Guild Wars 2

Molch.2078:

Canakun.8031:

Hunter.4783:

1) Full zerker is bad. Aetherblade Strikers say hi
2) Condition removal = good, especially when getting those 5 stacks of confusion mid WW cast. Time to dust off those soldier runes eh?
3) Shelter = good, no need to elaborate on this

So please, keep these 3 points in mind the next time you run that dungeon so us “nub non zerker” guardians don’t spend 90% of the time rezzing you, kk?

Since when were guardians that didn’t run full zerk the noobs?

Since ever. And they still are. Damage > all in this game. One dungeon won’t change that.

Derrrrp. No. That attitude only works in very specific situations (Cof1 being an example).
Most fights in this game are designed to be prolonged experiences which means surviving is the most important thing. Zerk guardian is probably the dumbest thing I’ve heard of, really, due to their small health pool, especially in this dungeon where surviving is 70% of the mechanics in most of the fights.

bri.2359:

Lol!!
This made my morning!

You have this the wrong way around, mate. Berseker amour is the ‘training wheels’ in this game. Using the worse defensive stats in the game teaches you how to dodge and stay alive. Every new player should be forced to use berseker until at least lvl 80.

Once you have learned to play, then you are ready for ‘grown up’ armour and a balanced build.

I guess you are not there yet

I guess you don’t know what means ‘training wheels’. Here’s a definition. Please, think logically next time.

Canakun.8031:

Derrrrp. No. That attitude only works in very specific situations (Cof1 being an example).
Most fights in this game are designed to be prolonged experiences which means surviving is the most important thing. Zerk guardian is probably the dumbest thing I’ve heard of, really, due to their small health pool, especially in this dungeon where surviving is 70% of the mechanics in most of the fights.

Tell that to better than average pugger player. There’s no dungeon or fractal where full zerker is a bad idea.

haviz.1340:

Tell that to better than average pugger player. There’s no dungeon or fractal where full zerker is a bad idea.

I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic or serious with this statement. If you agree with what you just said, then good luck with that.

In my experience, most guardians (or any class really) that use full berserker gear are a liability to the group. This isn’t necessarily true of people that know what they’re doing but most don’t have a clue. They believe that higher damage > everything else and then they die. And die. And die. Then they start getting angry at the rest of the group for “sucking” even though we’re all still alive. Or they demand that the group “stacks” (dumbest strategy ever in most situations in this game) so they can minimize how much they’re hit while the rest of the group goes down due to AoE stuns, conditions, or burst damage.

Zedd.8239:

I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic or serious with this statement. If you agree with what you just said, then good luck with that.

In my experience, most guardians (or any class really) that use full berserker gear are a liability to the group. This isn’t necessarily true of people that know what they’re doing but most don’t have a clue. They believe that higher damage > everything else and then they die. And die. And die. Then they start getting angry at the rest of the group for “sucking” even though we’re all still alive. Or they demand that the group “stacks” (dumbest strategy ever in most situations in this game) so they can minimize how much they’re hit while the rest of the group goes down due to AoE stuns, conditions, or burst damage.

Guardian is the easiest proffesion to play as full zerker. If “most guardians” can’t do it properly, they really have to improve their own survivability.

haviz.1340:

Guardian is the easiest proffesion to play as full zerker. If “most guardians” can’t do it properly, they really have to improve their own survivability.

I said most guardians in PUGs I’ve played with that go full zerker. In PUGs, which is what you were referring to, many guardians have no idea what they’re doing. Sometimes you hit a guardian that is extremely experienced but it’s rare. I’m not saying you don’t know what you’re doing. I’ve never played with you (as far as I know) so if you can go full zerker and not be a liability, then more power to you. It’d be nice to see that more often.

Whatever the case, they often just go full zerker, use a greatsword, and expect the group to carry them. That might work in CoF path 1 but it’s often a recipe for disaster in most other dungeons (especially high level fractals). And it definitely isn’t the best of ideas in AR if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Zedd.8239:

I said most guardians in PUGs I’ve played with that go full zerker. In PUGs, which is what you were referring to, many guardians have no idea what they’re doing. Sometimes you hit a guardian that is extremely experienced but it’s rare. I’m not saying you don’t know what you’re doing. I’ve never played with you (as far as I know) so if you can go full zerker and not be a liability, then more power to you. It’d be nice to see that more often.

