CHRitical Hit!: A DD Bard Guide

DD Bard can be a fun hobby for those people who hate to be without Mazurka. The most common targets for a DD bard are Dynamis monsters, but Bard is capable of soloing things such as Early Bird Catches the Wyrm, Alfard, and Cactrot Rapido so feel free to experiment and push the job and yourself to the limit! Abyssea soloing is slightly different, as you can stack huge amounts of Regen and Regain, making many more solos than you would think possible as /dnc .


For a discussion on mage subjobs and which weapons to to use, please view this post by Creelo and these two posts by Bruno and myself. The following sets are assuming /nin or /dnc. there is quite a bit of fluctuation depending on target and your own merits/native stats, so as always in FFXI make sure to gear to the situation. There may be no ideal set, but we have the sets winning the majority of the time in our simulations. Credit for these ideal DD sets goes to Bruno.

3/14/13: This is a work in progress as I migrate sets from the other thread and do new formatting. I'm also adding a lot of information, so please be patient. Will frequently update with notes and bump when this is complete.

Mainhand Daggers

Mandau: Bard's relic dagger, this is the strongest weapon a DD bard can add to their arsenal. With Attack +40 at 99 and Occ. 3x damage hidden effect, the fearsome dagger is not to be taken lightly. The additional effect inflicts your target with 10 hp/tic Poison. Mercy Stroke, a WS that for Bard competes closely with Exenterator, is modified by 60% STR and gives a Critical hit Rate +5% aftermath. 99 Mandau gets +40% damage to Mercy Stroke.

Twashtar: Bard's empyrean dagger, this will sometimes outperform Mandau in mainhand (/thf and stacked in Abyssea) and depending on level can be the one of the best offhand weapons for a 99 Mandau wielder. Collect 50 Glavoid Shells and 50 Itzpapalotl Scales for the 85 version and access to Rudra's Storm, a 60% DEX WS.

Carnwenhan: Bard's mythic weapon, this weapon provides amazing bonuses to a bard's songs, but sadly provides little for melee purposes.

aluh jambiya: Excellent mainhand dagger until you can make Mandau. Drops from Dimgruzub, a ToAU VWNM in Arrapago Reef.

Thokcha: Made through Trial of the Magians and augmented with STR+11 Attack+22. This is much more easily obtainable than any of the M/R/E options, and will serve you well in situations where attack is uncapped.

Offhand Daggers

pugiunculus: This dagger, which drops from Hall of KI and Hall of Mul in Legion, has +5% Triple attack and incredibly low delay. If you are lucky enough to get one of these, you have the best offhand dagger in any situation where attack is capped.

oneiros knife: Gives a +10% critical hit damage increase, most useful as an offhand dagger in Abyssea for people who do not own Pugiunculus. Drops from Arch goblin in Dynamis - Jeuno.

oynos knife: An attractive option for soloers, this dagger has additional effect: haste. It does not proc at a 100% rate, but when it does you get 3 minutes of +15% magic haste. The dagger can be removed without removing the haste effect and swapped for a superior weapon.

Instruments

Bard does not lose TP switching instruments, which allows DD Bards to gearswap for TP/WS. With that in mind, you may want to have some of these.

angel lyre - 2% haste makes this an attractive harp to have around. Drops from the Horns of War BCNM.

hellish bugle +1 - Attack +4/Evasion +4, 85 Bonecraft Synth.

frenzy fife - Latent active while under the effect of a song. Drops from Shall We Dance? and Totentanz ENM battlefields.


Mercy Stroke -

Rudra's Storm -

Exenterator -

Evisceration -

Aeolian Edge -

Zelus Tiara - 8% haste in the head slot opens up a lot of flexibility in the other slots, and also makes a nice midcast piece for spells unaffected by modifiers (like haste) or those where recast is an issue (like stun). Drops from Pantokrator in Abyssea - Uleguerand.

Hecatomb Cap +1 -

Bendis's Hairpin - An amazing piece for hybrid evasion, this is also the top TP head piece any time you can benefit from the DEX and still cap haste. Obtained from Meeble Burrows boss Goldwing.

Portus Collar - This neckpiece is ideal in staff tp builds and in dagger sets when Rancor Collar is not viable due to dangerous TP moves. Drops from Arch-Diabolos NMs in Dyanmis - Tavnazia.

Rancor Collar - This much-maligned neckpiece has a hidden effect of Damage Taken +10% and CRate +5% when Tonberry hate is capped. Don't let the DT+ scare you away, the only time this will matter is against mobs that have Dangerous TP moves that can one-shot you while Rancor Collar is on.

Kirin's Osode -

Nabu's Jubbah -

Bard's Justeuxcorps

Brego Gloves

Calmecac Legs

Rubeus Legs

Ghadhab Nails

Wrathwring Nails