September 2018 Version Update

Thanks for the update Funk. I literally just traded a signed neck. SOB..

Edit: At least it was only a +1. SU5 would really suck. #Feelsbad

Clarion Call/SV used. No Daurdabla, but maintain 4 songs for the full hour? This is how you #finesse the BRD job during CP parties. Don't even need REMA if you can work it properly :). LMK if I'm lying (I do this every party np)

Wow! Capped CP during a non-CP event? I'm assuming you already have your job mastered and you're just farming JP for REMA upgrade unlocks? Or is that job not mastered yet but close to it?

(You do not need job master to sing 4 songs for other jobs during a CP party)

(also this)

Wut, how do you maintain 4 songs for an hour with no Daur, replacing old song effects with new ones or something? Got a mule BRD and don't know htf to use it.

Use Clarion call
Equip terpander
Dummy songs
Nitro marcato first wave
(Can use sv whenever you want, but probably best to use immediately)
Always re sign 4 before duration wears off on them (I sing again at 2 minutes so I never get crunched for time)
Maintain this rotation for a full hour. Tricky part may be with mages who require ballad, but they only require 3 anyways

I've done this since I just started playing bard a few weeks ago. People thought I was a four song bard for the longest. And since most parties disband after an hour, you are one.

You would be shocked how many average bards have no idea how to do this, or are too lazy to care. Very simple way to boost your party. As long as nobody dc or songs don't wear, you can maintain this indefinably, but one hour is the standard since you get the CC back after that long anyways

#feenesse

Bard OP, can use clarion call once and it can theoretically last until the next maintenance

My bad. I saw the screenshot and my desire to read the post in full went out the door.

I haven't tested if you can CC, and then CC again and gain a 5th, 6th, 7th song etc, but I doubt you can. Would be easy test with Revitalizer, but I think it's the "ability to use x songs" +CC buff that counts the extra song, So Terp would get 4 max, Daur 5.

CC always takes the 3rd song slot you have no chose but to sing it then use your additional song effect harps.

<that's interesting>

Worded weirdly. I'm pretty sure I've done empyrean > song 1234 CC up a 5th song

It must officially take the 3rd slot, specifically to prevent that kind of abuse, but not actually be the 3rd song.

Explain what you mean by this? If you have 3 songs up already, use CC, and then sing 4th (with harp), it's activating on the 4th song, no? Or does the game say "no, *** that; 3rd song = CC (even if used before it was active) and then any additional songs are from the harp, not the icon"?

Is this what you mean?

Easiest way (for me) to think about brd mechanics:

Default can have max two songs. Gear can give +1-2. CC gives +1.
Let's call this total max X songs.

When you finish singing a song, if player already has same song on, it overwrites, doesn't matter what X is. If player doesn't have same song on, it checks if player already has X songs on. If so, song with least duration left is replaced. If not, song is added.

That's why you sing songs initially with daurdabla and then replace them while wearing ghorn for max potency. And yes, this means you can keep 5 songs up indefinitely, as long as the songs don't wear off or get dispelled, regardless of whether or not CC has worn off.

Disclaimer: assuming one brd. If you have multiple brds, I forget how mechanic is handled (overwrite or no effect). When we have multiple brds, we don't sing the same songs. That would be counterproductive.

This.

Say you have 3 songs up and you use CC. It will overwrite the third song and then you would have to use your harp again to get the forth song. I suppose SE did that to stop people from having 6+ songs up.

Thats not what happens though?

if you sing 3 songs, take off your instrument, use Clarion, you'll get a 4th song.

It's been a long time since I broke out bard, but thats how I remember it working

CC doesn't take any specific song slot. If you cast a song, it will check against active songs for each player.

If the player receiving the song already has the song active from you, the duration is refreshed and that's all that happens.

If the player already has the same song active from another bard, it is treated as a new song for you, and removed from the other bard's song count. This is pretty much the worst case for bard swaps, there's no particularly quick correction unless everyone does a great job tracking their own buffs.

If the player receiving the song does not already have the song active, and they have less of your songs active than your current song max, it will add the new song. Otherwise, it will overwrite the active song with the least duration. Daur/Terpander/CC each just add (2/1/1) to your song max for that check. Note that 'overwriting the active song with the least duration' does not invoke a new check against your max songs, so once you have 5 songs up once you can keep 5 songs forever as long as you do not let the person drop to 4, even while singing different songs.

You also don't really need full dummy songs in any situation, you can do:

Gjall/Clarion Call:
Song1
Song2
Song3

Daur:
Dummy1
Dummy2
(cast these with no duration+ to ensure they have less duration than Song1/2/3.. I have my swaps setup to always paeon and minne in no duration if using daur, which makes it simple for me)

Gjall:
Song4
Song5

This will get all 5 songs up with only 7 casts.

Negative. Just tried it to confirm I'm not giving bad information. Sang valor minuet V, IV, and III with Daurdabla equipped. Had 3 songs. Changed to ghorn, used Clarion. Sang valor minuet II, still only 3 songs.

And just to clarify for the other discussion going on, if I had left Daurdabla on, I would have had 4 songs. If you think this isn't correct, then I'll try that case as well in 38 minutes and 42 seconds.

It is as I explained in the prior post. If you have 3 songs up and cast with only clarion, your song max is 3, so you cannot add a 4th. With both clarion and derpdaur, your max is 4. With clarion and good daur, it is 5.

Did they change it at some point to work that way?

Best of my knowledge, it's always been that way. Clarion was added long after daur, so I can't imagine when it would have been changed.

If you've already got all your songs up and use clarion call you have to use your extra song instrument to put up another song. It's been that way at least for a few months. I can't speak farther back than that because I've only been doing brd for that long.

It has always worked that way, yeah.