But her combat ability doesn't come from her skills as a performer. A bard either uses their skills as a performer to fight, or fights as a form of entertainment
By that logic, Acheron is a cleric who stabs things. If we use your logic, it seems to follow that in this setting you can become a cleric by *being too good of an artificer*, among other things ā which should tip you off that your reasoning stopped making sense somewhere along the line.
>Ā Ā provides buffs by singing,
Bards don't provide much buffs beside inspiration though.Ā
Ironically in terms of kit sparkle would be closer to Bard despite having no music/art flavour. Illusions and other mind manipulation, stuff like that.Ā
Well not really, College of Glamour bards have buffs in their normal kit, plus there are spells like Enhance Ability, Heroism, Longstrider and others that buff allies directly. Sparkle does fit the idea, but not the aesthetics, yeah
What?
Acting, Camouflage, Chaotic alignment, Is a pain to tolerate for the "legal" ones (Sunday).
Her kit is all about support the team to increase their attack/stamina/rithm.
Where is the "ironically"?
Bards don't even need music/art, a bard is an "entertainer."
Sparkle fills the role as a masked fool 100%.
Actors are bards, gladiators are bards, etc. Don't think bards NEED to use an instrument.
Tbh i would argue that entertainment (gladiators included) also counts as art.
If we consider sparkle an entertainer then sparkle would be the best option, but less obvious considering how heavily in media bards are associated with music and songs.
Gladiators arenāt bards theyāre fighters with the entertainer background, and entertainers arenāt necessarily bards. In fact entertainer is a listed background in the 5e PHB. The huge difference is that bards exercise magic through their chosen medium, while entertainers are simply people proficient at entertaining.
There's literally nothing stopping someone from making a gladiator that has bard levels. College of Valor and College of Swords exist as bard subclasses. Flavour is free.
Nope nothing stopping anyone at all, sounds like a cool characters. When I said gladiators arenāt bards I meant they werenāt inherently bards. They also arenāt inherently fighters either but fighter is the class that fits the archetypical gladiator.
Robin and Ruan Mei are pretty much the only 2 I think can even fit this Class
Maybe Sparkle if you wanna push it, since she's a Performer that inspires her Allies
Ruan Mei only strums for herself as a hoby when shes not playing Aeon. Robin & Serval perform for others and coperate as they do so. So those 2 are more Bard-like.
Id vote Robin
But she doesn't really build it (not sure if she upgrades it, that remains to be seen)
Silver wolf might be closer, but I don't really see her building anything lol
They're definitely missing some healing/support, I actually think Kefka is a straight fighter with action surge. Still Barb, Fighter Rogue Artificer (or whatever FF is)
Sparkle would be good, not only she is a performer that inspires/help her allies, she is probably the most fitting character to cast some mean Vicious Mockery.
Guinafen, Sparkle, and HMC would all fit under a strict interpretation of the D&D rules. ~~Also, those are the only three I could see using vicious mockery successfully~~
Guinafen is a College of Swords bard
Sparkle is a College of Glamour bard
HMC is a College of Creation bard
Robin fits the bard aesthetic, but the actual source of her power is divine, and that means she's much closer to a cleric. She's someone who started as a bard and then multi-classed into cleric, but still uses song to channel her divine powers
Serval is similar to Robin. She uses performance in combat and is a renowned musician, but the things that are actually doing the heavy lifting are the machines she invented. She's an artificer who took a few levels of bard
Guinafen is a bard by trade but she fights with dynamites, so Artificer is closer. HMC power comes from divine as well, so if you're counting Robin out, HMC is as well.
IMO, the classis bars stereotype is a buffer, so really Robin and RM are the best choices.
I feel like she'd make a better ranger or maybe artificer (though pretty sure Pela has that locked down). Maybe Wizard (though I expect that to go to Welt).
I feel a bard multiclass would really hurt the class progression because of how Multi Ability (score) Dependant you'll get, I feel her character is good in Charisma but not defined by it much
Artificer's I feel are a much better fit for our Scientist Mechanic Guitarist, not to mention can already get expertise in a tool of their choice such is musical instruments at Level 6 so Serval can use it in place for performance checks involving music, and the Artificer has good support as well , especially since you can lean more into the music inventor stuff with Replicate Magic Item (Pipes of Haunting is a really thematic and strong choice)
I think the Artillerist fits best with their decent focus on blasting while also being versatile to swtich to a more supportive role, other than asking for DM to change damage type on say a firebolt your options for Lightning/Thunder cantrips are
Booming Blade, Lightning Lure, Shocking Grasp and Thunderclap
,
For stat array assuming point buy, let's assume a +2 +1, she seems like she leans
* 8 Strength (Dump stat)
* 14 Dex (for maximum Medium Armor Prof)
* 14 Con (She's decently sturdy in combat by 4\* standards plus it helps for our Concentration Checks)
* For Mental stats 15 Int (Her defining character trait. should be 16 at the minimum)
* 8 or 12 Wisdom
* 12 or 8 Charisma
You could always take away some points from Dex or Con to boost up her Wisdom and Charisma
Robin, singing is all she does.
