Bardis on the more overlooked spectrum ofFFXIV‘s jobs for PvP. Machinist and Dancer tend to be more alluring, as do the mighty DPS of Dragoon or Black Mage. What many don’t realize is just how incredibly fun and flexible Bard is to play in Crystalline Conflict. Today I am here to prove to you Bard is a very satisfying PvP job and more viable than you may realize. Here’s how to play Bard in Crystalline Conflict.
Bard Crystalline Conflict guide: How to buff the party to unreasonable amounts
Compared to your cousin the Machinist, you’re the support sniper while Machinist is the raw power sniper. Both of you are most powerful at a distance to your opponent, but Bard trades raw power for utility. Like in regular content, Bard’s abilities buff the party as you attack, with greater AoE capacity than Dancer. Combined with a few skills that lend themselves well to supporting the party defensively, and Bard is one of the most valuable support jobs in PvP.
Because you are a Bard, your DPS is still lower than your Ranged cousins, but that doesn’t mean it’s nothing to scoff at. It’s still entirely possible for you to go on the warpath and start picking off opponents left and right, especially if they’re weakened. Bard is one of the best jobs for Assists in Crystalline Conflict, making it ideal to farm the Halone’s Cupbearer title.
Abilities Breakdown
Limit Break: Final Fantasia.Reduces your weaponskill cast and recast time by 10% while also increasing movement speed by 25%. Grants you and party members within a radius of 30 yards a 10% damage boost for 30 seconds. Recharges every 120 seconds.
Bard Crystalline Conflict Playstyle Breakdown
Related:FFXIV: How to play Black Mage in Crystalline Conflict
As a Bard, you need to be away from the crux of the action. Your job is to stand in the shadows and fire on enemies while also buffing the party at every chance you get. Every attack you get is instacast except for Powerful Shot, meaning you’re fast and able to weave yourself in and out of places quickly with Repelling Shot, so you can adjust to the battle as needed.
If you’re near your party, always use Apex and Blast arrow to stack Frontliner’s March and Forte on yourself and party members. That’s a 10% damage buff and a 20% cast and recast decrease for 10 seconds. The Black Mage will especially appreciate it. Between cooldowns on that chain, you’ll have Powerful Shot and Pitch perfect to deal damage. Each require you to be 15 yards away to do maximum damage, so stay away from opponents. Because Pitch Perfect lowers the cooldown on Empyreal Arrow, be sure you’ve fired them off before you move on to using it.
Your Limit Break is best used to help your party take the Crystal or wipe out the other team. Thirty whole seconds of damage increase can really add up. Stack it with Apex/Blast arrow’s buffs for maximum DPS buff, and that’s a whopping20% DPS increasefor those 10 seconds both buffs are active. Try to time it with other powerful Limit Breaks as well, like Black Mage, Summoner, or even Astrologian for double buff support. This can really help turn the tides in your team’s favor.
Playstyle Tips and Tricks
You’ll have a hard time picking off a Tank job by yourself, especially Paladin. DPS and Healers are more within your kill range.
Repelling Shot is great to run from Melee opponents or out of the fray. It’s also useful to help guarantee maximum damage on range dependent attacks, if you position to ensure you go back the full 10 yards. Or Repelling Shot can trap an opponent in the middle of the fray, inside an arena AoE, and ensure they don’t get away while fleeing.
Empyreal Arrow is your ideal ‘finish off a weakened opponent’ attack, because it’s instacast and is least likely to be completely on cooldown. If you see someone low on health, fire it off before they Recuperate or run away.
Knowing where to position is half the battle. Apex and Blast Arrow requires you to stand near the party so they’re buffed, but Powerful Shot and Pitch Perfect require you to be far away to do the best damage. This is not ideal if both teams are gathered up near each other. Make use of only needing to be 15 yards away for best damage while the party buffs extend to 30 yards to try and optimize. You can also use Repelling Shot after firing off Apex and Blast to help.
Silent Nocturne is a stun, but it’s especially valuable to use on a Black Mage in their Limit Break phase.
Warden’s Paean is your trickiest ability. You could use it before going into the fray to safeguard against incoming status afflictions. You could use it to remove one from you or someone else. Or use it just to trigger Pitch Perfect and keep DPSing. It’s very situational.
Be a deadly sniping support and make your team outperform the other. Hopefully you’re thanked in commendations.
Alexa BeMent
Alexa BeMent is an aspiring media creator and writer who may also secretly be a manatee masquerading as a human. A Virginia Tech graduate with Creative Writing and Cinema degrees, she has been a Freelance Writer for PC Invasion since February 2023, and enjoys writing stories and consuming video essays when she’s not planning the Manatee Uprising. Having played video games since before she could read, she is a lover of all things Legend of Zelda, FFXIV, horror games, and can play competitive Pokémon, especially as a Ghost type Gym Leader. We don’t discuss how big her Pokémon plush collection is.
