Guild Wars 2

I’m working on finishing up my full set of Berserker Flame Legion set (6x Sup Runes of the Scholar) + Berserker Molten GS (Sup Sigil of Fire) and its too much of a glass cannon. I was originally using a full set of Berserker accessories as well, but it was way too squishy.

I’ve tried using some Knights accessories instead, but I’m wondering if Soldiers would be better with the added Vitality over Precision. My goal is a balanced build that would work in both Dungeons and WvW. How are other Berserker players gearing their toons and what would you recommend for (Runes/Accessories) to help improve the survivability?

The point of Zerker is to bring things down faster before their damage starts to get lethal, which means dodging what needs to be dodged, and mostly ignoring everything else. If you are having trouble with survivability, I would suggest you keep using knights. extra vitality is ok but it doesn’t mean jack if you’re still taking enough damage that you’re still dropping as fast as you did before. It’s just my opinion though. You could also go Valkyrie(this a purely PvE opinion). For WvW Idk, everyone and their mother is using Guard Leech + 25 bloodlust stacks so you’ll still take quite alot of damage, whether you go it alone or are in a zerg, though you’ll probbably live longer being in a zerg.

PvE gear =/= WvW gear

Shanks.2907:

PvE gear =/= WvW gear

While you’re technically correct, alot of people manage a one size fits all for both PvE and WvW, unless they’re a roamer. And even then it’s no big deal.

I use 3 pieces of zerk and 3 knights with 3 ruby and 3 emerald accessories. Those and the healing signet are enough for me. Also the trait of the defense line that regens health based on adrenaline lvl. This should keep you balanced without hurting your damage too much. If you are still getting downed, get a shield and trait for it, that can help too.

“In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.”
John Adams (1735 – 1826)

i use zerker everywhere pve, pvp, wvw . Warrior mobility/traits/utilities are enough defence and the damage if not kill at least scare the opposition away .Any class thieves, mesmer etc just shouldn’t really scare a warrior >.>, and if you are talking about a 1 v 5/zerg fight then no matter how much def you put up you are dead anyways.

get some life steal food (candied dragon rolls are 2s each)
along with your GS use axe/warhorn, and use a sigil of energy on the warhorn

the life steal along with the extra dodges on swap (and skill #5 warhorn) should help you out.

MassDelusion.9130:

get some life steal food (candied dragon rolls are 2s each)
along with your GS use axe/warhorn, and use a sigil of energy on the warhorn

the life steal along with the extra dodges on swap (and skill #5 warhorn) should help you out.

Sword is better than Warhorn. 5% damage from Dual Wielding & Riposte. Warhorn is for Weakness and when your group needs vigor, not personal use.

@OP, Your accessories is where you want the Crit damage. Try swapping your armor to Knights while you learn Dungeons, but keep your accessories as Berserker. As for a middle ground between PVE and WvW, there is no such thing. You will never be good at both with 1 gear set, just good at one or gimping yourself at both. Get 2 gear sets.

Flissy.4093:

MassDelusion.9130:

get some life steal food (candied dragon rolls are 2s each)
along with your GS use axe/warhorn, and use a sigil of energy on the warhorn

the life steal along with the extra dodges on swap (and skill #5 warhorn) should help you out.

Sword is better than Warhorn. 5% damage from Dual Wielding & Riposte. Warhorn is for Weakness and when your group needs vigor, not personal use.

@OP, Your accessories is where you want the Crit damage. Try swapping your armor to Knights while you learn Dungeons, but keep your accessories as Berserker. As for a middle ground between PVE and WvW, there is no such thing. You will never be good at both with 1 gear set, just good at one or gimping yourself at both. Get 2 gear sets.

he’s asking for survivability, not more damage.
the weakness and the extra vigor is for more survivability

MassDelusion.9130:

Flissy.4093:

MassDelusion.9130:

get some life steal food (candied dragon rolls are 2s each)
along with your GS use axe/warhorn, and use a sigil of energy on the warhorn

the life steal along with the extra dodges on swap (and skill #5 warhorn) should help you out.

Sword is better than Warhorn. 5% damage from Dual Wielding & Riposte. Warhorn is for Weakness and when your group needs vigor, not personal use.

@OP, Your accessories is where you want the Crit damage. Try swapping your armor to Knights while you learn Dungeons, but keep your accessories as Berserker. As for a middle ground between PVE and WvW, there is no such thing. You will never be good at both with 1 gear set, just good at one or gimping yourself at both. Get 2 gear sets.

he’s asking for survivability, not more damage.
the weakness and the extra vigor is for more survivability

You don’t learn to play Berserker by sacrificing damage. It’s counter productive, it’s like telling him to use GS Axe/Mace but Soldier armor and Dolyak runes. Sword is better both offensively and defensively on a personal level than Warhorn if for some reason the Mace isn’t useable, or in a Pure axe build.

Warhorn really isn’t a big deal outside trash skips and 50 Fractals.

@OP, a trait to bear in mind is Building Momentum, 15 point minor is Strength, it gives you 50% endurance when you use your burst skill. It’s a temporary damage loss because of Berserker’s Power, but it’s good to keep in mind if you find yourself in a pinch.

I would suggest starting with Soldier armor (PTV) and Berserker Accessories.

