bard song vs perform for dummies

disastro · Post by **disastro** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 3:14 pm

ok I'm rolling up a bard and I have some questions regarding the availability of +perform eq in the late game.

i need to hit about 52 perform, how common are good +perform items? do you end up giving up on better items to get a high +perform (thus necessitating switch/bardsong/switch before combat)? or is there a set of items that will get you about +12 perform (assuming 40 ranks invested in perform) without regrets?

basically i'm trying to figure out if i need to buy into epic skill focus perform (so i can bard song without having to switch into less desirable eq) OR buy lasting inspiration and do the switch thing, OR buy neither because there's enough +perform eq out there that I can just spam bard song as needed.

if you have any thoughts on the general utility of lasting inspiration I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts too.

Post by **TheBestDeception** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 3:39 pm

I think perform is available in gloves, helm (+8), and cloak (+7 or 8).

An epic bard without lasting inspiration is teh lol.

[EDIT] Meant to write that lasting inspiration is highly overrated. Casting bard / curse song repeatidly is a great way to entertain your enemies.

Mythri Wolfwood · Post by **Mythri Wolfwood** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 4:52 pm

If you're looking at 52 perform, 43 points plus your Charisma modifier should get you there. Assuming 16 CHA at character creation, there are +8 CHA cloaks, and there's Eagle's Splendor which gives you another +2 to +4 CHA, giving you 28 CHA (you can substitute a +7 cloak and cast the maximized version of Eagles as well). It comes out to 51-52 perform. This is without using any CHA books out there.

Lorkar1 · Post by **Lorkar1** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:32 pm

There are also +9 perform bracers.

Celorn · Post by **Celorn** » Sat Dec 16, 2006 4:31 pm

Lorkar1 wrote:There are also +9 perform bracers.

Yeah! I have one bard that has base 56 perform with a +8 cha cloak (Xag-Ya) i have those +9 bracers slotted for when I need to sing for a perfect 65 perform. --- That gave me room to put points into other skills, works out quite well (my bard builds always seem to be very tight for skills, since bards have so many possibilities).

If you're a DEX bard, there's a nice +5 ac robe with +8 perform, and if you're STR based, there's a light/med +5 armor with +10 (should work well for a bard/wm type build).