Any real reason to play a zerk ?

[Kota]

<p>i have a good zerk (almost 21k unbuffed 225aa) but i'm teetering on the edge of lvling a crusader, or quitting altogether. </p><p>so besides the response of: 'to be different than all the crusaders', is there any real reason to stay zerk ?  there's a reason so many ppl play crusaders.</p>

[Xalmat]

<p>Because Zerkers are fun, and they kick serious butt. Do you really need a reason besides that?</p>

[Kota]

i admire your enthusiasm, but for me it's the 'kickin butt' part that i like. crusaders just do it better.

[Hasad]

<p>I would encourage all who are interested in playing Crusader to do so. Vote with your feet. Play the class you have more fun with. At the end of the day mass migration and abandoned toons are the best way to measure class imbalance. If at that point,  the devs don't address class imbalance to your satisfaction, quitting altogether is another option.</p><p>I'm still having fun playing my Zerk. I dabbled with an SK but it didn't really excite me much. I might try a Pally if things get a little meh on the SF progression. </p>

[Kota]

yeah i would just re roll but i don't think i have it in me to lvl another toon up.

[Ocello]

<p>Zerk > Crusader</p><p>Crusaders are Fisher Price, Zerkers are Tonka.</p><p>IF you suck at playing a Zerker, then be my guest and go play with the simple toys.</p><p>I see nothing wrong with my Zerker.</p>

[Kota]

<p>zerk > crusader at what ?  zonewide parse ?  aggro ?  pvp ? no, no, and no.  given the nonsensical nature of your post i have a sneaking suspicion that my zerk > yours.  and be honest with yourself, tanking is 90% gear and 10% knowledge, with a smidge of hand-eye coordination in there.  mash buttons and turn mobs with frontals.   pop temps when you're getting beat down.  use snaps when you lose aggro.  nothing tricky about playing a zerk.  trying to ask an honest question here and you come at me with toys.  yes a zerk can tank fine.  i'm considering rolling a toon that can do it better than fine.  if you have anything factual or insightful please feel free to reply.</p>

[Randomaxe]

<p>I would have to know if you plan on raiding with your crusader?  Does your raid already have one?  Most (if not all) raid zones require more than one tank, and having two or three Paladins in there doesn't hurt but doesn't help either.  While zerks may not have Amends or Holy Ground, they hold hate pretty good with the right AA build, as well as bring some different buffs.  If your job is to MT, Pally is a much better choice than zerker for sure.  If you already have a MT, then the Zerk is a great choice for OT.  My two cents. </p>

[Kota]

that's a pretty good answer. i don't raid tho, and i don't know if i ever will again. i mostly do instances, and i would like to pvp more, and i do bg's when they are up. yeah that's not much lately. i guess i'm just envious tbh. sk/pally are higher dps and have better aggro. they both eat zerks alive in pvp. everyone knows they are op, (except the devs, who obviously don't play this game) and they are the first choice for instance groups. so yeah, i'm just jealous.

[wwd2]

<p><span style="font-size: small;">AOEs.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">I've tried the other fighter classes and couldn't stand them long enough to get them off the island, or the training grounds.  In the first couple of levels I feel like I can really burn mobs down.  I like having all the AOEs by level twenty.  I like watching multiple mobs fall.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">Maybe paladins can be specced to do that, but my experience is they can't do it "right out of the box" like a bersker can.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">So maybe paladins are better main tanks or have more power of whatever, but berserkers are still more fun for me.</span></p>

[Kota]

<p>both crusaders do a lot of aoe damage.</p>

[ZerkerDwarf]

<p>What we need is true 360° AE effects. Our mythical should hit in 360° and not only in front and it should hit 6 targets instead of 4.</p><p>We don't have any AEs worth to speak off. The blue 360° one is a joke with its way too long cast and recast and so is the green encounter AE. What is the front AE good for at all? With its long cast time is only supresses the stronger autoattack.</p><p>Devs simply refuse to see that. They put all the ideas into crusaders. They don't care about berserkers. Pushing SKs from rubbish to god mode has nothing to do with balance (balancing is not putting a heavy weight onto one side that formerly has been the lighter side).</p><p>SKs have an insane single target dps output, multi target dps output, true 360° dps output and additionaly an insane output of pure hate. All this with at least the same or better survivability. Plus they have nice tools like FD and evac. They have all the advantages of spells (range) but without their disadvantages (0.5s cast time, cannot be interrupted). They also benefit most from the new stat system. They need to concentrate on one stat only (str) and can apply that to all that non-melee stuff. And why the heck can partially ranged spell based classes spec "teleport into melee range of a mob" whereas a 100% melee class like berserkers can not. They just put all the good ideas into crusaders and leave us in the rain.</p>

[wwd2]

<p><cite>Tenka@Nagafen wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>both crusaders do a lot of aoe damage.</p></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: small;">Not "right out of the box" and they don't look cool doing it either.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">But, it seems to me that you are the salesman for the crusaders.  Or you have a packet of his literature.  So, read the first reply to your post and go play a crusader.  Me, I got tired of the blessing and cursing graphics real quick.  I like watching my girl spin and slice.</span></p>

