Lost Ark Bard Guide: How To Build A Bard – In this Lost Ark Bard Guide, I’m going to show you what it means to play as a Bard in terms of how well they perform in combat, the best Skills and Tripods to focus on, and the playstyles available to them. If you’re searching for a Support Class that helps allies survive longer in combat while buffing them and occasionally dealing damage, then this Lost Ark Bard Guide is for you!

Be sure to check out our other Lost Ark Class Guides including: Shadowhunter, Sorceress, Gunslinger, Paladin, Gunlancer, Deathblade, Wardancer, Scrapper & Berserker!

Lost Ark Bard Guide: How To Build A Bard

Bards are one of the Advanced Classes that fall under the Mage Class. They wield a Harp, which is used to boost the damage inflicted by the party as well as generate shields for improved max HP. Like the Paladin, they’re not that simple to maneuver because of the game sense and environmental awareness that you have to develop to know the right time to cast your buffs and Skills.

• Support Focused
• Provides Shields for Better HP
• Grants Damage Buffs
• Provides Healing
• Low DPS

As a Lost Ark Bard, your focus mainly revolves around supporting your allies who will then deal damage for you. You don’t have as many spells that inflict a huge amount of damage, unlike the Sorceress, Sharpshooter, Deathblade, and Shadowhunter. But you’re very adept when it comes to providing your teammates with the necessary buffs to mitigate the incoming physical and magical damage they take. Moreover, the Bard even has the ability to make them immune to status effects for a period of time. In terms of leveling, you’ll have to make some adjustments at the start considering that you don’t have access to powerful buffs as well as spells that deal considerable damage. Because of this, you’re better off doing dungeons with others to efficiently obliterate mobs and bosses.

Lost Ark Bard vs Paladin

Bards and Paladins are powerful and reliable support classes in Lost Ark but there are a few differences that set them apart. For instance, Bards have skills that are more defensive in nature, which means that they can keep the party alive for longer periods of time. Comparatively, Paladins are a hybrid Class in the sense that they deal a bit more damage and are able to grant consistent damage buffs. Plus, they’re also relatively tankier. But if you’d rather stay on the sidelines to mainly assist the party, then the Bard is the better choice for you.

Bard Class Role and Identity

The Lost Ark Bard is a Ranged Support Class that deals average burst and sustained damage as their real forte lies in keeping the party alive. Although don’t be fooled that they’re incapable of defending themselves in combat or mowing down mobs of enemies since they do have some spells to deal incredible AoE damage. You’ll just have to pick the right upgrades for it. In addition to supporting the party, the Bard needs to keep buffing themselves especially since they’re squishy compared to the Paladin. They also have to keep approaching their allies in the melee range because most of them deal heavy and impactful damage up close.

All Advanced Classes in Lost Ark have unique Specialties or Identities that differentiate them from the other classes. These can either unleash more damage or enhance the buffs they grant. For the Lost Ark Bard, it’s the Serenade Identity where you have to fill up 3 bubbles by attacking enemies and using your Normal Skills. Note that you can activate your Identity Skills even if only 1 bubble is full but it won’t be as potent.

The two Identity Skills available to the Bard are the Serenade of Courage and Serenade of Salvation. Serenade of Courage boosts your damage for 2 minutes even if you only consume 1 full bubble but the damage buff granted to your allies will be affected by the number of bubbles you use. Serenade of Salvation, on the other hand, completely relies on the bubbles that are available to effectively heal the group over time. If your Serenade Meter is full, you’re able to provide everyone with better healing.

Right after activating either of these skills, you can begin filling up your Serenade Meter without needing to wait for several seconds unlike with the Berserker’s Fury Energy. Moreover, the energy that you’ve gathered won’t be expended over time so you can wait for the best moment to consume it.

Lost Ark Bard Skills and Tripods

By the time your Lost Ark Bard reaches Level 60, you will have unlocked a total of 19 skills comprised of Normal and Awakening Skills. To add to this, you’ve invested several points into Normal Skills to specialize further by unlocking their respective Tripods. The Tripod System allows players to customize skills in various ways by boosting attack power or protecting the party from taking huge damage. In total, you only need 8 skills per character with a select number of tripods. In this section, I’ll cover the essential Normal Skills and tripods you should allocate points into regardless of the playstyle you end up choosing. At earlier levels since the Bard’s Serenade energy doesn’t build up as quickly compared to the other Advanced Classes in Lost Ark, you need to select the Melody Increase Tripod to improve the Serenade Meter’s recovery period.

