The Good, The Bard & The Ugly

So I've been trying out Bard on PBE and I firstly want to say that I love how weird and unique he is. Rabid Llama has really shaken it up and no matter how one looks at it, his first champ has made a big impression. I want to start with a bunch of Pros and Cons that I am presenting as basic observations. Meaning to say that they should not be read into my personal desires for any nerfs and buffs. They are observations only.

Pros -Unique gameplay -E tunnel and Chimes stacking provide insane ground coverage whilst roaming -Great harass with Q and Passive combo -Meeps bonus damage and CC scale deadly into the late game -Amazing utility -Peaceful and ethereal feel thanks to FX and Sounds -Ult can change a teamfight completely in your favor

Cons -Long Cooldowns -Q skillshot -E useless in lane -Ult can change a teamfight completely in the enemy's favour -Random spawning chimes -Chimes spawning in awkward places -Chimes promote roaming which can leave you vulnerable as well as your ADC -E can be hard to aim through long pieces of terrain

I'd like to put out some concerns and ideas now. Once again, I'm not demanding anything. I'm just making observations and wondering about the state of the champion, good or bad.

His ult. The one that can troll. I really like his ult. It is so unique and like so many of the walls and pillar abilities in the game can be used to devastating effect. When I first read about his ult it seemed insanely powerful "an AOE zhonyas!? wtf rito!" I thought. But after trying it out it became clear that just like Zhonya's it requires great judgement and timing to be effective. Some amazing uses I have found are: -Ulting escaping enemies to gap close -Ulting teammates to protect them whilst their abilities come off cooldown -Ulting teammates before a basic attack or point and click kills them as they escape to safety -Isolating tanks and bruisers and ulting to exclude them from teamfights or meatshielding -Straight up TROLOLOLOLOLing So far I can't think of anything that should be changed here without taking away some uniqueness and fun. Pretty happy here.

The passive. I've read some gripes that seemed a bit odd like it being long and complex or just plain stupid. I think, once again, it's unique and fun. The scaling into the late game is impressive as his meeps turn into AOE damage and slows. They are surprising to say the least, Bard becomes sticky and damaging like a good Skarner. The chimes stack as he collects, giving him sustained speed as he roams, invaluable utility there. But now comes one of my concerns. The roaming. Bard is clearly titled "the Wandering Caretaker" denoting his nature as a roaming support. In the current meta, I see this as a blessing and a curse. Collecting his Chimes can bless him with more power but curse him to abandon his fellow laner (ADC). I know that their spawning is not entirely random, but considering that his Meeps do little much without collecting chimes. It seems a very hard choice to stay and support whilst worrying that you might be more useful collecting your chimes and bringing more power to your laning. That being said, I can imagine that perhaps Bard can harass well enough to get kills or knock his opponents out of lane, giving him time to roam and buff himself. Although that also has issues as you need time to return to base an buy items. I think to myself as I type right now, that Bard requires some SERIOUS time management. It's too early to be sure but I wander if perhaps allowing his chimes to appear closer to the bot lane in the early game at a slightly higher frequency for a short time. I imagine it'd be a very slight tweak, so as to not make it easier to collect them but to lessen the distance, not necessarily the time, you are away from your allied laner. I worry that the balance between Bard choosing to gain power or help his allies is slightly too fine that it might demand a level of skill that is too high for most to keep consistent. Especially when his Q is a skillshot and his only major skill in laning pre-level 6. Technically speaking, Bard could use his Q/AA harass combo, only to be useless for the next 12 seconds (Q cooldown and meeps) whilst his enemy decide "that wasn't so bad, lets go all in". He can only hope that his shrines provide enough sustain and or escape/kiting ability for his ADC that the situation does not turn ugly; assuming they are present and available in lane. Again, it seems a very fine line but it is hard for me to say with any certainty. It is for now something that I myself am concerned about and wish to explore further.

I hope that I don't spark any anger and that this was enjoyable to read. I only wished to provide food for thought and to spark further discussion as well as see if my opinions have any positive use or validity. Thank you for your time fellow Summoners and thank you Riot for letting me on the PBE.