Bard

Bard is a class that appears exclusively in the Jugdral and Elibe series of Fire Emblem.

In the Jugdral games, Bards are a magical combat class that is noticeably speedier than Mages are. In Thracia 776, Bards are able to wield Light magic in addition to Anima magic. Unlike regular Mages, they promote into the Sage class.

In the Elibe games, the Bard is a support class that acts as the male version of the Dancer, in that they are non-combat units with the ability to refresh the turn of an ally who has already acted during the current Player Phase.

History in the Series

In its original inception in Genealogy of the Holy War and Thracia 776, the Bard class is an offensive magic-using class armed with both Anima magic and Light magic. It promotes into the Sage class.

Beginning from The Binding Blade, the Bard class is remade into a support class serving as the male-only equivalent to the female-only Dancer class. Through music performed with either the harp in The Binding Blade or the flute in The Blazing Blade, Bards are able to reinvigorate allies who have expended their turn and grant them an additional action.

In The Blazing Blade, the Bard, like the Dancer, is able to perform special ballads with the aid of rings in order to bless their allies with combat bonuses, which last for one turn. Four such rings exist in the game; Ninis' Grace increases Defense and Resistance, Filla's Might increases Attack by 10, Thor's Ire increases Critical hit chance by 10% and Set's Litany increases Avoid by 10.

Overview

Combat

In the Jugdral series, the two playable Bards, Lewyn and Homer, possess superior Speed to their Mage counterparts, allowing them to both perform double attacks and dodge hostile onslaughts with ease. In addition to this, they also have high HP, allowing them to sustain a greater number of hits. Like other Mages, however, Bards are still rather frail in the Defense department, and should be prevented from melee combat with physical units possessing high Strength.

In the Elibe series, Bards are the male equivalent of the Dancer class and as such, they have the ability to "reinvigorate" units who have already expended their turn on the current Player Phase. Although they cannot equip weapons of any sort, Bards can refresh the turn of an ally unit who has exhausted their turn using the "Play" command, allowing them to move and/or attack again in the same phase. In The Blazing Blade, Nils, like his sister Ninian, can also perform special songs using special rings like Set's Litany in order to boost his allies' combat effectiveness for one turn.

Care should be taken when using bards as they have very low Defense, which makes them vulnerable to the onslaughts of enemies. However, Bards do possess high Speed and Luck, allowing them to dodge most attacks that come their way. Generally, with proper positioning, Bards should be able to survive as long as the player does not subject them to situations where they are at risk of being slain.

In-Game

Base Stats

Maximum Stats

Growth Rates

Promotion

Notable Bards

Genealogy of the Holy War

• Lewyn - The prince of Silesse, who left Silesse after his father's death.

Thracia 776

• Homer - A traveling bard and womanizer.

The Binding Blade

• Elffin - The tactician of the Western Isle's rebellion, actually Prince Mildain of Etruria.

The Blazing Blade

• Nils - A juvenile bard who is forced, under difficult circumstances, to mature prematurely and is the younger brother of Ninian.

Gallery