Lost Ark Bard Normal Skills and Tripods

Sound Shock – Conjures light orbs with the help of the Harp to toss at enemies and deal explosive damage. This is a good skill because of its low default cooldown period, which is why you can select Maintained Explosion rather than Quick Prep as the first tripod. As such, you deal additional damage based on the debris left behind by the orbs. The next two upgrades worth getting are Sacred Shock and Rapid Fire. Sacred Shock marks targets to boost the damage dealt by the entire party against them. Meanwhile, Rapid Fire lets you fire two light orbs in a single attack, making it more effective.

Stigma – This allows you to deal Damage over Time (DoT) due to Stigma’s pulsating effect. Stigma can stagger enemies, especially Normal and weaker monsters. What makes the skill an excellent AoE damage source are Sustain Enhancement, Brilliant Stigma, and Pain Brand. This combination lengthens the duration and hit rate of Stigma, marks targets once again to inflict greater damage, and boosts your overall damage. Alternatively, if you prefer to build up your Serenade Meter faster, you’ll want to substitute Pain Brand for Melody Increase.

Wind of Music – This is a good multi-functional skill as it not only deals some damage but also reduces the damage you and your party take. To take full advantage of the benefits that Wind of Music has to offer, you should choose Quick Prep, Melody Increase, and Wind of Protection. Quick Prep reduces the skill’s cooldown, allowing you to use it more frequently while Melody Increase boosts the Serenade energy you generate when attacking enemies. And finally, Wind of Protection creates a shield for you and your allies to absorb damage for several seconds.

Sonic Vibration – Another effective multi-functional skill that allows you to deal massive AoE damage and to break the enemy’s armor by lifting and smashing them into the ground while boosting the party’s attack power thanks to Brilliant Wave. Note that your allies should enter the AoE to obtain this buff. Now to widen Sonic Vibration’s area for easier access, it’s best to select the Wide-Angle Attack Tripod. You’ll also want to improve your resilience by opting for Tenacity, which grants Push Immunity.

Prelude of Storm – A melee skill that lets you summon a storm to strike the ground and deal decent damage while stunning affected enemies. What makes Prelude of Storm better is Quick Prep, Wide-Angle Attack, and Powerful Prelude. This combination lowers the skill’s cooldown rate, broadens the AoE, and reduces the stun’s duration by a second to inflict more damage. Similar to Stigma, if you’re in need to gain Serenade energy quickly, you’ll want to swap Wide-Angle Attack for Melody Increase. However, doing so will be a bit of a challenge since you’ll cast Prelude of Storm when enemies are very near you, making you susceptible to taking more damage.

Heavenly Tune – A powerful buff that boosts the party’s attack speed and mana recovery while dealing considerable damage against enemies. To maximize the buffs you grant, you’ll want to take Intense Tune as this also enhances everyone’s attack power, and therefore, damage. Next, you’ll want to choose the Tough Tune Tripod to improve the Lost Ark Bard’s attack speed even more. But if you prefer to weaken the damage inflicted by targets, then it’s important to pick Courageous Tune instead. And finally, make sure to select Quick Prep because Heavenly Tune has a very long cooldown.

Harp of Rhythm – Unlocked at Combat Level 36. Rather than using Harp of Rhythm for damage, although you can, it’s a rather good source of Serenade energy thanks to the Melody Increase Tripod. To help lengthen the summoned Harp’s duration, you’ll want to take Summoning Will. Last but not the least, it would be helpful for the party to choose Note Brand since this upgrade boosts the damage your group deals.

Guardian Tune – Unlocked at Combat Level 50. This is an amazing skill that helps you and your party survive by significantly reducing the physical and magical damage you all take for a couple of seconds. To make Guardian Tune more effective, it’s best to select Endless Protection since this boosts the group’s max HP. But you do have the option to choose Powerful Protection instead to further mitigate damage received. Next, you’re going to need Wind of Protection as this makes the party temporarily immune to all status effects. The last tripod to consider is Tenacity, which grants you additional Push Immunity to prevent from being knocked back.

