Bard

The Bard is a support class focused around conducting your own personal mini-orchestra of musical orbs. By keeping them in-sync and choosing the right instrument at the right time, you can support your party members, heal your allies, weaken your enemies, and even deal a little damage of your own!

Mallet Throw (Stun)
Throwing your mallet at an enemy will stun them for a short amount of time and can interrupt certain abilities.
 * The mallet will respawn in your hand after a short time.

Playing Notes
When at least one instrument is active, notes with the same colors of the active instruments will start to get closer to your marimba. Hitting the keys of the marimba at the same time the notes are on top of them will charge the blue ability bar, increasing the passive effects and active effects ("Crescendos") of your active instruments.
 * Playing notes will charge the crescendo of the corresponding instrument.
 * Hitting a note with both mallets at the same time can make it count double towards the crescendo of that instrument. Combine with Encore to make a note count for four.

Instruments
Up to six instruments can be equipped at once, but only three of them (or four, when using the Symphony talent) can be active.
 * To activate an instrument, tap the empty globe with one mallet
 * To deactivate an instrument, tap the active instrument with both mallets.

Every instrument has a constant passive effect that is placed on all allies or enemies within range as long as the blue ability bar is at least partially full, and an active effect ("Crescendo") that needs to be charged by playing notes of the same color as the instrument. An available crescendo is indicated by a glow around the instrument. It takes 12 notes to charge a crescendo.

Abilities that initiate combat are:
 * Harm Crescendo
 * Passive Justice and Justice Crescendo
 * Cure Wounds and Gentle Healing Crescendo, if a player that is in combat is healed

Super Ability
Boosts damage of all allies by 20% and increases healing from all sources by 20%. A status effect is placed on a person after they receive the boost, making it impossible to gain the effect from the Bard super again for 5 minutes.

The Super charges when hitting crescendos, and will be ready after about 13 (12 if using Instrument of Inspiration).

Using any crescendo while the super is active will increase the super duration by a little.

Talents

 * Song Sword is active inside the Bard's passive field.

End-Game Builds and Gear Enhancements
The Bard has two major builds, but hybrid versions exist that sacrifice a bit of healing potential to give the party an increase in damage. The talents for these hybrid builds can be picked by preference.

Active Healing
The full healing build of the Bard class, to act as the main healer in smaller parties (5 or less).

Talents:
 * Reverberate
 * Chorus
 * Solo
 * Upbeat
 * Encore

Main Instruments:

Passive Utility
This build focuses on boosting the damage output of large parties (10 or more), but does not do any damage or heal much on their own.

Talents:
 * Reverberate
 * Encouraging Note
 * Song Sword
 * Upbeat
 * Symphony

Main Instruments:

Active Damage
The solo build of the Bard class. Able to dish out some damage, while also being able to keep themselves and teammates alive.

Tipps and Tricks

 * The bard has access to a lot of interrupts:
 * Throw a mallet at enemies
 * Crescendo of Instrument of Harm
 * Crescendo of Instrument of Justice (one stun for each of the five projectiles)
 * A bard does not need to be in combat to apply buffs and passive heals to their party - but using healing Crescendos will put you in combat.
 * Hitting notes with both mallets at once can make them count double.
 * When acting as the main healer, stay near the tank to be able to react quickly, as the healing projectiles travel relatively slowly.
 * The crescendo of Instrument of Defense can remove buffs from the Pot Tank boss in the Guild City raid.

Further Resources

 * | Mishka's Guide to Bard