[Costa]

<p><cite>Tenka@Nagafen wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>that's a pretty good answer. i don't raid tho, and i don't know if i ever will again. i mostly do instances, and i would like to pvp more, and i do bg's when they are up. yeah that's not much lately. i guess i'm just envious tbh. sk/pally are higher dps and have better aggro. they both eat zerks alive in pvp. everyone knows they are op, (except the devs, who obviously don't play this game) and they are the first choice for instance groups. so yeah, i'm just jealous.</blockquote><p>Actually you should find that the zerk will do more dps than the pally although i think SK has the edge on zerk. At least thats what i find when i switch from zerk to pally and back again. Agro is down to the group i find and although pally has amends for a hate siphon if you play the zerk right you won't have any issue tbh, altough group make up can be crucial for the warriors in general.</p><p>The biggest problem is that many people have gotten used to playing with crusaders and just open big where zerks take a few hits to get the hate up to allow them to do that. What i find is the biggest cruncher is the survivability in heroic content. My pally can take on yellow con ^^^ and survive reasonably well where as my zerk trying to do that gets his face kicked in. How many Zerks can take a 6 man group through Library without a healer? I've been doing that on my Pally since he was 85 and he's now 87 and still doing it. I think that is where the bulk of the problems are betwen warriors and crusaders. Warriors just don't have the tools available to them to match the crusaders in survivability in heroic content where as at raid level it is more evenly matched and it comes down to who can hold agro the best from the raid or who can get the best dps out of their fighter if they're OT and not tanking anything or 3rd tank.</p>

[Ofed]

<p>i always hate these kind fo threads they always get off track with which is best and which can do better at such......</p><p>the bottom line is play the class u want o play and get into playing as this will be the class u will be best at.</p><p>can crusaders do things beter don't know i have never played one don't care either.. my zerk mt's raids just fine.</p>

[Slev]

<p>Really the library?LOL Id venture to say any 90 zerker whos ran some instances and gotten new gear can solo all the trash in that zone. As for doing the names without a healer??! Dont pallys heal lol? I've done it all with healer afk and 4 dps.  /adrenaline macro - Battle frenzy and the mobs dead before the 30 seconds it takes to run out. No kuddos to you for healing yourself while 5 others kill the mobs for you.  Zerkers have more than enough tools to outlast the dmg of the named before any half [Removed for Content] dps grp can burn them down. Sad sad example, in fact most of the zones this expansion are sad, I've completed  all them within 2 weeks and thats taking into account the grind from 80-90, not that this is exceptional because i know people who have done them all faster than that.</p>

[Xalmat]

<p>Again, it comes down to "Berserkers are a fun class". If you don't find the class fun, don't play it. If you do find it fun, then by all means keep playing it.</p>

[Obadiah]

<p><cite>Slev wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>LOL Id venture to say any 90 zerker whos ran some instances and gotten new gear can solo all the trash in that zone.</p></blockquote><p>Shhh...</p><p>No ... No, there is no reason to play a Zerk. Move along now. There is nothing to see here. These aren't the droids you're looking for.</p>

[Xalmat]

<p>Not like SKs can't solo the same things, lol.</p>

[Urgol]

Try tanking something that actually hits with a crusader, fail, then go back to your zerker. Of course if 5 or more nerfs is a required minimum for you to kill a mob, go with a crusader. And yes zerker aggro is better in a raid setting, AND zerker IS better at pvp because crusader cant aggro in pvp like, well, at all. Of course if your demands at pvp stop at solo leeching in bgs, then hell yes, go roll an sk. They make a perfect ballast-class.

[Ignius_Superion]

<p>I would have to agree that zerkers are definately a fun class to play.  The AE's and the AE auto attack off the myth are simply awesome. </p><p>However, on my zerker I have serios agro issues.  Even in what would be considered a medium to light dps group.  I've tried every AA spec I can come across, from EQ2 Flames, to advice from other zerkers, to just making up my own and absolutely nothing seems to work.  Even while having hate transfers going I still constantly lose agro with little to no explaination.  Most of my CA's are at least Expert level and my taunts are mastered.  I've tried all sorts or gear, from Hate procs like Hate Spike, I've tried full blown tank gear and nothing seems to work.  I'm just honestly not sure what else to do, because I want to be able to tank an instacne/raid if I have to, more than likely an instance cuz I don't raid much.  I've acted as an off tank, but ONLY because I have agro issues.</p><p>I still hold to the class though, its still fun to play even if I can't MT, and I've always liked the idea of walking up to something and beating it mercilessly with an axe <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Mary the Prophetess]

<p>Well there is this:</p><p>Crusaders, (Shadowknights especially), have a nerf target painted clearly on their back.  It's only a matter of time.</p>

[LygerT]

