Introduced in Build X.34 (May 2020), the Bard is the third bow class since the Huntress was introduced in Build 104 (September 2010). Unlike the more combatative Archer and Huntress, the Bard wears less durable Robes, befitting his role as a support class. He is unlocked by reaching level 20 on Huntress and Paladin. See his stat gains, caps and averages here.
The Bard’s maxes out at an exceptional 75 Wisdom and 385 MP, giving him easy access to his abilities. In addition, his speed cap of 55 means he can run a bit faster than other classes. While Lutes bolster it up a bit, Bards are as delicate as any robe class (670 HP, 25 DEF). Finally, Bards have a decent attack spread of 55 ATT / 70 DEX.
Unlike other robe classes, the Bard’s choice of weapon is the Bow. Bows are midrange weapons that often pierce and fire multiple shots; all tiered bows fit that description.
Tiered bows are great crowd clearing options, though they clash with the Bard’s 
Inspired buff.
The Bow of Covert Havens, Bow of Mystical Energy, and Bow of Deep Enchantment 
are the most powerful tiered bows. They fire 1 ‘main’ shot, and 2 weaker but armor-piercing shots on the side. However, their true range is not boosted by Inspired. With the much higher effective, post-Inspired range of most untiered bows, it’s recommended to keep another bow around. Deep Enchantment is a soulbound drop from Oryx 3, but the other two bows are tradable.
The Doom Bow (DBow) has a massive damage per shot, at 500-600, but shoots incredibly slowly; enemy DEF matters less, but every shot counts even more. The Bard’s higher DEX eases that pain a little. It is effective at getting soulbound damage on bosses. However, it often sports an inferior DPS when enemies have low DEF, or when other bows are safe to use. It can be found in the Undead Lair.
The Coral Bow (CBow) fires two shots with a better rate of fire and much tighter spread than tiered bows, sporting much higher true and effective ranges (6.35 and 7.77 tiles, respectively). It is often paired with the Doom Bow; this clears crowds, swapping when range or defense piercing is required. While outclassed by the T13 bow (even when only 2 of its shots hit), it is dropped in the Ocean Trench.
These bows fire fast, deal high damage, and have great effective range.
The Leaf Bow (LBow) sacrifices piercing for a significant gain in DPS; if piercing is not necessary (such as “clean” Tombs), the Leaf Bow is a very strong option, just below many endgame bows, found in the Woodland Labyrinth.
The Thousand Shot (TShot) has a even faster fire speed (200%!) and piercing. Despite its weaker damage, these features make it better for clearing hordes of minons. It drops in the Puppet Master’s Encore.
The Bergenia Bow mainly pierces armor, in exchange for not piercing enemies. It boasts surprisingly good DPS for an armor-piercing weapon (even against 0 DEF), completely outdamaging the Doom Bow at all defenses from a great 8-tile range. It is also found in Woodland Labyrinths.
The Bow of the Void (VBow) and the Deathless Crossbow are single-shooting, very rare bows that boast extraordinary DPS at dagger range (though boosted by Inspired). The Void Bow sports endgame damage from an endgame boss (the Void Entity) along with a 105% fire rate, though fires slightly wavy. Deathless deals ~10% less damage in all cases, but is from the much more attainable Cursed Library. Unlike other UT bows, these do not compromise much for their amazing damage.
The Predator Bow is an untiered, multidirectional firing and high DPS bow. It surpasses even that of the Bow of the Void until 57 DEF, assuming that 3 out of 5 shots hit its target. Hitting all 5 of the shots possesses one of the highest damage models in the game. However, hitting 3 shots has a range of about 2.8 tiles (less than swords), and hitting all 5 requires standing directly on top of the target, similar to the Staff of Extreme Prejudice.
The Warmonger sports very comparable damage to the Bow of the Void, but it fires 2 very tight, 8 tile range shots that pierce, making it much better for clearing minions. However, firing while in combat will provide a large DEX decrease. For easy content, or when you can just dodge, the Warmonger is a great competitor deserving of its position as a drop from The Shatters.
