[Snake]

Or maybe reduce those absurd scalings and make it require SAN too, as intended for a Sound-based class like we'd expect from Bard. They're, as is, a bunch of Skill Mages with those scalings, without the drag limitation of having to use a Tome or SWA in general.

SAN is not a bad stat, but SAN also prevents them from bass boosting into specific stats and adding more icing on top, such as Luminary Element or Impure Element.

Don't forget that basic hitters get counter-acted by LUC and GUI, so Bard and its promotions should need another form of stat tax, and lo, there you have it, SAN, the juicy boy that'll fix all of Bard's problems.

A more basic example of what I mean could be put as simple as:

Thunder Steps
60% Lightning ATK, 60% Sound ATK.
70% Lightning ATK, 70% Sound ATK.
80% Lightning ATK, 80% Sound ATK.
90% Lightning ATK, 90% Sound ATK.
100% Lightning ATK, 100% Sound ATK.