Bard

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Strength

Vigor

Agility

Dexterity

Will

Knowledge

Resourcefulness

Health

Description

Bards in Dark and Darker are versatile performers, who use their skills in music, storytelling, and magic to support their allies and hinder their enemies. They can cast a wide variety of spells, ranging from healing and protection to charms. Bards can also inspire their allies with rousing speeches and music, boosting their morale and granting them temporary bonuses. In combat, bards can use their weapons and martial skills, but they excel at using their charm and wit to manipulate their enemies, making them an unpredictable and dangerous foe.

Class Info

To play the lute, the bard needs to hold the instrument and then activate the Skill: Music Memory by pressing the default E button. From there, the player can select the desired song and initiate it by right-clicking.

To successfully activate the song's effect, it is crucial to hit the right notes at the right time. As the song plays, the player should press the right mouse button at the correct moment to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted performance. If the player can successfully play the song to the end, the song effect will be activated, providing a variety of benefits in combat and other game scenarios.

Weapon of choice: Rapier

Pros:

• Versatility: Bards have a wide range of skills and abilities that allow them to fill many roles in a party. They can heal, buff, debuff, and deal damage, all while providing support and utility to their allies.
• Crowd control: Bards have access to spells and abilities that can manipulate the battlefield and control enemy movements. They can stun, charm, and incapacitate foes, making them invaluable in difficult encounters.

Cons:

• Timing: Timing the tunes is not always in the dire of the situation.
• Fragility: Bards are not typically known for their durability, and are often targeted by enemies due to their support and control abilities. They can struggle in solo play or in situations where they are targeted by multiple enemies.

PerksSkillsMusicGearStatsTipsPatch Notes

You can equip an additional perk every 5 levels. Currently maxed out at Level 15, so a total of 4 perks can be equipped.

Name	Description
Charismatic Performance	Upgrades a 'good' performance into a 'perfect' performance.
Dancing Feet	Increases your flat Move Speed by +10 when holding an instrument.
Lore Mastery	Drinking Ale heals 5 HP and grants +10 flat Move Speed when drunk.
Melodic Protection	While playing, the caster's Physical Damage Reduction is increased by an additional flat +15%.
Rapier Mastery	When using a rapier, Weapon Damage increases by +3 and Action Speed increases by an additional flat +5%.
Reinforced Instruments	50% increased Physical Power Bonus when attacking with a musical instrument. (This does not apply to Piercing Shrill.)
Story Teller	Give all party members around a +3 Will and Knowledge buff.
Superior Dexterity	50% faster switching time when switching between weapons/utility items.
Lore Mastery	A high level of understanding of objects increases Regular Interaction Speed and Magical Interaction Speed by an additional flat +25%.
Wanderer's Luck	Increases the chances of finding high-quality items when opening treasure chests. Increases Luck by a flat +100.
War Song	If the performance is successful, increases nearby allies' Weapon Damage by +3 for 6 seconds.

You can equip a total of 2 skills.

Name	Description	Cooldown
Dissonance	Creates an unpleasant noise to block hostile targets within a certain area from casting spells and silence them for 3 seconds.	30s
Encore	The next song is automatically played to the end without any input and is sure to succeed.	30s
Music Memory	Can store up to 4 sheet music as space permits.	/
Music Memory 2	Can store up to 4 sheet music as space permits.	/

Drum

Name	Description
Accelerando	Gradually increase the flat Move Speed of yourself and nearby allies for 8 / 10 / 12 seconds. The amount of boost (Poor - 5 per second, Good - 8 per second, Perfect - 11 per second) stacks up to 3 times over the duration of one song.
Allegro	Gradually grants additional flat Action Speed and Spell Casting Speed to you and nearby allies for 8 / 10 / 12 seconds. The amount of boost (Poor - +3% per second, Good - +3% per second, Perfect - +7% per second) stacks up to 3 times over the duration of one song.
Beats of Alacrity	Grants +25 additional flat Move Speed for 30/60/120 seconds. Song does not stack on itself. This buff only applies to yourself.
Din of Darkness	Does 1 / 3 / 5 Dark Magical Damage per beat to all enemies in an area around the performer. (Scales with 6%/9%/12% of added Magical Damage per beat.)
Rousing Rhythms	Increases all attributes of nearby allies by +1 / +2 / +3 for 30 seconds.

Flute

Name	Description
Banshees Howl	Reduces all Attributes of nearby enemies by -1 / -2 / -3 for 20 seconds. Does not work on Boss or Subboss monsters.
Piercing Shrill	Does 15 / 20 / 25 Physical Damage to a target causes the echo sound effect on the affected target for 3 seconds if the target is a player. (Scales with 50% physical damage)
Shriek of Weakness	Grants a debuff to nearby enemies that lowers Physical Power Bonus by a flat -2% / -4% / -5% and flat Armor Rating by -10 / -25 / -40 for 18 seconds.
Unchained Harmony	Open all nearby doors/containers, including locked doors and containers. Does not work for doors that require a special key.

