bards are still a buff class, we keep 5 buffs going at all times with most being group. I play a dirge, and buff DPS, nox mitigation, disease proc, str and agi, avoidance, power recovery, run speed, targets aggro and str, and agi and int for self.
BTW that is still and old spell list, atleast for dirges. When the main site is up, it has a better spell list.