A Guide to Bard Enhancements

By Ralsu

Each player gains Enhancements as he increases in ranks; however, he can only have a maximum of 4 active Enhancements at any point. The choices for the 4 Enhancements slots are drawn from a list of both class and racial Enhancements that increase as the character increases in ranks. This guide will focus purely on the Enhancements available to the bard class.

I will focus on the last  iteration of an Enhancement line, whether it comes in the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th level versions of the Enhancements. Each Enhancement is given a usefulness rating of 1-5 (with 5 being the most useful). The notes will state why this rating is given as such.

Author's note: I've tried to test each Enhancement listed below thoroughly enough to offer advice back by experience. Please note that I cannot change Enhancements once I have reached the experience cap. Thus, fully testing all of the Level 12 Enhancements is difficult without playing more than one bard to Level 12. For that reason, my comments on some Level 12 Enhancements are based on the predecessors in that line.

Devotion Text (Greater Devotion IV): "Grants a 40% increase to the effectiveness of your 4th level and lower healing spells." Comments: This is a nice boost for the healing bard. Aside from the obvious benefit of making healing spells more powerful, it allows you to manage spell points better by using a lower level Cure spell. Rating: 4

Energy of Music Text (Energy of Music XII): "Grants a 85 point increase to spell points." Comments: Most bards make a living with their magic. This is an easy selection. Rating: 5

Extra Song Text (Extra Song VI): "You gain the ability to perform ten additional bard songs before resting." Comments: Bard songs can buff the melee warriors in the party or charm enemies. This Enhancement allows the bard to keep buffs up constantly and charm many more monsters. It is very useful. Rating: 4

Inspired Bravery Text (Inspired Bravery IV): "The use of your inspire courage ability grants an additional +5 bonus to fear saves." Comments: With Remove Fear being so cheap to use (15 spell points) and lasting longer than Bardic Music with the Extend Spell Metamagic Feat, I find this Enhancement line to be underpowered. Rating: 1

Skill Interaction Text (Skill Interaction VI): "Grants a +8 bonus to Diplomacy and Bluff skills." Comments: Bluff is only valuable if your bard is multi-classed with a rogue so that you can use Sneak Attack. Diplomacy works too slowly to be very effective, and bards don't generate a ton of aggro anyway. This Enhancement should be skipped. Rating: 1

Skill Magic Text (Skill Magic VI): "Grants a +8 bonus to Concentration and Perform skills." Comments: Perform checks only matter on Fascinate and Suggestion Bardic Music. If your bard only uses her songs to buff combat abilities, the Perform score is not a big deal. Concentration is more important because it affords your bard a better chance to complete a spell casting even while being damaged. This Enhancement is in the middle of the pack and its usefulness depends on your build. Rating: 2

Bard's Charisma Text (Bard's Charisma IV): "Grants a +4 increase to Charisma score." Comments: Since the bread and butter of most bards are crowd control spells whose DC is based on the bard's Charisma modifier, this Enhancement is an absolute winner. Rating: 5

Inspired Damage Text (Inspired Damage IV): "The use of your inspire courage ability grants an additional +4 damage bonus." Comments: This Enhancement is "iffy" in my book. Plus 4 damage can add up to a lot of damage in a long fight, but this really only benefits melee characters in the party. Rating: 2

Lyric of Healing Text (Lyric of Incredible Healing III): "When your healing spells generate a critical result, they heal for 3 times the normal amount." Comments: This Enhancement vastly improves the Level 10 version which offers a 15% chance at 150% healing. Still, it's a gamble with odds stacked against you (you'll fail 85% of the time). If I were picking one healing-based Enhancement, I'd go with the Devotion line. The payoff is smaller in a burst but greater over the hundreds of Cure spells your bard will cast on the way to the level cap. Rating: 2

Lyric of Sound Text (Lyric of Deadly Sound III): "When your sonic spells generate a critical hit, they do 3 times normal damage." Comments: This Enhancement slightly improves the Level 10 version which offers a 15% chance at 150% damage to sound spells. The truth is that you don't use sound spells for their damage; you use them to interrupt casters and give your bard some breathing room when surrounded. Sounds spells have very limited usefulness, meaning an Enhancement to improve sound spells is also limited in its utility. Rating: 1

Inspired Attack Text (Inspired Attack III): "The use of your inspire courage ability grants an additional +3 attack bonus." Comments: +3 can mean the difference between a hit and a miss, which can be a lot of damage coming from the right melee build. Still, this does nothing to help casters, so it has situational use. Rating: 3

Music of Makers Text (Music of Makers): "You can use this ability to fascinate constructs." Comments: I don't think DDO has enough constructs to warrant using 1 of 4 very valuable Enhancement slots to be able to charm them. If constructs are giving you problems, consider taking Inspired Attack instead so that your party can kill them faster (by hitting more often) and your Enhancement slot will be used in more situations. Rating: 1

Music of the Dead Text (Music of the Dead): "You can use this ability to fascinate undead." Comments: DDO features a ton of undead foes, so this might be useful. Still, it won't make you or your party any better at dispatching vermin, oozes, elementals, or constructs. You can find more useful Enhancements on this list. Rating: 2

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