An idiot's thoughts on Bard
I don't get Bard. Normally, when I test a new champion out in a bot game, I come out of it learning something. This didn't happen with this guy. Now, I'm an idiot, but occasionally, even idiots can see when things aren't working right.
Problem the first: Chimes are dangerous, man! My fourth chime spawned by enemy team's wolves. Thank heavens this was a bot game, because wandering into an unwarded jungle is stupid. How am I, a rather frail support, supposed to go and get that? Surely chimes should spawn within a radius to Bard, not on the other side of the map?
Problem the second: Not enough meeps! I only ever get two meeps at a time? And I may accidentally waste them attacking minions? One of Nami's spells is an auto attack buff, and although it costs mana, she gets 3 uses out of it and has a slightly better cooldown.
Problem the third: People don't seem to like health packs. It's Howling Abyss all over again, people either get angry and rush to grab a health pack or are too polite to take them. Also the idiot that I am, I kept on walking over them as I placed them in front of me. Maybe there should be a small delay or something, or perhaps make Bard's hitbox a bit smaller.
Problem the fourth: Please just give Bard a normal stun or something. Taric has a point and click stun. Sona has an AOE ultimate stun. Nami has two knock ups. Thresh has a skillshot hook and knock up. Leona has a stun. Braum has a stun that's proc'ed by anyone. Annie has stuns up the ying yang. Morgana has a dangerous root. Bard can't compete against these stuns. Make it a normal skillshot stun. Or, even better, make it like Anivia's stun, activate it at the right time to stun enemies.
Problem the fifth: Tunnels are hard to click on, doubly so if you're on red side. Thresh's Lantern is how you make an ally movement spell readable. I thought we all liked clarity?
Problem the sixth: It's a good thing I'm a nice player, because this ultimate is plain old mean. Yes, there's some cool opportunities, like ulting a tower so you can dive the enemy, but that's assuming your team mates are reading your mind. I accidentally denied a Darius a pentakill, because I used my ultimate to save him, but he flashed back in at just the wrong moment.
Problem the seventh: If you're roaming all the time to get chimes, how do you get gold? Do you HAVE to use
to increase your passive gold? Do chimes grant gold? Does a Bard player end up so gold starved that they can barely afford their sightstone?
Problem the eighth: Is there any point collecting chimes? Is there any point risking your life to collect them?
Problem the ninth: This is the biggest one I have - Is it worth leaving the ADC alone against two other enemies? This guy needs to be protected, he'll hopefully be carrying your team later on. But Bard HAS to leave his ADC with nothing more than health packs for company against two bloodthirsty monsters that want to tear him apart. I'd rather stick with my team mate. It's better for everyone.
It feels like Bard was made for LCS, where everyone has super tight team work, constant communication and everyone roams anyway. But all of that is missing in anything BUT 5-man teams. Which is a shame because there's loads of cool ideas here.
TL;DR: Bard is completely reliant on teamwork and good communication, and even then, I bet he'd struggle.
A bit like the TF2 Medic, but not as useful.