Desperate Salvation Bard Build Guide for Lost Ark

The Desperate Salvation build allows for easier healing of party members, making their mistakes less punishing. Your gear set choice is very important, and you can use either of the two supportive sets described below.

For support classes including Bard there are two viable sets, the Destructive set and the Swamp of Yearning set. The remainder of the guide is split between these two options, so ensure you are looking at the right section when picking out information.

1. Destructive

This is the off-meta set, focusing more on defense. Strengths: It has a lot better survivability, thanks to the Seed of Life (endurance increase) and Life Activation (healing, with double effect at 30% or less hp). With this set, it is important to focus on swiftness for max skill spam and that means more buffs from those skills, improving damage and defense of the party. The Second Wind buff from the set at level 1 starts out small, 2.4% damage increase, but goes up to 24% in 10 seconds and then lasts for 3 more seconds. If it lines up with party members burst, it outperforms builds using the Swamp of Yearning set. Even though you get Serenade Meter slower, thanks to good survivability, you can often use Bubbles for Serenade of Courage and increase the party dps even more.

Weaknesses: This set lacks the synergy (Attack/Move Speed) from Swamp of Yearning and a lot of players might have created their DPS build with that in mind.

2. Swamp of Yearning

This is the meta set and it focuses more on offense. Strengths: It provides the Attack/Move Speed synergy for party members and with good positioning, a more constant dps increase for the party. Thanks to better Serenade Meter gain, some of the skills used with this set are more offensive, offering different gameplay and bit more damage. If your party is good at dodging mechanics, you can use Serenade of Courage more often then with the Destructive set.

Weaknesses: The weakness of this set is the small range where party members can get the synergy buff, even though the buff’s 16 second duration fixes it somewhat. It has no defensive party effects, so the increase in Serenade Meter gain might seem good, but you almost always end up using Bubbles on Serenade of Salvation.

Because Bard is a support class, you only need to have all skills leveled to 10 in order to maximize their purpose. Use excess skill points freely, though it is recommended to go beyond 10 on skills with the highest damage and/or lowest cooldowns.

Sound Wave: Low range and low cooldown, good damage reduction buff and one of the two skills in this build with Stagger. Good to use when close to the boss, hitting both the boss and party members. Can be exchanged with Soundholic, if you feel you have enough defensive skills and can trigger set buffs quickly. For tripods we use:

• Large Wave
• Endurance Wave
• Burning Wave

Rhapsody of Light: Has a high cooldown, very good damage reduction buff making it the best defensive skills in the kit, Awakening aside. It has Push Immunity and one of the two skills in this build with Weak Point. It is the best skill to use on big hits from the boss, after shielding your allies. You need to keep an eye out for your party positions and try to hit them all with the skill circle. You do not have to be in the circle yourself to receive the buffs. For tripods we use:

• Quick Prep
• Stabilized Light
• Shining Protection

Wind of Music: Gives a good shield and has the best Serenade Meter gain in this build. It gives a shield only to those party members that get hit by it and generates Serenade Meter only when the boss gets hit, so best to try and hit both birds with this skill. For tripods we use:

• Quick Prep
• Melody Increase
• Wind of Protection

Sonic Vibration: Has a high cooldown, but is the best damage skill in this build. Has Stagger and Weak Point and it gives an Attack Power buff and Push Immunity to party members hit by it. When the skill is placed, it leaves an area of effect on the ground where party members can receive the buff by standing in it. Ideally you would place it so both boss and party members get hit, but if you had to choose a location, always pick party members. The buff is the same as Heavenly Tune´s Attack Power buff, but lasts fewer and does not stack, so best to use it when Heavenly Tune buff expires. For tripods we use:

• Tenacity
• Brilliant Wave
• Wide-Angle Attack

Prelude of Storm: The only stun and Counter skill in this build. It has a long range and the good cooldown reduction from our Swiftness stat makes countering a lot easier. For tripods we use:

• Quick Prep
• Wide-Angle Attack
• Lightning Concentration

Heavenly Tune: Provides two times Attack Speed, Attack Power and Mana Recovery speed. It does not have to hit party members for them to get the buffs, but they need to be within 24 meters. provides a large damage boost and should be used as often as possible, unless you know that a burst window is approaching, in which case you would keep this skill for that time. As tripods we use:

