MP Usage For Bard.

[Drawmuh]

I was told by a MNK that its sad that I barely use MP as a Bard and that helping the WHM is my priority... This happened to be a lvl70+ in King Ranp. Tombs. To be honest I really didnt find the time to use MP and feel I shouldnt be looked down apon for such things considering we chained with no problems(no downtime to speak of) , debuffs stayed on mobs and mages were always refreshed with ballad. After Mage Ballad 1 and 2 ... Minuet 3 and 4 ... Archers Perlude ... Carange Elergy and Reqiuem + Magic Finale due to the fact that the bones love to cast ice spikes on themselfs by the time im finished my cycle of songs the next mob is up or is on its way from a pull and the debuffing and buffing start over again. During fast PT's I just dont find the time to use mp espically the WHM's MP is constantly over 75-80% and PLD tank. I dont know if it was just him or me not doing my job correctly but that was the first time ive actually been told off by any player while I was playing as bard. I understand in circumstances throw a Cure II, Cure III ... Curaga every now and then out there once everything is under control but when your constantly running back and fourth buffing and debuffing where does one find the room to use MP in a fast killing PT...

[Anaki]

i only see a brd/whm mp as an emergency case. because as you said in fast fights you have no time. but also ive never seen a brd use mp so why is whm te best sub for a brd??

[Osaka]

I'm not sure what the MNK was whinning about since with Ballad 1 and 2, your already keeping the WHM's MP regenerating. Granted it's nice to have a WHM sub for BRD in case of emergencies, but if the PT really wanted a backup healer, they should have gotten a RDM or SMN/WHM. The BRD's job is to keep the PT running fast, not keep them alive, though that is everyones responsibility. To keep the PT alive that is.

WHM sub for bard is the best, because as a BRD your fighting ability goes down the pot at about level 40ish. So subbing something that is going to keep you alive is a good idea. I got my BRD up to level 45 before my first retirement and I sucked at solo anything and couldn't do much to help PT in a fight. My job as a BRD was to keep the buffs up on the PT(sperate buffs for the fighters and mages) and debuff the mob. I could then toss a heal in once in a while just to help out, but as Drawmuh says, BRD's typically dont have the time to stop and toss an MP spell when they have to run between the mages and the fighters with songs to play for each.

(^ ,^)v

[Rones]

Hmm, my experience with bard and white mage couldn't be different. I find my mp to be incredibly useful while playing brd. Even with mad/minet, ballad 1&2, archer's prelude, debuffs I still have time to throw cure 3's and curagas often enough that my mp never caps off (can usually empty it if I want) without interering with my song routine. As a whm it is a huge help if the brd throw out some cures. This means the whm can rest longer per sit. Plus, since the party has a brd that means the whm is stuck with enfeebling which eats up resting time and mp. Any extra mp the whm has can be used for more hastes since as a whm or rdm with only brd support can tell you they can't keep everyone hasted usually (whm&rdm team can though). There is downtime between songs, you only need 3-4 seconds to pop off a cure 3 or curaga. Make use of your mp and your mages will thank you. :thumb:

[Kuroneko]

Unless the MNK was willing to sacrifice songs not being sung and the WHM was at 50% MP or below, I don't think there is anything to worry about. o_O; Priority to healing, I feel, should be given if the healers can't keep up and AoE is causing people to go to yellow and lower. But if the mages are ok with their MP and everything is going smoothly, then I don't think there should be much to worry about.

[Dux]

I am with Rones on this one.

I use my MP every single fight and find no problem integrating it into my song routines.

Minuet and Ballad do not run out as quick as you think and there is plenty of time to cure / silena / parlayna whatever inbetween cycyles.

[Icemage]

I'm with Rones on this as well. I make maximum use of my MP as Bard, and it makes a huge difference in the amount of time spent on chains. If you're not casting WHM spells as bard, why are you bothering to sub WHM in the first place? Use it to take pressure off your WHM or RDM. Of COURSE you can reach chain 5 without it. But if your main healer is low on MP after that, you've got unnecessary downtime that you could have prevented had you used your MP.

Contrary to what you may believe you DO have time to cast. If you feel that you don't, you're not managing your time properly. I wear Vermillion Cloak most of the time on bard, which gives me a lot of extra MP to toss around, and I still have no issues using up all the MP I get from the cloak + ballads.


