Guide Sections (15)
- Champion Stats
- The Meep Trade
- Skins Worth Buying for Bard
- When They Ban Bard
- Bard's Rune Page
- What to Max on Bard
- Mastering Bard's Kit
- Who Bard Beats (And Who Beats Bard)
- Roaming Addiction
- When the Lane Is Lost at Champ Select
- The Clutch Ability
- The Roaming Bard Build
- When Bard Hits Hardest
- The Magical Journey
- Recent Patch History
Champion Stats
Low elo players do not track the support's roam timers. They check the bot lane brush, see it's empty, and assume Bard backed. In reality, you are already behind their mid laner with a portal. They also clump up for objectives, making them prime targets for a 3-man Tempered Fate (R) followed by a Cosmic Binding (Q) stun. Furthermore, smurfs optimize Chime collection paths to maintain experience parity while roaming, something low elo Bards fail to do, falling levels behind.
The Meep Trade
The 'Meep' Trade. Start Q (Cosmic Binding). Wait in the bush until the enemy ADC walks up to the first melee minion. Auto-attack (which applies the Meep slow), then immediately Q. Because they are slowed, landing the Q is guaranteed. If you angle it to hit a minion behind them or the wall, it Stuns. This simple AA-Q combo takes 40% of their HP and establishes dominance immediately.
Auto-Q-Auto is your bread and butter. The meep slow makes the Q stun nearly impossible to miss if they're near a wall. Don't be afraid to take a few hits to land the stun—Bard's sustain from W is underrated.
Skins Worth Buying for Bard
'Snow Day Bard' is pay-to-win (penguins!). 'Bard Bard' is funny. 'Astronaut Bard' has meep aliens. 'Cafe Cuties' is adorable. Default Bard sounds very smooth.
The 'Astronaut' meeps are slightly smaller, which can actually make them harder to track in a busy teamfight. If you want a slight competitive edge over 'Snow Day', go with the aliens.
'Snow Day Bard' is pay-to-win (penguins are hard to see). 'Bard Bard' is funny meta-humor. 'Astronaut Bard' has cute alien meeps. 'Cafe Cuties' is adorable. Default Bard sounds very smooth.
When They Ban Bard
Pyke and Rakan are the roaming brothers. If you pick Thresh, focus on the hooks. You'll miss the cross-map tunnels, but you'll have more lane pressure. Roam early, roam often.
Pyke offers the roaming threat. Rakan brings the mobility and engage. Thresh provides the playmaking potential. Pyke is the closest 'leave lane and kill mid' support.
Bard's Rune Page
Fleet Footwork (Sustain) or Electrocute (Burst). Guardian is safe. Rapid Firecannon is a core item (wait, that's an item). Runes: Zombie Ward and Relentless Hunter are key for roaming dominance.
What to Max on Bard
Max Q for damage/stun duration. Max E second for the tunnel speed (very important for escapes). W last.
Mastering Bard's Kit
Cosmic Binding. Missile slows first target. If it hits wall or second target, it STUNS. Using minions as the first target is key.
Caretaker's Shrine. Spawns a healing shrine. Charges up power. Speed boost on pickup. Leave these for your ADC/Mid.
Magical Journey. Opens portal through terrain. Anyone can enter. Allies travel faster. Enemies can be stunned upon exit.
Tempered Fate. AOE Stasis (Zhonyas). Affects EVERYTHING (Champs, Turrets, Dragon). Long range. Use wisely.
Who Bard Beats (And Who Beats Bard)
Hard. Stay behind minions. Scale. Don't die level 1.
Annoying. Black Shield stops your Q and R. Bait the shield.
Stalemate. He just E's away. Roam.
Blitzcrank is your nightmare. He'll hook you out of your tunnel or pull your ADC while you're collecting chimes. Against Morgana, your R and Q are gated by a Black Shield. Bait it out before you commit to the roam.
Blitzcrank is hard; stay behind minions and scale. Morgana is annoying; Black Shield stops your Q and R, so bait it first. Ezreal is safe; you can't catch him, so roam elsewhere.
Roaming Addiction
Stop ulting your teammates to 'save' them unless you are 100% sure! A bad Bard R is the fastest way to get reported. If your teammate is running away and you stasis them, you just allowed the enemy team to catch up and surround them. Use R aggressively to catch enemies or defensively to freeze towers for dives. Also, do not abandon your ADC when the wave is stacking against them. Roaming is good; griefing your carry is not.
When the Lane Is Lost at Champ Select
Dodge Blitzcrank. If you try to poke, he hooks you. If you roam, he kills your ADC. Also Zyra—her plants block your Q stun.
If they pick Zyra, don't even bother poking. Her plants block your Q stun. Focus on the mid-lane roam and help your jungler invade. Bard is about the map, not just the bot lane.
Dodge Blitzcrank. If you try to poke, he hooks you. If you roam, he kills your ADC. Also dodge Zyra—her plants block your Q stun, neutralizing your lane pressure completely.
The Clutch Ability
In teamfights, look for the R catch. Ult their backline to remove them from the fight, then kill the frontline. Or ult their frontline to walk past them. Use E to flank or escape. Land Q stuns by using walls or minions. Your meep autos slow enemies forever.
The Roaming Bard Build
RFC Bard. Locket -> Rapid Firecannon -> Dead Man's Plate. You run fast, you slow them from range, and you are surprisingly tanky. You control the pace of the game.
Dead Man's Plate is mandatory if you want to be everywhere at once. RFC for the long-range meep slow. Locket is the safe choice for teamfighting. If you're 5/0, go for Lich Bane and become a carry.
RFC Bard: Locket -> Rapid Firecannon -> Dead Man's Plate. You run fast, you slow them from range with meeps, and you are surprisingly tanky. You control the pace of the game.
When Bard Hits Hardest
Level 3 Roam. 15 Chimes (Meep Cone Slow). 35 Chimes (Meep Area Damage).
15 chimes is when your meeps start to actually hurt. 35 chimes is the cone damage spike. Level 6 is your invite to make cross-map plays. If you see the enemy jungler at their buff, Ult it and steal it.
Level 3 Roam is your first impact. 15 Chimes gives you the Meep Cone Slow. 35 Chimes gives Meep Area Damage. These are your true power spikes, not items.
The Magical Journey
Collect chimes in the enemy jungle while spamming Mastery 7. Use Magical Journey to bait enemies into following you (then stun them against the wall).
Type '?' in all-chat after an enemy follows you through a portal and gets stunned against a wall. It's the highest form of Bard entertainment. Use your portals to bait them into your team's ambush. Chimes are bait.
Collect chimes in the enemy jungle while spamming Mastery 7. Use Magical Journey to bait enemies into following you (then stun them against the wall). Type '?' in all-chat when they die.
Recent Patch History
Recent Balance Changes
| Patch | Date | Type | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| V14.9 | May 1, 2024 | BUFF | Base stats buffed |
| V14.4 | Feb 22, 2024 | ADJUST | P nerfed, Base stats adjusted |
| V14.2 | Jan 24, 2024 | ADJUST | W nerfed |
| V13.18 | Sep 13, 2023 | BUFF | P buffed, W adjusted |
| V12.10 | May 25, 2022 | BUFF | Base stats buffed |