Whatever the case, they often just go full zerker, use a greatsword, and expect the group to carry them. That might work in CoF path 1 but it’s often a recipe for disaster in most other dungeons (especially high level fractals). And it definitely isn’t the best of ideas in AR if you don’t know what you’re doing.

I pug very seldom but everyone except necro in my regular team doing lvl 50+ fractals has no point put in toughness. Almost every dungeon is extremely easy due to the common way of doing them (skipping what you can). The only hard dungeons would be fractals of the mists where certain mobs have so much offensive (20k+ heartseeker with full hp, 40k+ rush, 25k+ flame burst), your defensive stats are worth squat and the only thing the keeps you alive is either dodging or boon upkeep.

This new dungeon promotes stability (strikers) and condition removal (swashbucklers) if you decide to facetank them. None of those things are unavailable to zerker guardians.

This dungeon taught me that A.net loves guardians and that will never change.

Canakun.8031:

Molch.2078:

Canakun.8031:

Hunter.4783:

1) Full zerker is bad. Aetherblade Strikers say hi
2) Condition removal = good, especially when getting those 5 stacks of confusion mid WW cast. Time to dust off those soldier runes eh?
3) Shelter = good, no need to elaborate on this

So please, keep these 3 points in mind the next time you run that dungeon so us “nub non zerker” guardians don’t spend 90% of the time rezzing you, kk?

Since when were guardians that didn’t run full zerk the noobs?

Since ever. And they still are. Damage > all in this game. One dungeon won’t change that.

Derrrrp. No. That attitude only works in very specific situations (Cof1 being an example).
Most fights in this game are designed to be prolonged experiences which means surviving is the most important thing. Zerk guardian is probably the dumbest thing I’ve heard of, really, due to their small health pool, especially in this dungeon where surviving is 70% of the mechanics in most of the fights.

I run CoE/Arah p1-4 in full zerker gear on every class. Five man, duo and solo. Your CoF1 argument is invalid.

Please stop saying zerker is a CoF1 only thing. It works everywhere just as good. If you survive in zerker as good as in knights as good as in pvt, whats the point in not running zerker?

Molch.2078:

If you survive in zerker as good as in knights as good as in pvt, whats the point in not running zerker?

Because not everything is about raw damage.

Zedd.8239:

Molch.2078:

If you survive in zerker as good as in knights as good as in pvt, whats the point in not running zerker?

Because not everything is about raw damage.

Interesting. Any examples? And more than one, please.

Zedd.8239:

Molch.2078:

If you survive in zerker as good as in knights as good as in pvt, whats the point in not running zerker?

Because not everything is about raw damage.

completely incorrect, the only boss fight i can think of in regular dungeons that isnt about raw damage … wait there isnt one

with my build i found myself irreplacable for party keeping them alive and taking pressure all the time while still helping with ok dps.. well we gave up near end anyways – had no warriors, no mesmers no other guardians for our defence
Still it was nice standing out all the time, being ’’immortal’’ as they described me

Clumsy.6257:

completely incorrect, the only boss fight i can think of in regular dungeons that isnt about raw damage … wait there isnt one

Oh so we’re only talking about bosses now? My bad. I thought there were other situations in the game other than that. Obviously my support build has absolutely no use in any situation in this game. Oh wait. It does. Almost everywhere.

Zedd.8239:

Clumsy.6257:

completely incorrect, the only boss fight i can think of in regular dungeons that isnt about raw damage … wait there isnt one

Oh so we’re only talking about bosses now? My bad. I thought there were other situations in the game other than that. Obviously my support build has absolutely no use in any situation in this game. Oh wait. It does. Almost everywhere.

You’re still lacking evidence… where do you need a heal-support guardian? Where is a little bit of heal better than damage?

Red bars to hit down, on the other hand, are everywhere…

Molch.2078:

You’re still lacking evidence… where do you need a heal-support guardian? Where is a little bit of heal better than damage?

I need to provide evidence now? That’s amusing.

High level fractals, dungeons, WvW, general PvE. I use it all the time and it’s very effective.

If you want to use something else, that’s fine. I have a different play style than you, clearly.

Red bars to hit down, on the other hand, are everywhere…

That’s great. There are also green bars almost everywhere.

Zedd.8239:

High level fractals, dungeons, WvW, general PvE. I use it all the time and it’s very effective.

Our definition of “effective” differs, it seems.

