Bard

Bard
File:Bard armor.png
Armour	Gold (full set)
Role	Support
Resource	Energy
Armour value	Lowest of any class
Difficulty	High
Counters	Archer, Rogue

Bard is a support class in Hardcore Factions, active while wearing a full set of gold armour. It is the only class that buffs teammates and debuffs enemies, and it is generally considered the hardest class to play well and the most valuable to have.

Gold has the worst armour value in the game. A bard survives by never being reached, and dies the moment it is. Every server's meta revolves around protecting your bard and killing theirs.

In short: stand behind your team, spend energy at the right moment, and never let anyone reach you.

Activation

All four pieces must be gold. Losing a piece mid-fight drops the class immediately, taking your energy passive with it. Most servers apply a warmup after equipping before effects can be used.

Energy

Bard is built around an energy bar that fills passively while the full set is worn, typically to a cap of 100. Effects cost energy; running dry makes you a very fragile diamond. Energy regenerates faster when standing still or out of combat on most configurations, so bards top up between pushes rather than during them.

Effects

Holding a potion ingredient in hand and right-clicking applies an effect. Two delivery methods exist, and the distinction matters more than anything else on this page.

Type	Applies to	Common examples
Buffs	Faction members in radius	Sugar (speed), blaze powder (strength), iron (resistance), ghast tear (regeneration)
Debuffs	Enemies in radius	Slowness, weakness, wither — often called a "bard hold" or "bard drop"

Exact items, radii, durations and costs vary by server. Check the network's own rules page — assuming one server's values on another is a classic way to waste a fight.

Role in a fight

• Stay behind the frontline. Your effective range is a sphere around you, not a beam. You do not need line of sight, so use terrain and stay out of reach.
• Time buffs to the push. Strength dropped as your diamonds engage wins fights. Dropped thirty seconds early, it expires before contact.
• Save energy for the retreat. Speed on a losing fight saves your whole team's gear. Spending everything on the opening push and having nothing left is the most common bard mistake.
• Debuff the enemy bard first. Wither and weakness on their support collapses the other side faster than damage does.
• Never chase. A bard following a fleeing enemy is a bard away from its team and about to be pearled onto.
• Call your holds. Teammates need to know when strength is up so they commit at the right moment.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths	Weaknesses
Only class that supports the whole team	Lowest armour value of any class