Lost Ark Bard Alternative Normal Skills and Tripods

If you prefer to run as a solo Bard while having the ability to deal more damage, you’ll want to substitute Wind of Music and Harp of Rhythm for damage-focused skills such as Soundholic and Prelude of Death.

Soundholic – Makes use of a powerful beam of light to deal DoT. The best Soundholic Tripods to pick are Raid, Sustain Enhancement, and Focus Fire. This combination changes the skill such that instead of hitting enemies in a straight line, you’ll attack in a conical area to affect more of them while boosting your overall damage. Soundholic’s duration and hits are also improved at the cost of having a higher cooldown rate. Additionally, because of Focus Fire, you’ll no longer be able to change directions while the beam is active but this shouldn’t be an issue since you can optimally position yourself anyway before using the skill.

Prelude of Death – Unlocked at Combat Level 32. A high risk, high reward type of skill, which allows you to deal huge damage multiple times while lowering your target’s movement speed because of the Death’s End debuff. What makes Prelude of Death more lethal is Aria of Death as this not only improves your overall damage but also inflicts a significant amount of damage when a single enemy dies right before Death’s End expires. You can then enhance Death’s End damage by taking Death Amplification. The last tripod you should pick is Passionate Applause to be able to gain more Serenade energy.

Lost Ark Bard Engravings and Stats

In Lost Ark, every Advanced Class unlocks Engravings that allow you to further specialize in your chosen Class as these grant special effects, which you can activate by reading Recipe Books and equipping Accessories and Ability Stones. You’re able to obtain them as random rewards by completing endgame activities such as Chaos and Abyss Dungeons, and Guardian Raids.

In this section, I’m going to talk about Lost Ark Bard Engravings, which determine the playstyle you wish to adopt for your character and are class-specific abilities and traits. You gain access to this when you reach higher levels. The 2 Class Engravings available to the Bard are True Courage and Desperate Salvation. Let’s first discuss the True Courage Class Engraving or playstyle together with the Stats that go with it.

Bard True Courage Playstyle

True Courage simply boosts the damage and crit rate of Serenade of Courage, allowing you and your allies to inflict more harm against enemies when the buffs of this Identity Skill are active. To maximize the damage everyone deals, you should aim for Serenade of Courage Level 3.

In terms of this Class Engraving’s Combat Stats, you’ll want to prioritize Swiftness followed by Specialization when gearing up. This setup improves your attack speed and movement speed while lowering all of your spells’ cooldown rates to be able to cast them more often. It also amplifies the buffs provided by Serenade of Courage as well as increases the Serenade energy you generate.

Bard Desperate Salvation Playstyle

Conversely, Desperate Salvation is the popular playstyle between the two because it makes use of the Serenade of Salvation to grant a longer healing effect period in order to restore more of the group’s HP while enhancing your survivability. Going for the Desperate Salvation Level 3 will allow you to heal much more effectively than ever before!

In terms of Desperate Salvation’s Combat Stats, you’re going to have a similar setup with the True Courage playstyle in that you’ll focus more on Swiftness and then Specialization to recover additional HP.

Final Tips

As a Lost Ark Bard, there’s an adjustment period when it comes to determining the optimal positions to efficiently support the party. Mastering each of the skills they have to offer is a fun challenge that’s worth investing time and effort into. They also have certain damage-dealing spells that must be cast from behind the enemy to take advantage of Back Attacks. In PvP, you’re going to focus on your support role to grant buffs to mitigate the damage taken by you and your teammates. You even have a couple of Super Armors, making it tough to stop you despite having average mobility.

Due to the Bard’s squishy nature, you’re going to need the Heavy Armor Combat Engraving. At Level 3, your overall defenses will be enhanced by 100% so you’re going to be a huge nuisance against enemies since they’ll have a difficult time trying to put you down.

Lastly, for skill rotation especially when you’re leveling up and you need to boost your damage numbers, it’s best to start with Heavenly Tune as this provides you with damage and attack speed enhancements. You should then follow through with Guardian Tune to greatly reduce all the damage you take. Afterward, you can start casting damage-dealing spells such as Stigma, Sonic Vibration, or Prelude of Death since they inflict massive AoE damage.

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Stay tuned for more Lost Ark Class Guides and be sure to check out our Lost Ark Wiki or drop by our Twitch Channel if you have questions about the game. What did you think of this Lost Ark Bard Class Guide? What Advanced Class are you planning to try out first? Let us know in the comments below!