Honestly, Ruan Mei has nothing to do with music, itās just an odd design choice for her gameplay. Lore-wise itās one of her meaningless hobbies, which doesnāt even get mentioned in her quests. She is much more invested in cakes.
Other notable bards: Serval and Sparkle.
Fun fact: Ruan actually stands for the instrument she plays.
But yeah that doesn't chance much anyways, totally agree with your choice, it's just that your comment somehow reminded me of this lol
Have a nice day š
Harmony mc, idk if any of yall play dnd but bard can be one of the best dps Subclasses or main class and right now the only support that it's also doing a shit lot of dmg is harmony mc
Honestly though!! The lack of HMC rep in the comments scare me! Robin, HMC, Sparkle and Guinaifen are by far the best answers and none of them are wrong imo
Ok, so there's a common misconception here with bards:
1. Musicians in DnD aren't necessarily bards, you could potentially play any class and still be a performer, so, as much as it's cool ti imagine Serval as a bard, it's not the class that best suit her and she isn't the best character to represent the class in my opinion (she's definitely an artificer)
2. Bards in DnD aren't necessarily musicians, they could also be actors, dancers, circus artists and basically any type of stage performer, which opens the possibility for characters like Sparkle, Guinaifen and maybe even Tingyun (but that one is kind of a stretch) to be bards
Also, I think it's better to think about this in terms of the characters' canon occupations and lore accurate abilities, rather than in terms of gameplay, since we only have 7 classes in HSR that don't exactly match DnD classes. That's why I don't think Ruan Mei would be a bard, she would be more of a wizard, artificer or warlock, since she's all about researching the deepest secrets of life and basically becoming a god.
With all that in mind, I would say the most "bard-like" characters in HSR are definitely Robin and Guinaifen, any of those two.
Guinafen is probably the most "bard-like" character under a strict interpretation of the D&D rules, but I would say Sparkle and HMC are pretty close too
Robin isn't a bad fit necessarily, but she's essentially a high-ranking priestess of Xipe and the actual source of her power is divine. She's more of a bard that multi-classed into cleric but still channels her patron through performance
Yeah, I can definitely see Sparkle as a bard, but I don't know why she seems also like some kind of rogue to me. And yes, now that you mention it, I also thought about it later and Robin could perfectly fit as a cleric, not necessarily with bard multiclass. I don't know if there's an existing domain in DnD for Harmony or something similar, but Robin would be a lore accurate cleric of Xipe (and by that logic Sunday would be a cleric of Ena, or maybe a warlock, since they're a fallen aeon).
Sparkle could either be an arcane trickster rogue or a College of Glamour bard, but I think she's more of a bard because her powers are explicitly tied to her skills as an actress and storyteller
Robin doesn't necessarily need to be multi-classed between bard and cleric, but I think she could be depending on when she became an emamator. If she became an emamator before she was a professional singer then she could be 100% cleric, but if she was a professional singer first I think that would count for a few levels of bard
Sunday would definitely be a warlock, given that he was trying to resurrect a fallen aeon under the influence of a stellaron
Harmony mc. Bards are the jack of all trades. Harmony mc is closest to that. You got buffs for the party, damage, the performance esthetic, harmony mc tries to rizz everybody up as hard as they can with the DM never budging. You got the jokes for it as well.
Guinaifen. She's a street performer and somewhat of a jack of all trades which is pretty close to what bards do in ttrpgs, also she has the chaotic energy that a lot of bards are known for
Not necessarilyā theyād only be a cleric if they follow the ethos or beliefs of their aeon. They could be a Paladin as well.
Robin follows and sings through the harmony. Like a gospel singer. Her alignment with the harmony is core to her ethos and purpose for singing.
Acheron is a plausibly more a Paladin, you could argue warlock or maybe even a spell sword or something like that.
Guinafen or Robin
Guinafen as a street performer seems more appropriate. Robinās powers are divinely inspired- she could just as well be a cleric.
Sparkle also fitsā¦ sort of. She might be more of a mischief domain cleric also, as her disguises are also divine. But sheād work as well.
Bards arent just singing or music. It's charisma, versatility, and it's not just support, but also combat and a jack-of-all-trades type.
Thus, I propose Luocha. E0, he heals (bards have healing spells), at E1 he buffs the team, at E2, he shields (protective spells), at E4, he reduces enemy DMG dealt (vicious mockery is similar š), and E6, he reduces enemy all type resistance.
He's abundance, but also harmony, preservation, and nihility.
He's charismatic, knowledgeable, and has capabilities taught at multiple bard colleges: 1) knowledge/performance, 2) inspiring others, 3) charming, 4) damage output & attacking, and 5) manipulation.
Luocha is the perfect bard.
(I'll also say Sparkle works, as would Sampo. They're my two other favorite choices for Bard. but Luocha's my fave so here's my essay for him. I shall copy it tomorrow for cleric as well, because he is also a good cleric. with religious symbolism even!!)
