Brand new to both EQ2 and Berserkers

[Briggs]

I'm an old EQ player from way...way back, and my RL friends who I played with decided to give EQ2 a try. So I decided to jump in with them and I started playing last night. I decided to go with a Sarnak Berserker, because I wanted to be up front doing damage and raising hell! I was a cleric in EQ, and a paladin in WoW when I played, so I decided that there is no way that I'm going to heal!Anyway, I'm starting to read about AA's and other character advancement points, and I have no idea on what to do with these. I don't forsee myself raiding too much, but I'll be grouping/soloing plenty. We already have a guardian with our constant group, so I will be in an off-tank, DPS role. How should I spec myself?

[Xalmat]

Welcome to the class, and to EQ2!Before you get any misconceptions about the class, know that Berserkers are a tank class, like Guardians are. While they <i>can</i> DPS, that is not their primary role. So if you're looking to DPS and not tank, you might consider rolling to a scout, such as a Brigand or Assassin (Brigands can also make decent off-tanks with the right setup).That said, grab a good buckler, and go with the Stamina Achievement line (under Warrior Achievements) first. STA 4-4-8 STR 4-4-8 INT 4-4-8 (in that order) is an excellent setup for someone who doesn't primarily tank. It's also an excellent Solo build. Don't worry about your Berserker Achievements at all until your Warrior achievements are capped. And as long as you're buckler spec'd, don't even consider dual wielding, it'll worsen your damage output and survivability.As far as character traits go, I'd go with +STA and +HP across the board. You can never have enough HP, especially as a tank.And paladins in EQ2 are tanks, not healers. That job is reserved for the priests.

[LygerT]

technically yes and no, it is true you can never have enough health but strength is equally important if you plan on doing any decent amount of DPS.

[Briggs]

What's the difference between Guardians and Berserkers then? I was under the impression that Berserkers were more like a melee DPS that could still tank in a pinch. That's the role I was hoping I could fill. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />

[Xalmat]

Then it definitely sounds like you should roll a Brigand or Swashbuckler instead. Brigand are evil (Sarnaks can start as them), Swashbuckler are good, both play pretty similar to each other, both are close range melee, and both can act as an off-tank in a pinch (though usually they won't need to).For the most part, Guardians and Berserkers are close to identical. They're both heavy tanks (#1 and #2 best). They both wear heavy plate armor. They both use the same weapons and armor (except for the class specific armor of course). They both deal damage with weapons and combat arts, and neither have spells. They both use shields.The main differences is that Guardians have superior aggro management and defensive abilities, but their damage output tends to suffer. Berserkers on the other hand tend to have better offense and better AE abilities, and tend to outdamage Guardians by a decent margin, but they sacrifice the defensive abilities that a Guardian has to do so. And except in a best-case scenario, neither class can match the damage output of a pure-DPS class, like a Scout or Mage.

[Willian]

<cite>Xalmat wrote:</cite><blockquote>Then it definitely sounds like you should roll a Brigand or Swashbuckler instead. Brigand are evil (Sarnaks can start as them), Swashbuckler are good, both play pretty similar to each other, both are close range melee, and both can act as an off-tank in a pinch (though usually they won't need to).For the most part, Guardians and Berserkers are close to identical. They're both heavy tanks (#1 and #2 best). They both wear heavy plate armor. They both use the same weapons and armor (except for the class specific armor of course). They both deal damage with weapons and combat arts, and neither have spells. They both use shields.The main differences is that Guardians have superior aggro management and defensive abilities, but their damage output tends to suffer. Berserkers on the other hand tend to have better offense and better AE abilities, and tend to outdamage Guardians by a decent margin, but they sacrifice the defensive abilities that a Guardian has to do so. And except in a best-case scenario, neither class can match the damage output of a pure-DPS class, like a Scout or Mage.</blockquote>Ok, so whats the big difference between a Paladin & Guardian/Berserker? I like to PvP and do various quests. I group with my brother whos a Warden. Does a Paladin & Warden make a good combo? Or should I go with a Berserker for more DPS? Thank you in advance.

[Xalmat]

Here's my take, so take it with a grain of salt.Paladins (and Shadowknights) and Berserkers/Guardians (Warriors) aren't even remotely close in playstyle. What they have in common is that they all wear plate armor, they all use many of the same weapons (but not all of the same weapons), and they're all tanks.Warriors are straight melee tanks, use only melee abilities to deal damage, and have the <i>option</i> of dual wielding. They typically (in my experience) pull higher damage than Paladins, especially using a Buckler spec. A Warrior usually needs only to worry about STR, STA, and AGI for his stats: STR for power pool and melee damage, STA, for HP, and AGI for avoidance.Paladins are a pseudo-hybrid between a Guardian and a Templar. They are limited to using a 1-hander and a shield, or a 2 hander, and not the option of dual wielding. Paladins use a mix of combat arts and spells to deal damage, and also a mix of heals that they can cast. What they gain in heals, they greatly sacrifice in damage output. A Paladin needs to worry about all five stats: STR for power pool and melee damage, STA for HP, AGI for avoidance, WIS for power pool, and INT for spell damage.Shadowknights are a pseudo-hybrid between a Berserker and a Necromancer. Like paladins they're limited to a 1-hander and shield, or 2-hander, and cannot dual wield. You can think of a shadowknight as a more offense-oriented version of the Paladin. They need to worry about four stats: STR for power pool and melee damage, STA for HP, AGI for avoidance, and INT for power pool and spell damage.Paladin and Warden is a good combo I'd think, but DPS will definitely be lower than a Berserker and Warden.

[Willian]

<cite>Xalmat wrote:</cite><blockquote>Here's my take, so take it with a grain of salt.Paladins (and Shadowknights) and Berserkers/Guardians (Warriors) aren't even remotely close in playstyle. What they have in common is that they all wear plate armor, they all use many of the same weapons (but not all of the same weapons), and they're all tanks.Warriors are straight melee tanks, use only melee abilities to deal damage, and have the <i>option</i> of dual wielding. They typically (in my experience) pull higher damage than Paladins, especially using a Buckler spec. A Warrior usually needs only to worry about STR, STA, and AGI for his stats: STR for power pool and melee damage, STA, for HP, and AGI for avoidance.Paladins are a pseudo-hybrid between a Guardian and a Templar. They are limited to using a 1-hander and a shield, or a 2 hander, and not the option of dual wielding. Paladins use a mix of combat arts and spells to deal damage, and also a mix of heals that they can cast. What they gain in heals, they greatly sacrifice in damage output. A Paladin needs to worry about all five stats: STR for power pool and melee damage, STA for HP, AGI for avoidance, WIS for power pool, and INT for spell damage.Shadowknights are a pseudo-hybrid between a Berserker and a Necromancer. Like paladins they're limited to a 1-hander and shield, or 2-hander, and cannot dual wield. You can think of a shadowknight as a more offense-oriented version of the Paladin. They need to worry about four stats: STR for power pool and melee damage, STA for HP, AGI for avoidance, and INT for power pool and spell damage.Paladin and Warden is a good combo I'd think, but DPS will definitely be lower than a Berserker and Warden.</blockquote>Awsome, thank you for taking the time to explain the 3 differences. Much appreciated. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />