So i'm 20 now and i don't understand how this focus rage thing works - please help!

[joze]

<DIV> Hi all,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I dinged 20 last night shortly after finishing the berserker quest (thanks to all that helped me with that) and i got my new skill : Focus rage. I was in a group of 4 and we were fighting undead guardians. I tried it out obviously and noticed the icon on my screen , it had a good duration maybe about 6 minutes i believe. So i am MT and i pop it on and see from time to time that i go berserk but not for long (very short duration though 6 seconds about). The problem is i see no difference in my damage or attack speed when i'm berserk. Is the diference so minute that you don't even notice when you are berserk? Also why does it only last 6 seconds, after all it doesn't proc all that much.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Next question:</DIV> <DIV>I got the JBOB after finishing the quest but have not used it yet. You see i had just bought a shield which gave me 150 ac at my lvl all the way to 240 ac at lvl 25 i believe and it also has some nice stats. My skill in 2 handed weapons is also very low as i have never used 2 handers. Should i just sell it and look for a good 1 hander since i do like the added ac over the extra damage? My 1 hander also doesn't do that much less damage than the 2 hander, i currently have the Stone Tusk Lance : 16-46 dmg with 2.4 sec delay.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And finally ,thanks to those that have read this far <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I was asked to choose a specialization at lvl 20 and i took the upgarde to anger as i saw in the description that it improved my chances of going berserk. Did i do the right thing? There were other choices there that looked quite good too (like the upgrade to wound). If berserk doesn't do much (see my first question) then maybe i chose the wrong one....</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks for your input! It is greatly appreciated.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[joze]

<DIV>Somebody, anybody? You there! Answer me!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[Aburai]

<DIV>First of all congratulations on graduating to the Berserker ranks :smileywink:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Focus rage is reactive so it gives you a "chance" to Bersker whenever you take some damage,  from what I can see that chance increases with the level of your Focus rage skill.  Upgrade it if you can, it will also get a bit better as you level and the Con of the skill gets closer to white etc..  It still wont go off every time you get hit but it will go off more often for you.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The Berserk state is a short duration offensive buff and haste. It only ever lasts around 7-9 seconds from memory but from what I have read on people testing it, it seems to be around a 30% haste effect so its pretty substantial.  Considering it is a relatively free buff the duration is short.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>That said Focus rage isn't enough to keep you in a Berserked state, you will need to use your other skills, like the upgrade to Anger you took to keep you in a Berserked state for most of the battle.  Sometimes you will even notice a Double Berserked state, yes some of our Berserk state skills stack and its great when it happens.  You will get more and more skills that will allow you to enter a Berserked state as you level up, some have a very small chance to work, some are broken and dont work at all but it will really benefit you to buy the upgrades for them.  AppIII at a minumum, Adept if you can get your hands on them.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As far as the 2Handed weapons go, I dont think we have a "2Handed weapon skill" as such, at least it does not skill up like our Slashing / Crushing / Piercing skills do.  I think what you are seeing is an uncapped or low skill in slashing, the more you use the axe the higher the skill will become until it reaches your level cap, it doesn't take long to cap the skill but you will miss a lot if you have never really leveled in slashing weapons until you level it up a bit.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>There are better weapons than the axe though, the axe isn't bad as a freebie item but keep your eye out for better 2Handers.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think you made the right choice in the Training option for Anger as Taunts are by far the hardest to upgrade,  Adepts for combat skills are a dime a dozen.  Plus you are a tank and holding aggro is really important so the upgrade to Anger was a good choice in my opinion.  You will get upgrades for Wound in the high 20's + the extra damage the training upgrade isn't really worth it I think.</DIV>

[Maidenchase]

<DIV>I'll try to answer but I am no expert by any means, however I am currently a level 30 beserker. I will not do so good with your focus rage question however as I believe mine last for hours, and gives me chance to go beserk when I get hit. Although like you I don't seem to see it have too much affect, but part of that is because everytime I change my chat colors to be able to identify my attacks in the combat window, they always default back so I can't be bothered anymore. I do look at the damage numbers floating above the enemy but don't really make to much sense out of them, so I have a tendency to just blindly kill, but hey that's why I chose Beserker in the first place. Sorry. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>But with the weapon thing, I can say that I have found that I like to carry a myriad of weapons that meet the need of any encounter. When I am tanking I use the best one handed weapon I can find and a shield. When I am not the tank I like the speed of dual wield, however since I am still using Steel Stillettos, and just found a cool two handed [Removed for Content] sword in Nek Castle I have been using that perhaps a little more. I guess what I am saying is that you would do well to match your weapons with your situation, and make sure you carry more than one, depending on what role you are playing. I hope that helps and that someone can clarify the Focus Rage thing for you further.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Argyle</DIV>

[joze]

<DIV>First off thanks for your responses guys, they were truly helpful.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm </DIV>

[joze]

<DIV>First off thanks for your responses guys, they were truly helpful.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm glad </DIV>

[joze]