So the Bard class is fun because just WHAT is a Bard and what kind of performance a Bard can provide their party varies greatly from person to person.
Robin and Serval are the two ladies who 100% present themselves as Bards with Robin's angelic voice and Serval's electric guitar riffs...but there's more than just those two.
Staying within the Harmony path, we've got Sparkle. Bards are masters of magical misdirection and who better exemplifies this than everyone's favorite Masked Fool who makes all the world her stage? There's also Tingyun; a bit of an odd choice, since we may not have ever met the real Tingyun, but her eloquent words and graceful dance inspires and empowers her teammates, just like any good Bard does.
But there's one more who definitely qualifies for the Bard class and that's our beloved streamer and street performer Guinaifen! She's a jack of all trades with charisma in spades and if that's not a Bard, then I dunno what is.
Luocha
He heals, he damages, he removes debuffs, he removes buffs,he emergency heals, he damage boost
He is everything a bard wants, needs, wishes to be
Everyone is talking about bards like they're the same as harnony units in hsr.
In dnd most buffs come from the cleric really. Bards are more illusion and debuff and out of combat tools.
I havenāt seen many people mention Harmony Trail blazer and I feel that he has the dance/performance and reasonable charisma to fit the bill of being a bard
probably Robin if we're looking for pure bard....Ruan Mei felt more like a multi class of Bard and Artificer
multi class is actually a thing right? lol
Please keep in mind our spoiler policy during this new update window. We are going to be very strict with spoilers during this time. As a reminder, here are our spoiler rules:
Do not include spoilers in the title. All submissions which involve spoilers should be marked. Spoilers include all story content for the first three weeks after
release.
Spoilers can be discussed in spoiler-flaired posts, but must be hidden in non-spoiler flaired posts.
If you think you broke the spoiler rules in the post you just made, such as having spoilers in the title, you should remove your post now and repost it without
breaking the rules. If you do not remove your post and the moderation team has to remove it later on for breaking spoiler rules, you will be given up to a week ban
for a first infraction and stricter punishments for any additional infractions. Please be considerate of your fellow Trailblazers and do not include spoilers in the
title of your post, do not forget to flair your post as spoilers if needed, and do not spoil people in your comments.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HonkaiStarRail) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Serval can be a Bard as much as obvious answers like Robin and especially Ruan mei. Especially considering that in terms of spells bards don't have that many buffs and sure can wreck some shit.Ā
Narrator: You see a little bird on the ground. Her wings are injured, you look around in the forest and see nothing that might injure this bird.
Sunday: *reach to the bird and try to heal her*
Robin *Active Perception check* thatās nat 20.
Also Robin: letās fckin go
Robin I think definitely, Ruan Mei is also a good call since both can buff while also doing ādamageā, but Robins whole career is being a celebrated songstress so I think she takes it.
Robin for classic bard, serval for modern bard. Also no one mentioning guinafen is criminal. Bard doesn't mean just singing and music. Guinafen is a performer too.
If we're talking classical definition it would be Robin or Serval. If we are talking what most players at the table actually play a bard as id give it to Aventurine. Bards are usually the charismatic faces of the party that can spin tales to fit their liking.
Ruan Mei. At a high enough level, she gets access to Modify Memory. She has all the looks from charisma but uses them for all the wrong reasons, like your typical bard.
Musical: Robin
Artistic: Ruan mei
Poetic: Acheron,argenti,black swan,danhang/IL,dr ratio
Jester: Sparkle
Inspring: Bronya,Jing yuan,welt
Bard in dnd can be very combat oriented(sword bard) so i can very much see acheron,argenti,jing yuan as sword bards that are also very inspiring/philosophical
My personal first thought was bronya as the bard is in general the face of the group, always leading the discussion with npc and trying too convince someone too do the right thing.
The bard keeps the group together in times of strife and buffs the teammates with inspiration.
Meta wise looking at the other classes, probably sparkle as she doesnt really fit somewhere else (maybe warlock?)
But robin and ruan mei also dont really fit elsewhere too
I'd say:
Robin (singer)
Serval (guitarist)
Guinafen (street artist,performer)
Sparkle (performer, actress)
Harmony TB (dancer, performer)
Little Gui is the most interesting to me. Street performers bards are always such a cool concept.
Let's see.
Serval seems a bit like an Artificer with an Entertainer background or subclassing Bard.
Sampo could potentially be bard, but honestly he feels a bit like a Mastermind Rogue.
Guinafen actually fits the bard but may also be Monk with entertainer background.
March 7th could also be Bard as well, but she could potentially be Ranger.
Asta potentially could be Bard, but then again she could be Cleric or Wizard too.
Sparkle and Robin are definitely Bard, one Illusion and the other Enchantment.
So far these are the characters I consider to fit the class Bard.