• Quick Prep
• Tough Tune
• Intense Tune

Note Bundle: Decent damage reduction buff. This is the most important skill for the build as its multi-hit allows you to proc the sets 20 stack effect with just two well placed casts, which means that after roughly ten seconds of combat you would already have all 20 stacks for the set bonus to be active. Thanks to the skill’s low cooldown and long aftermath, no other damage received debuff skill is needed. For tripods we use:

• Strong Note
• Sacred Note
• Melody Brand

Guardian Tune: Gives decent damage reduction in a 24 meter radius and once it expires, a shield. Because of the shield proc after damage is received and the long range, using it makes it easy to keep gear set buff stacks on party members from timing out. For tripods we use:

• Mind Enhancement
• Endless Protection
• Agile Defense

You can opt for Wind of Protection instead of Agile Defense, but whether it is useful or not, depends on the fight.

For our awakening skill we use Symphonia. It gives a full Speciality meter bubble, has stagger, provides a shield to all party members equal to 100% of your Max HP and a big 30% Attak Power debuff on boss, both lasting for 10s. The skill’s range is 12 meters, so you need to position yourself well and try to hit all party members. Use this skill only for defensive reasons or in rare cases, as an extra stagger.

For this set I recommend replacing Note Bundle and Sound Wave with Sound Shock and Soundholic

Sound Shock: It has good range and very low cooldown, plus a debuff on the target which makes it take more damage. The debuff lasts 3 seconds, so thanks to the skills' very low cooldown and 2 second refresh duration on the spot it was cast, it has 100% uptime. For tripods we use:

• Maintained Explosion
• Sacred Shock
• Rapid Fire

Soundholic: This is the best damage skill in this build and also the best Serenade Meter gain. Channeling of this skill lasts about two seconds, but luckily you can simply interrupt it and move, if needed. For tripods we use:

• Sound Concentration
• Sustain Enhancement
• Focus Fire

You can also opt for Melody Increase, instead of Focus Fire, as it gives better Serenade Meter gain, but doubles the channel time.

The rest of the skills remain the same as the Destructive set build above.

As a Bard, there are two skill rotations to keep in mind: The first rotation focuses on providing the maximum DPS increase for your group, and should be used when there is a good damage window during the fight.

The second rotation is to give maximum survivability to the party and yourself and it should be used when there are harsh mechanics that you feel the party will not avoid.

Additionally, If you are using Conviction and Judgment runes, it adds a third short rotation.

The offensive rotation is: Serenade of Courage -> Note Bundle -> Heavenly Tune -> Sonic Vibration.

Serenade of Courage should be used first, as it has a high uptime, 8-16 seconds, depending on the number of bubbles used.

Note Bundle has to be placed, so it would hit the boss and the party members close to it.

The 10% damage received debuff on boss is very important and it lasts for up to 7 seconds, if boss stays in the aftermath area. Party members who got hit by Node Bundle gain 10 stacks of the Seed of Life set buff quickly and it takes 20 stacks to get the Life Activation and Second Wind damage increase set buff, meaning there is a high chance they get it.

After Note Bundle we use Heavenly Tune, because it gives 16% Attack Speed and Attack Power based on the caster´s Attack Power and it buffs all party members within 24 meters, making it easier to buff everyone.

Sonic Vibration goes last, in case some party member was too far to get Heavenly Tune Attack Power buff, so we place it on those party members. When everyone gets Heavenly Tune buffs, there is no need to use Sonic Vibration, as their Attack Power buffs are the same and do not stack.

A defensive rotation would look like this: Guardian Tune -> Note Bundle -> Wind of Music -> Rhapsody of Light.

Timing is very important with this rotation and you should always end up with Rhapsody of Light channelling active, when the big attack hits that you want to defend against. It takes about 4 seconds to cast all 4 skills, then Rhapsody of Light channel lasts for 3 seconds and that is when the big attack should happen.

We start the rotation with Guardian Tune as it lasts the longest, has 24 meter range, gives 30% damage reduction and once that expires, a 20% shield.