Icemage

[Jei]

doing ~na spells and curaga here and there would be more than enough for BRD imo. They are the perfect job to do curaga since they don't really build up hate other wise.

[little ninja]

doing ~na spells and curaga here and there would be more than enough for BRD imo. They are the perfect job to do curaga since they don't really build up hate other wise.

exactly! the only mp you should be using as a bard is really divine seal + curaga. or just plain ol curaga, curaga II ( not sure if you get II ) its just less mp the whm needs to use. an basically you take care of the other jobs who take minimal damage. an of course in case of an emergency. having cure III rdy.

if its a fast killing exp pt. i say cast curaga when the mob is almost dead. that way you get everyone in range of it. you take no hate from it, due to the mob being close to dead, or dead. only time i care to see my bard using cures, is if im in the low digits. lol then its throw them baby, throw them!!

P.S that mnk was a moron!

[Miriamel]

I'm with Rones, too. I find time to use my MP almost every fight, even with keeping all songs up. Unless I'm really tired/trying to do something else while PTing, I use it for Cure help. Especially Curagas usually, to keep hate on the primary healer lower.

[:+:Pal[A]diN:+:]

In my experience, with a BRD and a RDM in the same party the Bard actually uses alot of MP to help the RDM heal by tossing out curagas and whatnot. You never run out of MP in these parties either so they just backup heal whenever. It can also be helpfull if the RDM subs BLM personally i like this sub for drain/aspir so the bard can cure status effects as well.

[Divine_Spirit]

This reminds me when I first got to Yuhtunga the monk and warrior wanted the bard (with like 35 Mp >.>) to be the healer. When he said he couldn't do they they were getting pretty mad and warrior left.

You don't need to do any major healing, but assisting or giving some relief is always good.

[Malachite]

Really depends on both party config and what you're fighting.

Mobs with status effects: Take over -nas inbetween songs while healer focuses on healing and restoring MP.
Mobs with AE effects: Curaga inbetween songs. Unless your tank has weak aggro controlling abilities, casting curaga midfight should be no problem.

White mage healer: If you're not fighting mobs with AE or status theres really not much you can do. Restore the small amount of health people have after the whm cures them so the whm can regain more MP.
Redmage healer: Just basic -na and curagas and helping whenever you can. Restoring mp isn't really a huge problem.
Summoner healer: Heal when they're summoning. Be ready for damage spikes because they can't cast those huge heals like whm or even rdm. SMN has a ton of MP and the best clear mind around so they can manage their MP pretty well, but don't rely on that. If a smn has more mp then they can do more with their avatars. You are a party support job so support your smn.
Blackmage healer: Hope they know what they're doing as a healer otherwise you'll be curing more than singing. Otherwise its just like a smn healer.

In lv75 exp grind parties where you're killing at obscene rates and shooting for exp chain 15+ at a consistant rate, you can take over as a main healer. Works best with a ninja tank against mobs that don't AE but a paladin is perfectly capable of keeping themself up with bard support.

I have 500mp so a party config similar to: Nin, rng, rng, sam, blm, brd; isn't really a problem. Kills quickly and takes small amounts of damage. Just know how to mentally time your songs, you don't need to recast them each fight if you're killing quickly.

Sorry if this sounds like a lecture, but if you're not using your mp then why sub a mage class? Try dark knight sub to take advantage of stuns if you find yourself not using your white mage support.

[Jei]

Sorry if this sounds like a lecture, but if you're not using your mp then why sub a mage class? Try dark knight sub to take advantage of stuns if you find yourself not using your white mage support.

not really agree with this part here. Using MP or not depends on the situation just like you said. But pretty much it's there as a backup. I will never feel good seeing a Brd/drk in my PT even if he has absolute no need to heal at all. It's just not confortable.

[Malachite]

Merely an example to illustrate a point, but I understand what you mean. You don't join parties as a brd/drk, you use odd subjobs in situations you're comfortable with, when playing with people you're comfortable with. Learn to take advantage of /whm, not build around your weakness.

edit: A different example would be summoner subjob for HNM when aerial armor helps but summoners spend their timers on ward and/or attack abilities. Often you have so many healers that the little touch bard gives goes to waste.