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Holy crap do people hate playing with Bard

MrSc0tty·3/26/2015, 10:05:05 PM·45 votes·9,925 views

I'm pretty much ready to just walk away from this champ and never play him again, I have never seen people so freaking toxic about a teammate's champ pick and I play Galio, Yorick and Karma all the time.

Every single skill besides Q is like an invitation for people to whine at you.

Pepper the lane with shrines, ADC guaranteed will not use them in any way "GG this lane is over we don't have any sustain bard so trash"

Give someone a portal to get away and turn around ready to double-stun the chasing enemy as they come through it, they'll flash over the wall instead and when the enemy uses the shrine "GG report bard for assisting enemy team"

Ult someone to save them and watch them dash out of it and die "LOL garbage champ thanx for losing game for us asshole"

And then, despite how many assists you get, despite how many people you help out in a teamfight, the second your team loses any kind of engagement: "Just surrender this troll picked a useless champ who doesn't do anything"

Here lies Bard, the champ who can never ever be used outside of LCS. Relied on teammates not being retarded 3 year olds, pepperoni and chease.

88 Comments

MarshallBananna3/27/2015, 12:49:05 PM19 votes

that's because in his current state, bard is hilariously bad.

just for starters:

  • His Q is slow AF and the stun is hard to land. If trying to stun a champ through a minion wave, it is very likely you'll bind 2 minions which are side by side instead of having the Q continue and grab the champion

  • Meeps are ridiculously UP. They are slow to spawn, do crap damage, you waste them when you AA minions, meaning you can't even AA to aid your ADC in pushing lanes.

  • chimes don't affect any of your spells, meaning the only reason to collect them is either mana sustain (which is nice) or buffing your crap meeps (see above)

  • His W is absurdly overcosted, specially when cast directly over an ally, when it's less than half as effective

  • Ult is.... idk. It's very.... impactful. I think it's a bit slow to land tho.

Also, yes, he can roam, but he can't do much with it. His stun is too conditional to be an effective gank tool, his hp shrines are too expensive to spam them at every lane you go, and leaving lane makes you lose gold, which chimes should totally give, but don't.

Xonra3/27/2015, 8:47:24 AM11 votes

If riot said "oops" and deleted him, I'd be fine, and I've never thought that of any champion ever.

His laning phase is borderline terrible, his ult is really not great, and I see it accidentally help the enemy team more than help anyone, and really...he is an example of why new champs should be auto banned from ranked for at least 2 weeks after release, because no one can play him and everyone just instalocks him, not even playing him in normals yet.

It is bad enough when people don't know how to play him, on top of his terrible laning phase since his kit is set up to roam and not to actually help outside of a bad healing mechanic.

Cool idea, terrible actual execution. Even Pro players in every region have already given up trying to learn him because he is just not worth it (so I've seen quite a few saying, including Koreans who would play support Darius and make it work).

ForPortal3/27/2015, 10:17:15 AM5 votes

It's not them, it's Bard.

Bard is bad for two reasons:

  1. Other champions can contribute if your teammates don't play around you.
  2. Other champions don't punish your teammates for not playing around you.

Compare Bard to Thresh. Thresh has a "You should play around me" skill in his Dark Passage. People who play Thresh already know that that doesn't work very well, because you can't rely on somebody else choosing to abandon their plan in favour of clicking on your lantern. But when somebody doesn't click on your lantern, what happens? You still contribute. You've still got your Death Sentence, you've still got Flay, you've still got The Box, and you've still got an on hit passive that does damage even if you don't wait 8-12 second for it to recharge. Oh, and you've got a passive that rewards staying in lane to contribute, while Bard's rewards abandoning it.

And even if somebody doesn't click on your lantern, the enemy can't. Your ally might have missed out on some shielding and didn't get a free dash to your location, but their situation wasn't actively made worse by your attempt to help.

LoRdJeSuS69694203/27/2015, 5:29:36 AM4 votes

upvoted cause funny

real talk though bard is pretty trash

NoMonku3/27/2015, 8:45:01 AM4 votes

Bard is very different from current champions. He has the ability to roam a LOT easier then other champions and is rewarded for doing so. Also all his skills (besides health shrine I guess) require timing and positioning to pull off effectively. If you miss that timing, you obviously don't do what you wanted by stunning with your Q or saving your teammate with your ultimate. I feel he can make plays no other support can and can be game breaking, but it will take awhile for people to catch on. Also I feel his real strengths involve coordination and teamwork, something that is lacking a lot in solo q, so don't worry about their complaints. Also, if they don't use the tools you offer them, they are the garbage players for not realizing you were helping them lol.

Mimy3/26/2015, 10:10:11 PM4 votes

I never got supported by a bard... :(

I guess i really wanna see what it's like because I'm probably the only ADC main who hasn't had one..

im not picky with my supports, I take worse... Even if we do bad in lane its a learning experience to get better.

Bresn3/27/2015, 9:53:51 PM4 votes

Riot tries so hard to make teamwork-oriented champion.

Keeps current ranked system and encourages solo carry.

Apollocliptic3/26/2015, 11:08:40 PM4 votes

I know how you feel, I've actually realised something after my last game, the game before i won lane with adc (i was bard support) but top, mid and jungle all fed so bad (3:15 amongst them) and we lost game.

