Bard in Final Fantasy XIV is an extremely mobile ranged DPS job, and Endwalker added many updates to the class that changes the skill rotations during fights. They deal damage from afar while supporting their allies by maintaining three different Songs. These melodies are The Wanderer's Minuet (WM), Mage's Ballad (MB), and Army's Paeon (AP). Currently, Bard is now the only job in FFXIV that needs to manage Damage over Time (DoT) skills, with the removal of DoTs from the Summoner's kit. Along with the new additions, their old traits, skills, and abilities were modified to fit the current balance of other jobs in the game. When engaging enemies as a Bard, a player's rotation or moveset in FFXIV will change depending on whether they are fighting a single foe or if there are multiple opponents.
Before A Realm Reborn's release, Bard was the only option for players that wanted to deal physical range damage. The story for the Archer class in FFXIV must be completed before adventurers can advance to this musical job. The Bard has received many changes over the five expansions to the base game. Since ARR, the size of the Ranged Physical DPS Role has increased with the addition of the Machinist in Heavensward and the Dancer in FFXIV Shadowbringers.
According to The FFXIV Balance, the opening rotation for the Bard begins with Stormbite > WM > Raging Strikes > Caustic Bite > Empyreal Arrow > Bloodletter > Burstshot or Refulgent Arrow > Radiant Finale > Battle Voice. If the player receives the proc "Straight Shot ready" then Sidewinder > Refulgent Arrow > Barrage > Refulgent Arrow > Burst Shot > either Burst Shot or Refulgent Arrow > Empyreal Arrow and lastly, Iron Jaws should be used in that order. If the user is not Straight Shot ready, then Barrage and Sidewinder are reversed because casting Barrage applies the "ready" proc. The player also has a 35% chance to get the effect after every use of Burst Shot. Both Caustic Bite and Stormbite are the Bard's DoT skills that need to be maintained throughout the battle and should be applied to multiple enemies if necessary. The article mentions that when fighting multiple enemies, Burst Shot and Refulgent Arrow are replaced with the skills Ladonsbite and Shadowbite. The AoE weapon skill Quick Nock should also be used when fighting numerous foes.
Weaving the Bard's Songs In FFXIV Is Important For Their Rotation
The additional effects now activate during the duration of the Songs. This was one of the major changes to Bard in FFXIV Endwalker. WM allows the damage skill Pitch Perfect to be cast, MB reduces the cooldown of the skills Bloodletter and Rain of Death, while AP reduces cast time, recast time, and auto-attack delay by 4%, all Songs lasting for 45 seconds. For a single target or two enemies, the Song order is WM for 43 seconds, then cast MB for 34 seconds, and follow up with AP for 43 seconds. For three or more foes, the order is MB, AP, then WM. This is because MB refreshes Rain of Death and can be frequently used to apply AoE damage to multiple enemies.
The Bard can be rather confusing for new players and the best way to know what a skill does is by reading the tooltips in-game. Luckily, the job didn't have any errors with the skills not working properly, like with the Ninja ability errors in FFXIV Endwalker. Practicing the rotation for the Bard at training dummies is advisable to learn how to weave the DoTs, Songs, and weapon skills together. The Bard is a fun and excellent ranged physical DPS job for players that wish to support their whole party.
Source: The Balance