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Is getting 3rd level spells with one of the best all around classes not exciting enough?
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They got it at 1st level instead.
In terms of caster Classes (as opposed to martials), all the other Classes get at 5th level that Bards don't is an upgrade to either Perception or a Save from Trained to Expert.
Bards started with Perception at Expert as well as Will Save. Something no other caster Class gets, all receiving only Will at Expert with Perception and all other Saves at only Trained.
So...all the other Classes get to do at 5th level that Bards don't is catch up to where Bards started at in terms of Proficiencies (okay, Druids technically pull ahead because 3rd level is absurd for them).
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Other primary casters at that level are only getting proficiency level upgrades to saves or perception.
At 5th level
Bards are Expert in Perception, Will, and Reflex.
Wizards are Expert in Will and Reflexes.
Sorcerers are Expert in Will and Fortitude.
Druids are Expert in Perception, Will, Fortitude, and Reflex.
Clerics are Expert in Perception, Will, and Fortitude.
At this point every caster except the Druid is playing catch up to the Bard's proficiencies.
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Is this an oversight? They seem pretty underpowered as is.
I have very little personal doubt that Bards are by far the best class in the game, and nowhere near underpowered.
They interact with the underlying system math in a way that may not be obvious, but is extremely powerful.
Their ability to, for instance, provide both a status bonus to attack rolls and a status penalty to a targets AC in the same turn is a force multiplier that will turn difficult envounters into trivial ones.
As noted though, they're not even really behind on class features...
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Bards are awesome. I think they have a little bit of the "Envoy" issue where they don't look amazing on paper. The Bard in my Age of Ashes campaign has been an absolute rockstar, though.
Inspire Courage is such a strong bonus that she feels really bad any time she doesn't have the actions to use it. A +1 bonus may not sound like much, but if you have three other party members making two attacks per round there's around a 50% chance it turns a miss into a hit or a hit into a crit each round.
On top of that the Bard spell list is amazing, aside from some glaring and likely intentional weaknesses (very few spells that target Reflex, for example). Fear, Phantasmal Killer, and Synaptic Pulse are incredibly reliable debuffs and have each saved the party's life a time or two. Add Sound Burst and Soothe on top of that and you have a character that can be a clutch healer or blaster while also handing out one of the best buffs in the game and several of the best debuffs.
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Yeah, bards are kings of utility, they're the front facing Red Mage/CC Train class, and 3rd level heightening on most of their spells is absurdly good, so anything else coming online at 5th would be kinda broken. Can they nuke? Yes (kind of...), can they heal? Yes, can they bring utility? Better than even the Wizard, can they skill monkey? Second best core class at it. I think it's kind of silly actually, they're only weak point is melee, and they still have d8 HP and expert in all saves at 3rd. Yeah... I really like playing my goblin bard, still haven't used Goblin Song though..... keep forgetting it's there... Bards are fun, and kind of a mess on paper, but fun nonetheless
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While bards are definitely quite good I don't think they're the best class in the game.
The best class is CLEARLY <insert ANY class that is NOT Alchemist> because <list of reasons citing the really cool things that class can do that others can't>
One place where I think that PF2 really, really shines is that the classes really do pretty much all (Except Alchemist) have their niche where they rock. Which class rocks most is largely a matter of personal taste, party makeup and the campaign.
The biggest issue that I have with Bards is far more a problem for PFS than for normal play. More than 1 bard in a group very rapidly leads to diminishing returns. While that is true to an extent for other classes it seems MOST true for bards and heal-bot clerics.