<DIV>First off thanks for your responses guys, they were truly helpful.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm glad i made the right choice with the Anger upgrade and hopefully i'll go berserk more often.  I guess i'll actually see the diff bewteen berserk state and normal state when i solo because i sure don't see it when i'm in a group. I'll just trust the knowledgeable posters here that it makes a substantial diff.  I will also look to get my hands on app3 or hopefully adept for focus rage. </DIV> <DIV>About the weapon thing, my main right now is a piercing weap so i guess i need to increase my slashing skill to use the JBOB properly. I have decided however to just sell it, i like my shield and the added AC too much even when i'm not main tank as my 1 hander does not do significantly less damage than the 2hander if you take into consideration the delay of both weaps.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm off to do my armor quests! Thanks again guys</DIV>

[DeathChi]

I'm a level 21 berserker myself, and I actually carry three different weapon configurations.1 - Sword and Shield (Excellent for tanking)2 - Berserker Axe (slow, but good damage, not bad if you're going to be spamming specials in between weapon strikes)3 - Twin Crescent axes (very fast, and with the Focus Rage having a chance to fire on each hit, using two fast weapons should increase the number of berserk states per round)As my mood (or companion) changes I flick between the 3.Is the berserk version of anger that useful? I usually find that the berserk state has worn off before my character has had a chance to hit again...

[YellowSpi]

The buff you get with Anger isn't a berserker state, it is a buff that gives you the chance to go berserker. Same with .. UM .. hell can't think of the name but you will get it down the road in a few levels :p .

[Wasc]

<blockquote><hr>DeathChief wrote:As my mood (or companion) changes I flick between the 3.<hr></blockquote>Good plan.I tend to do the same thing... I carry the level 20 axe, two dual-wield weapons (a nasty mace that dropped in the Vermin's Snye in one hand, and in the other a Willow Wood Blade of Service or a cruel-looking knife dropped from the Rat Queen in the Vermin's Snye - depending on my mood), and a tower shield to suit my Dwarven-forged Longsword, (procs against undead, from Firemyst Valley quest... now THAT is a quest).Aside from bragging about my weapons (I know, I'm not uber, but I earned 'em and THAT feels good) the point of this post was to say that I generally rely on dual wield as my primary method of combat, unless I'm tanking something big for the group or fighting undead, and that's when I pull out the sword (procs against undead) and tower shield. As for my two-hander, that thing sees plenty of use... when my friend Arianah, the illusionist, is around. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Alacrity is all the reason I need to pull out my big slow axe.I wonder, though, does alacrity stack with a berserk rage? Hmm...

[Ci|2c]

<DIV>I could be completely wrong but I belive Focus rage has a chance to beserk when YOU are hit - not the other way around. So fast weapons won't help there. However - I belive faster weapons will help Hold the line (Which is pretty darn handy around 20 at least, not sure it holds up at higher levels) as it has a chance to go off on each hit (I think). So in general - it depends on what your fighting, Greens will rarely even hit you and so you have a lower still chance of berserking. When I tank VS White^^ mobs and higher I go berserk pretty darn often since I'm getting the snot beat out of me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My question to the l337 (if you really know the answer to this question I mean) berserkers out there is: While in the berserk state, is it in my best interests to let my toon attack normally OR also do Specials? just looking at the animations it would seem that doing specials wastes precious beserk time but maybe the animations are wrong? </DIV>

[Aburai]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Ci|2cl3 wrote:<BR> <DIV>I could be completely wrong but I belive Focus rage has a chance to beserk when YOU are hit - not the other way around. So fast weapons won't help there. However - I belive faster weapons will help Hold the line (Which is pretty darn handy around 20 at least, not sure it holds up at higher levels) as it has a chance to go off on each hit (I think). So in general - it depends on what your fighting, Greens will rarely even hit you and so you have a lower still chance of berserking. When I tank VS White^^ mobs and higher I go berserk pretty darn often since I'm getting the snot beat out of me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My question to the l337 (if you really know the answer to this question I mean) berserkers out there is: While in the berserk state, is it in my best interests to let my toon attack normally OR also do Specials? just looking at the animations it would seem that doing specials wastes precious beserk time but maybe the animations are wrong? </DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <P>Yup Focus Rage is a skill that gives the chance to Berserk when you are hit or take damage.  Bloodlust and Tides of War are the skills that give the chance to Berserk on ever successful hit on your opponent as far as I have seen.</P> <P>Hold the Line is great up until the late 20's I found,  when you are tanking in the Enchanted Lands, Ruins of Varsoon etc.. it starts to lose its shine a little, I suspect it has to do with the higher level mobs requiring more aggro than it can generate and having smarter A.I.  You need to change your tactics a bit in the higher level zones by using Taunts and Buffs + Damage to hold aggro.</P> <P>Well I'm hardly considered 1337 but here's my opinion heh :smileywink:  It depends on what you are doing at the time.  If you are offtanking or just trying to add DPS well it's easier to work specials and arts inbetween slower 2handed weapons than with a fast dual wield setup.  You wont lost much DPS if you do it that way.  So in that situation if you are dual wielding and hitting Berserk I'd say try only using Damage Over Time skills to add to your DPS while Berserk.  But if you're Main Tank well you don't have too much choice in the matter, your primary job is to hold aggro.  Try not to let the thirst for damage output take away from you taunting and keeping aggro heh!</P> <P>But in all honesty, I don't think it makes a huge amount of difference in the grand scale of things.</P>