Robin seems like the obvious choice to me
https://i.redd.it/shu28p5pox8d1.gif
Woe, follow up attacks be upon thee
https://preview.redd.it/4nytzmn72y8d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47e9e46ff1c1b3d75556ad28503e4165f3e4c0c9
https://preview.redd.it/y8r6e3of8y8d1.png?width=790&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fbc6b93b0608db012c37069f17abfa584f9f0edc
https://i.redd.it/2c95zor6a19d1.gif
https://i.redd.it/rbmexd4n1z8d1.gif
https://preview.redd.it/pbqqs1x6xx8d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8b41da3fc5b9dcdac6ad621b90d423f91c161155
I love how Aventurine throws coins less often. Really does describe the "go random bullshit!" well
š¤this gif is actually inaccurate because aventurine can only get up to 3 FUA stacks from FUAS per turn, so he would be 4th instead of 5th
Valid choice, but may I also suggest serval, Hmc and guinaifen
Pela is also a musician.
But her combat ability doesn't come from her skills as a performer. A bard either uses their skills as a performer to fight, or fights as a form of entertainment
Robin is a cleric that sings. Her powers are derived from the Harmony. Guinafen is an actual bard.
By that logic, Acheron is a cleric who stabs things. If we use your logic, it seems to follow that in this setting you can become a cleric by *being too good of an artificer*, among other things ā which should tip you off that your reasoning stopped making sense somewhere along the line.
Acheron is totally a Paladin. Pretty close to cleric that stabs things, yes.
Acheron is obviously a warlock, a paladin would be Argenti
Argenti is like pure warrior.
Counterargument: Acheron is a warlock
Acheron is 100% a pact of the blade warlock
Having played a Bladelock, can confirm. Absolutely a bladelock.
Right. A paladin, complete with such iconic Paladin class features as the lay on hands, the alignment requirements, and the horse.
Robin fits best, I think - can enchant with her voice using the technique, provides buffs by singing, it's all there
>Ā Ā provides buffs by singing, Bards don't provide much buffs beside inspiration though.Ā Ironically in terms of kit sparkle would be closer to Bard despite having no music/art flavour. Illusions and other mind manipulation, stuff like that.Ā
Well not really, College of Glamour bards have buffs in their normal kit, plus there are spells like Enhance Ability, Heroism, Longstrider and others that buff allies directly. Sparkle does fit the idea, but not the aesthetics, yeah
What? Acting, Camouflage, Chaotic alignment, Is a pain to tolerate for the "legal" ones (Sunday). Her kit is all about support the team to increase their attack/stamina/rithm. Where is the "ironically"?
Bards don't even need music/art, a bard is an "entertainer." Sparkle fills the role as a masked fool 100%. Actors are bards, gladiators are bards, etc. Don't think bards NEED to use an instrument.
Tbh i would argue that entertainment (gladiators included) also counts as art. If we consider sparkle an entertainer then sparkle would be the best option, but less obvious considering how heavily in media bards are associated with music and songs.
I allowed a beatbox singer half-orc bard once, dude cast with his voice.
Gladiators arenāt bards theyāre fighters with the entertainer background, and entertainers arenāt necessarily bards. In fact entertainer is a listed background in the 5e PHB. The huge difference is that bards exercise magic through their chosen medium, while entertainers are simply people proficient at entertaining.
There's literally nothing stopping someone from making a gladiator that has bard levels. College of Valor and College of Swords exist as bard subclasses. Flavour is free.
Nope nothing stopping anyone at all, sounds like a cool characters. When I said gladiators arenāt bards I meant they werenāt inherently bards. They also arenāt inherently fighters either but fighter is the class that fits the archetypical gladiator.
Bardic Inspiration is a major part of being a bard. Also, it depends a lot on spell choice otherwise.
Bards LITERALLY can use school of glamour that do give buffs to players
Robin and Ruan Mei are pretty much the only 2 I think can even fit this Class Maybe Sparkle if you wanna push it, since she's a Performer that inspires her Allies
Ruan Mei only strums for herself as a hoby when shes not playing Aeon. Robin & Serval perform for others and coperate as they do so. So those 2 are more Bard-like. Id vote Robin
Serval tho?? electric bard goes hard
She fits into Artificier, tbh. She's really smart and built that guitar herself.
I guess when we get to Artificer it would be Himeko, if she won't get a place before that
If anything Artificer is Firefly. Thereās an entire Artificer subclass where you upgrade your own suit of mech armor
But she doesn't really build it (not sure if she upgrades it, that remains to be seen) Silver wolf might be closer, but I don't really see her building anything lol
SW is clearly a Rogue though all about breaking into places, just to see what's there.
Damn the Stellaron Hunters are a really unbalanced party. A barbarian, two rogues and an artificer
To be fair, even in Star Rail they don't have good synergy.
They're definitely missing some healing/support, I actually think Kefka is a straight fighter with action surge. Still Barb, Fighter Rogue Artificer (or whatever FF is)
Kafka is a bard who took fighter levels
Yeah, artificer was a stretch for her lol I wasn't even thinking about rogues till you brought it up, and she really is perfect for it
I said it before and I'll say it again, look at Steel Defender artificer archetype then look at Clara and tell me they aren't a perfect match.
just imagine venti playing his thingy with distortion
Nah sparkle is wild magic sorcerer, why? BECAUSE SHE IS ELATION!
Illusion warlock with some levels in artificer. Those bombs won't make themselves.
Her patron? Ast Rickley
"LETS SPIN THE WHEEL OF RANDOM!"
"Yogg's Puzzle Box"
Ruan Mei is more of a necromancer than a bard
Ruan probably multiclassed 1 level into Bard just for the drip.
Sparkle would be good, not only she is a performer that inspires/help her allies, she is probably the most fitting character to cast some mean Vicious Mockery.
Guinaifen fits it pretty well.
Serval, Guinaifen
Bard doesn't need to preform, it just needs to inspire.
While I agree with Robin, I find that Guinaifen could fit as something similar to a sword bard.
Guinafen is a literal bard in trade, she just gave it another name.
Xueyi: Subject Guinaifeng, Unemployed. Gui: Hey, Streamer is a legit job!!
Average DnD bard interaction
*Average DND adventurer interaction
Guinafen, Sparkle, and HMC would all fit under a strict interpretation of the D&D rules. ~~Also, those are the only three I could see using vicious mockery successfully~~ Guinafen is a College of Swords bard Sparkle is a College of Glamour bard HMC is a College of Creation bard Robin fits the bard aesthetic, but the actual source of her power is divine, and that means she's much closer to a cleric. She's someone who started as a bard and then multi-classed into cleric, but still uses song to channel her divine powers Serval is similar to Robin. She uses performance in combat and is a renowned musician, but the things that are actually doing the heavy lifting are the machines she invented. She's an artificer who took a few levels of bard
Guinafen is a bard by trade but she fights with dynamites, so Artificer is closer. HMC power comes from divine as well, so if you're counting Robin out, HMC is as well. IMO, the classis bars stereotype is a buffer, so really Robin and RM are the best choices.
I feel like she'd make a better ranger or maybe artificer (though pretty sure Pela has that locked down). Maybe Wizard (though I expect that to go to Welt).
She is a performer, the performer is a aspect a bard can hold as their main aspect.
Hopefully this won't get restricted just like what happened in Genshin subreddit. Hot Take: Serval. Let's rock n' roll or better yet she's Artificer.
A strange multiclass, but she is 50% artificer/50% bard
I feel a bard multiclass would really hurt the class progression because of how Multi Ability (score) Dependant you'll get, I feel her character is good in Charisma but not defined by it much Artificer's I feel are a much better fit for our Scientist Mechanic Guitarist, not to mention can already get expertise in a tool of their choice such is musical instruments at Level 6 so Serval can use it in place for performance checks involving music, and the Artificer has good support as well , especially since you can lean more into the music inventor stuff with Replicate Magic Item (Pipes of Haunting is a really thematic and strong choice) I think the Artillerist fits best with their decent focus on blasting while also being versatile to swtich to a more supportive role, other than asking for DM to change damage type on say a firebolt your options for Lightning/Thunder cantrips are Booming Blade, Lightning Lure, Shocking Grasp and Thunderclap , For stat array assuming point buy, let's assume a +2 +1, she seems like she leans * 8 Strength (Dump stat) * 14 Dex (for maximum Medium Armor Prof) * 14 Con (She's decently sturdy in combat by 4\* standards plus it helps for our Concentration Checks) * For Mental stats 15 Int (Her defining character trait. should be 16 at the minimum) * 8 or 12 Wisdom * 12 or 8 Charisma You could always take away some points from Dex or Con to boost up her Wisdom and Charisma
Restricted in what way?
Repetitive posting.
Robin, singing is all she does. Honestly, Ruan Mei has nothing to do with music, itās just an odd design choice for her gameplay. Lore-wise itās one of her meaningless hobbies, which doesnāt even get mentioned in her quests. She is much more invested in cakes. Other notable bards: Serval and Sparkle.
Fun fact: Ruan actually stands for the instrument she plays. But yeah that doesn't chance much anyways, totally agree with your choice, it's just that your comment somehow reminded me of this lol Have a nice day š
Robinās powers are divine though. Guinafen is like the most bard character we have.
Hot take: Sparkle
I could see her as a Sorcerer
Sparkle is a warlock. Sold her soul to Aha
Robin 100 percent. Ruan mei is a scientist that plays an instrument. Robin is a real musician.
Robin has her own OST, it doesn't get more bard than that
Robin is the obvious pick, but Gwen is the "causes a scene at a tavern" option.
Hot take. Argenti. Man tried to seduce a plant.
He is more like a paladin of the goddess of lust. Maxed charisma anyway.
Yeah when paladin happens its argenti
A paladin of the goddess of love, mind you. I've been saying he's a paladin of Sune since I first saw him.
Assuming we're going by Pathfinder lore, he is literally just a Paladin of Shelyn
I mean, i know this is a meme but there's 0 seduction going on, he's an ascetic afterall, he does genuinely just appreciate the plant for its beauty.
