In the MMORPG Ashes of Creation, the new class Bard was recently presented. It serves the group with buffs and good entertainment.
Why is the Bard being introduced now? Ashes of Creation hosts a livestream about once a month, where the developers explain the progress of game development as well as systems and mechanics.
This time, the developers spent almost two hours discussing the Bard. The new archetype functions as a support class for the group and also provides good entertainment on the side.
The Mage has also been introduced; here is what the class looks like:
Class Clown or Useful Helper?
What can the Bard do? The Bard in Ashes of Creation serves as a supporter for his group. He is not a classic healer or tank, but a type of buffer who enhances his group and weakens opponents.
For this, he has various abilities at his disposal. In the presentation livestream (via YouTube), the developers first showcased the 5 different auras.
One or two of these will always be active for the Bard. They give the group passive effects such as a buff on healing received, mana regeneration, or increased movement speed; additionally, one aura can increase the damage opponents receive.
For good entertainment and valuable buffs, the Bard provides his dances. In the current version, he has four different dances available. The dances are active abilities where the Bard dances and supports the group.
One dance provides a shield and heals the group for every second the dance is active. Another dance can add damage to opponents. The dances are always very expressive, providing some laughs even for the developers.
What other abilities does the Bard have? The Bard also has regular healing and damage abilities as well as many abilities that give negative effects to his opponents, stun them, or disarm them.
Additionally, the Bard can swap hit points with one of his teammates. With his abilities, the Bard collects masks. He can use these masks to trigger a combo ability that activates different skills depending on the combination of collected masks.
What role does the Bard take on? The Bard can function as a healer in smaller groups, but he is more intended as a supporter for larger groups. In the developer’s example, the group consisted of a tank, 3 damage dealers, a healer, and a Bard as the group’s supporter.
In battle, the Bard always adapts to what the group needs. If everything is running smoothly, there will be more damage; if time needs to be bridged, there will be a movement speed buff; and if an opponent deals a lot of damage, healing will be provided.
Especially concerning mana, the Bard is very useful for the group. In the developers’ livestream, players could quickly regain mana with the Bard’s buff to use their abilities. During combat, the blue bar otherwise went down quite quickly.
In the last developer livestream, the focus was on the server structure behind Ashes of Creation. Here, the developers presented a technology that is likely to change the MMORPG genre forever: A new MMORPG claims to have achieved the breakthrough that Star Citizen dreams of – “Will change MMOs forever”