Molch.2078:

Our definition of “effective” differs, it seems.

And there’s a problem with that? I honestly don’t understand this attitude from a few of you. Support guardians are definitely a viable and effective play style. Sure, I don’t do as much damage as people in full zerker gear. So what? I still play an important role in my groups. It isn’t as noticeable as lots of red numbers appearing above enemies but that doesn’t mean I’m not doing anything. Might stacks, lots of small heals, condition removal, etc.

I don’t think the OP’s claim about zerker gear being a bad idea in AR is valid. It has its place and those that know what they’re doing can be effective with it there. But other builds are also viable. Maybe not for you personally but for others. If that isn’t something that you can accept, then this is clearly a pointless discussion.

Molch.2078:

Zedd.8239:

Clumsy.6257:

completely incorrect, the only boss fight i can think of in regular dungeons that isnt about raw damage … wait there isnt one

Oh so we’re only talking about bosses now? My bad. I thought there were other situations in the game other than that. Obviously my support build has absolutely no use in any situation in this game. Oh wait. It does. Almost everywhere.

You’re still lacking evidence… where do you need a heal-support guardian? Where is a little bit of heal better than damage?

Red bars to hit down, on the other hand, are everywhere…

Heal support in PVE? Way to lose credibility and show you know jack about the class. There are other things in between 20/30/20 in full zerker gear and Healway.

The entire Idea is that a more tanky guardian running lets say a mix of knights/zerker (50/50) and soldier runes is way more beneficial to the party than a DPS wanna be guardian. The mere fact that the somewhat tanky guardian can take a hit, draw agro from the boss or mobs and live alleviate a great deal of stress from the party. Would you rather have that glass cannon warrior or mes kiting the boss/mobs or DPSing full force?

And yes, you running 50% knights gear with some points in valor will near you the 3k armor mark and that usually will make you the preferred target over other squishes.

Not to mention that soldier runes and PoV can hugely alleviate condition pressure like when someone messes up in the archdiviner.

“BUT…BUT…MY ULTRA MEGA AWESOME GULDIES DO THAT FIGHT IN 3.2324242 MIN AND NO ONE GETS HIT…EVAHHHh!” ….Yeah thats awesome, but in more down to earth and common scenarios you see people getting hit and downed and a tanky guard will be able to get them up while eating a few hits from the boss

And please, i don’t wanna hear anyone talk about Arah, it has been beaten to death and most bosses soloed at this point.

Note: When i say tanky guard i don’t mean full PVT gear, i am talking about 50/50 knights/zerker. I have to stress it again cuz not everyone here has reading comprehension

Hunter.4783:

Heal support in PVE? Way to lose credibility and show you know jack about the class. There are other things in between 20/30/20 in full zerker gear and Healway.

The entire Idea is that a more tanky guardian running lets say a mix of knights/zerker (50/50) and soldier runes is way more beneficial to the party than a DPS wanna be guardian. The mere fact that the somewhat tanky guardian can take a hit, draw agro from the boss or mobs and live alleviate a great deal of stress from the party. Would you rather have that glass cannon warrior or mes kiting the boss/mobs or DPSing full force?

And yes, you running 50% knights gear with some points in valor will near you the 3k armor mark and that usually will make you the preferred target over other squishes.

Not to mention that soldier runes and PoV can hugely alleviate condition pressure like when someone messes up in the archdiviner.

“BUT…BUT…MY ULTRA MEGA AWESOME GULDIES DO THAT FIGHT IN 3.2324242 MIN AND NO ONE GETS HIT…EVAHHHh!” ….Yeah thats awesome, but in more down to earth and common scenarios you see people getting hit and downed and a tanky guard will be able to get them up while eating a few hits from the boss

And please, i don’t wanna hear anyone talk about Arah, it has been beaten to death and most bosses soloed at this point.

Note: When i say tanky guard i don’t mean full PVT gear, i am talking about 50/50 knights/zerker. I have to stress it again cuz not everyone here has reading comprehension

This. Thank you.

Zedd.8239:

Molch.2078:

Our definition of “effective” differs, it seems.

And there’s a problem with that?

No. I’m fine. Our discussion started here:

Molch.2078:

Molch.2078:

If you survive in zerker as good as in knights as good as in pvt, whats the point in not running zerker?

Because not everything is about raw damage.

