Bard DPS Frequently Asked Questions — Dawntrail 7.1

This page answers the most common questions relating to playing Bard. It will be further populated as Dawntrail raises new questions.

There are a couple narrow cases with a better answer than this. But, as a default, a good solution is to pull with Heartbreak Shot before your opening Stormbite and continue as normal from there.

Yes. In between buffs, try to use it by 21-19 seconds left on the Mage's Ballad timer, or at 100 gauge if that happens first. This will help make sure you have enough gauge when your next burst comes around. Even if you cap your gauge partway through Army's Paeon, hold off on using Apex Arrow until buffs are up.

If the fight lasts ~8:20 to ~10:20, use them for the 2-minute and 8-minute bursts.
If ~6:20 to ~8:20, use them on the opener and then again for the 6-minute burst.
In a longer fight, you can use them at the opener, 5 minutes and 10 minutes. Or opener, 6 and 12 minutes if the fight is ~12:20+.

No, getting both of your DoTs up is top priority.

No, this is not a gain. Try to use Iron Jaws once during buffs. This can be either before the first buff ends, or when your DoTs are about to fall.

Do not use a macro on any damage-dealing skill. Macros cannot be queued in advance, so you lose casts over time by using them.

You can use a party member targeting macro (such as <tt> or <2>) to help cast The Warden's Paean more smoothly.