Military Parade - A DD Bard Guide

Anyone want to share their Bard dps gear set, single wield and dual wield? Just looking for some ideas, don't want to waste money augmenting telchine if it's outdated or not needed. Same with chironic.

Thanks

If you want something cheap and easy to obtain, just go with Ayanmo+2

I second the Ayanmo gear (+1 even isn't that bad as all pieces have accuracy, I believe).

I'm working on tweaking out my Mordant Rime set. Anyone care to share theirs?

I can give you mine but it's far from perfect.
My default MR set is the following:

Ammo: Linos
Head: Highwing Helm
Neck: Moonbow Whistle +1
ear1: Brutal Earring
ear2: Telos Earring
Body: Bihu Justaucorps +1
Hands: Ayanmo Manopolas +2
ring1: Ilabrat Ring
ring2: Airy Ring"
Back: Intarabus
Waist: Grunfeld Rope
Legs: Jokushu Haidate
Feet: Ayanmo Gambieras +2

Not sure on the cape augs but I think it's probably something like (CHR+20, Acc+20, Att+30, WSD+10)
Linos is (Acc/Att+13, DA+3, QA+3)

This is my default set, I have other variations for more acc etc. Not many swaps to be fair.
I haven't updated my Mordant Rime set in quite some time, now that I look at it there's some options that look very questionable, to say the least (Whistle? Haidate? The ***?!) but I'm sure at least when I added them they were the best options I had available.

This set is a bit of a mixed thing, I try to stack stats (CHR and DEX, without completely disregarding STR), Multiattack, a bit of Attack and of course some basic accuracy to reach a number that's at least in line with the accuracy I have in my default TP set.
If you wanted to completely disregard accuracy then Brioso+3 becomes an interesting option for most slots, but it's a huge loss in terms of acc and att.
Situations where you can afford to use them though, you don't really care for either acc or att. To be fair in those situations you don't care much for damage in general, to the point I didn't bother to make such a set at all.

Bihu+3 are really interesting options for Mordant Rime so far, but they're kinda expensive tools for what is no longer our best WS (not even with Carnwenhan mainhand, alas... wish things were different, I love Mordant Rime)

Haven't seen a functional spreadsheet being maintained for BRD. Anyone have any up-to-date sets?

Yesterday I've spent a few hours testing math on some of the new gear we got access to over the last year, some results of my tests. Don't take them too seriously and of course any further input very apreciated.

Bihu +2/+3 set
The body is of course a clear winner for the majority of relevant WSs, even in its +2 version.
The set overall grants an interesting (but not huge) amount of accuracy and a really large amount of attack, making it a somewhat interesting option when in lowbuff situations.
Breakdown for WSs:

Evisceration => no particularly good result (body is nice)

Rudra's Storm => Leaving aside the obvious combinations with Lustratio+1 for a moment. Ayanmo has high values of Dex and the set bonus helps with overall damage. Bihu+3 (when att uncapped) produces better result in the Head/Feet slots, hands too but with a much smaller difference. It's not better than Jokushu in the legs slot. Bihu Body of course wins regardless, even the +2 version.

Mordant Rime => Bihu +2 beats every other option in all 5 slots (almost), when lowbuffed. Yes, +2 version. Of course +3 is even better. Keep in mind it doesn't give as much accuracy as other options, if that matters. When attack capped things change a bit. Body stil wins over anything regardless of circumstances.
When attack capped Bihu+2 still holds well in all slots but hands, where you need Bihu+3 to beat Ayanmo+2.
In the head slot Brioso+3 is better than Bihu+3.
In the legs slot Bihu+2 is better than even Brioso+3


Brioso+3
Except from body, the other 4 options are very interesting for Mordant Rime, especially when you're att capped or close to it.
It's not very viable to use it in all 4 slots though because of the complete lack of accuracy. Set bonus isn't enough alas, so you'll have to mix and match. If you wanna go for the mix route, it's good to mix it with Ayanmo+2 because of the huge amount of acc it gives. A good combination I found was with Brioso+3 in Head/legs, then Ayanmo+2 in Hands/feet. Regal Earring is also usually a good option for ear1 in place of Brutal. I get it usually beating that.
Of course this set is pretty much useless for any other DD purpose other than Mordant Rime.