<p>zerkers are the funnest class i have played to date in my years but even still they become easier to play as time goes on taking the skill out of the class. with that they also become more bland and better at nothing which to me is killing the class and my enthusiasm to play it.</p><p>i have played a crusader and it is an annoying class to play, however, it has a higher cieling for what you can do with it versus as a warrior in almost every area now. granted i haven't played a crusader all the way to endgame but you can level a warrior and crusader side by side and see where the strengths and weaknesses grow as you move upward.</p><p>crusaders have had a target painted on them for a while now, for good reason. not that they didn't deserve some love but i have never seen any other class be ahead for going on 2 years now. i pointed out the disparities at the beginning of the expansion prior to this one. their complaints since have been laughable comparatively speaking. in the end you should play the class you prefer, a reason such as power versus skill shouldn't be a ruling factor but it is and still is because no one likes to feel their class has a thumb holding it down. i of course would prefer a bit of balance, knowing that there will never be a 100% balance between classes because they are different and everyone will view them differently.</p>

[YummiOger]

<p>I betrayed BACK to Zerk after i finished my Epic Reprocussions and i LOVE BEING A ZERK. Feels Strong, like holding a Steel Chainsaw with a 30" bar. Heavy, Hard, Hurtful.</p><p>I had forgotten what its like to be a Zerk, Kill em all, and GO! harder next time.</p>

[asteldian]

<p>I play an SK, Pally and Zerker (all low lvl) the SK was my first as I had him years ago before I stopped playing.  The first thing I noticed when I made a zerker is how insanely long it takes to get some AE attacks (aside from the first crappy one) and how weak it was compared to the SK.  Even the Pally gets a couple of AE before the Zerker does which seemed very odd as I thought the Zerker is the AE tank.</p><p>I enjoy the Zerker, and he is fun to play, but I have to admit the SK and Pally seem to be better</p>

[LygerT]

<p>i've never even been fond of zerker AE's. they can be quite powerful if you prepare for it and shoot all of it off otherwise they are annoyingly easy with the mythical due to how easy it is to lose DPS without timing attacks on your AoEs. zerks don't have any real super AE attacks otherwise. i usually found myself only firing off one attack with one auto attack while waiting for the big ones to pop back up(which usually was every other fight, maybe once each fight).</p>

[Artalis the Elder]

<p>Zerkers are a tank class that requires dedication and skill to excel at but the potential is definitely there.</p><p>Crusaders tend towards more dps at the high end and they get to do that dps while rolling sword and board which makes them superior in some ways but Zerkers can be pretty amazing with the right aa's and some skill.</p><p>Pally's and Sk's get maybe one OH CRAP defensive skill that matters.</p><p>Zerkers can half their incoming damage for extended periods (adrenaline) can tank an insane amount of mobs and keep themselves alive (battle frenzy) and bring a fairly decent amount of their own buffage haste and dps-wise.  We have an array of defensive abilities that we can stagger to increase our survivability while crusaders have one each (stone wall and furor) and a couple death saves (divine favor(?) and bloodletter)</p><p>Insolence is still probably the best (and most dangerous) aoe snap aggro tool in the game and Sneering Assault (?) is an aoe rescue on like a minute recast.</p><p>All in all it's a a solid, fun tanking class and while I love my pally for the versatility, the zerker will always be the tank that keeps me coming back.</p><p>And then there's the flavor factor.</p><p>Shiny Holy Warrior, Scary Evil Knight or Raging Bloodthirsty Savage; its up to you.</p>

[ailen]

<p>Tenka is a great Berserker, one of the best PVP Zerkers on the Nagafen server.</p><p>The issue with this thread and some of the answers is that its a generic question asked without the caveat of information coming from people who play in the same environment.</p><p>I have played Berserker since before Nagafen came online in one way shape or form.  When Nagafen launched I made an SK and got him to 70 before quitting it out of frustration of its lack of ability to tank anything somewhat difficult at the time.  Shadowknights were the bottom of the food chain back then for being able to keep aggro and mitigate incoming damage...   Impossible? no, but not user friendly at all.  I actually abandoned the class and made a new Berserker  because i knew they'd be a fun pvp class while actually being able to tank stuff.</p><p>crusader is a neat concept, a magic weilding tank who can do decent dps with a sword in hand... doing two types of damage has its benefits in PVP...  mitigating one well doens't necesarrily mean you'll mitigate the other well. </p><p>A berserker is a beast in PVP, as he well knows, but on Nagafen people also rate fun factor in what is going to allow them to win.  Its not enough to "just get by" ... having fun also means being able to win.  It is a sad state of affairs that crusaders are so good at what they do... they were given things like donation of armament because they were supposed to be a utility off-tank... but now, they can do everything a warrior can and in some cases better.</p><p>My suggestion for you is to roll a crusader, and see its not going to be that much better.  The state of PVP is bad no matter what you're playing right now. </p><p>My opinion is that crusader is slightly more fun to play... they make better main tanks than zerkers (my opinion) but a zerker has the advantage in PVP aggro... the myth clicky is just too good... </p><p>This berserker ailen has been around a LONG time, but his gear sucks because honestly no matter what I play I get bored of it in a few weeks, just because PVP is bad bad bad right now.  I'll swap and play some, swap again and play some, swap again.</p><p>I think what I'm trying to say is this.  Rerolling probably won't fix what you're feeling right now.  However, it would be a way to chew up more of your time gearing up and learning to play it until either they fix it, or something else better comes out.</p>