Bard: constantly getting "1" shot

[Linaori]

I'm getting sick and tired of this. So many fights where I get nuked so hard where I'm downed from 100% to 0% in a single turn. I can't counter anything, can't do anything to stop it, and I'm not fighting anything above my level.

So far my experience with my friends has been been that I'm just constantly dead...

[Glyph]

Quit taking hits. Also maybe wear more armor.

[Panic Fire]

Cast blur on yourself. Cast mirror on yourself. Turn invisible. Get some AC.-

[Zeel Ara]

You're positioning yourself incorrectly and/or failing to build your character properly. Sad as it may it, this is a you problem.

[MartFassage]

man has a flute and expects to do magic dps

[アンジェル]

Originally posted by Linaori:

Bard: constantly getting "1" shot
I'm getting sick and tired of this. So many fights where I get nuked so hard where I'm downed from 100% to 0% in a single turn. I can't counter anything, can't do anything to stop it, and I'm not fighting anything above my level.

So far my experience with my friends has been been that I'm just constantly dead...

That has nothing to do with bard.

[Powercrank]

positioning problem maybe? ive been playing my bard as mostly a caster (college of lore) with dual crossbows and they are quite effective at dealing damage while maintaining crowd control. Just don't get close.

if youre tryina play college of swords i dunno how to help you there, they've always just felt like a ****ty thief to me

[FatKidIRL]

Well how are you playing the bard? Are you trying to melee attack and cast or be a range support class? I've been playing bard with my gf and it's basically a support class and my only issues I feel like I do very little damage compared to her but also the pathing to run to things can be dumb but that could be because I'm a gnome. lol

[Zackerie]

my first run was a bard on tactician. didn't use any tadpole powers. Might I recommend using a bow or crossbow and not being anywhere near enemies, so you can't get hit, so you can't get downed?

[Naamtar]

What level you at? Support classes are pretty weak early on, constantly feels like you're out of spells/abilities and just hit like a wet noodle.

Are you using a shield? Armor? Do you have at least 14 DEX? Are you positioning behind your team and using line of sight so enemies don't focus you each turn?

[Torf.toen]

What Act / Level are you? i am currently at the start of Act 2 with Lvl7 and my bard (with medium armor and shield spec) does not take any hits so far since a) he has good armor rating and b) i am apparently kind of overleved at the beginning of Act 2 and c) he got a crit-immune item that you can forge in act 1

[Meowella]

Noone wants a low AC - for the first few levels you wanna work on hitting 16 - the base level for a starter AC (Chain, Scale with dex 14, Mage Armour with 16 dex).

By end game, those out of melee will probably get to around 18-20 AC only, while those who are in the mix for melee combat will be aiming for around 25.

Saving Throws - Every char gets proficiency in 1 good and 1 weak saving throw.
Str/Int/Cha are weak (though Int is stronger than the other 2) due to the abilities and spells that use it.
Dex/Con/Wis are the strong ones (Wis protects vs control magic/abilities while Dex/Con tend to be related to damage spells/abilities).

Bards get Dex and Cha... which kinda sucks in terms of that's also where they tend to put their high stats. So you'll make a save vs fireball frequently... but get hit by Mind Flayer blasts (int) or Hold Person (wis)

Ensure you have the right defences for the threats you face - Int and Wis saves matter (Int because of Mind Flayer blasts, Wis because most CC spells) and using the BG3 rule changes to sneak shield proficiency via human or half-elf on a lore bard) and you'll do fine.

[WuffWabbit]

Sounds to me like positioning issues. I wouldn't recommend most Bards to be at the forefront of a fight unless you're a bard of the sword and are wearing armor. If you're not, you really should be almost as far removed as a sorcerer would be. In addition, buff yourself always.

[Captain Moodaq]

Originally posted by Linaori:

I'm getting sick and tired of this. So many fights where I get nuked so hard where I'm downed from 100% to 0% in a single turn. I can't counter anything, can't do anything to stop it, and I'm not fighting anything above my level.

So far my experience with my friends has been been that I'm just constantly dead...

it's the same AI as divinity. it targets the character with the less armor than the rest.
The only way to deal with it, is to engage with your bard in stealth and let AI to take it's first turn. If a the fight is scripted use invis on the bard. There is no other way around.
The mobs will ignore attack of opportunities/goads/duels and rush you anyway.
In my divinity campaign i had all the party members with the shields because i got tired of it.
Atm i'm in the third act of BG3. and it's 2 shielded casters already.