Which has priority?

• spirit2roam wrote on 2015-02-07 16:35
  I've been kinda bored just running around with a Lance and Bow, and I've been thinking about trying out puppetry and mastering bard to be a more versatile player and get stronger.
  
  However, I haven't optimized my Dex yet (only 348 base, 452 atm with levels and talent buffs) and I don't know if my Str is all that great for puppetry either (513 base, 723 with same stuff above).
  
  So, the main question is: What should I set as priority first?
  
  I was slightly thinking I should master bard (or at least Battlefield Overture, it's at a pitiful rank C), get 400 - 500 base dex, and then pursue puppetry, but I kind of want to start puppetry soon so I don't know.
  
  Thanks in advance for advice.
• truefire wrote on 2015-02-07 16:59
  Bard first. Battlefield will help you in whatever path you pursue (including the paths you're bored of), Harvest Song will help with the life skills you'd be ranking for more DEX, r5+ Singing will allow you to cast these buffs with no instrument, and higher bard talent levels will drastically improve the time the buffs stay up, meaning you won't have to cast them as much.
  
  That said, Puppetry doesn't really require you to hold out for more stats. The raw stats of your Colossus and Pierrot will tide you over for a long time, and then the stats you get (Ninja would be a good place for STR) will only make you that much stronger.
• spirit2roam wrote on 2015-02-07 17:38

  Quote from truefire;1264348:

  Bard first. Battlefield will help you in whatever path you pursue (including the paths you're bored of), Harvest Song will help with the life skills you'd be ranking for more DEX, r5+ Singing will allow you to cast these buffs with no instrument, and higher bard talent levels will drastically improve the time the buffs stay up, meaning you won't have to cast them as much.
  
  That said, Puppetry doesn't really require you to hold out for more stats. The raw stats of your Colossus and Pierrot will tide you over for a long time, and then the stats you get (Ninja would be a good place for STR) will only make you that much stronger.

  
  
  WHAT?! SONG FROM BARD ALLOWS YOU TO USE BUFFS WITHOUT AN INSTRUMENT?! OMG!!!!!
  
  -Coughs- but wow that would be helpful.
  
  Does that mean people still use instruments only because it can increase the buff effects? Either way, it sounds ideal since I've been looking for ways to increase dmg that didn't require reforging so I might just do that.
  
  I thought puppetry is ideal to start after a certain stat amount though?
• Rydian wrote on 2015-02-07 18:36
  Well, you can't use Fantastic Chorus without an instrument, but other than that if you go into party groups there's almost always at least one person singing for a few seconds to apply buffs every so often. I've found Fantastic Chorus along with Enduring Melody can make some awesome MP and stamina regen too if that helps.
  
  And yeah, your current starts are more than good enough to start ranking Puppetry.
• ReFuSeR wrote on 2015-02-07 19:00
  If you are desperately in need of a different talent then start puppetry. Otherwise I'd say work on collecting more str+dex before you start puppetry. However, you could always backtrack and collect those stats later after starting puppetry. If you wanna do bard I suggest you collect dex+str while working on bard since bard isn't very AP hungry.
• spirit2roam wrote on 2015-02-07 19:16

  Quote from Rydian;1264364:

  Well, you can't use Fantastic Chorus without an instrument, but other than that if you go into party groups there's almost always at least one person singing for a few seconds to apply buffs every so often. I've found Fantastic Chorus along with Enduring Melody can make some awesome MP and stamina regen too if that helps.
  
  And yeah, your current starts are more than good enough to start ranking Puppetry.

  
  
  Oh, that explains a lot. While the Fantastic Chorus buff sounds nice, most likely I'll be carrying around my weapons more so an instrument is probably not needed as much for me...I think.
  
  

  Quote from ReFuSeR;1264369:

  If you are desperately in need of a different talent then start puppetry. Otherwise I'd say work on collecting more str+dex before you start puppetry. However, you could always backtrack and collect those stats later after starting puppetry. If you wanna do bard I suggest you collect dex+str while working on bard since bard isn't very AP hungry.

  
  
  Probably going to do bard first at least so I can get a battlefield overture buff now that I found out you can use it without an instrument haha. However, in a scenario I master bard, is there a certain rank that the puppeteering skills should be before they are effective? Or is Rank F survivable? If Rank F is ok, I might stack more str and dex.
• ReFuSeR wrote on 2015-02-07 19:45

  Quote from spirit2roam;1264371:

  Oh, that explains a lot. While the Fantastic Chorus buff sounds nice, most likely I'll be carrying around my weapons more so an instrument is probably not needed as much for me...I think.
  
  
  
  Probably going to do bard first at least so I can get a battlefield overture buff now that I found out you can use it without an instrument haha. However, in a scenario I master bard, is there a certain rank that the puppeteering skills should be before they are effective? Or is Rank F survivable? If Rank F is ok, I might stack more str and dex.

  
  
  The only puppetry skill that does any serious damage is climatic crash. Which I would say becomes quite viable around r5. I personally wouldn't even entertain using it unless it's r1 though. I also suggest working on at least two demonic bars now because they will be quite useful in the future. Try to get a r6 demonic. As far as proffing them goes, use the proff tools or have a master puppet friend go into s1e3 and proff them on white dragon for you. If you have the money just buy a finished one with enchants, climatic crash reforge and r6 of course.
• spirit2roam wrote on 2015-02-07 20:05

  Quote from ReFuSeR;1264372:

  The only puppetry skill that does any serious damage is climatic crash. Which I would say becomes quite viable around r5. I personally wouldn't even entertain using it unless it's r1 though. I also suggest working on at least two demonic bars now because they will be quite useful in the future. Try to get a r6 demonic. As far as proffing them goes, use the proff tools or have a master puppet friend go into s1e3 and proff them on white dragon for you. If you have the money just buy a finished one with enchants, climatic crash reforge and r6 of course.

  
  
  Ah ok, then I guess I might start puppetry after I become master bard. I also did buy some R6 demonic carved colossus bars since I predict eventually I would hybrid puppeteering with either my lance or bow in the future. Hopefully, I will eventually be able to use them haha.
  
  Thank you and everyone for the advice