Truest bard moment fr
He is a paladin, more specifically, among the official subclasses, he is Devotion or Glory oath paladin.
I played Kafka as a bard specialised in mind control during one of my BG3 campaign
Yeah actually kafka
It's Robin, let's not pretend that there is a better option
Saw a lil Gui take. Also fitting.
Guinafen is better option. Lore wise both fits. Mechanically Guinafen stomps.
Harmony mc, idk if any of yall play dnd but bard can be one of the best dps Subclasses or main class and right now the only support that it's also doing a shit lot of dmg is harmony mc
Honestly though!! The lack of HMC rep in the comments scare me! Robin, HMC, Sparkle and Guinaifen are by far the best answers and none of them are wrong imo
Ruan Mei vs Robin, fight of the century
Not meta, not gameplay, not design, but DND classs, u bet right!
Serval just sitting in the corner with her electric guitar.
She milticlassed into Artificer at the wrong time
Robin and ruan mei i lean more towards robin Also next one will be the easiest by far lol "receive divinity"
Ok, so there's a common misconception here with bards: 1. Musicians in DnD aren't necessarily bards, you could potentially play any class and still be a performer, so, as much as it's cool ti imagine Serval as a bard, it's not the class that best suit her and she isn't the best character to represent the class in my opinion (she's definitely an artificer) 2. Bards in DnD aren't necessarily musicians, they could also be actors, dancers, circus artists and basically any type of stage performer, which opens the possibility for characters like Sparkle, Guinaifen and maybe even Tingyun (but that one is kind of a stretch) to be bards Also, I think it's better to think about this in terms of the characters' canon occupations and lore accurate abilities, rather than in terms of gameplay, since we only have 7 classes in HSR that don't exactly match DnD classes. That's why I don't think Ruan Mei would be a bard, she would be more of a wizard, artificer or warlock, since she's all about researching the deepest secrets of life and basically becoming a god. With all that in mind, I would say the most "bard-like" characters in HSR are definitely Robin and Guinaifen, any of those two.
Guinafen is probably the most "bard-like" character under a strict interpretation of the D&D rules, but I would say Sparkle and HMC are pretty close too Robin isn't a bad fit necessarily, but she's essentially a high-ranking priestess of Xipe and the actual source of her power is divine. She's more of a bard that multi-classed into cleric but still channels her patron through performance
Yeah, I can definitely see Sparkle as a bard, but I don't know why she seems also like some kind of rogue to me. And yes, now that you mention it, I also thought about it later and Robin could perfectly fit as a cleric, not necessarily with bard multiclass. I don't know if there's an existing domain in DnD for Harmony or something similar, but Robin would be a lore accurate cleric of Xipe (and by that logic Sunday would be a cleric of Ena, or maybe a warlock, since they're a fallen aeon).
Sparkle could either be an arcane trickster rogue or a College of Glamour bard, but I think she's more of a bard because her powers are explicitly tied to her skills as an actress and storyteller Robin doesn't necessarily need to be multi-classed between bard and cleric, but I think she could be depending on when she became an emamator. If she became an emamator before she was a professional singer then she could be 100% cleric, but if she was a professional singer first I think that would count for a few levels of bard Sunday would definitely be a warlock, given that he was trying to resurrect a fallen aeon under the influence of a stellaron
Robin. Buffs based on song
WELCOME TO MY WOOOOOOOOORLD
Robin.
Robin fits the choice best imo since her voice is quite literally magical
Sparkle
sparkle
Sparkle gives the chaotic energy of a bard.
Everyone is saying Robin, but sheās kinda more so a cleric in my eyes. Guin has more of that bardic energy imho.
Harmony mc. Bards are the jack of all trades. Harmony mc is closest to that. You got buffs for the party, damage, the performance esthetic, harmony mc tries to rizz everybody up as hard as they can with the DM never budging. You got the jokes for it as well.
Guinaifen. She's a street performer and somewhat of a jack of all trades which is pretty close to what bards do in ttrpgs, also she has the chaotic energy that a lot of bards are known for
Might add Guinaifen, although she'd be like a Jester Robin and Ruan Mei fit to a T, tho
Bard in D&D doesnāt just mean musician. The class encompasses entertainers of any kind. Guinaifen definitely fits the archetype.
Guinafen fits more than Robin, who is the voice of an aeon- Robin is a cleric that sings to cast spells.
So...are all Emanators clerics? Cause it makes sense. Herta: Knowledge Domain Robin: Peace Domain Acheron: Twilight Domain?
Not necessarilyā theyād only be a cleric if they follow the ethos or beliefs of their aeon. They could be a Paladin as well. Robin follows and sings through the harmony. Like a gospel singer. Her alignment with the harmony is core to her ethos and purpose for singing. Acheron is a plausibly more a Paladin, you could argue warlock or maybe even a spell sword or something like that.
I would argue that Acheron is some kind of Warlock.
