Bard End game Equipment

[Niwaar]

I too know I have seen a small difference in buff levels with skill vs non skill setups. I will have to go back and dig my skill items out of storage to really see. That being said, a lot of my other bard friends have begun to swear by skill items. I know for one that while using a pure skill setup on Fafnir it was vastly easier to land a debuff than with a pure charisma setup.

Calyx, you reminded me of the one other set that all bard's should consider . . . -enmity. I have a pure -enmity armor setup for the longer stuff like Cop wyrm attempts (Vrtra likes to get hungry for mithra meat alot). I haven't used it in a while for other "lower" HNM's like Fafnir, but at one time when our LS was a lot younger I switched to it cause I would get eaten all the time.

[Nodachi]

Extra +skill has close to no extra affect on minuet.

From alla(so iffy, but fairly accurate) for minuet 4
Sung:
(Singing skill/10) +4

Performed:
((Singing+Instrument-2)/20)+33

Instrument w/ Minuet +2 = +5

You can stack on +20skill and only get 1 more attack.

Pretty sure this is because Minuet IV begins to eventually cap out on how much it can be increased by.

Throughout the game I was only concerened with CHR = Skill > MP (mainly for leveling). End game however my focus has really shifted a good deal. On HNMs that you're expected to be able to land debuffs on I still swear by + Skill and a bit of CHR but really at 75 with the proper instruments +CHR seems so petty.

My big surprise however is my desire for deffensive equipment. For end game PTs you may find yourself pulling a good deal for high chains. You'll also be taking quite a few hits in Dynamis, more than likely anyway. So for this I recomend if available that you try for the Tu'lia god's set. You can mix and match certain pieces to customize things a bit but I usually find myself doing the whole set minus the gloves (which i use JSE for) for exp and dynamis. With more defens and Vitality you're able to take that much more of a beating as you recast your horde lullaby.

Other things like + Skill and - Enmity have been mentioned so no need to restate those, but they're very important as well. And for MP ring accessories and zenith are a huge aid for BRDs seeking MP.

[Keyura]

the skill/chr debates aside, i think for a bard in end game situations, chr is practically useless, i don't even bother trying to debuff genbu or seiryu or whoever cause the once i land it a fight is time taken away from my other duties and fights are so short (genbu i remember we used to do in like 6 min) that its not worth the time. i use almost exclusively mp+ gear for gods to cure rngs i would usually be with, and i'd try and slip skill gear in there where i could, but mp is primary concern. hell, i could go in to those fights naked and be 99% as useful.