Final Fantasy Compendium

Bard

Appearances: FF3, FF4, FF5, FFX-2, FF11, FFT, FFTA2
Aliases: Songstress

The spooniest of all job classes. The bard's primary job is support through singing songs which affect either the party's or enemies' status through their equipped harps. Their other ability is hiding from battle, which essentially means reducing the party by one, then leaving that one weak member to fend for himself if everyone dies. They have poor strength and can't do much on their own. They are generally seen as one of the worst job classes, especially in the earlier games.

Similar Job Classes: Dancer

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FF3
NAME: Bard
OVERVIEW: Sing performs the same action as Fight, meaning it causes damage.
WEAPONS: Madora Harp, Loki Harp
ABILITIES/MAGIC:
  • Sing - Sing a song to weakly damage the enemy
  • Cheer - Increase party's attack power slightly
  • Scare - Cause the enemy to run from battle, high chance of failure
  • Item - Use an item from inventory
  • ATTRIBUTES: High agility, high HP, low strength

    FF4
    NAME: Edward Chris von Muir/Gilbert Chris von Muir
    OVERVIEW: Edward will automatically hide when his HP is critical. He only has two songs which cast Sleep of Confuse on one enemy. He stays in your party for a relatively brief time.
    WEAPONS: Uses harps best
    ABILITIES/MAGIC:
  • Sing - Sing a melody to the target, causing a random status ailment
  • Hide - Remove self from battlefield to avoid damage, but disable all actions, but "Show"
  • Show - Return to battlefield after activating "Hide"
  • Heal/Medicine - Split a potion from the inventory amongst the party
  • ATTRIBUTES: Average in all stats

    FF5

    NAME: Bard
    OVERVIEW: Bards sing a song at random which usually has an enhancing effect on the party.
    WEAPONS: Knives, Harps
    ABILTIES/MAGIC:
  • !Hide - Remove self from the battlefield to avoid damage, but disable all other actions but "Appear"
  • !Appear - Return to battlefield after activating "Hide"
  • !Sing - Sing a random melody that affects the status of allies or enemies
  • Equip Harps - Equip any harp despite job class
    Songs:
  • Sinewy Etude - Increases party strength
  • Swift Song - Increases party speed
  • Mana's Paean - Increases party magic
  • Hero's Rime - Increases party stats
  • Mighty March - Casts Regen on party
  • Romeo's Ballad - Casts Stop on enemy
  • Alluring Air - Casts Confuse on all enemies
  • Requiem - Casts damage on undead enemies
  • ATTRIBUTES: High magic, low strength

    FFX-2
    NAME: Songstress
    OVERVIEW: Songstress also includes traits of the Dancer. Songstresses cannot attack, unless they are afflicted with Berserk.
    WEAPONS: Microphone
    ABILITIES/MAGIC:
    Dance:
  • Darkness Dance - Cast Blind on enemy for length of dance
  • Samba of Silence - Cast Silence on enemy for length of dance
  • MP Mambo - MP cost for party is 0 for length of dance
  • Magical Masque - Party is invulnerable to magic attacks for length of dance
  • Sleepy Shuffle - Puts all enemies to sleep for length of dance
  • Carnival Cancan - Party's max HP is doubled for length of dance
  • Slow Dance - Cast Slow on all enemies for length of dance
  • Brakedance - Cast Stop on all enemies for length of dance
  • Jitterbug - Cast Haste on party for length of dance
  • Dirty Dancing - All allies' attacks are critical hits for length of dance
    Sing:
  • Battle Cry - Raise party's strength for length of song
  • Cantus Firmus - Raise party's defense for length of song
  • Esoteric Melody - Raise party's magic power for length of song
  • Disenchant - Raise party's magic defense for length of song
  • Perfect Pitch - Raise party's accuracy for length of song
  • Matador's Song - Raise party's evasion for length of song
  • SUPPORT ABILITIES: None
    ATTRIBUTES: Low HP, low strength, low physical defense, low accuracy, low luck

    FF11
    NAME: Bard
    OVERVIEW: Bard is one of the most effective support jobs, and is often sought after by party leaders. They have a wide variety of songs availble.
    WEAPONS: Uses String Instruments and Wind Instrments best
    ABILITIES/MAGIC:
  • Soul Voice - Double effectiveness of songs
  • Bard Song - Sing a song to enhance party attributes or debilitate enemies
  • SUPPORT ABILITIES: Resist Silence
    ATTRIBUTES: Low strength, low magic

    FF: Tactics
    NAME: Bard
    OVERVIEW: Only males can be bards. Females become Dancers, whose abilities only affect enemies. Bards sing until they are told to stop.
    WEAPONS: Harp
    ABILITIES/MAGIC:
    Bardsong/Sing (PSX):
  • Seraph/Angel Song (PSX) - Restore MP
  • Life's Anthem/Life Song (PSX) - Restore HP
  • Rousing Melody/Cheer Song (PSX) - Raise speed
  • Battle Chant/Battle Song (PSX)- Raise strength
  • Magickal Refrain/Magic Song (PSX) - Raise magic power
  • Nameless Song - Various divine protection
  • Finale/Last Song (PSX) - Raise ally's CT count to 100
    Reaction Abilities: Magick Boost/MA Save (PSX) - raise magic attack power; Faith Boost/Face Up (PSX) - raise Faith
    Support Abilities: None
    Move Abilities: Move +3, Fly (leap over enemies and obstacles)
  • ATTRIBUTES: Low evasion, low HP, low MP, low attack power

    FF: Tactics A2
    NAME: Bard
    OVERVIEW: Hurdy the Bard is a cross between the FF Tactics and FF4 versions; he generally supports nearby allies, but can also hide himself or harm undead enemies.
    WEAPONS: Instrument
    ABILITIES/MAGIC:
    Sing:
  • Requiem - Harm/destroy undead enemies.
  • Hide - Turn self invisible.
  • Battle Chant - Raise defense.
  • Magickal Refrain - Raise resistance.
  • Angelsong - Cause Regen status.
  • Soul Etude - Restore HP and remove debuffs.
  • Magick Ballad - Restores MP.
  • Nameless Song - Cause random buffs.
    Reaction Abilities: None
    Support Abilities: None
  • ATTRIBUTES:

    Traits of Bard in Other Games

    FF10: Tidus can Cheer like the FF3 Bard, which raises the party's strength.


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