Volte Set (Bastok)
It has really low "mage stats" values, but sports unusually high STR, DEX and AGI values. STR one is tipically higher than Ayanmo+2 even if you factor the set bonus, even the DEX is tipically slightly higher.
This makes Volte really nice for Exenterator if you can afford the lack of att (but exenterator sucks no matter what).
Volte Hands/Feet can be a nice alternative for Ayanmo+2 in the Mordant Rime set I described above with Brioso+3, despite the low CHR. Keep in mind it has lower acc than Ayanmo+2 though.

The other part this set is interesting for is TP builds based on STP. Body can be a decent (and of course much weaker) alternative to Ashera Harness, Head could be considered better than Ayanmo+2 and so on. Need to keep in mind the STP, high STR/DEX/AGI come at a cost in the other stats though.
STP builds can be really effective in some circumstances. To name one is when you're mainhanding AG Carnwenhan and have AM3 up.
It holds well even in other scenarios though, test for yourself!

These are some of the TP sets I developed. Not absolute BiS maybe, but among the best for sure.


TP set AM3 up, dual wield (~56 stp)
Volte / Asperity / eabani / Cessance
Ashera (volte) / Volte / Petrov / Ilabrat
Dex_DA / Reiki yotai / Volte / Volte

TP set AM3 down, single wield (~37 stp)
Volte / Asperity / Brutal / Cessance
Ayanmo+2 / volte / Petrov / Ilabrat
Dex_DA / ?? / volte / ayanmo +2

TP set AM3 up, single wield (~67 stp)
Volte / asperity / telos / cessance
Ashera (volte) / volte / petrov / ilabrat
Dex_STP / windbuffet / volte / volte


It's nothing like 2H x-hit builds really, but sometimes STP provides better results than multiattack options available in the same slot.
Test it yourself!

Interesting points, thanks for your hard work. And any hopes for Mordant Rime getting competitive against Rudra's? My Carn needs some DD love...

if you're going to all the effort of comparing sets based on speculation, you should really go a step further and use a sim(or at least a spreadsheet) so the results have meaning.. without a dps number to tack onto them they're nothing more than guesswork

I know, right? Tell me about it, these days I find myself using Aeneas 99,9% of the times.

Spreadsheet tipically values Mordant Rime more than Aeneas unless you fix the TP values, because the Spreadsheet assumes EXACT WS usage at right exactely 1000TP. In reality I find that this rarely happens and overTP converts into even more damage for Rudra but not for Mordant.
Furthermore Rudra builds get even better if you can afford to offhand a Twashthar.
Last but not least, when you're /WHM you can't dualwield, but you benefit from Fencer job trait, which of course once again benefits Rudra but doesn't benefit Mordant Rime.

Regardless of that I've noticed that Bihu set offers quite a big boost to Mordant Rime. Wouldn't dare to say it completely closes the gap but... it helps.
Keep in mind though that, like I said, Bihu+3 offers accuracy but it's not as much as other options (like Ayanmo+2), might have to mix&match.

Regardless Mordant Rime even, if not as good as Rudra, is a *good* WS, when used with a Carn MH of course.
In some scenarios I can get it above Rudra, granted it's not many alas, but this new "BiS" set might make those scenario slightly slightly slightly more common. (tl;dr: still rare! :P)


Edit:
I don't remember "which" situations this converts to in reality. Tested so many... Mordant Rime with this set is probably better than Rudra when your buffs aren't stellar.
And/or when you can afford to rely on AM3 of course. It's a pain to mantain without sacrificing your DPS but when you can sure, it's still very good.

I've of course used a spreadsheet!
Don't have a sim but I used a spreadsheet of course.
I mean, what would even be the point of comparing gear without that :o

The spreadsheet I use doesn't give realistic DPS values, so it's bollox if you want to use the resulting numbers to compare them with the ones you get from other jobs/spreadsheet.
It's still good to compare piece1 vs piece2 on a slot-by-slot basis though, and see how the result change according to your build and the buffs you have.

I didn't test a lot of situations yesterday. Basically a lowbuff one (when attack is very far from being capped) and a capped attack one.
I purposedly left accuracy out of the scenario because I had no intention of testing that.
Realistically it's not something you can't ignore, but I think I've mentioned that when I was talking about the complete lack of acc on Brioso or the lower-than-usual acc on Bihu.

looking for some suggestions on some TP and WS sets for brd.

I am over capping dual wield by 1 but i do not have the +4 DW earring.

Also could use a WSD Linos.

