BRD/RDM does it work?

[iDrizzle]

I was just wanting some endgame brds opinions on this topic.

I know post 30 a brd/rdm would get fast cast, and that could help a bunch imo. You really don't lose too much you woulda got with whm, mainly erase, divine seal, and curaga...which I guess is like a triple threat lol, but with rdm you'd get fast cast, still have access to cures, and some spells a whm doesn't get if you're ever bored and wanna dd lol.

I was planning on trying this once my brd gets 30 because while xping both pld and drg I"ve found that most the time if you have a whm in the party, the brd doesn't need to heal too much, and if there is a big AOE, two paeon will most the time cure the party before the next pull.

Mainly I just hate how long it takes to cast songs. Having the song proc at 80% would be soooo nice, that's a good chunck of time IMO.

So please lemme know the ups and downs of this, thanks guys ^^

[Dryhus]

Fast Cast I is only like a 5% reduction in cast time. Instead of 8 seconds singing, you're looking at 7.5 seconds.

70+, with Fast Cast II and all the Fast Cast gear (Rostrum Pumps, etc) and Song casttime- gear (Sha'ir set), it's more viable from what I've heard. Of course, you're still giving up a LOT of support tools from /WHM. Only a little bit of the Fast Cast you have is from /RDM. You can get a lot as /WHM, based on the noted gear.

[arkaine23]

Fast cast is essentially:

Fast Cast I (rdm15): 5% recast time reduction
Fast Cast II (rdm 35): 2.5% recast time reduction

Rostrum Pumps & Loquacious Earring: 1.5% recast reduction each
I'm not aware of anyone testing the Warlock's Mantle. It seems only 5 have ever been sold on my server's AH. ><

Supposedly actual spell-casting timereduction is double this recast reduction effect. So level 1 of fast cast is 10% casting time reduction, not 5%. However with bard songs, I noticed level 1 fast cast reduced an 8 second song to a 6 second song... So maybe songs are a little different.

At end game I often see bards so busy pulling, and mobs so quickly dying, that they can't keep up 4 buffs songs all the time, much less heal themeselves or anyone else. I'm sure fast cast would help. It's just that the party loses and extra erase and DS + curaga. Not such a big loss in most cases. But end-game can be quite different from mid-game.

[Icemage]

BRD/RDM is definitely viable at end-game in manaburn parties. It gives you a split second more distance from the monster when pulling, makes you take less time when casting Blink and Stoneskin, and gives you faster recast on Lullaby. I'm still not sure it outweighs being able to cast Curaga I/II with Divine Seal and Erase, but from a pulling perspective it gives you an edge for sure.

The only time /RDM is deadly is in places like King Ranperre's Tomb, where Spartoi Sorcerors can cast Bind. Without Erase, you're dead meat if you go on a long pull and get Bound, and it can last a very long time. Even if you Lullaby it to stop it from beating you down, chances are you'll lose your XP chain (plus the risk of a new spawn appearing while you're bound). Erase is also useful for removing the incredibly annoying damage over time from Bio II/III.


Icemage

[Meth]

Tried the /RDM in the newer ToUA areas and found myself greatly missing DS + Curaga II. Endgame parties just move to fast, and when you have a RDM main healer who subs BLM a BRD with Curaga II really comes in handy in a pinch.

[Fether]

In the lower end parties i tend to status cure a lot, granted the other whm or /whm can pick it up, it never hurts to have another person doing it. =)

[Palom_FF]

I absolutely love BRD/RDM. However, I would only consider it post-70 (or really 72 with Sha'ir gear). I would also caveat that by saying I won't sub RDM unless there's a WHM and RDM/WHM in the PT. In a fast-pasted TP Burn party, Fast Cast trait+Sha'ir Manteel+L. Earring+R. Pumps makes a huge difference in being able to sing a set of songs and get out to bring back the next mob.

[iDrizzle]

Cool guys, thanks for the input. I might give it a try at 30, just to see what it is like, but it seems from what I've been hearing thus far /whm is much more safe. ^^

[tordall]

These questions get asked a lot:

White mage is the generally safest subjob for bard. It's the standard subjob for a reason. It has the hugely mp-efficient curaga and curaga II spells as well as almost the entire line of -na spells and erase. There are a surprising number of times when the -na spells and erase will allow the party to flow much better and a decent number of times when the curaga(s) can allow the party to keep a chain allive.

Red mage is a decent subjob choice after 64 when you're able to cast dispell (it actually works most of the time from a subjob), or earlier if you have a party which is substantially mage-heavy. It excells in camps when you're fighting red mage-type mobs that need to be finaled and dispelled multiple times in a row.

Ninja is actually a very good subjob for high-chain parties or in parties where the AOE moves are blocked by shadows. Generally /nin will speed up your pulling more than /rdm will. If you decide to do bard/nin it's highly advised that you refrain from meleeing and that you should have at least two 'real' mages in the party.

Remember if you are subbing something other than white mage you should expect to explain yourself at least once.

[DaSantis]

Basically, I typically run BRD/RDM as my second job. The only time that I truly have problems is when I miss something like Poisona or Erase.

If the party leader knows what he's doing, and you're not in a mana-burn party, he's not hiring you for healing abilities. They're usually hiring you (or should be hiring you) specifically for the following:

1) Dispel/Finale (for instance: if you're on the 2nd tier gobs in Bibiki Bay or the Anticans in Quicksand Caves, they typically start with 3 buffs up. Flame Spikes, Protect, and Shell.... after 1 Finale, 1 Dispel, and 1 more Finale, all the buffs are gone.)

2) Sleep Control: You've got Foe Lullaby, Horde Lullaby, and Sleep. One of those three are likely to stick for links. Blink will buy you enough time in damage hits to stay alive while working on the situation.

3) Buffs of your party members: The usual stuff.

4) Debuffs on the mobs: Granted, you're going to have problems making stuff stick more often then not, other than your two primary monster-songs (elegy/requiem/thenodies), but this is 4th on your list.

5) Backup Healing: If you're hitting this part too often, then something's off with the defense of the party. (Step 4 _should_ be happening more often than this step).

6) Elemental protection: Carols are the most under-appreciated songs (IMO) of the Bard. Combine {insert element} Carol + Bar{element}, and you'll reduce the appropriate damage to almost 0 every time. (Fire Carol + BarFire vs. Goblins in Bibiki Bay for instance = 0 to 8 damage on what was normally 150 HP Goblin Bombs).

Again, you will miss some things just as Poisona/Cursna/etc, Curagas, and Erase, but you're more than likely to make up for it in the above 6 items. It took me a while to understand pulling as a Bard (which would probably bump up to #1 or #2 on the list if you're doing a burn-party), but even then I'm not usually asked to do that (have only done a couple of manaburn parties my entire Bard career.)