I had the imagination of myself fighting a mob with full health while a guardian in a heal spec trys to heal me. Our discussion was too much hate and too little information to clear that image. So I will ask you straight forward: What is the build you’re using?

Edit: 50/50 anchor? Kay, thats a build im running, too. You don’t need it everywhere, but it clearly has it uses.

Edit2: http://xkcd.com/438/

Molch.2078:

Zedd.8239:

Molch.2078:

Our definition of “effective” differs, it seems.

And there’s a problem with that?

No. I’m fine. Our discussion started here:

Molch.2078:

Molch.2078:

If you survive in zerker as good as in knights as good as in pvt, whats the point in not running zerker?

Because not everything is about raw damage.

I had the imagination of myself fighting a mob with full health while a guardian in a heal spec trys to heal me. Our discussion was too much hate and too little information to clear that image. So I will ask you straight forward: What is the build you’re using?

Since Im the OP and you have the misconception that non zerker means full cleric (lol) i should probably clarify.

0/0/30/30/10
Soldier runes
knights armor/weapon
zerker accessories
DPS sigil, strength or Fire.

Good DPS (for a guard) while acting as anchor when needed.

Hunter.4783:

Molch.2078:

Zedd.8239:

Clumsy.6257:

completely incorrect, the only boss fight i can think of in regular dungeons that isnt about raw damage … wait there isnt one

Oh so we’re only talking about bosses now? My bad. I thought there were other situations in the game other than that. Obviously my support build has absolutely no use in any situation in this game. Oh wait. It does. Almost everywhere.

You’re still lacking evidence… where do you need a heal-support guardian? Where is a little bit of heal better than damage?

Red bars to hit down, on the other hand, are everywhere…

Heal support in PVE? Way to lose credibility and show you know jack about the class. There are other things in between 20/30/20 in full zerker gear and Healway.

The entire Idea is that a more tanky guardian running lets say a mix of knights/zerker (50/50) and soldier runes is way more beneficial to the party than a DPS wanna be guardian. The mere fact that the somewhat tanky guardian can take a hit, draw agro from the boss or mobs and live alleviate a great deal of stress from the party. Would you rather have that glass cannon warrior or mes kiting the boss/mobs or DPSing full force?

And yes, you running 50% knights gear with some points in valor will near you the 3k armor mark and that usually will make you the preferred target over other squishes.

Not to mention that soldier runes and PoV can hugely alleviate condition pressure like when someone messes up in the archdiviner.

“BUT…BUT…MY ULTRA MEGA AWESOME GULDIES DO THAT FIGHT IN 3.2324242 MIN AND NO ONE GETS HIT…EVAHHHh!” ….Yeah thats awesome, but in more down to earth and common scenarios you see people getting hit and downed and a tanky guard will be able to get them up while eating a few hits from the boss

And please, i don’t wanna hear anyone talk about Arah, it has been beaten to death and most bosses soloed at this point.

Note: When i say tanky guard i don’t mean full PVT gear, i am talking about 50/50 knights/zerker. I have to stress it again cuz not everyone here has reading comprehension

wait… people still kite bosses? (besides dredge/grawl fractal), i didnt know people still considered this viable

Molch.2078:

I had the imagination of myself fighting a mob with full health while a guardian in a heal spec trys to heal me. Our discussion was too much hate and too little information to clear that image.

That’s fair. Let’s start over…

So I will ask you straight forward: What is the build you’re using?

Edit.: 50/50 anchor? Kay, thats a build im running, too. You don’t need it everywhere, but it clearly has it uses.

At the moment, I’m running full knight’s armor with soldier runes, a few cleric’s trinkets, and 0/0/30/20/20 for my traits (AH as my grandmaster trait). I’m still experimenting with the amount of healing power I have and a few other things but that’s more or less the general idea.

I used to use full cleric’s gear but ultimately healing power kinda sucks as far as scaling goes and I’ve found that knight’s is just better all around. But yes, I usually act as an anchor and can take some pretty heavy hits. It helps take the pressure off of the rest of the group while they nuke a target down while I get beaten on.

I hope that clarifies things a bit.

Hunter.4783:

Molch.2078:

Zedd.8239:

Molch.2078:

Our definition of “effective” differs, it seems.

And there’s a problem with that?

No. I’m fine. Our discussion started here:

Molch.2078:

Molch.2078:

If you survive in zerker as good as in knights as good as in pvt, whats the point in not running zerker?

Because not everything is about raw damage.