Power is the most important stat to stack and should ideally always be your primary. That’s what makes it superior to Knight’s gear in most scenarios.

It’s a good combination of survivability and DPS, especially since Accessories are a very generous source of Crit-Damage (until Ferocity anyway).

Once you learn your way around PvE content you can start replacing more and more of your main armor with Berserker gear. For WvW you might want to hold on to your Soldier armor though….but that depends.

Mepheles.2087:

Shanks.2907:

PvE gear =/= WvW gear

While you’re technically correct, alot of people manage a one size fits all for both PvE and WvW, unless they’re a roamer. And even then it’s no big deal.

Total zerker warriors will get melted in zerg fights. Dodges are great, but if you want to be part of the melee train, you need to be able to take damage at times as well.

Survivability > Damage for LARGE fights
GvG and roaming is a different story.

Dee Jay.2460:

I would suggest starting with Soldier armor (PTV) and Berserker Accessories.

Power is the most important stat to stack and should ideally always be your primary. That’s what makes it superior to Knight’s gear in most scenarios.

It’s a good combination of survivability and DPS, especially since Accessories are a very generous source of Crit-Damage (until Ferocity anyway).

Once you learn your way around PvE content you can start replacing more and more of your main armor with Berserker gear. For WvW you might want to hold on to your Soldier armor though….but that depends.

Except it isn’t. Knights is both more resilient and more DPS. Vitality is a non-stat, especially for Warriors, in PvE, at least Toughness does something – even if only minor.

Knights is much better to learn in, the toughness crutch is really easy to drop. Swapping from PVT to Zerker, however, will be horrendous.

Highchu.3806:

I’m working on finishing up my full set of Berserker Flame Legion set (6x Sup Runes of the Scholar) + Berserker Molten GS (Sup Sigil of Fire) and its too much of a glass cannon. I was originally using a full set of Berserker accessories as well, but it was way too squishy.

I’ve tried using some Knights accessories instead, but I’m wondering if Soldiers would be better with the added Vitality over Precision. My goal is a balanced build that would work in both Dungeons and WvW. How are other Berserker players gearing their toons and what would you recommend for (Runes/Accessories) to help improve the survivability?

I agree with what another poster stated. You can’t be good at both dungeons and WvW with the exact same armor set (speaking WvW zergs here). You need 2 sets. You could use knight/valkyrie in WvW with zerk trinkets and go all zerk for dungeons. Also agree that if dodge and evade is not something you’re super good at, then even for dungeons you’ll want to use some mix with zerk until you get the hang of it. Good luck!

Why not go full zerk gear and put points into defense until you get good enough to put them all in offensive stats? Then if you want to balance for WvW just replace your trinkets to add more survivability (aka 3.0 to 3.3k armor). that way you don’t have to spend a lot of money in armor and runes.

Healing Signet… what else do you need? PVE is easy mode no matter what profession you play

Julie Yann.5379:

Why not go full zerk gear and put points into defense until you get good enough to put them all in offensive stats? Then if you want to balance for WvW just replace your trinkets to add more survivability (aka 3.0 to 3.3k armor). that way you don’t have to spend a lot of money in armor and runes.

Because it’s a much worse idea to swap your traits than your gear. Your traits depend on your playstyle, your armor on how much damage you intend to soak up.

Flissy.4093:

Julie Yann.5379:

Why not go full zerk gear and put points into defense until you get good enough to put them all in offensive stats? Then if you want to balance for WvW just replace your trinkets to add more survivability (aka 3.0 to 3.3k armor). that way you don’t have to spend a lot of money in armor and runes.

Because it’s a much worse idea to swap your traits than your gear. Your traits depend on your playstyle, your armor on how much damage you intend to soak up.

Going 30 points in strength to get berserker’s power or putting those points in defense to get won’t change your playtstyle much, just how hard your weapons hit. You still have the same weapon skills and utilities. It might just be cause I am cheap but why waste money on gear when you can just change a few traits, which cost nothing, and have the same overall effectiveness.

Julie Yann.5379:

Flissy.4093:

Julie Yann.5379:

Why not go full zerk gear and put points into defense until you get good enough to put them all in offensive stats? Then if you want to balance for WvW just replace your trinkets to add more survivability (aka 3.0 to 3.3k armor). that way you don’t have to spend a lot of money in armor and runes.

Because it’s a much worse idea to swap your traits than your gear. Your traits depend on your playstyle, your armor on how much damage you intend to soak up.

Going 30 points in strength to get berserker’s power or putting those points in defense to get won’t change your playtstyle much, just how hard your weapons hit. You still have the same weapon skills and utilities. It might just be cause I am cheap but why waste money on gear when you can just change a few traits, which cost nothing, and have the same overall effectiveness.

Yes it will. If you put them in defense instead of strength your playstyle WILL change. You won’t need to save your adrenaline for Berserker’s Power, in this example, and will instead be using it because you probably have Cleansing Ire.

Another example is if points were taken out of Discipline and put into Tactics, you would probably be using a Warhorn or maybe more shouts/banners because of the traits there, and not swapping weapons so regularly because of the lack of Fast Hands.

While some traits are just damage boosts, a la Axe Master or Slashing Power, traits DO determine your playstyle.

Use deep strike and signets, instead of rendering strikes or something and use Cavaliers trinkets.