Next we use Note Bundle but you can also skip this one if you feel time is not on your side. Note Bundle gives a total of 30% damage reduction and lasts up to 7 seconds.

The third skill, Wind of Music, gives a nice 30% shield, but only lasts for 4s and party members need to be very close to you. If party members are too spread out and you are low on casting time, then this should be the second skill that you can leave aside and not use.

When you only have 2-3 seconds to react, using Wind of Music and then Rhapsody of Light is ideal, assuming you hit people that need it, with both skills. You can also use Serenade of Salvation at the start of the rotation, if party members have lost a lot of HP.

Tip: Sonic Vibration -> Note Bundle with Judgment and Conviction can have their runes swapped if you are already used to using the skills the other way around.

The offensive rotation is: Serenade of Courage -> Sound Shock -> Heavenly Tune -> Sonic Vibration.

Serenade of Courage should be used first, as it has a high uptime, 8-16 seconds, depending on the number of bubbles used. Make sure you hit the boss with Sound Shock, as the 10% damage received debuff is very important and it lasts for up to 6 seconds, if the boss stays in the aftermath area.

Then we use Heavenly Tune, because it gives 16% Attack Speed, Attack Power based from the caster´s Attack Power and it buffs all party members in 24 meters, making it easier to buff everyone.

Lastly, we can use Sonic Vibration, if some party member was too far to get Heavenly Tune buff, so we place it on those party members.

If everyone gets the Heavenly Tune buffs, there is no need to use Sonic Vibration, as their Attack Power buffs are the same and do not stack.

A defensive rotation would look like this: Guardian Tune -> Wind of Music -> Rhapsody of Light. The same ideas from the Destructive set rotation apply here as well.

Our main combat stat is Swiftness and with good quality accessories, it should be close to 1700. That amount gives ~36%+ cooldown reduction, also the 29%+ Atk and Move Speed is very useful, making sure you can have an easier time with mechanics and get your skills off in time.

Secondary stat is specialization, around 500 from the necklace plus any bonuses. It is useful for the extra Serenade Meter gain and making Serenade buffs stronger. You can even the stats out more, if you do not like full Swiftness, but then you lose a bit from the pet’s value.

Speaking of the pet, we always have Vitality Training (Max HP) as the defensive pet effect, because some skills give shields and heal based on your Max HP. For the combat stat pet effect we use Improved Swiftness, as you should always have the stat that is the highest, to maximize the 10% increase.

We have four main engravings that you should always have:

1. Heavy Armor level 3 increases your defenses by 100%, making sure that you survive, as otherwise the class can feel squishy.
2. Awakening level 3 because the awakening skill Symphonia is a very good defensive skill and also gives Bubbles so the more you can cast it, the better.
3. Expert level 3 is the bread and butter of the support class as it increases shields and heals you cast, even more when targets are under 50% hp and that is when they need them the most.
4. Magick Stream level 3 because both the mana recovery and cooldown reduction are vital for the build, so you can spam skills as often as possible.

We focus more on mana recovery, as the set bonus benefits from continuous usage of skills, so as a fifth engraving you can choose Desperate Salvation at level 1: We use this engraving at level 1 because most of the time you can heal the party with Life Activation buff and this extra heal also affects Second Wind, so it should be rare when you use Serenade of Salvation and not worth going to level 3.

Increased Max MP or +MP Regen. These two engravings help with your MP problem that having full uptime on skills will cause.

Increased Max MP helps more with mana, but +MP Regen gives you a bit more damage. While you are a support and should not focus on damage, it is a choice for those who care about it. You can use either of these engravings at any level.

Drops of Ether helps the party out with random Ether orbs and while its randomness makes it a questionable engraving, it is still useful and a DPS increase for your group.

1. Heavy Armor level 3 increases your defenses by 100%, making sure that you survive, as otherwise the class can feel squishy.
2. Awakening level 3 because the awakening skill.
3. Symphonia is a very good defensive skill and also gives Bubbles so the more you can cast it, the better.
4. Expert level 3 is the bread and butter of the support class as it increases shields and heals you cast, even more when targets are under 50% hp and that is when they need them the most.
5. Desperate Salvation level 3: It restores extra HP for party members, depending on your max HP, once Serenade of Salvation has expired. It is not dependent on the used Bubble amount, making 1 Bubble Serenade of Salvations a lot better.

