Bard DPS Gear and Best in Slot — Dawntrail 7.1
On this page, you will find the best gear and best-in-slot items for your Bard DPS in Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Patch 7.1).
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 730 Best-in-Slot
If you would like to play at a faster GCD, swap out 1-2 Direct Hit materia for Skill Speed ones.
7.05 Arcadion Savage Prog Crafted Set
The Omega Protocol Best-in-Slot
Most of this gear comes from the 6.5 dungeon, The Lunar Subterrane.
Dragonsong's Reprise Best-in-Slot
Portions of these gear sets can only be acquired by completing the Asphodelos raid tier. A guide for the content can be found links below. Other pieces drop from the Patch 6.3 dungeon, Lapis Manalis.
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.
Your current level 90 gear will maximize your synced vitality, which is the most important thing. You will not lose more than a fraction of a percent in damage compared to min-maxing synced gear. Practice your rotation at that level and study the fight instead of worrying about gear.
The one piece of gear that makes a slight difference is the Shadowbringers relic weapon, Blade's Muse. Because you can customize its substats, you can work around the item level sync to get more total substats than intended. If you have one, set its stats to:
- 184 Critical Hit / 184 Determination / 99 Direct Hit
Note that a relic is NOT necessary to clear these fights. It provides a small amount of extra cushion to give you a little more of a chance to pass a phase with some player deaths. It is up to you whether to put the work into getting a relic or not.
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.
Your current level 90 gear will maximize your synced vitality, which is the most important thing. You will not lose more than a fraction of a percent in damage compared to min-maxing synced gear. Practice your rotation at that level and study the fight instead of worrying about gear.
The one piece of gear that makes a slight difference is the Shadowbringers relic weapon, Blade's Muse. Because you can customize its substats, you can work around the item level sync to get more total substats than intended. If you have one, set its stats to:
- 136 Critical Hit / 136 Determination / 133 Direct Hit / 63 Skill Speed
Note that a relic is NOT necessary to clear these fights. It provides a small amount of extra cushion to give you a little more of a chance to pass a phase with some player deaths. It is up to you whether to put the work into getting a relic or not.
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.
Your current level 90 gear will maximize your synced vitality, which is the most important thing. You will not lose more than a fraction of a percent in damage compared to min-maxing synced gear. Practice your rotation at that level and study the fight instead of worrying about gear.
The one piece of gear that makes a slight difference is the Shadowbringers relic weapon, Blade's Muse. Because you can customize its substats, you can work around the item level sync to get more total substats than intended. If you have one, set its stats to:
- 127 Critical Hit / 127 Determination / 123 Direct Hit / 90 Skill Speed
Note that a relic is NOT necessary to clear these fights. It provides a small amount of extra cushion to give you a little more of a chance to pass a phase with some player deaths. It is up to you whether to put the work into getting a relic or not.
Changelog
- 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.
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