This is currently what I am using:

sets.TP = name="Linos", augments={'Phys. dmg. taken -4%','Quadruple Attack +3',
head="Aya. Zucchetto +2",
body="Ayanmo Corazza +2",
hands="Aya. Manopolas +2",
legs="Aya. Cosciales +2",
feet="Aya. Gambieras +2",
neck="Bard's Charm +1",
waist="Reiki Yotai",
left_ear="Telos Earring",
right_ear="Suppanomimi",
left_ring="Petrov Ring",
right_ring="Ilabrat Ring",
back={ name="Intarabus's Cape", augments={'DEX+20','Accuracy+20 Attack+20','DEX+10','"Store TP"+10'

sets.WS["Rudra's Storm"] = { range={ name="Linos", augments={'Phys. dmg. taken -4%','Quadruple Attack +3',}},
head={ name="Lustratio Cap +1", augments={'Attack+20','STR+8','"Dbl.Atk."+3',}},
body={ name="Bihu Jstcorps. +3", augments={'Enhances "Troubadour" effect',}},
hands={ name="Lustr. Mittens +1", augments={'Accuracy+20','DEX+8','Crit. hit rate+3%',}},
legs={ name="Lustr. Subligar +1", augments={'Accuracy+20','DEX+8','Crit. hit rate+3%',}},
feet={ name="Lustra. Leggings +1", augments={'HP+65','STR+15','DEX+15',}},
neck="Caro Necklace",
waist="Artful Belt +1",
left_ear="Ishvara Earring",
right_ear={ name="Moonshade Earring", augments={'Accuracy+4','TP Bonus +250',}},
left_ring="Ramuh Ring +1",
right_ring="Ilabrat Ring",
back={ name="Intarabus's Cape", augments={'DEX+20','Accuracy+20 Attack+20','DEX+10','Weapon skill damage +10%',}},

If you don't want to overcap DW you could either:
1) equip 25% haste instead of 26%
2) use Shetal Stone instead of Reiki Yotai

Coming up in august is the Domain Invasion campaign anyway, good chances for you to get Eabani Earring ;-)


Also you didn't post which Daggers you're using. Tipically DA+10 is better for TP, unless you have AM3 up from Carnwenhan.
I mean it depends on a lots of factors but I tested a lot of scenarios and in the majority of them, DA+10 wins.

For Rudra Artful+1 is very hot, but please do check Grunfeld Rope. 5 Less DEX, which is incredibly powerful for Rudra, but +10 Acc/att and 5 STR. Unless you're fighting something with acc/att overcap, chances are Grunfeld is gonna win.

For TP try Hetairoi in place of Ilabrat. They're both awesome, one or the other wins according to how much overall STP you have, tipically.
The same applies to the second ear slot. Brutal vs Cessance vs Telos. They're all pretty close but one or the other is gonna win according to overall STP numbers (and external factors like AM3, but given how u're spamming Rudra I assume you're mainhanding something other than Carns)


Ashera Harness plays a big role in this sort of STP builds. So do Volte gear!
Last I tested, without these specific and powerful items, I couldn't come to make non-AM3 sets on BRD perform better than multiattack ones, granted that you're gonna want a mixture of both anyway.


No other big improvements that I can suggest right of the bat, other than Volte set (the bastok one), but that's certainly not an easy set to obtain.


Last but not least, I suggest you try improving your Linos. Acc/Att in the Snow slot, and DA+3 in the Leaf slot!
Technically you could get both and put WSD+3% in the second, for Rudra, but the difference in damage is so small I can't honestly suggest you to do it.

Greatly appreciated Sechs thanks.

I am using Aeonic and Twash.

For TP pants, I use augmented Telchine. I have STR+DEX, Acc+Att, and STP+5. Given they come with DA+3 on them, I find them better than the Ayanmo pants (eyeball only, havent spreadsheeted it). Basically giving up a lot of stats STR/DEX/Acc, but for STP and DA. MH: Aeneas.

Ayanmo gives 9% Haste, which is necessary if you want to keep equipping many of the other Ayanmo pieces (for instance head, only 6% there). That's not possible with Telchine.
Furthermore Telchine has really bad overall basic stats, compared to Ayanmo, which goes even furhter when you take into account the +8 from set bonus.
Last but not least, Ayanmo has a load more Accuracy than Telchine.

