One of the most crucial decisions players make when starting a new MMORPG or even just a new character is which class they will play. We’d like to offer you a few reasons why you should give the Archer/Bard class a shot when you start your journey in Eorzea!
The class story is interesting.
While every class in Final Fantasy XIV has a class quest series that contains secrets and lore relevant only to that class, the archer/bard class has one of the coolest storylines. Starting in Gridania at the Archers’ Guild, the initial story puts you in the middle of a struggle with the Lancers over which guild best serves the interests of protecting the forests of the Black Shroud from poachers. Soon, you find yourself caught up in a one-on-one struggle with a wayward Miqo’te archer, and, through demonstrating your mastery of the various skills and combat maneuvers, you overcome her challenges and prove the archers worthy of true respect.
And then you become a Bard. Teaming up with a hero from the Battle of Carteneau who has mastered the art of mixing archery and music into a form of magic that grants enhanced power in combat, you learn about the different songs and mysteries of Eorzea and of the universe itself—including the ever-elusive Song of Oblivion.
Gridania has the coolest intro story.
You begin your journey to become the Warrior of Light in one of the three major cities that are part of the Eorzean Alliance: Ul’dah, Limsa Lominsa, or Gridania. The choice of where you start your journey depends on the class you pick at character creation. Through the MSQ in each of these cities, you’ll meet up with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. However, your initial meeting point with them and which Scion you get to know first is dependent on the city.
If your starting city is Gridania, you meet up with the Scions very early on, and the two you meet are probably the most entertaining—and, at times, irritating—ones of the bunch. From your earliest steps beyond the boundaries of the city itself, you are swept up into the greater narrative and made to feel as if you are destined for greatness. That gives the Archer class a leg up on the others when it comes time to decide which specialty you’ll pick at the beginning.
The skill animations are awesome.
Each class has its own unique look and feel with special gear, unique weapons, poses, and skill animations. However, the bard class has one of the most varied and coolest-looking series of animations to go along with the different skills. As a bard, you’ll strum the lyre attached to your trusty harp to give power to your own attacks and those of your allies. You’ll leap high into the air as part of your more powerful attacks. The speed at which you release arrows will vary depending on which shot you’re using. You can even deftly leap backwards and out of the way of incoming attacks—just be careful not to jump off the edge of a cliff when you do so!
It takes real skill to master.
While anyone, with a bit of trial and error, can crank out decent damage as a bard—or at least help their allies improve their damage output—a bard can most easily top the damage charts. However, it does take real skill and practice to master the wide range of skills and rotations needed to do this. Playing bard keeps you very busy with maintaining your various damage-over-time skills, managing your procs, keeping your songs up, maximizing your various resources, and avoiding damage.
While positioning is not as critical for a ranged class as it is for melee, the bard is very mobile with few abilities that require standing in place for very long. However, it takes time, experience, and practice to know how to stand just far enough away to get the ranged bonus but not so far away as to irritate the healer.
The damage output is the best of all ranged physical classes.
As mentioned previously, the bard can do a lot of damage. Dancers and machinists are no slouches, but a skilled player using the bard class can leave both of these classes in the dust. With several damage-over-time skills, multiple high-damage procs, a variety of spells and skills to weave into a rotation, the ability to fight even on the move, and several buffs and shields, the bard is not only a strong damage dealer in the right hands; it is also better at increasing the overall group damage output.
The performance skill is unique.
Walk through any of the major cities in the game, and chances are that you will be treated to at least one bard making use of the unique Performance skill to entertain the crowds with tunes from a wide range of games, movies, pop culture hits, and more. Attained at level 30, the Performance ability allows the player to mimic a wide range of instruments and the notes they can play and use the keys provided to create music.
No other class can stand in a city and swap between playing a harp to a piano and then switch them out for an electric guitar the way that a bard can! Weave melodies from songs you know or write your own—the sky is the limit with this unique class ability.
Three of the coolest NPCs are bards. (Spoilers for Endwalker)
While most people choose a class based on its abilities or what it is good at, if you need more reasons to choose archer or bard, know that the class is played by three of the game's coolest NPCs. Who are these legends?
The Wandering Minstrel, also known as Minstereling Wander, grants access to the Extreme difficulty level of various trials. Through his songs, these new versions of these challenges are unlocked.
The second NPC is none other than G’raha Tia, the historian, whom you’ll meet and get to know as you explore the Crystal Tower. Wielding a bow with the skill of one who was born for the hunt, G’raha makes this class look awesome. And, as for the role he goes on to play in the greater narrative... well, you could do a lot worse than to follow in his footsteps by picking this class.
The third NPC is our “new, old friend,” whom we finally get to know in Endwalker. As he accompanies you on your journey through a dungeon to help you find answers to the major crises of Endwalker, this humble, humorous, and loyal lavender-haired bard shows that this class is very useful and very powerful with a style as unique as he is.
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