To quickly answer your questions, yes, SDI works with SW spells (my practice was to max mana increase and mana regeneration on the suit, then add maximum SDI; the reason you want to max mana before SDI is: without mana, there are no spells to cast at all and Bard Mastery spellsongs as well as repeated Word of Death can be mana intensive).
I was 4x120 on all bard skills as well as legendary Spellweaving and Meditation. Discording a monster plus the damage from a pack of fully powered Nature's Fury.... this was usually enough for the win. For bigger game, add Tribulation and/ or Word of Death. Lots and lots of fun.... and groups will generally be glad you're around due to the difference a bard can make.
To quickly answer your questions, yes, SDI works with SW spells (my practice was to max mana increase and mana regeneration on the suit, then add maximum SDI; the reason you want to max mana before SDI is: without mana, there are no spells to cast at all and Bard Mastery spellsongs as well as repeated Word of Death can be mana intensive).
I was 4x120 on all bard skills as well as legendary Spellweaving and Meditation. Discording a monster plus the damage from a pack of fully powered Nature's Fury.... this was usually enough for the win. For bigger game, add Tribulation and/ or Word of Death. Lots and lots of fun.... and groups will generally be glad you're around due to the difference a bard can make.
So you ran with no Magery? i really want to stay 4/120 bard but find doing much without magery tough no way to heal or rez my party members...
Acknowledgment and accountability go a long way...
The template I noted above allows you to self resurrect as well as conduct limited-by-timer heals on oneself or ones pet (I usually reserved the spell for being at the ready for my pet; greater heal pots for myself). For me, this was enough.. especially since the main thing I was looking for was a way to allow the full bard to be (mostly) self sufficient, which this template allowed.
That said, for a more group oriented bard (which 4x120 bards usually are), Magery may work better for you... especially if you or your group are expecting you to function as a reliable (or somewhat reliable) healer and provide resurrections. On the other hand, groups vary: this role may already be being fulfilled by another (and frankly, it should be.... keeping spellsongs up continously and being a dedicated healer is not the way to go for a bard, IMHO). Ultimately, it's up to you to figure out what works.
Try Test Center and see what works for you. I will just add that Spellweaving and its potency should not be judged without a full Arcane Focus (level 6), a volume III mastery and about 150 SDI (if memory serves me right); otherwise, you will not be seeing what the spells really can do.
Spamming Word of Death on a boss while actively using Tribulation (or running any other continuous spellsong) is not possible w/ out a deep, deep mana supply and regen.
This build is a glass cannon: the 120 med facilitates doing things one cannot otherwise do or would have to be sitting around far too long in order to do a second time. As an example, wIth 120 Meditation, 40 LMC and the maximum 31 MR, I would still have to pause mid fight in order to meditate and ensure I would be ready for the WOD spam at the tail end: this occurred because I ran a spellsong throughout the encounter (usually Tribulation): If the maximum is not even enough, why recommend less? This is why I recommend 120 Meditation.
Not to mention that the Peacemaking mastery cannot be depended on to heal as one cannot choose it on the fly (switching masteries has a cooldown; ones need for a heal may not coincide with the cooldown situation at that time).
Comments
Spellweaving is stand alone. I haven't bothered to read the real calculator but I think sdi works but not slayer books. Do not quote me on that!
For the amount of blood, sweat and tears to add weaving I've always just went with another offense.
Remember to go into tree form for the free extra sdi.