he's actually really good. like, obscenely good. but also has some glaring weaknesses. he requires top tier coordination. not a great soloQ champ unless your duo is a roaming midlaner or jungler. but certainly a very very very strong champ. give it some time. people thought lucian was bad on release too. they were dead wrong. theyre wrong this time too. the difference between bards strength on release, and the strength of someone like, say, yasuo on release, is that bard's kit is actually balanced, instead of just overloaded in every possible way. he has clear strengths and weaknesses and a very unique playstyle, is all