The Bard’s choice of ability is the Lute. Lutes provide a party buff known as “ Inspired,” which increases weapon attack range by 25%. For example, a tiered bow (7.04 tiles) would have its range increased to 8.8 tiles under this effect. Unfortunately, lutes do not alter the shot pattern of the weapon, so the true range is unchanged (tiered bows, most namely). Higher tiered lutes also provide the user with a defense boost. The defense boost of tiered lutes is always 2 seconds shorter than the Inspired duration.
The Skyward Lute and Nebular Lute are the best tiered lutes. They provide the longest, most mana-efficient inspired duration, and the highest DEF boosts for the group (+7 / +8). They also provide a passive +4 / +5 DEF on equip, as well as the standard HP & MP boost of all T6+ abilities; making the Bard bulkier than the average robe class.
The Snake Charmer Pungi is an untiered lute from the Snake Pit. It sacrifices the Inspired buff from tiered lutes in exchange for 
Speedy. Along with the +7 speed bonus, this lute is great for rushing, though always relegated as a swapout.
The Wavecrest Concertina is an offensive lute which throws a fighting parrot instead of boosting DEF. It provides a good +4 ATT and +4 DEX boost, and sometimes spawns parrots when firing, both of which greatly boost DPS. Using a TShot can also help boost the rate at which parrots are spawned due to the bow’s high fire rate. Because of its throwing mechanic and the parrots ignores enemy’s defence, it allows the Bard to play as a hybrid of support/offense (and as a pseudo-Assassin).
The Pharaoh’s Requiem is a defensive lute that helps out the group by Weakening enemies, reducing their damage by 10%. Upon taking 50 or more damage, you will then gain the Armoured buff for 3 seconds, with a large cooldown. This lute is best for survivability and can help groups tank a few more shots.
The Chief’s War Horn is a lute that supports the group by placing a banner that Inspires and grants 
Berserk to everybody near it. This is especially useful when there’s no Warriors nearby. As a bonus, it will also Slow enemies within 4 squares so you can keep some distance from them.
The Noble Mandolin from The Forgotten King is an endgame version of the Wavecrest Concertina. It grants both a large 
ATT boost (+10 ATT) to self and 
Damaging to group. But instead of Inspired increasing group shot speed, this lute decreases yours (though total range is maintained). In addition, it fires a circle of spinning shots which deal much more than the Wavecrest, assuming most shots hit.
Unlike other bow classes, the Bard wears robes. As a robe class, Bard benefits from a much larger mana capacity than other bow classes at the cost of less durability and health.
The Robe of the Grand Sorcerer, Robe of the Star Mother, and Robe of the Ancient Intellect are the strongest tiered robes. They provide ample Defense and greatly amplify the Bard’s damage output with increased MP, and boosted ATT. Their versatility cannot be ignored; one can never go wrong with these.
The Anointed Robe and Water Dragon Silk Robe provide good DPS boosts, comparable to the T15 robe. They both sacrifice Wis, but the Bard’s abilities aren’t boosted by it. The Water Dragon Silk can heal for +100 HP on proc, which improves bulk a little more. They are squarely mid-game robes, from Oryx’s Castle and Lair of Draconis, respectively.
The Soulless Robe and Shendyt of Geb are tradable ST robes that sacrifice offense for defense. They both don’t boost Atk, but Soulless gives a respectable +60 HP, and the Shendyt gives Vit, Wis, and a smaller (+25) HP/MP boost.
The Esben’s Shaman Attire is an untiered robe which sacrifices Def in exchange for some HP and a decent ATT boost. It also has a chance to Slow enemies upon taking damage. Only use this robe if you would like the Slow debuff, because it has mediocre stats otherwise.
The Diplomatic Robe and the Vesture of Duality sacrifice DEF, MP, and WIS for a massive DPS stat increase. Diplo creates a portal that deals single-target damage to enemies in its range. The portal’s cooldown and duration are both 4 seconds, though you have to take 50+ damage to activate it. The Vesture increases Attack to an insane +20 by using your ability - its defense penalty is negated by a tiered lute’s defense buff.
