Bard DPS Gear and Best in Slot — Dawntrail 7.55
On this page, you will find the best gear and best-in-slot items for your Bard DPS in Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Patch 7.55).
Bard Gearsets (BiS)
This section covers best-in-slot sets for common needs. If you are working on gearing up at level 100, use the highest item level pieces you can get. If you have two pieces with the same item level, use the one with better substats. Visit our Bard melding guide for more details.
Best in Slot by Encounter
Item level 790 Best-in-Slot With Relic Bow
If you would like to play at 2.50, swap the Skill Speed materia for Direct Hit. For 2.48, you can assign 108 Skill Speed to the bow instead.
Item level 790 Best-in-Slot With DMU Bow
If you would like to play at a 2.48 or 2.50, swap a Direct Hit materia for Skill Speed ones or vice versa.
Item level 790 Best-in-Slot
If you would like to play at a 2.48 or 2.50, swap a Direct Hit materia for Skill Speed ones or vice versa.
Futures Rewritten Best-in-Slot
Portions of this gear set can only be acquired by completing the Arcadion Light-Heavyweight raid tier. A guide for the content can be found links below.
The Omega Protocol Best-in-Slot
It is not recommended to pursue specific gear for old ultimates. That time is better spent studying the fight mechanics, as there are no notable DPS checks.
However, if you have the gear sitting around, or want to min-max for the sake of it, aim for the below. Note that the synced-down pieces can be interchangeable with other level 100 gear. The picks made here are in hope of being easier to obtain.
Dragonsong's Reprise Best-in-Slot
It is not recommended to pursue specific gear for old ultimates. That time is better spent studying the fight mechanics, as there are no notable DPS checks.
However, if you have the gear sitting around, or want to min-max for the sake of it, aim for the below. Note that the synced-down pieces can be interchangeable with other level 100 gear. The picks made here are in hope of being easier to obtain.
The Epic of Alexander (TEA) Best in Slot
It is not recommended to pursue specific gear for old ultimates. That time is better spent studying the fight mechanics, as there are no notable DPS checks.
However, if you have the gear sitting around, or want to min-max for the sake of it, aim for the below. Note that the synced-down pieces can be interchangeable with other high-level gear. The picks made here are in hope of being easier to obtain.
If you have the Shadowbringers relic weapon, 
Blade's Muse, you can very slightly
improve over the Endwalker relic using this set:
The Weapon's Refrain (UWU) Best in Slot
It is not recommended to pursue specific gear for old ultimates. That time is better spent studying the fight mechanics, as there are no notable DPS checks.
However, if you have the gear sitting around, or want to min-max for the sake of it, aim for the below. Note that the synced-down pieces can be interchangeable with other high-level gear. The picks made here are in hope of being easier to obtain.
If you have the Shadowbringers relic weapon, Blade's Muse, you can very slightly
improve over the Endwalker relic using this set:
The Unending Coil of Bahamut (UCoB) Best in Slot
It is not recommended to pursue specific gear for old ultimates. That time is better spent studying the fight mechanics, as there are no notable DPS checks.
However, if you have the gear sitting around, or want to min-max for the sake of it, aim for the below. Note that the synced-down pieces can be interchangeable with other high-level gear. The picks made here are in hope of being easier to obtain.
If you have the Shadowbringers relic weapon, Blade's Muse, you can very slightly
improve over the Endwalker relic using this set:
Changelog
- 20 Aug. 2026: Added Phantom Relic for FRU.
- 18 Aug. 2026: Updated for old ultimate sets.
- 29 Jul. 2026: Updated for Patch 7.55.
- 28 Apr. 2026: Reviewed for Patch 7.5.
- 17 Dec. 2025: Updated for Patch 7.4.
- 06 Aug. 2025: Updated for Patch 7.3.
- 29 Mar. 2025: Updated for Patch 7.21.
- 30 Jul. 2024: Updated for Patch 7.05.
- 22 Jul. 2024: Updated for Patch 7.01.
- 30 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 6.55.
- 13 Oct. 2023: Updated for Patch 6.5.
- 25 May 2023: Updated for Patch 6.4.
- 10 Jan. 2023: Updated for Patch 6.3.
- 20 Sep. 2022: Updated for Patch 6.2.
- 20 Apr. 2022: Updated for Patch 6.1.
- 01 Feb. 2021: Guide added.
Guides from Other Classes
This guide was written by Cetonis, who has been a Bard theorycrafter and guide contributor since late ARR. He is also part of The Balance as a Bard mentor. All good theorycraft is a group effort, and credit goes out to the Bards of the ranged theorycraft discord for helping to work things out.
- Welcome Back, Noctis: The FFXIV-FFXV Collab Event Returns!
- FFXIV Drops the New Hairstyle for Beastmasters and So Can You
- FFXIV Players Have Until September 30 to Enter This Photo Contest
- Last Call For FFXIV Players To Celebrate The Rising 2026
- Beastmaster is Here! Here’s How to Unlock FFXIV’s Newest Job
- FFXIV Switch 2 Free Play Ends Sept. 7 – Here’s What Players Pay Next
- Catch All of Dawntrail’s Greatest Hits Now on Streaming Platforms!
- FFXIV Players Are Buying Up Thavnairian Onions Before Patch 8.1