In low acc situations Telchine is still a very nice option nonetheless (with good augs, of course). Wether it's better or worse than other options, you'll need to check on a spreadsheet. Many of these items are really close to each other.
There's also the Jokushu Haidate for instance, it can be a nice option (used to be HOT because it allowed you to use Chironic with crazy DM augs in other slots, and still cap Gear Haste. These days I'm not sure it's still worth it tbh)
In my tests more often than not, Volte is the winner for the legs slot.

Probably Kaykaus legs +1 path D plus 4/5 Chironic with MAB/MAcc augments and a Grioavolr with MAcc/MAB/MBD. That's something I've been thinking about lately but I'm not sure if it worths the trouble.

Not sure why you're discussing that in the melee DPS BRD thread though D:

Dunno if you're pretending not to know to sound funny or if you really didn't notice, but you could have the answer to that within the first three posts of page one of this thread :3

No no no... That's when there's an update to a punching job that shall remain nameless

Assuming the augments for dagger fall in line with scythe, is a 10% boost to rudras enough to consider twash for MH over aeonic? Or is the gap larger than that between these 2 daggers for MH? This is, of course, assuming the aug doesnt add damage in off hand.

And is there any world that exists where a 15% boost to mordant and a base damage augment twice as large as aeonic makes Carn an option? Or is making mordant good just not going to happen no matter how much I want it. Just thinking out loud in the downtime before update.

Drk augments for reference:

Redemption (empy)
[1] Damage + 13
[2] Quietus Damage + 10%
[3] STR+15 DEX+15 INT+15 MND+15

Anguta (aeonic)
[1] Damage + 17
[2] Entropy Damage + 10%
[3] Accuracy +30 Magic Accuracy +30

Liberator (mythic)
[1] Damage + 34
[2] Insurgency Damage + 15%
[3] Accuracy +30 Magic Accuracy +30

There's also the stats+15, but also the lower damage, no TPbonus 500, no STP+10.
I dunno, it has to be mathed out. The outcome will be the same for THF and DNC I suspect.

I'm more wondering to see what's gonna happen to Carnwenhan, but 15% boost to Mordant Rime won't be enough to close the huge gap with Aeneas. Altough... it might make the gap much smaller, which in return would make Carnwenhan good enough for a bunch of situations.
Yes I'm biased for Carns, yes I love to spam Mordant Rime, yesh I wish we could go back to the days of Carns ruling for BRD DD!
But no, I don't see that happening even after the patch.


If anything I'm more curious to see what's gonna happen to the Divergence Dagger, could become an interesting DD option for BRD.




OT but it's a shame the boost to WS from these weapons is likely gonna be the same for every category.
The Merit WS could've used case-by-case boost. Like giving a big one to ***stuff (Shijin Spiral! Exenterator!) whereas other WS hardly needed a boost at all (can you imagine Lionheart with 10% boost to Resolution? I meaaan...)

I hope not on my DP... 99,999 DMG is still 99,999 DMG with a 15% increase sadly ; ;

Well that has pros too, less TP needed to oneshot statues! And more damage on stuff slightly resistant to dark! >:D

The problem is how Aeneas' TP Bonus works handsomely well with Rudra's very steep fTP scaling, it's close to disgusting. Add this to the fact that BRD now has some interesting gear with lots of DEX that we can use for Rudra's (Ayanmo, Lustratio). Twashtar would need a MASSIVE boost to even get close.

In other hand, Mordant is actually pretty good now: with Carn 269 (please, stop calling these weapons "afterglow") and Bihu +3 set, it's theoretically stronger than Aeonic Rudra's at exactly 1k TP. Unfortunately it has no TP scaling, so it gains nothing from TP overflowing, something that Rudra's benefits immensely from.

Yeah, and TP overflow is pretty common and often underestimated in spreadsheets and that hurts Carns but benefits Aeneas.
Also, from my calculations Mordant beats Rudra only at lowbuff/midbuff situations and with multiple Bihu+3 (can't be too many pieces or Acc will start hurting).

Regardless, dps-wise Carns is still far behind even after all the new Mordant gear, and only manages to get ahead in situations where you can put AM3 up which, frankly, aren't quite as common.



The question now is: can the new Divergence augments change something?
Well for sure they gonna reduce the gap between Aeneas and Carns. Wether or not this will be enough to make Carns overall better than Aeneas we'll have to see, I'm skeptic, but I'm confident Carns will be more useable in a wider amount of possible scenarios compared to, say, 6 months ago.