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Bards use their songs to enhance their party's performance. The effect of their songs varies depending on the harp they use.

Description

The bearer of this certificate has expertly harnessed the power of song and is deemed worthy of the title of Master Bard.

Mastery certificate description

The Bard is a job class in Final Fantasy III gained from the Water Crystal. Bards use their Sing ability to attack the enemy or, in the 3D versions, support their allies. Final Fantasy III introduced the Bard into the Final Fantasy series, as well as their Sing ability and the use of instruments as a weapon type.

Abilities[]

Famicom version[]

  • Special ability - Sing

Bards do not have a basic 'Fight' command. Instead, they use the 'Sing' ability, which only becomes available when they have a harp equipped. Singing makes Bards attack the enemy with their currently equipped harps, possibly inflicting a status effect depending on the harp.

Each use of the Bard's 'Scare' command reduces all enemies' levels:

Enemy's level = Enemy's level - 3

Multiple uses of 'Scare' can eventually lead to enemies running away instead of attacking in battle. An enemy will only run away if:

(Lowest character's level) - (Enemy's level) > 15

If the above condition is met, then the chance that a monster will choose to Run will be:

%Chance to Run = 100 - Monster Hit%

As an enemy's level is decreased, there is the potential of reducing its Magic Attack Multiplier. Bosses are immune to 'Scare' and will also never attempt to Run.

The Bard's 'Boost' command gives an additional bonus to physical Base Damage for each party member, with its effects stacking:

Base Damage = Base Damage + (10 * # of Cheers) (for physical attacks only).

3D versions[]

  • Special ability - Sing

Selecting Sing will cause the Bard to sing a song depending on which harp the user has equipped. The song will always be performed as the first action of each turn.

Stats[]

Level Str Agi Vit Int Mnd Level Str Agi Vit Int Mnd Level Str Agi Vit Int Mnd
Famicom version 3D versions Pixel Remaster version
1 5 15 15 10 10 1 5 5 5 5 5 1 5 5 5 5 5
2 2 2 5 7 6 6 9
10 7 21 21 14 17 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 9 11 10 10 15
20 9 27 27 18 23 20 14 16 16 16 16 20 14 18 16 16 21
30 11 33 33 22 30 30 18 22 22 22 22 30 18 25 22 22 27
40 13 39 39 26 36 40 22 28 28 28 28 40 22 31 28 28 34
50 15 45 45 30 43 50 26 34 34 34 34 50 26 38 34 34 40
60 17 51 51 34 49 60 29 40 40 40 40 60 29 45 40 40 46
70 19 57 57 38 56 70 33 46 46 46 46 70 33 51 46 46 53
80 21 63 63 42 63 80 37 52 52 52 52 80 37 58 52 52 59
90 23 70 70 46 69 90 41 58 58 58 58 90 41 65 58 58 65
99 25 75 75 50 75 99 45 63 63 63 63 99 45 71 63 63 71

Equipment[]

Weapons[]

Weapons
Daggers Harps

Armor[]

Armor
Head Body Arms

Pixel Remaster[]

In the Pixel Remaster, songs are not tied to harps but learned by the Bard at certain job levels.

Song Job Level Description
Paeon 1 Restores HP to the entire party.
Minuet 10 Increases the entire party's attack power and intellect.
Elegy 20 Decreases damage taken by the entire party.
Requiem 30 Causes a randomized status ailment to all enemies.


Other appearances[]

Final Fantasy Artniks[]

Luneth as a Rank N Bard.

The Bard appears as a character card.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game[]

The Bard appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as multiple Ice-elemental cards.

Final Fantasy Portal App[]

031a Bard

The Bard from the 3D version appears as a Triple Triad card.

Behind the scenes[]

When a Bard uses his or her Sing ability in the 3D version, they chant the first five notes from the "Final Fantasy" theme.

Unused dialogue for the remake suggests that the Bard job was going to be moved from the Water Crystal to the town of Duster.[1]

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

In medieval Gaelic and British culture, a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities. Originally a specific class of poet, with the decline of living bardic tradition in the modern period the term "bard" acquired generic meaning of an epic author/singer/narrator, or any poets, especially famous ones. For example, William Shakespeare is known as the Bard or the Bard of Avon.

References[]

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