I had the imagination of myself fighting a mob with full health while a guardian in a heal spec trys to heal me. Our discussion was too much hate and too little information to clear that image. So I will ask you straight forward: What is the build you’re using?

Since Im the OP and you have the misconception that non zerker means full cleric (lol) i should probably clarify.

0/0/30/30/10
Soldier runes
knights armor/weapon
zerker accessories
DPS sigil, strength or Fire.

Good DPS (for a guard) while acting as anchor when needed.

Maybe your “Zerker is bad”-statement was a little bit over the top? I see no problem to bring a 0/0/30/30/10 soilder runes full zerker equipment guardian to that dungeon.

I learned from reading this forum that some noobs don’t bring personal condition removal…. Who in their right mind does that? o.0 That’s right up there with people not bringing at least one stunbreaker. Most importantly, I learned no matter how many people scoff at you, zerkers is a viable option. Not that full zerk armor and all dmg traits and runes bs. I’m talking zerk armor and the traits/runes/sigils/utils u need to keep yourself alive without ally help. With the excess going into damage.

My personal preference is your standard 0/0/30/30/10 meditation build with monks, healing symbols (i use hammer), and allies get resolve. Only died once from a cheap pull into tall wall/ rez / immediate pull into tall wall and short wall at same time combo.

why are people arguing over all berserker vs non-zerker? if this is fun for you, then don’t let me take out the fun.

with the new dungeon, i learned that i could actually kite when i needed to. yay.

Molch.2078:

Canakun.8031:

Molch.2078:

Canakun.8031:

Hunter.4783:

1) Full zerker is bad. Aetherblade Strikers say hi
2) Condition removal = good, especially when getting those 5 stacks of confusion mid WW cast. Time to dust off those soldier runes eh?
3) Shelter = good, no need to elaborate on this

So please, keep these 3 points in mind the next time you run that dungeon so us “nub non zerker” guardians don’t spend 90% of the time rezzing you, kk?

Since when were guardians that didn’t run full zerk the noobs?

Since ever. And they still are. Damage > all in this game. One dungeon won’t change that.

Derrrrp. No. That attitude only works in very specific situations (Cof1 being an example).
Most fights in this game are designed to be prolonged experiences which means surviving is the most important thing. Zerk guardian is probably the dumbest thing I’ve heard of, really, due to their small health pool, especially in this dungeon where surviving is 70% of the mechanics in most of the fights.

I run CoE/Arah p1-4 in full zerker gear on every class. Five man, duo and solo. Your CoF1 argument is invalid.

Please stop saying zerker is a CoF1 only thing. It works everywhere just as good. If you survive in zerker as good as in knights as good as in pvt, whats the point in not running zerker?

When did I say it was a CoF1 only thing?

I have pugged this dungeon with 2 guards an ele and a warrior it was amazing (i was on my team heal mesmer build) we had permanent protection regen amazing Condi removal and only wiped once on the last boss. Pugs aren’t bad perse its just bad when you get pugs that think all dungeons=Cof easy and if they die its because their party doesnt have enough deeps not that they need better survivability

It hasn’t taught me anything knew. Run this dungeon with any comp with people who are competent and you’ll beat it.

Clumsy.6257:

Zedd.8239:

Molch.2078:

If you survive in zerker as good as in knights as good as in pvt, whats the point in not running zerker?

Because not everything is about raw damage.

completely incorrect, the only boss fight i can think of in regular dungeons that isnt about raw damage … wait there isnt one

Crucible of Eternity, path 2’s unique boss. In the dredge fractal, if you are the one pulling the levers. Ascalonian catacombs, not really a boss persay, but path 2, the part where the traps do just about all of the damage.

Xhyros.1340:

Clumsy.6257:

Zedd.8239:

Molch.2078:

If you survive in zerker as good as in knights as good as in pvt, whats the point in not running zerker?

Because not everything is about raw damage.

completely incorrect, the only boss fight i can think of in regular dungeons that isnt about raw damage … wait there isnt one

Crucible of Eternity, path 2’s unique boss. In the dredge fractal, if you are the one pulling the levers. Ascalonian catacombs, not really a boss persay, but path 2, the part where the traps do just about all of the damage.

Good so everyone using PVT can shine on 3 bosses, then do dailies and log out.

I love how this thread turned into another zerker vs P/T/V kitten fight.

