Any updates to the Berserker class?

Looking thru the FAQ I see the following workup on the 'Zerker. I wrote
this myself, its been a long time since I played a berserker though, and
probably 7+ months since I played EQ at all. I think I topped out at 56
or so, so I really wasn't an expert at the class even when 65 was the
top end of the game.

Look thru there, there's lots of "currently" and "unfinished" to them; I
was wondering if A) SOE ever "finished" the class up or B) if I was
wrong, writing from a limited viewpoint, and there was really more to
the high end 'Zerker than was apparant to me at the time

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Berserker

Traditional duty: melee damage. Other roles: snarer, caster interrupt,
ghetto slows, backup tank. A decent solo class, berserkers have
moderately good DPS, and get enough HP, AC, and avoidance to be a good
off-tank. They can serve as primary tank against mobs that are
stunnable. Their value on a raid is currently minimal, where they are
mostly just DPS and there are classes that out-DPS them.

Berserkers have no mana bar to worry about, but instead fuel their
abilities by using up "basic axe components", which are cheaply
available from their vendors. The resulting axes can stun, snare, or
"jolt" a mob. (Like the level 51 ranger spell of that name, jolt
reduces the degree to which a mob hates you.) All share a single
12-second timer, and are short duration, but the absence of a mana bar
means they can be used nearly indefinitely as long as supplies hold out
(which could mean over 100 hours of continuous use), and all take effect
instantly.

Berserkers solo fairly well as long as they can single pull; the key
ability is the stun, which should be used constantly on non-casters in
order to slow their damage (on casters it may be held in reserve to stop
their spells); adds won't be stunned and thus will do full damage. In
groups, stun use can easily overwhelm an unskilled tank's ability to
hold aggro; again this is the 'zerker's key contribution, so the 'zerker
and tank should find a way to work with this. The use of stun as an
aggro producer allows the berserker to hold aggro fairly well if in the
position of main tank. Berserkers should maximize their defensive
skills either by soloing or serving as MT, as they will be thrust into
the "punching bag" position with some frequency throughout their career.

Berserkers consider themselves an "unfinished" class; the newest class
in the game, it seems to most that they are lacking features which would
make them desirable in the higher levels. Up into the high 50s this
isn't an issue for a non raider; the berserker's position as a "medium
tank" capable of both high DPS (for a primary tank) and good damage
soaking (for a light tank) makes them flexible and enjoyable to play,
and the fact that they have a short list of special abilities instead of
a spellbook full of options should make them easy to learn and to play,
even for a novice EQ player.

"Lance Berg" <emporer.RemoveThis@dejazzd.com> wrote in message
news:35adnWvdiORSjxrZnZ2dnUVZ_qydnZ2d@dejazzd.com...
> Looking thru the FAQ I see the following workup on the 'Zerker. I wrote
> this myself, its been a long time since I played a berserker though, and
> probably 7+ months since I played EQ at all. I think I topped out at 56
> or so, so I really wasn't an expert at the class even when 65 was the top
> end of the game.
>
> Look thru there, there's lots of "currently" and "unfinished" to them; I
> was wondering if A) SOE ever "finished" the class up or B) if I was wrong,
> writing from a limited viewpoint, and there was really more to the high
> end 'Zerker than was apparant to me at the time
>
> ========================================================================
>
> Berserker
> [snip]


i play regularly in a fixed group with a zerk (70) and they are fantastic
dps ... he's parsing around 300 and that's without any AA

the stun he uses (65+) is resisted maybe 1/2 the time he uses it, so he
doesn't really bother....his snare is more reliable though as he leveled

he hits flurry and volley all the time ... lots of spam, lots of crits, lots
of damage

far as tanking goes, again, no AA, but he's definitely about the same as a
ranger or rogue (makes sense) though he has a lot of HP - and he says he's
on a warrior's HP table, but i have no idea about that

and most people still have no idea what they really do - and even some
top-end people don't know about warcry, so all the dps in the world doesn't
add character to a flat class like zerk


/shrug

firiona.goom