I often hear about the bread and butter focus spells being on a level of there own, I refer to Inspire Heroics and of course Dirge of Doom. I wanted to hear people's thoughts on a couple other focus spells/Cantrips and if they were almost on the same level or if for the optimizer they should be passed up on. Without furtherado, I speak of Soothing Ballad and Inspire Defense. More often than not is Inspire Courage (without Heroics) better than Inspire Defense?
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Inspire Courage helps you kill enemies. Dead enemies don't hurt you. Ergo Inspire Courage is the superior defensive spell.
In the proper circumstances, Inspire Defense can be invaluable. Same with Soothing Ballad. Those spells only real problem is that they don't have the same "wide ranging" effectiveness that Inspire Courage does. Being free means that a Bard Cantrip is the most cost effective method for gaining a Status Bonus to attack an Damage rolls. It also benefits from improving Every attack, whereas other status bonuses are can be more specific.
This makes Inspire Courage the "superior" choice in most players eyes.
Soothing Ballad similarly competes with similar free abilities, like Treat Wounds. Sure the argument could be made that it is a nice option in Battle, but look at what it competes with at it's level: Allegro, otherwise known as free haste. Quickened is an attractive buff that you Know you are going to use at some point. Soothing Ballad is an, admittedly good, healing option that actually costs Focus, so can't be "spammed" in combat.
This is why the player inclined to min/max is less likely to choose these options: they aren't as attractive as their contemporaries, even if they are perfectly useful in their own right.
At least that is my 2cp.