Played a few games with him. For now, my short thoughts are:
What he needs:
What would be nice:
That is a short run of it. All I have time for. Can update later if people are interested.
Deep Terror Nami2 votesDon't roam just to pick up Chimes if you can't afford it. Other Supports roam to accomplish something, such as ganking mid, warding, or helping the jungler with an objective or counter-jungling; do the same with Bard, and pick up Chimes on the way. Also don't think you need to grab them as they spawn; letting more appear means you can keep the speed buff stacked and do it more efficiently.
About Q, I simply disagree. It seems to have a reasonable CD and range, and don't forget his Meeps are an offensive ability too!
Shahamut1 votesOn paper, the range and cooldown look ok. In play, the cooldown isn't bad, but I find myself constantly just out of range of the adc. Even though it says the range is longer, Im getting shot and barely missing the adc in the process. Maybe Im just not used to it yet, but the range seems to be shorter than it indicates on his stats page on the wiki.
As far as BARD being an effective Roamer (obviously, I know to do more than pick up chimes :P ) Being new to support and having to try and coordinate with other solo Q people, its difficult for me. I will need to play more games to really find his talent there.
I plan to work on him some more. I never see him played, and there has to be a reason.
Shroom Junkie1 votesAs far as BARD being an effective Roamer (obviously, I know to do more than pick up chimes :P ) Being new to support and having to try and coordinate with other solo Q people, its difficult for me.
As some advice, don't play solo queue Bard. Bard is a very teamwork-focused support, and needs tons of communication. Teamspeak, Skype, and the like.
Shahamut1 votesThat is certainly true, and I dont play him in ranked, but I cant always practice him with people I know and can chat with :P
kikiandcoco1 votesI believe bard already got buffed enough. Its like another adc on bot lane lel. He got recently buffed not long ago.
High51 votesBard isn't that bad if you play him aggressively and only roam for mana regen.
The early consensus was that he was a tanky sup and that's not the case. Buy thief and poke. Think Nami or Sona rather than Thresh.
Shahamut1 votesYeah, when I looked at his numbers and what not on the wiki, that was my conclusion as well.