Final Fantasy V Job Classes

Bard

Vital Statistics

"Musicians whose dulcet tones soothe savage beasts...or kill them."

Job Description

Those stats! So painful. The Bard must have the blues. It has the worst Magic Power of any Robe Job in the game. And the lowest Stamina of any Job. The Bard takes hits like a dusty old marshmallow and has horrible equipment options. Harps are all useless except for Apollo's Harp, and even then only against Dragons and the Undead. The Bard has got to be the worst Job in the game, the !Sing skillset not counted. Offensively completely inept and unsuited for traditional means of gaining offense (since no Rods and horrible survival rates in the Front Row), the Bard should only be used for learning !Sing in areas where Undead are plentiful (thus mastering the Job) and subsequently discarded.

Job Ability Summary

!Hide can be abused by having Zombie characters on the battlefield. !Hide your remaining character(s) and have your invincible Zombies clear the field. Since they'll only attack allies, you'll need Reflect Rings on them and weapons that randomly cast spells, such as the Blitz Whip or Death Sickle. The spells will be re-directed to the enemy, and you win! Beyond that, it's really just a gimmick command. I find Equip Harps is actually useful since the Apollo's Harp can deal peerless damage versus Undead and Dragon bosses, as well as those you target with a Dragon Kiss. Since the Apollo's Harp 'attack' is actually a spell, a Harp-wielding Summoner will be much more proficient with it than a Bard ever will. !Sing is just a great debuff command. I do not much care for the stat-increase Songs, but Requiem and the Stop/Confuse songs (Romeo's Ballad and Alluring Air) are very useful in large stretches of the game. !Sing is great on everything.

Transfer to Freelancer

No stats to speak of, no inherent abilities. Nada. In Final Fantasy Tactics, only men can be Bards, by the way. Female Bards are an abomination.