Could I get some Bard advice?

Galgus·1/17/2016, 12:25:30 AM·3 votes·610 views

I tried out Bard because his roaming seemed interesting, but I really don't understand him.

I'm used to playing more aggressive supports, like Alistar or Anivia, so I'm really out of my element trying to learn him.

His CC feels completely horrid - one stun blocked by minion waves that is only kind of decent if it lands perfectly, and not much else for fighting.

The roaming sounds good in theory, but he is hopeless at ganking - I tried to at least leave healing shrines in mid, but it did not seem to help much.

Playing him feels like hoping the heal will somehow keep the lane stable while having nothing but a weak peel if a fight starts.

The only play-making part of him seems like the ult, and it is both situational and tricky.

So with that said, what strategies/ items/ etc would you recommend for a newcomer to Bard?

9 Comments

BladeSteel1/17/2016, 6:57:49 PM2 votes

Max the heal first, then the stun. As a support, maxing the heal first gives you a base heal of 150 (without ap and just clicking on them without waiting for it to "max"). If you max the stun first, the heal will only heal for 30 health...almost useless even when you get the heal maxed (lv 13). However, if you have the heal maxed at level 9, it is much better. I also go for a more tanky build, getting righetous glory then frozen heart and locket if they have magic damage. the rest is just practice with the q. with his ult, usually its best to use on the enemy, if they're running AND YOUR TEAM WON'T CATCH THEM then ult. if they will catch them DON'T ULT. During fights, ult their front/midline, or their back if they have one person who ults in (malph or amumu. Ult the rest of their team and thats one person down on their team if the malph or amumu is not fed. Overall, its just practice on who to ult. 9 times out of 10 its better to ult the enemy team and not your own.

Fat Bastard GOD1/17/2016, 7:29:02 PM2 votes

As Bard, you generally want to use your ultimate to set up ganks/fights or catching enemies out. Be aware that your ultimate can be sidestepped extremely easily, so don't feel discouraged if you miss. Bard's passive/Q provides lots of CC. Thanks to this, Bard is a pretty good skirmisher and teamfights because his AoE keeps and stuns can slow/lockdown enemies. Bard is far from easy to play too, so don't feel discouraged. With Frost Queens Claim and all these delicious Bard buffs, he is a force to be reckoned with.

Overall, you should try to harass enemies with auto attacks and Q. Use heals where your jungler can walk over them and get into the lane fast. Also drop heals behind you for an escape. If your ADC is doing well, you can counter jungle with your jungler and gank other lanes very well. With your portals and allies, try to zone your enemies into a zone where you can either ult or stun them to catch them. Bard (at least to me) in his ganking is about controlling the enemies movements where you can punish them.

VictoryDance961/17/2016, 12:34:14 AM1 votes

I would watch video to see how the stun is used. Oftentimes a good idea is to make the enemy ADC and Support think that you are roaming, then walk in from the side and have a clear shot for your stun. His heals are not fantastic, but they can definitely help early game if your ADC is just trying to survive a tower dive with the small health and movement speed boost. His roaming is considered so good because of his E, besides the fact that you have to roam to collect for your meeps.

Old Man Teeto1/17/2016, 2:33:15 AM1 votes

You are bronze I.

You build FQC on Shen.

You don't have sightstone or CS in your anivia games.

Don't play Bard, you can't handle him, this is my legitimate advice. Try Lulu, Sona, Morgana, you'll likely have more success.