Riot should honestly stop buffing him after this. He's really difficult to play so his winrate will never really be high, but his kit is really broken in general. He'll probably surface as OP in a little while anyways. It's probably gonna be like Lee/Yasuo where they sucked on release and then people figured out wtf they're doing and they get nerfed into a state worse than their release.
Spacesuit Spiff2 votesI've seen fantastic bard players in Diamond... they still feel underwhelming compared to, say, a fantastic Leona/Thresh/Naut/Any other support. I think that's just the nature of a teamwork champ that nobody's used to working with. He might be fantastic in the LCS (and therefore force me to dodge a lot of games afterwards...), but not soloq.
Karlyr1 votesThe main problem about bard (for solo queue imo) is that pretty much all his abilities has a downside.
Passive : Have to let down you adc for a few seconds. Q - Might bait your adc into thinking it'll stun him W - Can be destroyed (not so much of a downside so far) E - Ennemies can follow, which can become a HUGE downside if used improperly R - Can kill your own allies.
I can accept any of these downsides if the rest of the abilities were consistent. The problem is, it's not the case and currently the reward is too low considering the risk.
And High risk, high rewards champions tends to not be played because they are too risky.
BradTaste1 votesDude....
When bard was released I played about 25 games as him and eventually I never lost lane, hell I carried teams! He has a very high skill requirement but I think he is good at the moment
AtheosisX1 votesSorry, but I don't see it. I do think they are buffing the wrong things though. They need to buff chimes so you get the bonuses in a reasonable amount of time without having to roam all over the map all game long.
Trash MammaI1 votesHe just needs a few QoL changes tbh 1)His Q range/speed needs to be longer/faster (which is being added) 2)His Magical Journey needs to make enemies that take it move slower not make allies faster 3)His W needs a higher heal scaling because 100 mana at level 1 for that crappy heal is absurd 4)His Ult needs to move faster as you level the skill 5)His chimes need to stop spawning near the enemies red buff when i'm at our gromp. Those things spawn so damn far away 6)His meeps respawn time needs to be reduced per AA on enemy champion
Now he's perfect
DJ Di01 votesHe just needs a few QoL changes tbh 1)His Q range/speed needs to be longer/faster (which is being added) 2)His Magical Journey needs to make enemies that take it move slower not make allies faster 3)His W needs a higher heal scaling because 100 mana at level 1 for that crappy heal is absurd 4)His Ult needs to move faster as you level the skill 5)His chimes need to stop spawning near the enemies red buff when i'm at our gromp. Those things spawn so damn far away 6)His meeps respawn time needs to be reduced per AA on enemy champion
Now he's perfect
I like all of these except for the heal. It's pretty good imo, especially when you charge them.
Trash MammaI1 votesI was mainly aiming at level 1. The heal at level 1 is disgusting for 100 mana. 80 mana at best but 100? I always take my 2nd point in heal at rank 3 just so it'll be worth a damn. Then I get E at level 4 and start maxing heal or Q depending on the lane.
It's great from level 2 and on it scales perfectly. The level 1 though makes it irritating, though I guess it won't be too bad if they make chimes spawn closer. Setting 3 drains all your mana and you can't get it back cause chimes are damn near close the the enemy base
Other than that yea I agree his heals are great.
DJ Di01 votesI was mainly aiming at level 1. The heal at level 1 is disgusting for 100 mana. 80 mana at best but 100? I always take my 2nd point in heal at rank 3 just so it'll be worth a damn. Then I get E at level 4 and start maxing heal or Q depending on the lane.
It's great from level 2 and on it scales perfectly. The level 1 though makes it irritating, though I guess it won't be too bad if they make chimes spawn closer. Setting 3 drains all your mana and you can't get it back cause chimes are damn near close the the enemy base
Other than that yea I agree his heals are great.
If it makes you feel any better it takes Sona three ranks into W to start healing as well as any other support.
Chickendoodles1 votesAs a Bard Scholar, I agree. You have no choice but to put 2nd point into W at lvl 3. But I think that is fine because you don't have to go anywhere by lvl 3 because remember chimes disappear after 10 mins so there is no rush to go collect them. By the time you have three heals down and prepped for your ADC, you should be lvl 4 and get your E which allows you to go grab your chimes and return quickly and safely.
He just needs a few QoL changes tbh 1)His Q range/speed needs to be longer/faster (which is being added) 2)His Magical Journey needs to make enemies that take it move slower not make allies faster 3)His W needs a higher heal scaling because 100 mana at level 1 for that crappy heal is absurd 4)His Ult needs to move faster as you level the skill 5)His chimes need to stop spawning near the enemies red buff when i'm at our gromp. Those things spawn so damn far away 6)His meeps respawn time needs to be reduced per AA on enemy champion
Now he's perfect
*7) You forgot to address his exp struggles. If you go collect chimes at the perfect time (3-5 up) and get lucky they are placed somewhere convenient (To get that speed boost) and have a good path to E back to lane you can be ahead of exp against their supp. I'm glad they are addressing his exp struggles atm because although its not that bad (unlike some people on the boards are making it seem) it can be hard to do much if you are behind just a little in the early game.
qetzel1 votesNot number 4. That would be really annoying. You would have to learn three different timings instead of just one. No thank you.
It is always good to keep things readable and predictable... You know... Clarity!
FantasySniper1 votesThey're way too tentative with his buffs.
Make his shrine's charge rate scale with rank, and
FUCKING FIX HIS PASSIVE.
Kingsgrave1 votesThe only bad part of his kit is the Chimes. The good Bard players barely even have a lot of them.
Sirsir1 votesThis last set of buffs (Q QoL buffs and supposedly smarter chime spawns) will put him in a good place. You have to understand that his win rate is skewed anyway. He is every trolls wet dream.
Kazaashi1 votesI'm like 9W - 3L with Bard. He is sooo awesome. I have never felt like I've carried games more with a support. His W in lane is just hilarious, I max that one first and have my ADC win all the trades in lane. I constantly have 3 shrines right by the turret for sustain, and have gotten my ADC a few kills by stunning someone trying to walk over them.
Don't even get me started on the roam baits. Just walk up river like you are Chime collecting and then E back in behind them with the jungler. Free double kill.
mi ramfan1 votesBard's problem is that collecting chimes frequently don't give enough XP to balance out the loss of XP from just sitting in bot lane, especially if too many chimes spawn in the enemy jungle. As a result, even though roaming with him is safer that roaming with other champions, it's still not safe enough to justify your ADC getting zoned and the loss of gold income from his support item.
That would be fine if he had a laning phase, but he doesn't because he has to be balanced as a roamer even if it's not worth it to actually roam in situations where other supports wouldn't be doing it too. Any Bard lane has to play stupidly passive against any other support because you have zero all in potential after level 3.
Their planned buffs to the late game scaling of chimes won't help. Chimes need to just be better all around tbh.
Krigjer1 votesBard isn't difficult to play.
I say he fails because too many people don't understand how his kit works, or how he works as a champion.
The most recent Bard buffs leave me very happy. I feel he's going in the right direction.