Sometimes I feel I’m the only one who prefers to balance the two.

Xhyros.1340:

Clumsy.6257:

Zedd.8239:

Molch.2078:

If you survive in zerker as good as in knights as good as in pvt, whats the point in not running zerker?

Because not everything is about raw damage.

completely incorrect, the only boss fight i can think of in regular dungeons that isnt about raw damage … wait there isnt one

Crucible of Eternity, path 2’s unique boss. In the dredge fractal, if you are the one pulling the levers. Ascalonian catacombs, not really a boss persay, but path 2, the part where the traps do just about all of the damage.

coe p2 im assuming you mean the husk? it and the levers for dredge fractal are basically irrelevant because your armor set doesnt matter, you could just as easily do them with no armor or weapons, as for ac p2 its several times faster to have 1 on the center trap lever and have 4 stack on the center trap, with 4 wars you can double the speed of killing the graveling

Hunter.4783:

1) Full zerker is bad. Aetherblade Strikers say hi
2) Condition removal = good, especially when getting those 5 stacks of confusion mid WW cast. Time to dust off those soldier runes eh?
3) Shelter = good, no need to elaborate on this

So please, keep these 3 points in mind the next time you run that dungeon so us “nub non zerker” guardians don’t spend 90% of the time rezzing you, kk?

It taught me that 3 guardians and a mesmer can apparently do what 5 man groups can’t. Which isn’t a good thing as a friend just gave up on his favorite class after this to go guardian once he saw what they could do. I feel like it kind of ruined the entire experience for him. This isn’t me saying “hey you have to go guardian or else” it’s just that after seeing it he felt like he needed to go with something like guardian (was playing a thief).

Imo the dungeon was build around certain professions, but all that really did was make people that weren’t one of those professions not feel welcome. Again that’s just my opinion.

I have pugged this dungeon with 2 guards an ele and a warrior it was amazing (i was on my team heal mesmer build) we had permanent protection regen amazing Condi removal and only wiped once on the last boss. Pugs aren’t bad perse its just bad when you get pugs that think all dungeons=Cof easy and if they die its because their party doesnt have enough deeps not that they need better survivability

Are you on BP by any chance? In all honesty though it’s pretty stupid how well Guardian/Mesmer groups work.

Sceptor 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 loot, leave instance

:D

GSSBlunaspike.4153:

he felt like he needed to go with something like guardian (was playing a thief).

Thats the one problem with thieves, they aren’t that great for dungeons, they are more oriented for pvp/wvw

Hunter.4783:

You must be a very special snowflake then (just like every other pro in this forum) because EVERY SINGLE zerker i run with (granted a pug 99% of the time) is face planted more often than not.

So much hate for zerkers. Not their fault if you or your party members can’t use it effectively. I run it in all dungeons no problem.. and there’s no excuse on guardian, you have so many defensive skills. The real issue is the player, almost all of the guards I’ve pugged still haven’t worked out how to use their virtues. -_-

Celestina.2894:

I love how this thread turned into another zerker vs P/T/V kitten fight.

Sometimes I feel I’m the only one who prefers to balance the two.

have no fear!

i actually have a PVT berserkers mixed set. and a ton of jewelry to mix and match. something that i can build off of and bring into both into PvE or WvW.

and now.. back on topic…

Celestina.2894:

I love how this thread turned into another zerker vs P/T/V kitten fight.

Sometimes I feel I’m the only one who prefers to balance the two.

I prefer zerker when I can get away with it, and I use knight’s when I need to tank; I’d get a PVT set but I’m short on inventory space and knight’s usually suffices.

AR taught me that tanky/support characters in PvE can still be useful. Two guardians are a thing of beauty there.

Celestina.2894:

I love how this thread turned into another zerker vs P/T/V kitten fight.

Sometimes I feel I’m the only one who prefers to balance the two.

I prefer balance as well …

I run a Knight/Valkyrie armour mix (3 pieces of each) with full soldier runes.
I use 2 zerker rings, 2 zerker earrings (all ascended), Third place medal amulet (ascended). Backpeice is exotic soldier with soldier crest. Weapons are currently a mix of Knight and zerker.

I have a 2nd armour set of P/V/T with Melandru runes for certain situations.

I’m at full Zerker, though I use Soldier runes. I didn’t have any trouble with the mobs.
For the Mai fight I switch to Cleric with a staff as to outheal the static field damage so we can facetank her.