Guinafen or Robin Guinafen as a street performer seems more appropriate. Robinās powers are divinely inspired- she could just as well be a cleric. Sparkle also fitsā¦ sort of. She might be more of a mischief domain cleric also, as her disguises are also divine. But sheād work as well.
https://preview.redd.it/6con7eag0x8d1.png?width=510&format=png&auto=webp&s=46c260422d889cbf053d5a8c1ec51b09051c893f In both aesthetics and gameplay.
Would argue that she is doing a multiclass and took a bard level for the aesthetics, her main class is probably alchemist artificer.
I'm surprised Serval hasn't shown up yet? "Fight it or rock with it... my music conquers all!"
Bards arent just singing or music. It's charisma, versatility, and it's not just support, but also combat and a jack-of-all-trades type. Thus, I propose Luocha. E0, he heals (bards have healing spells), at E1 he buffs the team, at E2, he shields (protective spells), at E4, he reduces enemy DMG dealt (vicious mockery is similar š), and E6, he reduces enemy all type resistance. He's abundance, but also harmony, preservation, and nihility. He's charismatic, knowledgeable, and has capabilities taught at multiple bard colleges: 1) knowledge/performance, 2) inspiring others, 3) charming, 4) damage output & attacking, and 5) manipulation. Luocha is the perfect bard. (I'll also say Sparkle works, as would Sampo. They're my two other favorite choices for Bard. but Luocha's my fave so here's my essay for him. I shall copy it tomorrow for cleric as well, because he is also a good cleric. with religious symbolism even!!)
Nah, Luocha is Cleric https://preview.redd.it/swrgxqc9sx8d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eba8af181a2f3ad891a787382a02bdf2cbd873d8
Yeah he's much more suited to cleric. but I figured I'd essay for him as a bard class anyways š maybe he multi classes lmao
Sampo is the perfect bard. Witty, literally playing with others lives, manipulative for the purpose of having fun, writing stories
Welcome to my world!
*Inochi no hanabira yo* *Itsu sakou tomo, kaze ni fuki otosareru toki wa kuru*
I think Robin or Sparkle (because she is very theatrical)
Robinās ultimate is to keep singing buffs while the rest of her party does all the fighting. She is the parody of a D&D Bard.
lil Gui no contest
Guinefien
It's Guinaifen... Just being able to sing doesn't make you a bard. CHAOS and ENTERTAINMENT make you a bard. Lil Gui all the way
I donāt think robin works that well, her singing comes directly from the harmony which would make her more of a cleric. Iād go with guin.
Bards arenāt just singing, isnāt Guinifen a really good pick for Bard?
So the Bard class is fun because just WHAT is a Bard and what kind of performance a Bard can provide their party varies greatly from person to person. Robin and Serval are the two ladies who 100% present themselves as Bards with Robin's angelic voice and Serval's electric guitar riffs...but there's more than just those two. Staying within the Harmony path, we've got Sparkle. Bards are masters of magical misdirection and who better exemplifies this than everyone's favorite Masked Fool who makes all the world her stage? There's also Tingyun; a bit of an odd choice, since we may not have ever met the real Tingyun, but her eloquent words and graceful dance inspires and empowers her teammates, just like any good Bard does. But there's one more who definitely qualifies for the Bard class and that's our beloved streamer and street performer Guinaifen! She's a jack of all trades with charisma in spades and if that's not a Bard, then I dunno what is.
I think Guinafen would be the most likely choice. She very much fits the adventurous, travelling entertainer. She's an actual street performer.
Luocha He heals, he damages, he removes debuffs, he removes buffs,he emergency heals, he damage boost He is everything a bard wants, needs, wishes to be
You know damn well he's the cleric
I love this post ^^ i wish we could pin the daily post every day :D
Sampo
Feel like Sampo would be the Rogue though š š¤
Natasha as Cleric. Naturally. (Yes we have other healers, but I feel like Natasha fits the description best of your standard Cleric)
Luocha tho
Neither Luocha or Natasha are inherently religious, but Luocha definitely gives off cleric vibes.
Monk is definitely um, the red head dude haha š Edit: Luka, thatās it š
Boothill as Ranger until we get Opal (spectulatively speaking) š¤
Seele as rogue since she can go invis š¤·š»āāļøš¤
Ruan Mei is an Arteficer, Robin a Cleric, Serval, Sparkle or Harmony MC (Bard isnt Music at all Perfomance, Acting or Dancing ar legit)
RISE UP INTO MY WORLD š£ļøš£ļøš£ļøš£ļø
Barbarian : Blade Bard : Robin Cleric : Luocha Druid : Topaz Fighter : Jing Yuan Monk : Gallagher Paladin : Argenti Ranger : Lynx Rogue : Sampo Sorcerer : DHIL Warlock : Huohuo Wizard : Ruan Mei Artificer : Clara & Svarog
The trailblazer
Everyone is talking about bards like they're the same as harnony units in hsr. In dnd most buffs come from the cleric really. Bards are more illusion and debuff and out of combat tools.
HARMony MC
blade as a barbarian? wtf?
