If you want to play optimally, no, there is not. There is nothing Valor can do which is as good as Sword Bard, and they occupy a similar space. They’re not the worst subclass out there but they’re a lot closer to the bottom than they are to the middle of the pack.
All that being said, it’s not always about optimal play, and not every choice needs to be equally valid. For those who want to play a plucky halfling Bard who want to wear medium armor but don’t want to use a feat or multiclass at all, they’re certainly an option. If you’re sitting there thinking ‘why would I take this?’ It’s probably a better choice to not do so.
Edit: fwiw swords Bard has the highest burst damage ability in the game in slashing flourish (ranged), there’s a video in the feat thread of swords Bard solo killing Raphael, dealing nearly 700 damage in a turn. They definitely can pump out more damage ranged than a fighter, Ranger or Rogue if built properly, though of course they benefit from a dip in any or all of them to increase the number of attacks to silly levels.
They also have fantastic spells, and since all you need is 1 level of Wizard to have full spellcasting with them, a Bard11/Wiz1 is very powerful. They’re very good with skill distribution as well and indeed serve as a great generalist, but the idea they’re a weak spellcaster or weaker ranged than martials is quite unsupported imho. instead they’re one of the strongest classes out there, with a large number of powerful, viable builds depending on which aspect of their kit you want to focus on.
Last edited by GiantOctopodes; 21/10/23 04:51 PM.
