Why try and change bards if you claim they are support classes and can't seal kills well? That sure doesn't sound like I'm going to be scared of one.

Fiend gets hyped because usually only the strongest ones get posted making it look phenomenal when in hindsight, it doesn't really get as many kills as it seems, hence the top 10 bards pk records.

And everyone is silly and usually uses fiends to open combat nearly all the time. Granted in that log it was the right choice, but I don't think I've ever died to a bard that opened with fiend, including giants. Then... if you're fighting a bard and gushing and he flees to try and seal it with fiend. I find it nearly impossible that you can't get away from him one on one. Run the opposite direction, quaff, anything other but try and chase him, that's just untactful.

There's so many things that would need changed over fiend, if anything really at all. Ap's lashes are just.. well.. brutal, even without that many charges. Flurries on average bust out more damage than any average fiend. Strong hunts are just plain terrifying, I'd SO rather fight a fiend than the hunt. Point is.. when any skill in the game is the strongest it can possibly be, so many other things are just as deathful if not more and at least you can prep for the fiend in a greater way than any of the others aside from dam redux, and that still works for nightmares.