The-Nameless Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 Here is my first run at a zerk essay. Please let me know what you all think: Overview Berserkers are one of the most versatile melee classes in FL. You can be extremely defensive, or extremely offensive.Based solely on what your own playstyle leans towards. Races Human - Not the best race for a berserker. The argument here is going for a qrace/class (demon, undead, crusader). Beyond that this race offers no bonuses to the berserker guildhall Werebeast – While I really enjoy the idea of a crazed lycanthrope chasing after you, in practice this race is one of the most stifled when it comes to the berserker class. There are some very good advantages to it, but you will find your combat abilities are not nearly what they could be with another race. Dwarf - Ah, my vote for the best non-giant berserker. Very good hp, good strength, and resistance to magic are all great arguments as to why this would be a great berserker. Duergar - Where a dwarf is strong, a duergar is fast(er). This not one I recommend for persons new to the berserker skill set. Stone - Big, dumb, strong, and neutral. All great things for a berserker. Neutral means noone can have protection vs you, you also get access to boulder throw which makes your opponents running much harder. A good selection for a berserker Fire - Big, dumber, stronger, and evil. This is my personal favorite for the berserker class. Bonus in skills using fire based weapons means you can achieve even greater offense, and defense, than any other berserker race. Also the easiest vuln to exploit. Invokers will make your life miserable for all but the most skilled. Not the choice I suggest for new berserker players. Storm - Big, dumb, strong, and good. You get the bonuses of requesting equipment, as well as a 10% bonus to ALL skills while your standing in water. A very good choice for berserkers. Ogre - Possibly the overall best choice for berserkers. Huge hp, great regen, can be any alignment. The Hp allows you to make mistakes in combat the other races cannot afford. An excellent choice for learning the class, as well as for those who are already familiar with how a berserker functions. Minotaur - Another strong argument for best berserker. Personally they are not my flavor, but this race has alot of perks that go very nicely with the berserker class. Natural mastery of Axes, a charge that would lag god to death. Good hp, good dex. This can make for a very strong berserker. If you do try this race, I warn you not to rely solely on your charge for wins. People will quickly adapt to that tactic, and you will begin to lose more often because of it. Skillz that kill Panic A blind zerk will "panic". It functions similar to haste without a boost to your dexterity. You will also not be able to sleep until you have gotten rid of the panic. Either by curing blindness, or relaxing (path of anger). Skills Swing - A very useful skill for mastering your weapon skills very quickly. Personally I do not even practice it because I do not want my rage to drop prematurely because I killed a weak pet. I have had folks go buy a weak mercenary to make this happen. Charge - A useful way to get an opener. Lags you longer than your opponent. Minotaurs get a special charge with a full round of combat if they are wielding axes, and 2 rounds of lag. Absolutely eats classes that do not get counter. Bodyslam - This skill is what is going to get you most of your kills. A well timed bodyslam (or an enlarged one) will turn fights around for you quite often. Weapon cleave - A berserkers less reliable disarm. I would not recommend spending too much time trying this. Sure it is nice to break their weapon, but you can usually win while they use a weapon anyway. Offhand cleave- Path of anger allows you to cleave a dual wielded weapon. This may be worth attempting as very rarely will people be dual wielding weapons that cannot be cleaved. Again though I would not spend too much time attempting this. There are other skills that you should be using that will win the fight. Shield cleave - Same as weapon cleave, but for shields. You SHOULD be using this often, because usually the people using it are mages and this is their primary defense. Very few shields are unable to be cleaved. Haymaker - "dispel" for the chin. Great command to use AFTER an opponent lags themself. If you see they missed a bash, you should toss out a haymaker for good measure. Another tactic is if you know your opponent is spamming commands ahead of time you can usually win based on that. They make a mistake, and you capitolize on it. Headbutt - Good for taking down protective shields, most mages will run when they see a successful headbutt. If they don’t, that means they’re betting they can kill you with one or two more spells. If they do, that means you have to chase again because headbutt lags you. Headbutt also prevents someone from casting spells for a short while, making this a great skill to use against certain classes. Path of anger can also cause a confusion effect Roar – A useful skill, but it is not high on the combat priority list because you should be trying to haymaker, or headbutt, or cleave weapons. Overall this skill suffers from the fact it is on a class that has ALOT of things to be done during combat. I usually only use this fighting mobs. Rage - Your lynchpin skill. This skill defines you as a berserker. There are many times you should rage, and many times you should not. The time to use your rage varies depending on your class. Path of Anger can rage pretty freely, because it will fall very quickly so they are not dedicating themselves to the fight too heavily. Fury can also rage relatively freely because they can relax if they need to end the rage. Devastation you need to be sure rage is what you need to do. If you rage, your in this fight til either they flee, or one of you die. Path Anger - Shield mastery, ability to haymaker past shield block, and a "confuse" tied to your headbutt. All this adds up to a very mean berserker. You will not rely as heavily on rage to finish fights for you, but your skill set compliments tactical, calculated play. Fury - Improved skills with two handed weapons, deflects arrows back at opponent, deals damage even if your attack is defended against. This adds up to make a berserker that is focused on killing his swiftly. Dealing damage every round is not something to scoff at. Devastation - RAWR! My vote for favorite - Devastation berserkers get the ability to berserk as much as their mana allows meaning you are able to heal more than any other berserker based on class skills alone. Also you rage and keep a defense. Roar is nearly as reliable as dodge is in my play experience. All this adds up to, what I feel, is the true berserker. Weapons Weapon and Shield: Not a bad choice, usually this is your setup for fighting melee if your an anger zerk Weapon and Dual Wield Weapon: This is what you will use vs rogues, and most mages. Axe/spear(magic) or Axe/axe if your able to get them. Two-handed Weapon: Polearm is my default weapon for a berserker. It offers fantastic defense, as well as good offense. It also offers great cleaving as well as activating furies class skills (reflecting arrows and assault) The weapon expertise depends entirely upon what you want to wield as your primary weapon, what race you are, and what kind of style you fight in. I really hope this essay, combined with some of the other information available to the public, improves your understanding of the class. I also hope it spurs some of you on to play one or two of these monsters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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