Formation and Song Combo I found effective

[_Revere_]

I have a regular group that is melee heavy and we worked out an interesting formation.

I don't think this is ideal for all group make-ups but for us it works out great.

P = Paladin
O = Offensive Melee
R = Ranger
W = White Mage
B = Bard
M = Monster

1) Ranger is out, Bard sings Ballad + Minne using Harp (Usually hits the whole group)

O
O_P_ B__W

2) Ranger announces pull, Bard moves near the front and sings Madrigal + Minuet(This hits all the Offensive Melee and Ranger is usually in camp when Minuet Lands + Prelude)


___O
B_O_M_ P__W
___R

Why I like this formation?

1)The Offensive Melee has the DPS songs.

2)Paladin has boosted AC + Mana Regen

3)White Mage has AC + Mana Regen


Which means, the mob dies faster, the Paladin bleeds less, the White Mage heals less, less medding for the Paladin, White Mage is more protected against adds and pretty easy to setup even with the dumbest melee.

I know this is Sacrilege, but I might even do this formation when I hit 55, instead of doubling up the Ballads.

Anyways, I thought I share this and get the opinion of my peers ;)

[Poupouf]

I never or vert rarely party with the same people but I do some kind of weird formation when the time is right:

for instance if the party is lacking healing power but as me (BRD/WHM) a RDM/WHM and a PLD/WAR I will make the formation as followed:

P= PLD
B= BRD
R= RDM
O= other
M= Monster

Ballad 1 +2:

O
O M P B R
O

Madrigal + minuet:

O
B O M P R
O


Also when doing this I do not suggest using a harp since you might disturb your sense of area while switching from harp to horn or horn to harp. Also this is not useful in every case and sometimes I will give the paladin Ballad2+ Madrigal if needed or whatever~

Futhermore, this is more tricky when there is a thief in your party~

[Malachite]

a few random thoughts, as I have tried this method before...

1) The higher you go, the harder things are to hit(in most exp pt situations at least, granted there are some minuet/minuet or minuet/madrigal pts instead of madrigal/madrigal). Using the method you described pretty much negates a paladin's damage compared to the rest of the pt. They'll miss often and be way behind on TP and will have to use solo WS. When you want a specific skillchain this just can't be done sometimes. example: if you have a thief in the PT you're going to want Swift Blade > Shark bite... if the paladin can't hit, you can't do that.

2) There are many PTs where you kill VT creatures very quickly instead of just picking off IT stuff. Casting the amount of songs you have listed simply isn't that feasible at the pace your group is moving at. You could say that with +2 instruments your songs would last long enough so that you can squeeze songs but what about things like minne and ballad? Ballad doesn't have an instrument so you'll be juggling that shorter timer and the longer timers of the other songs. What about minne? The +Minne instrument is a harp. With the delicate positioning you're using, a harp is the last thing you want to use.

3) Too many songs? The least of my concerns, but it could be possible that its simply too many songs to juggle. Do you have time to debuff with elegy, requiem & threnodies as well as keeping other songs up? What if the next pull doesn't come in your expected amount of time? Now your timing is off and your song balance is disrupted.

[_Revere_]

This is great feedback, let me try to answer these thoughts and hopefully get more opinions. I also want to say again, this isn’t idea for all group setups.

I agree that using this method does negate the Paladin’s damage, but the question I ask is, what is the main role of the Paladin in a group and are my songs improving this role?

Paladins have the best damage migration(not avoidance) and use spells/abilities to hold agro.

„ Minne’s gives more Defense than the Protect line
„ One Paladin tool to hold agro is their spells

So what does singing Minne+Ballad mean?

„ Incredibly Toughs are doing the damage of Very Toughs
„ Paladins have more mana that allows for more agro control.

Which allows

„ Less mana spent by the WHM, less agro from the WHM.
„ Offensive melee classes to do greater damage without gaining agro.

Which in turn means faster kills and less downtime.

I sing the same number of songs and run about the same distance as a Bard singing Minuet + Madrigal + Ballad I + Ballad II. I use the Cornette+1, Tranversiere+1 and Harp+1 and have no trouble with positioning or with song duration.

Let me give an example with constant pulling and just the beneficial songs.

Just as the puller is running out I’m singing Minne+Ballad with the Harp+1. the Harp has good range and is nice if the WHM and PLD are far a part. Then, I move up a little and sing Madrigal+Minuet to the offensive melees using the Cornette+1 and Tranversiere+1. Both instruments have a small circle making it easy to hit the right people. Usually about the time Minuet lands, the puller (Ranger) is in camp with the mob.

Mob dies and I repeat the scenario.

If… for some reason the battle is taking longer than the length of my songs. I move to the WHM and sing Ballad, this hits WHM and PAL, I then move behind the WHM and sing Minne(while the first song is finishing 70%-->100%), this hits the WHM and PAL, then I move to the front and sing Minuet + Madrigal to the offensive melees.

So as long as you have Offensive Melee on one side of the monster and the PAL and WHM on the other, this setup is easy to do.

If I wanted to use my two-hour I could working left to right(or vice versa):

Minuet + Madrigal = Offensive Melees
Minne + Minne = Paladin
Ballad + Ballad = White Mage




Anyways, I’m new to this Bard gig and interested in what other people think.