rings and found myself having more trouble landing debuffs. But to get back on topic...

I've been in the endgame life for about a year. I find MP to be essential for a few reasons. One would be Stoneskin, BRD take damage horribly, on the offchance you get hate and of course mobs using AoE's, this can be a godsend. With this being said blink is also nice just incase you get hate. Also I find it's important for a BRD to take care of most, if not, all status abnormalities the members of your party may have, it saves time for the WHM (or whatever else you have as a main healer) and they will thank you in the long run. I rarely use a Cure spell on a single person, it's always Curaga and Curaga II, combining it with Divine Seal is another thing that your WHM will thank you for, especially because it heals (mostly) everyone to full or close to full health.

Just my two cents.

[Niwaar]

I preface this with stating the fact that I am a self-titled MPwhore. Bard MP is essential for an end game 73+ party to move fast and seemless. At these levels Base XP is low and its neccessary to move non stop in order to get the maximum xp per hour. A 1 Tank 4 DD 1 Healer 1 Bard party is an awesome setup. Yet even before this, a bard should be using their mp to maximize the party's effectivness. Curaga and Curaga2 are bard staple curing spells early on and that doesnt change as you obtain higher level and more MP. Hell, even SE knows this, they gave us the Gaudy Harness and its <49mp refresh at lvl50. What it comes down to is simple, if you aren't using your mp then one of a few things is happening in your party. 1) You have a ninja tank and you arent fighting anything with nasty aoe. 2) Your whitemage/paladin is doing all curing and wasting a lot of their own mp in the process. 3) You are doing other things in the party to make it more effective, ie pulling. In the end bard mp in normal xp situations is an extremely important tool in being the best you can be. While in "end game/HNM" activities, bard MP can often be 90% meaningless 90% of the time.

[Jei]

1 Tank 4 DD 1 Healer 1 Bard <--- that makes 7

[Caspian]

1 Tank 4 DD 1 Healer 1 Bard <--- that makes 7

You and your "math".

Out of curiosity for someone who neither has played bard or made it to endgame. Why is bard mp pointless 90% of the time? Seems like you would still be there, helping throw out an extra cure or two occasionally or curagaing the viscious aoe's most hnm's are renowned for having.

[Nodachi]

With ballads on BRDs can make pretty good use of their small amounts of MP this is true. Problem is without a Ballad + isntrument you'll usually only have Ballad I remain on if you hav to cast both ballads and melee songs. If you're being expected to be a main curer the MP will deplete far too quick. Really these are the spells I see BRD should be using. Stoneskin (not for most exp PTs but some towards end game), Dia if no one else can or would rather you take over it. Cure status ailments like paralysis, silence, blind, and anything that requires erase. Curaga, and Cure III.

A valid use of BRD for curing is of course the mentioned Curaga but, to not have the BRD focus on curing the tank but the other melee members who lose HP from time to time. Not only is this less MP heavy, it's less time consuming allowing the BRD to get all songs up on time.

[Icemage]

Problem is without a Ballad + isntrument you'll usually only have Ballad I remain on if you hav to cast both ballads and melee songs.

Smart bards sing Melee > Melee > Ballad I > Ballad II, leaving themselves with Ballad II instead of Ballad I.


Icemage

[Nodachi]

Guess I'm not a smart bard ; ; Hmm I use to do that I guess but after being in so many high chain PTs I just put Ballad II on for the mages first, since i don't always get around to the second cast.

[Keyura]

While in "end game/HNM" activities, bard MP can often be 90% meaningless 90% of the time.

in the case of kirin, i'd always be the rng bard, and my job was to main cure all the rngs and keep songs on them. not that bad, usually had to cure them from AoE but if they got hate, dead, let the whms take over. i wore nothing but mp+ gear and with my tarutaruness and crappy mp+ gear, i had something close to 400 mp. for me it was double prelude on every rng, run to the side, ballad myself then go back and double prelude again, and cure as its needed. its just situational as to how my mp gets used. in most exp pts i pull and i only use my mp to help erase and to stoneskin/blink myself, occasionally i'll curaga II if the healer is low on mp, i got time left before pull and the melees are all yellow, but thats rare. i rarely have time.

[Niwaar]

Yes MP is gold, I guess I just never get to use much of mine, or it doesn't seem like I do with Refresh/Balladx2 and Auto-Refresh my mp stays almost full most of the time. But even then during a normal Guardian such as genbu or Suzaku, my mp never gets used. Stunning BLM/DRK/RDM will stop 99% of all aoe from those 2, which pretty much makes MP usage relegated to curing the /thf that gets hit by the COE on Genbu. Its all in -na support for Byakko/Seiryu, thought. With good stunners MP usuage just seems to be put on the whm's 90% of the time. For kirin though, its a different story, running around saving rng's taru's and erasing/curing tanks is where the mp goes, and can easily deplete the 500mp I have even with 7mp/tick coming back. As for stuff like SS/Blink...I dont consider this as "usage" as it is not going into curing/status removing.

[Isendre]

As a Brd i occasionaly use my mp with back up cure and debuffs but it usually depends on the situation really if 2 or 3 ppl are in the red then ofcourse i throw out some cures or is a mob throws out AOE's to melee then i help with the debuffs unless asked not to (wich has never happened) most of the time i spend running back and forth singin my cute lil butt off and i havent had a complaint yet, but if i had a whiney mnk tellin me what to do i would just tell him to mind his own job and let me do mine then again i have seen a few brds spend more time tryin to be a whm wich is never good, but for the most part playing back up ina pinch is essential.