Skill spamming is not needed for this set, so running into mana problems is a smaller issue, but can still happen.

• Magick Stream can be used at any level.
• Increased Max MP
• +MP Regen
• Drops of Ether helps the party out with random Ether orbs and while its randomness makes it a questionable engraving, it is still useful and a DPS increase for your group.

• Sound Wave: Overwhelm, for extra stagger. Optional is Bleed for a bit more damage and a debuff or Conviction / Judgment.
• Rhapsody of Light: Protection, this is important for your own safety, as you get fewer damage reduction than the party members and no shield from the skill. This also allows the skill to be used as Push Immunity skill without worrying about your health during cast.
• Wind of Music: Wealth, because this skill has the best Serenade Meter gain in this build.
• Sonic Vibration: Conviction, it can proc with each skill hit, including the aftermath. Optional is to change to Overwhelm, for strong stagger check mechanics, because this is the strongest stagger skill in this build.
• Prelude of Storm: Galewind, it helps ensure that your counter lands in time.
• Heavenly Tune: Focus, helps with mana problems as this skill consumes the most mana.
• Note Bundle: Judgment, because it can proc with aftermath hits. Optional is to have Wealth, to help gain more Serenade Meter.
• Guardian Tune: Focus, to help with any mana issues.

• Sound Shock: Judgment, because it can proc with aftermath hits. Optional is to use Wealth, to help gain more Serenade Meter.
• Rhapsody of Light: Protection rune, this is important for your own safety, as you get a smaller damage reduction buff then party members and no shield from the skill. This also allows the skill to be used as a Push Immunity skill without worrying about your health.
• Wind of Music: Wealth rune, for more Serenade Meter gain.
• Sonic Vibration: Conviction rune, it can proc with each skill hit, including the aftermath. You can change to Overwhelm rune, if there are strong stagger check mechanics.
• Soundholic: Overwhelm rune, for extra stagger. You can use Wealth rune instead, for more Serenade Meter gain.
• Prelude of Storm: Galewind rune helps to make sure your counter lands in time.
• Heavenly Tune: Focus rune helps with MP consumption as this skill costs the most MP.
• Guardian Tune: Focus rune to help with MP consumption.

As a Bard, we want to use skills as often as possible, so it should not be a surprise that we have cooldown gems for all the eight skills that we use. The last three empty spots go to damage increase gems.

Destructive: Cooldown gems on all eight skills. Damage increase gems for Sonic Vibration, Note Bundle and Prelude of Storm.

Swamp of Yearning: Cooldown gems on all eight skills. Damage increase gems for Sound Shock, Sonic Vibration and Soundholic.

The most important tripods that you should level up are:

• Rhapsody of Light - Quick Prep
• Wind of Music - Quick Prep
• Heavenly Tune - Quick Prep
• Prelude of Storm - Quick Prep
• Wind of Music - Melody Increase

After these, you should level up tripods that affect buffs:

• Endurance Wave for Sound Wave
• Shining Protection for Rhapsody of Light
• Wind of Protection for Wind of Music
• Strong Note for Note Bundle
• Endless Protection for Guardian Tune

After the above are prioritized, you can get the remaining ones at your own pace.

The most important tripods that you should level up are:

• Sound Shock - Quick Prep
• Rhapsody of Light - Quick Prep
• Wind of Music - Quick Prep
• Heavenly Tune - Quick Prep
• Prelude of Storm - Quick Prep
• Wind of Music - Melody Increase
• Soundholic - Sustain Enhancement

After these, you should level up tripods that affect buffs:

• Shining Protection for Rhapsody of Light
• Wind of Protection for Wind of Music
• Endless Protection for Guardian Tune

After the above are prioritized, you can get the remaining ones at your own pace.

The best set of cards is Lostwind Cliff, assuming your party members are using the Light of Salvation set and you are fighting dark-based bosses.

However if you are newer to the game or if the content does not require light type damage, then you can use Field Boss II and/or "Farewell, Weapon" to increase your Max HP and thus making your shield and heals stronger. Both of those card sets give Max HP +4% for 2/4/6 cards and can be mixed, if you do not have a full card set.