Front bar vs back bar ... what’s the difference of putting something on one vs the other?

Chronicburn

I really had no clue there was a difference until reading another discussion. This game has so many hidden mechanics...

Can someone who knows explain plz?

AcadianPaladin

Yes, both my destro and resto staves are same set. I run either 2 sets of 5 or a set of five and 2 sets of three.

DW or S&S can complicate things because another gear slot becomes available.

Edit: Oops, wrong thread.

Kanar

Nothing. it's just a concept, like primary vs secondary weapon.

Sixty5

A lot of it is based on convenience, being able to keep your long buffs all on one bar so that you don't have to swap between them that often to reapply them. Or keeping a shield on the same bar as your spammable so that you can cast it quickly.

Additionally, with Magicka builds, you want to keep all of your AOE skills on the same bar as your lightning staff in order to benefit from the 8% AOE damage buff, likewise for single target skills and flame staff bars.

Other skills provide passive buffs, like Inner Light, and having them distributed across your bars correctly will improve your damage output and survivability.

doslekis

I may be wrong, but I don't think there's any difference in stats between front and back bar. If you put the same weapons and skills on both bar id think your stats would be the same. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

Depending on your playstyle you decide which weapons and skills you use the most and put them on your front bar

Some use the back bar for buffs, buff up, switch to front bar to fight.

Others, like me, use both bars so equally that we don't even have a front or back bar, just two weapons and ten skills that make up our build.

Chronicburn

So if I was using dw and bow, there is no difference between having bow on front or back bar? Even as far as set bonuses go or whatever?

Sixty5

Chronicburn wrote: »

So if I was using dw and bow, there is no difference between having bow on front or back bar? Even as far as set bonuses go or whatever?

Not at all, you get the set bonuses you have with each bar equipped regardless of whether it is bar 1 or bar 2

AcadianPaladin

You are correct - no difference. I run a destro staff bar and resto staff bar on my healer, and skills are slotted partly by the weapon line they come from and partly for function and partly for the synergy of fitting into patterns/rotations efficiently. I don't even think of it as front/back bar, simply one bar and the other and probably spend equal time on both.

Chronicburn

So if you switch to back bar you are getting that set bonus instead ... so the second DW weapon is almost an “odd man out” of you are trying to keep your set bonus consistent when switch right?

Chronicburn

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

You are correct - no difference. I run a destro staff bar and resto staff bar on my healer, and skills are slotted partly by the weapon line they come from and partly for function and partly for the synergy of fitting into patterns/rotations efficiently. I don't even think of it as front/back bar, simply one bar and the other and probably spend equal time on both.

So are your destro and destro staff from the same set?

Chronicburn

Thx guys

WrathOfInnos

No real difference. A lot of builds spend more time on one bar than the other, and therefore passives like Inner Light are more important to keep on this common "Frint Bar" than the less-used "Back Bar". The back bar is often used for long duration DoTs and buffs (10-30s), while instant skills are kept on the front bar.

Linaleah

for a while, on one of my characters my bar 2 was actualy my front bar (as in the bar I spend more time on) honestly its all it is, front bar is the bar you spend more time with, back bar tends to be supplementary bar, where the buffs, etc live.

edited, and of course the post right above me says essentially the same thing already :P so yeah, what everyone said, doesn't matter whether your main bar is numbered 1 or 2, works exactly the same in either case

Iselin

It's just like wearing your underwear forward or backwards: one of the two just feels right.

Platemale

Iselin wrote: »

It's just like wearing your underwear forward or backwards: one of the two just feels right.

Perfect Analogy

lassitershawn

Chronicburn wrote: »

So if you switch to back bar you are getting that set bonus instead ... so the second DW weapon is almost an “odd man out” of you are trying to keep your set bonus consistent when switch right?

Dual wield weapons count as 1 set piece each, 2h weapons like staves count as 2 set pieces. In PvE and sometimes PvP you usually don't have the same set bonuses on both bars as you commonly run maelstrom weapons on backbar (whichever bar that is).

Usually when people say "front bar" they mean the bar you have your spammable ability on as a DPS, your restoration staff as a healer, or your S/B bar as a tank. Usually the bar you spend the bulk of your time on.

ghastley

In most cases, the character will be using two different weapons (even if it's just two different staves) and the skills on the bars will be appropriate to the use of that weapon. E.g. Healing/buffing skills with the Resto staff. There may be considerations of full set versus part set if only one weapon matches the jewelry (the conventional arrangement), that mean you'll want the skills that don't depend on the full set on the bar without it.

But after all, it's just two configurations of weapon and skills that you can swap. I don't think there are any bonuses for front bar placement, or anything like that. There are bonuses for having a skill slotted that might mean you want it on both bars, but that's as far as it goes.