Bard DPS Rotation, Openers, and Abilities - Endwalker 6.55 (2024)

Last updated on Jan 30, 2024 at 12:00by Cetonis6 comments

On this page, you will learn how to optimise your opener and rotation inboth single-target and multi-target situations. We also cover the use ofyour cooldowns, to ensure you can achieve the best use of them every timeas a Bard DPS in Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker (Patch 6.55).

The opener is designed to align your buffs with the rest of the party whilemaximizing those buffs yourself. It sets up for clean two-minute burst sequenceslater on as well.

1. Grade 6 Tincture of Dexterity (fight-dependent) at 2s left oncountdown
2. Stormbite → The Wanderer's Minuet → Raging Strikes
3. Caustic Bite → Empyreal Arrow → Bloodletter
4. Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow → Radiant Finale → Battle Voice
5. Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow → Barrage and/or Sidewinder
6. Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow → Barrage or Sidewinder (if not used yet)
7. Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow
8. Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow
9. Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow → Empyreal Arrow
10. Iron Jaws → Pitch Perfect

Use Bloodletter and Pitch Perfect as ablethroughout. For Pitch Perfect, use it at three stacks, or at two stacksif Empyreal Arrow is coming soon.

" Barrage and/or Sidewinder" is there becauseyou might have a Straighter Shot proc already. If so, you do not want to useBarrage until after spending that proc on a Refulgent Arrow. Youcould also have a Pitch Perfect to use there too, so you may notbe able to use both Barrage and Sidewinder even if there is no proc. PrioritizeBarrage in that case.

Make sure to spend any Pitch Perfect stacks you have after the Iron Jaws. All the buffs that are about to run out there make itwell worth even a single stack usage.

Use Grade 6 Tincture of Dexterity before the opener in most cases. Infights where you can use them on bursts at 2:00 and 6:30 or 2:00 and 8:00,without losing a potential usage, do that instead.

Song ticks (proc chances) happen based on the song timer - at 42s, 39s, 36s,and so on. You can not get a proc in the last three seconds. You want touse your songs in this pattern:

1. The Wanderer's Minuet for 42s (leave at 3s or less on thetimer*)
2. Mage's Ballad for 33s (leave at 12s or less on the timer)
3. Army's Paeon for 42s (leave at 3s or less on the timer**)

*Use any remaining Pitch Perfect stacks before leaving.

**Use The Wanderer's Minuet as late in the oGCD window as youcan, so that Enhanced Army's Paeon covers five GCDs.

Although Mage's Ballad is a tiny bit weaker than a fullystacked Army's Paeon, it is better to use it as the middle songfor a host of reasons. These include the timing of Mage's slightly better partybuff, Army's warmup period, Enhanced Army's Paeon and other things.

Bard's rotation is very simple outside of the two-minute burst sequence andits setup. The general between-burst skill usage is covered here first.

Here is your general GCD priorities (in all songs):

1. Stormbite → Caustic Bite - if DoTs are notapplied
2. Iron Jaws - if DoTs are about to run out
3. Apex Arrow → Blast Arrow - at specific times*
4. Refulgent Arrow - if available
5. Burst Shot

*For Apex and Blast Arrow, you want to use them during your burst window. Toensure that you have enough gauge to do this, only use them once between bursts.Use them either when your gauge fills during Mage's Ballad or before thetimer on that song hits 18 (so long as the gauge is at least 80). You willsometimes fill the gauge during Army's Paeon - do not use it. Waitfor your burst.

Your handling of oGCDs will vary based on which song you are in.

Outside of the burst sequence:

1. Pitch Perfect - at three stacks
2. Pitch Perfect - at two stacks, if you are about to Empyreal Arrow at the same time as a song tick
3. Empyreal Arrow
4. Bloodletter

1. Bloodletter - if at three charges (try to avoid this)
2. Empyreal Arrow
3. Sidewinder
4. Bloodletter

1. Empyreal Arrow
2. Bloodletter - do not use if the song timer is 30 or less

Every two minutes, you will be able to stack Raging Strikes, Radiant Finale, and Battle Voice, alongside otherbuffs from your party. You want to land as much damage as you can while youhave this large total damage increase.

To start, you ideally want to lead in with this sequence as you get to theend of Army's Paeon:

1. Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow → Grade 6 Tincture of Dexterity (if available)
2. Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow →wait → The Wanderer's Minuet (as late as you can)
3. Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow → Raging Strikes → Empyreal Arrow
4. Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow →use Bloodletter if at three charges
5. Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow → Radiant Finale → Battle Voice

After that, there is no set order - that will depend on your Soul Gauge andyour procs. But the six GCDs you use under the 15 seconds of buffs should be:>

• Apex Arrow
• Blast Arrow
• A Barrage'd Refulgent Arrow
• Iron Jaws
• 2x Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow

Then for your oGCDs, you should have:

• Sidewinder
• Barrage
• Empyreal Arrow
• 3x Bloodletter
• Any three-stack Pitch Perfects you get
• A two-stack Pitch Perfect (if needed to protect the Empyreal Arrow proc)
• Use any Pitch Perfect stacks you have after the sixth GCD

If you keep Empyreal Arrow on cooldown, save up Bloodletters during Army's Paeon, and use Apex Arrow as described earlier, this should all come togethernicely every two minutes.

In dungeons, it is fine to use your songs in the same order. Use buffs on The Wanderer's Minuet to have strong output in two songs for trashpacks (not just Mage's Ballad). You can use your usual rotation onbosses this way too, though you will need to start in whatever song you happento be in.

Against two or more enemies, instead of Burst Shot and Refulgent Arrow, you want to use Ladonsbite and Shadowbite. Also, use Rain of Death instead of Bloodletter.

You can use Apex Arrow and Blast Arrow on mobpacks at any gauge from 80 to 100. There is not a large gap in efficiency. Thismay put them at odd times on bosses, but hitting multiple targets is wellworth it. This is true for raid bosses, too - working your Apex usage aroundchances to hit two or more targets is usually a gain.

Make sure you still use your single-target oGCDs in AoE, since they are freevalue. Sidewinder, Empyreal Arrow, and Pitch Perfect should all be used.

Ideally, use these on the enemy with the most HP. If you put that damage onenemies that are already going to die first, the damage is effectively wasted. Blast Arrow puts its 600-potency hit on the targeted mob, too.Make it a goal to get the whole pack to die around the same time.

However, you need to be careful about Shadowbite, since ithas a smaller five-yalm radius around the targeted enemy. When that procs, youmay need to swap to a target near the middle of the pack to hit everything withit. Then, get back to your priority target(s) afterwards.