Lute

Name	Description
Aria of Alacrity	Grants a flat +15% to Action Speed for 30 / 60 / 120 seconds. Song does not stack on itself. This buff only applies to yourself.
Chaotic Discord	Excites nearby monsters to attack the nearest target except the performer.
Lament of Languor	Reduces the Move Speed of all enemy targets by a flat -20 for 6 seconds.
Peacemaking	All nearby players and monsters temporarily lose the will to fight when enchanted by the channeling section of the song. 8 seconds cast time. 6 seconds duration.
Song of Silence	Intercepts all enemy spells and prevents the caster from casting magic for 2 / 4 / 6 seconds. Does not work on boss or sub-boss monsters.

Lyre

Name	Description
Ballad of Courage	Grants +10% increased Physical Power Bonus for 10/60/120 seconds. Song does not stack on itself. This buff only applies to yourself.
Chorale of Clarity	Restores 2 Spell Points every 3 seconds of all nearby allies for 8 / 16 / 24 seconds.
Harmonic Shield	Grants a buff to self and all nearby allies that lasts for 60 / 90 / 120 seconds that gives +40 flat Armor Rating and +40 flat Magic Resist.
Song of Shadow	Turns self and all nearby invisible for 15 / 25 / 35 seconds. Invisibility breaks upon movement.
Tranquility	Gradually restores 2 Recoverable Health per second for 4 / 8 / 12 seconds for yourself and nearby allies based on your performance.

Weapons

Category	Weapons
2-Handed	Lute, Crossbow, Survival Bow, Flute, Drums, Lyre
1-Handed	Rapier, Falchion, Arming Sword, Short Sword, Castillon Dagger, Rondel Dagger, Hand Crossbow
Shields	Buckler
Utility

Armors

Slot	Armors
Head	Straw Hat, Feathered Hat, Leather Bonnet, Leather Cap
Chest	Troubadour Outfit, Wanderer Attire, Regal Gambeson
Legs	Bardic Pants, Leather Chausses, Loose Trousers, Leather Leggings, Cloth Pants, Heavy Leather Leggings
Hands	Leather Gloves, Riveted Gloves
Feet	Heavy Boots, Lightfoot Boots, Old Shoes, Laced Turnshoe, Adventurer Boots, Rugged Boots

These Stats do not include the starting armor

Stat Name	Base Stats
Strength	14
Agility	14
Will	7
Knowledge	20
Resourcefulness	20
Health	98
Weight Limit	0
Spell Memory	14
Utility Effectiveness	0
Move Speed	298 (99.3%)
Action Speed	-1%
Spell Casting Speed	0%
Equip Speed	-7%
Regular Interaction Speed	43.2%
Magical Interaction Speed	60%
Buff Duration	-20%
Debuff Duration	25%
Armor Penetration	0%
Magic Penetration	0%
Headshot Reduction	0%
Projectile Damage Reduction	0%
Physical Damage Reduction	-10%
From Armor Rating	0 (-10%)
From Bonuses	0%
Magic Resist	-4%
From Resist Rating	7 (-4%)
From Bonuses	0%
Physical Power Bonus	-2%
From Physical Power	14 (-2%)
From Bonuses	0%
Magic Power Bonus	-40%
From Magic Power	7 (-40%)
From Bonuses	0%
Primary Weapon	0
Attack 1	(0) + 0(Blunt)
Attack 2	(0) + 0(Blunt)
Secondary Weapon	0
Impact Power	0
Primary Weapon Impact Power	0
Secondary Weapon Impact Power	0

-Since songs take some time to perform, the Bard needs anticipation to be played well.

-Chaotic discord is a great way to solo clean rooms. Mobs will kill each other while keeping the bard safe. Can also be used as a protection if attacked in a room full of mobs.

-Peacemaking can be a powerful temporisation tool, but beware of ranged attackers outside of its AoE. The song is quite long to play, so beginning it before the encounter is recommended.

-Dissonance can make skeleton mages easy to manage if you have high enough dps as a solo or a group.

-Accelerando is a powerful tool both for fleeing and engaging.

-Tranquility is a reusable heal, but depends on the quantity of Recoverable Health. In groups, it is most useful on high Health classes, like the Barbarian.

-Chests opened with Unchained Harmony gives experience to the Bard. In theory, this would mean that Bard's luck is used to generate the loot of the chests, however this is not confirmed.

2023/08/22 Early Access Hotfix #6

- Bard’s Din of Darkness's ‘Attribute Damage Ratio’ reduced from 10%/30%/50% to 6%/9%/12%.

2023/08/17 Early Access Hotfix #4

- Din of Darkness attribute application factor has been changed from 50%/50%/50% to 10%/30%/50%.

- Piercing Shrill's attribute application factor has been changed from 50%/50%/50% to 10%/30%/50%.

- Accelerando's added flat Move Speed per stack changed from 5/10/15 to 5/8/11

- Allegro's added flat Action Speed and Spell Casting Speed per stack from 5%/7%/9% to 3%/5%/7%.

- Harmonic Shield additional flat Armor Rating and Magic Resist Rating changed from +50 to +40.

2023/08/14 Early Access Hotfix #3

- Shriek of Weakness's AR Debuff nerfed from -30 / -45 / -60 to -10 / -25 / -40.

- Chorale of Clarity's Spell Recharge per second nerfed from 8 to 2.

2023/08/07 Early Access Launch

- Several new songs and perks added

2023/04/15 Alpha Playtest #5 Hotfix #1

- Fixed an issue where Bard's Tranquility was not properly healing players.

2023/04/14 Alpha Playtest #5 Launch

- Added to the game