Bard players often choose to wear rings that either boost defensive capability, or focus on offense.
As for a tiered protective ring, HP is generally preferred over DEF. However, because of Bard’s low defense, it can be justified to use a Defense ring over HP in a few circumstances.
The top choice by many players, the Ring of Unbound Health (UBHP) is the best ring to use on any class if you want to maximize your survivability as a Bard. This ring will boost your HP by 180. If you happen to have a Ring of Decades or its reskin, the boost of +190 HP will let you fare a bit better. Regardless of reason, the majoriy of players swear by wearing an HP ring over a DEF ring.
An unconventional choice for many, the Ring of Unbound Defense (UBDef) can be seen as a reasonable choice for a Bard due to his low DEF stat. In addition, it pairs fairly well with tiered Lutes’ DEF boost effect as it allows him to have the same defense as a Warrior/Paladin.
The Ring of the Pyramid fits well on any class, and the Bard is no different. It provides a solid boost of +4 ATT in addition to a significant increase to surviability, both of which are equally important.
For a tiered offensive ring, the Ring of Unbound Attack is the optimal choice for a Bard, as he possesses high DEX but low ATT. Esben’s Wedding Ring grants the same ATT boost and also +60 HP and +60 MP but lowers your defense, howerver that shouldn’t be an issue with your increased range.
The Forgotten Crown and the Magical Lodestone are endgame rings that both provide +12 to offensive stats (+6 ATT and +6 DEX). Crown’s HP boost is generally preferred over the Lodestone’s Def and Speed, but both increase damage massively. The Chrysalis of Eternity has better ATT and DEX than both the Lodestone and Crown and has better overall stats than the Crown; however, Chrysalis only drops in the hard mode version of The Shatters.
The Divine Coronation (Coronation) and Exalted God’s Horn (Horn) are powerful alternatives, with Horn giving DPS only if you are above 90% HP, an easy threshold to maintain due to the Bard’s range. Both drop from Oryx’s Sanctuary.
The Bard is a versatile and balanced class. He can range from a ranged DPS centered character to a support character that buffs the group and debuffs enemies. The variety in untiered bows and lutes allow him many different playstyles.
Yet this eclectic variety in items requires actually getting items in the first place. Tiered bows, lutes, and robes do not mix well, and getting said UT items may be difficult for newer players. Bards also face a crisis of identity; they aren’t an especially damaging class, but their buffs also aren’t even that great (see below for more detail).
The Bard’s main role in a group is to provide consistent buffs, which will generally be Inspired and the DEF buff given by tiered lutes. For example, wand classes can hit Oryx The Mad God 2 during his dance phase with Inspired. Sword classes can also attack from a good distance, keeping them safer.
You should be as consistent as possible with your Inspired buffs; otherwise, players using weapons that have awkward shots (such as Sword of the Colossus) will have to constantly be repositioning themselves in order to guarantee that their shots land.
In terms of actual strength, the Bard’s buff is often quite a mixed bag. Other than the range increase, an oft-neglected feature is the accuracy gain from a faster projectile velocity. However, the vast majority of content is designed around the Bard’s non-existence… many players don’t need it, don’t expect it, and Bards can even mess up certain weapons. So while it can be helpful, bards are often unnecessary, unappreciated, or both.
Bards are helpful, but not strictly necessary against most bosses. Bards help in event bosses like the Skull Shrine, Cube God, or Avatar of the Forgotten King by letting squisher classes hit further away whilst boosting their DEF. The same could be said about Dungeon bosses; dangerous bosses like the aforementioned Oryx 2 or Oryx 3. Bards also benefit from their own buff, making it a group buffing class that doesn’t depend much on MP management while also giving a substantial survivability boost.
Overall, the Bard is an easy-to-use, team-oriented class that focuses on increasing range and survivability through the use of his ability. His bow allows him to engage from a somewhat safe distance, and his high MP and WIS caps allow him to consistently provide buffs to his team, allowing far-range classes to pick at enemies without much danger and short-range classes a fighting chance against enemies with powerful shotgun attacks.