This game however, mid was still feeding but our adc played horrible, then started b**ching"useless bard, why supp, etc" but I realised, adc's have been doing that for every support no matter how good or meta. You will always get these douches, just play your game, and if you're like me and your adc is out of control, support another lane, preferably mid, if they are fed they can destroy enemy adc while ur adc feeds

kcStranger3/27/2015, 5:07:51 AM3 votes

Well, statistically he is rather underpowered. Winrate is sub-40% at all levels in solo, and 42% at best in 5v5's. So a lot of people are probably b----ing because they're coming in with a preconceived notion that Bard sucks. Personally, I would stay away from him in ranked at least until he gets some buffs.

Besides that, some LoL players are just jerks (not most, honestly...but even if it's say 8% you'll still have one in every three games). You just have to have a thick skin about it. Nothing more you can do.

SolusInCadere3/27/2015, 5:14:43 PM3 votes

It's bard, not the other players, for one single reason:

He does not help the team by roaming.

Alistar, when he was a roaming support, could come mid and instantly secure a kill. His heal helped his ADC push. His ult is godlike and teamfights, just like Bard's, but is a lot easier to use.

When Bard roams into another lane, there is literally nothing he can do. His CC is too inconsistent to pick up a kill, and his shrines are too expensive to drop into another lane. The only player who benifets from Bard roaming out of lane is Bard.

And a self serving support is not what LoL needs

GundayMonday3/27/2015, 5:27:06 PM2 votes

I've had the opposite experience. He has SO MANY playmaking tools. Here's some highlights from my second game against real players (not bots). Haven't had anyone complain yet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm0JSPS7USY

There are also a ton of weird uses for his ult. Here we stop a Khazix from taking a dragon off of us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymEGX5M9mOo

I feel like this champion will be a lot like Yasuo and seeing nerfs in 2-3 months after people figure out how to play him.

Kitten of Evil3/27/2015, 2:59:02 AM2 votes

I upvoted because you're probably the one other Karma main in NA... and I'm sure you know she gets some of the same flaming. I was in a game recently when I was told repeatedly "OMG I wish we had a Sona rather than a Karma, such a bad champion"

But I've actually had great Bards on my team. Never fear! If you support often, I'm sure you know as well as I do the pure joy that occurs when you randomly find a great ADC and you both completely stomp your lane. Those games make it all worth it! (At least, that's what I keep telling myself)

Salt Miner 49 Er3/28/2015, 2:01:16 AM2 votes

I've actually made it a point to dodge every Bard I see in Team Builder, not because I don't want to play, but because I don't want to spend the next 20+ minutes listening to myself or teammates get angry at a support who is virtually a waste of a slot.

KatCraft3/28/2015, 3:08:54 AM2 votes

Bard is one of the worst designed solo Q champions in the game, you can either be able to solo carry like Annie or Thresh, or be team oriented and intuitive /consistent like Janna or braum. Bard is neither.

Leti the Yeti3/28/2015, 11:49:44 AM2 votes

yeeep, personally i hate seeing bard on my team too ;l

reaaaally... I could go tele ghost rammus feed fest and i still couldnt fail faster than the typical silver bard

Hugh Drectum3/28/2015, 5:17:15 PM2 votes

I have had him support 1 time. He KSed and offered no peel the entire game.

The champion is shet...and people whom have ZERO respect for another human play this champion. No one wants the BASTARD child riot fked up in game. Riot however is constant in one thing...... Having to fix almost everything they released in the patch b4. Congrats you finally found a champ you needed to BUFF...BUFFF after you released him as a "BALANCED" champion.

goldensilver093/29/2015, 4:22:51 PM2 votes

... And there is me who like's Bard. I just pick Tristana and the job is done.

Plus, all bards players are now main bard, so they know what they doing.

Desiderium5/7/2015, 5:39:14 PM1 votes

Is he even used in LCS???

Extricate4/9/2016, 4:36:43 PM1 votes

These are the problems I see almost every game playing Bard in Solo Q.

NO ONE knows how to play WITH him.

  1. I drop a heal shrine and my ADC INSTANTLY jumps on it (Waste of mana and almost no heal), they NEVER let it bloom to it's max power... STUPID ADC.

  2. I use Bards Portal to catch a champ limping away about to die... My team mates decide to take the long way around instead and the enemy either gets away or gets a kill on me because NO ONE knows to take the portal with Bard.... Again, shitty ADC's don't know how to play WITH Bard.

  3. I Ult on 2 champs, then move to setup my DOUBLE STUN (Pretty much better than any other champ in the game), but my team turns and runs away, setting me up to be ganked and MISSING the chance for an EASY DOUBLE KILL. Again, Shitty Players don't know how to play WITH Bard.

  4. Bard ROAMS and 90% of players think this is "abandoning" them and start calling the support "shitty".... Bard HAS TO ROAM to be effective... His Chimes gain Mana so Bard doesn't need to recall, Saving TIME and he is able to gank lanes easily or WARD for your team in their jungle and make an easy escape (Warding is what supports are good at doing... This sets up easy ganks for the jungler (which bard can jump in on when he roams for chimes).

The problem with Bard is that he is a high level Champ, and 90% of the players are Bronze level and have no idea how to play WITH HIM.

If you do not have a team that knows how to play WITH Bard, he will be useless and you will be flamed due to your own teams stupidity....

I only play Bard when I am in a live group chat like Skype or Curse... OR with other GOOD players that know how to exploit Bard.

Bard is one of the most OP Champs in the game when played on a GOOD TEAM.

Deathmoretis7/7/2016, 6:39:53 PM1 votes

You know, as a champion mastery 7 Bard main, this happens to me almost every time I pick Bard.