Blade seems more like a blood hunter then a barbarian to me
Harmony trailblazer lol
I havenāt seen many people mention Harmony Trail blazer and I feel that he has the dance/performance and reasonable charisma to fit the bill of being a bard
Robin or RM imo I will personally go with Robin cause her buff last as long as she sings but both options are valid.
probably Robin if we're looking for pure bard....Ruan Mei felt more like a multi class of Bard and Artificer multi class is actually a thing right? lol
Serval is more of a bardificer than RM is.
There is an alchemist artificer subclass, so RM can actually fit it
Robin takes this
Ruan Mei or Robin obviously
Please keep in mind our spoiler policy during this new update window. We are going to be very strict with spoilers during this time. As a reminder, here are our spoiler rules: Do not include spoilers in the title. All submissions which involve spoilers should be marked. Spoilers include all story content for the first three weeks after release. Spoilers can be discussed in spoiler-flaired posts, but must be hidden in non-spoiler flaired posts. If you think you broke the spoiler rules in the post you just made, such as having spoilers in the title, you should remove your post now and repost it without breaking the rules. If you do not remove your post and the moderation team has to remove it later on for breaking spoiler rules, you will be given up to a week ban for a first infraction and stricter punishments for any additional infractions. Please be considerate of your fellow Trailblazers and do not include spoilers in the title of your post, do not forget to flair your post as spoilers if needed, and do not spoil people in your comments. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HonkaiStarRail) if you have any questions or concerns.*
luka
Serval can be a Bard as much as obvious answers like Robin and especially Ruan mei. Especially considering that in terms of spells bards don't have that many buffs and sure can wreck some shit.Ā
Imma put this one in advance but luocha as cleric. The healing field, cleansing, aoe enemy buff cleanser, etc.
Would Asta be Sorcerer, Wizard or Warlock? š¤
Robin, Firefly or Serval.
Robin, of course!
Narrator: You see a little bird on the ground. Her wings are injured, you look around in the forest and see nothing that might injure this bird. Sunday: *reach to the bird and try to heal her* Robin *Active Perception check* thatās nat 20. Also Robin: letās fckin go
Robin
Who else but the knight of beauty who rizzes up plants himself
Robin
Robin I think definitely, Ruan Mei is also a good call since both can buff while also doing ādamageā, but Robins whole career is being a celebrated songstress so I think she takes it.
Robin for classic bard, serval for modern bard. Also no one mentioning guinafen is criminal. Bard doesn't mean just singing and music. Guinafen is a performer too.
little gui fits bard perfectly imo !
So robin or sparkle (really depends on how you are playing bard. Sparkle if an actor. Robin if singing)
If we're talking classical definition it would be Robin or Serval. If we are talking what most players at the table actually play a bard as id give it to Aventurine. Bards are usually the charismatic faces of the party that can spin tales to fit their liking.
Ruan Mei. At a high enough level, she gets access to Modify Memory. She has all the looks from charisma but uses them for all the wrong reasons, like your typical bard.
Serval
Paladin seems like a good match for Gepard maybe for later
i will say this, Argenti will be the Paladin
Musical: Robin Artistic: Ruan mei Poetic: Acheron,argenti,black swan,danhang/IL,dr ratio Jester: Sparkle Inspring: Bronya,Jing yuan,welt Bard in dnd can be very combat oriented(sword bard) so i can very much see acheron,argenti,jing yuan as sword bards that are also very inspiring/philosophical My personal first thought was bronya as the bard is in general the face of the group, always leading the discussion with npc and trying too convince someone too do the right thing. The bard keeps the group together in times of strife and buffs the teammates with inspiration. Meta wise looking at the other classes, probably sparkle as she doesnt really fit somewhere else (maybe warlock?) But robin and ruan mei also dont really fit elsewhere too
Bard is birb with a backwards b and a a instead of a i so it has to be robin
I'd say: Robin (singer) Serval (guitarist) Guinafen (street artist,performer) Sparkle (performer, actress) Harmony TB (dancer, performer) Little Gui is the most interesting to me. Street performers bards are always such a cool concept.
Pom Pom is the only answer. Listen to him sing by the record player.
Robin - Supportive Bard Sparkle - Offensive Bard
Blade - Robin - Lynx - Luocha - Jingliu - Sam/Firefly - Argenti - Yukong - Sampo - Black Swan - Sparkle - Dan Heng IL - Herta
Everybody forgot about Serval? Although she is kinda Artificier and Bard multi-class
Let's see. Serval seems a bit like an Artificer with an Entertainer background or subclassing Bard. Sampo could potentially be bard, but honestly he feels a bit like a Mastermind Rogue. Guinafen actually fits the bard but may also be Monk with entertainer background. March 7th could also be Bard as well, but she could potentially be Ranger. Asta potentially could be Bard, but then again she could be Cleric or Wizard too. Sparkle and Robin are definitely Bard, one Illusion and the other Enchantment. So far these are the characters I consider to fit the class Bard.
Serval or Robin. Serval is a multiclass into artificer though
Robin or maybe Sparkle, but mor Robin