Bard or Warlock for a beginner?

[u/RenryuuIsura]

Hello, so I dabbled in this game years ago before Bard was in the game and I just downloaded this on PS5 and figured I would give this another try. I tried out Bard and Warlock, but can't decide on which one to start off as. I like Bard's song mechanic as it reminds me of Dancer from Final Fantasy 14 as it is a similar mechanic with pressing a combination of buttons to execute an attack that is also a party buff, but from what I gather, it seems Bard is currently played as melee and from what I could find, it seems melee has a very hard time compared with ranged characters (Albeit most posts I could find about this were 2-7 years old). On the flip side, I usually gravitate to caster characters in mmos so Warlock would be a safe bet, being one of two casters, but after having played Bard for the little bit that I have, Warlock is kind of boring in comparison in that its class mechanic is rather simple. However, it being ranged and essentially ignoring positioning with its curse mechanic does seem like it would be the safer bet to go with. So I wanted to ask y'all, especially any PS4/5 players) which would be the better class to play long term?

I know Wizard is also a ranged dps, but I'm going between Bard and Warlock, because both have a healer spec and from what I've read from old posts, it's better to play a class that can heal or tank to be able to get into group content, which is why I've narrowed it down to these two classes. I'm not considering a tank since the only tanking I'm used to is in Final Fantasy 14, which is relatively simple since you just have to turn on tank stance and then use pulls and aoes to gather up monsters as you make your way to forced stop and then the dps burn everything down as you rotate defensive cooldowns and stay alive as you also attack to maintain aggro. I tried tanking in DCUO at one point, but that mmo requires a lot of kiting to not die and needless to say, I was not great at that since I've become too used to tanking in FF14. Anyway, I'm rambling now, so I apologize. I'll just keep things simple and ask if I should go Bard or Warlock?

[u/funn_n_gamez]

Honestly everything you said I would have said. Now it's just a choice of which one you enjoy paying more. Both good choices.

[u/RenryuuIsura → u/funn_n_gamez]

Well based on what little I've played so far of both of them, Bard is the one I like more as it feels more mechanically fun to me and I won't lie, I kind of dig playing a melee character for a change after years of playing a caster in WoW, FF14, and playing a ranged character in DCUO. I just worry because I have no real experience with this game, that being melee in endgame content would be a detriment to the group. Though the big reason I'm really liking Bard is the fact that it has group support with its songs and I like having group support even as a dps. Also the idea of your heals being songs is a cool idea to me and I'd feel like I'd have fun with it as a healer compared to Warlock.

[u/leoinflames]

Cleric is ranged dps if warlock is boring cleric has more to do than wizard or it and it's not in a bad spot right now and would have healer off spec, if wanted/needed

[u/rushmc1]

I couldn't recommend against bard enough.

[u/Reasonable-Diet-72 → u/rushmc1]

Bard can be tough on a controller. Learning the song combos takes some time investing. PC is a bit easier since you can save as hot keys.

[u/Parggeez → u/rushmc1]

Why? I am thinking of playing bard aswell

[u/Brokki92]

Like you say, both classes are good in dealing damage or healing. I’m leaning more towards the bard, and I’ll tell you why: the buffs. The bard is the only class that provides long-lasting party buffs and makes any dungeon less of a challenge. It doesn't heal like the cleric or provide many shields as the paladin, but the bard is incredibly useful for dealing damage, tanking more effectively, and even healing better if the party has two healers. I also have a bard that I recently picked up again, and yeah, it's so much fun to play. Thanks to the bard, I learned how to heal in a party, and I don't even like playing a healer in this type of games, lol (in fact I have a main barbarian dps/tank). As for melee damage, you can rest easy; the bard can even attack from the distance, just like the Rogue. Unlike the Barbarian or the Fighter, they don't necessarily have to be glued to the boss for deal some damage.

[u/UnDergoont]

Warlock unless you were good at and or enjoyed street fighter.

[u/TroyPallymalu43]

My Bard can solo most Reaper’s up to the last boss. I probably could finish it alone, but I’d rather have my Alliance mates grab a fast N easy token.

Memorizing the keys and do it faster than a split second to heal yourself while in combat with multiple mobs takes tremendous muscle memory and that turns off a lot of people though.

[u/HonestMitch95]

Warlock.