[5.0] Bard The Wandering Caretaker's Build

Early Game

Bard at Level 1 is basically a war crime. Auto → Meep slap → Q stun into the wall → Electrocute proc → the enemy ADC wonders if uninstalling would improve their mental health. Abuse this, because after Level 1, you suddenly turn into a glorified bellboy until you get more items and chimes.

Trading: Outside of your Q, your other buttons are either “heals slower than fountain regen” or “puts you 3 screens away from your ADC who is now flaming you in all-chat.”

Shrines: Place them behind, not in the lane like a lost Yuumi. Walking back for a heal is better than giving Tanks another engage angle.

Roaming: Bard without roams is just a support with an identity crisis. Collect chimes, annoy the enemy jungler, maybe get a mid laner’s flash. Just don’t forget your ADC exists or do, if they locked Ezreal.

Mid Game

Here’s where Bard actually feels like a champion. You start zooming around with your magical taxis, chunking people with Meeps, and casually winning skirmishes by pressing R and pretending it was “100% calculated.”

Cosmic Bindings: Remember, if you don’t stun at least two people with Q in a choke point, you’re just playing Lucio on hard mode.

Roams: Now they’re less of a gamble. Every chime is damage, CDR, and the illusion that you’re actually scaling.

Team Help: Toss heals like hotel mints. Nobody appreciates them, but it keeps people alive long enough to type “gj.”

Late Game

This is where Bard becomes either the hero or the thrower. One Tempered Fate can win Baron or Elder… or save the enemy ADC at 10 HP while your team spam-pings you.

Engage: Ult their carry, then ping furiously until your team follows up. If they don’t, it’s their fault.

Peel: If engage fails, pretend you’re playing Janna with rocks. Q → Auto → W heal→ buy enough time for your ADC to miss skillshots anyway.

Positioning: Stay with your team. You are not a solo assassin. No, you cannot 1v1 Sett at 20 minutes. Yes, you will try. No, it won’t work.