AAs for 2H?

vargfloejt · 12-28-2006, 11:01 PM

Hi,I'm a berserker in his mid-30s . I recently acquired the legendary HQ twohanded axe, and I figured I'd re-place my AA points. I'll mostly be duoing with a Swashbuckler, and I'm on a PvEserver. Where should I place my Achievement points after 448 Strength line?

Ni · 12-29-2006, 02:41 AM

If you are going to use a slow weapon, INT (haste) and STR (crits) lines are good.

No weapon can be hasted below a 1.0 speed so the slower your weapon, the more likely high levels of haste will be useful. Of course at level 30, you are highly unlikely to hit the haste cap in any situation.

Slow weapons have higher dmg. Since the damage from critical hits is a direct percentage bonus from your weapon's damage, big hits= big crits.

Legiax · 12-29-2006, 02:38 PM

Get an axe or sword as your primary, and carry a hammer with you to use the wisdom mitigation debuff. Use your hammer to open the fight with for the mitigation debuff, then swap to your 2 hander. This process combined with a swashy is sick.

Your are going to put out more DPS with a 2 handed sword due to the haste buff you receive from the INT line ability. However if you take an axe you get an extra CA, which when used correctly with either Frenzy / Demolish or an AoE can be nasty.

4-4-8 STR

4-5 WIS

4-48-8 INT

Jackula · 12-30-2006, 01:13 AM

And if you're trying to take advantage of crits (STR line + gear and buffs), it is also better to use a weapon with a larger gap between min and max damage. As a random example, an axe that does 20-80 damage and another axe that does 40-60 damage will show the same dps (each will do an average of 50 damage), but the 20-80 axe will outperform the other because of larger crits.If you want to see some fancy charts about that, here's a link to the swashy forums:http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=combat&message.id=111347

yettii · 01-04-2007, 11:24 AM

I was originally a Berserker (still am at heart), and I've sworn myself to 2hs for life, swords in particular. For a long time, I had to prove my worthiness over Guardians. People just didn't know what we were capable of. So I looked for ways to improve my DPS with 2h's in any way possible. I had my job cut out for me with so many going the way of the Buckler AA. However, I found a very delicious AA setup for this. The downside is that you'll have no chance to take any endlines. As a Zerker, you'll be very dependant on your equipment as well. Having the finest 2h swords is a must, but even more important - Haste! An above poster mentioned that the haste cap is 1.0 seconds. This was true at one point, but I've been hearing from several people for a while that this cap was removed at least when the haste cap went to 200% (not like its really 200%) Few 2h's are quicker than 2 second delay at base speed however, so this is irrelevant, but our haste has more meaning than it used to now.

So, with purely KoS AAs figured into mind (barely played him into EoF yet), I present the "Wind Razor" Setup -

4-4-8-0-0 into STR & WIS

4-5-8-0-0 into INT

Rather simplistic and similar looking, heh?

The Strength line is a freaking must. I feel that all Zerkers, even tanking ones, must strive for the best DPS they can do, be it with 2h, 1h & Buckler/Shield, or DW. No class likely has better Auto-Attack potential than we do. It beats the $#!t out of our single target CAs for sure. To ensure this end, maxing our Crit Chance AA is probably the first thing one should do.

The Wisdom line can probably come 2nd or 3rd, depends on your preference (and weapon at the time). Going into this line as far as I've said will give you the option of the Belly Smash & max out your DPS boosting AA. Belly Smash was useful for me for a while when I used a hammer a good portion of the time. Reminded me of the good old days with my trusty Royal Great Flail. (Its never getting vendored or transmuted. It was my first true @$$-kicker, I can't let it go.) However, I'd find it a hassle to keep switching to it for the Mitigation debuff. Besides, its merely in the way of getting to the DPS bonus. Haste and DPS modifications are high and mighty on Zerkers, I can't stress this enough. Our Auto-Attack is king, and should be a prime priority to enhance.

The Int line is a huge booster for the 2h users, and should probably come next after the Strength line plan if you're already using a Sword. I'd obviously max out both hasting AAs, but we're 3 points short. Thus, once I came to the first haste AA, I checked it out and over. Its actually a CA, and requires a Sword of any type in Primary slot. The CA is turned on, then once 3 other offensive CAs have been used and landed (in other words, it must do damage), the haste for the CA kicks in, and the icon for it vanishes, initiating the recast on it. Its little hassle to keep it going all of the time, and even one point into it grants a generous amount of Haste. More points into it make it strange though. Unlike the 2nd haste AA (permanent passive haste buff, regardless of weapon choice), the first AA haste skill doesn't scale up the haste on an even level per point. 5 points into it = 30% Haste, and I found that satisfactory. Almost 20% Haste, plus 30% more with Swords = very nice.

Past this point, you'll need various pieces of gear and Master 1s to optimize. For gear, you'll obviously want something with Haste on it. The Flowing Black Silk Sash should be a great starter for you in T5. Anything with Haste, just keep one on. I'm afraid, however, that you only have 2 real options for gear that have DPS-boosting mods. One is a Tier 4 Legendary Cuirass that you should probably start shooting for right now. Comes from a named in Ruins of Varsoon, Thimzem or something. Has a 30 second buff that boosts DPS by 40% (drains power meanwhile, though), 20 minute recast. Great for burst DPS, Zombie form too! A must for all Zerkers, maybe even all Plate tanks, if for nothing more than novelty. I consider the other option the pinnacle of non-weapon Zerker DPS that I still use to this day, and is, however, a far less likely option these days - its Fabled, raid-aquired, and above you for the time being. I'll spoil nothing on it out loud for fear of eventual nerfage, PM me if you seek more info on it. Or simply find Serval / Karacal / Venomer if you play on Najena :p

As for Master 1s, the primary goals of course should be boosting the Berserk line, as this is the base of your bread and butter. Later on past 50, be sure to keep up Rampage/Destruction, and Open Wounds at lv58 will be so delicious, you have no idea. Juggernaut at lv65 is freaking sweet, but will also bring yourself the pain rather quick without healing.

With base abilities and boosters out of the way, time for the primary focus, your weapon. With 2h, you'll be getting the most out of your Haste, DPS, and Crits. The Wind Razor setup (again, 2h Sword preferred) optimizes single target DPS and DPS in general, although the AoEs as a Zerker stay strong, and the Open Wounds performance will be terrific. This is done through 2hs, bringing high auto-attack damage ranges & massive crits through DPS mods, and solving the slow delay issue through great Haste. Slower is indeed better on your swords.

For Tier 4, Gorehorn's Blade of Butchery is a nice start. T5 has many 2h Sword options for you, Legendary and Fabled alike, even a Heritage & Prismatic. T6 greatly cuts your choices down unfortunately. Three choices, all Fabled and two require raids: the non-raid option is the Eviscerator from the Court of Blades faction instance in Maj'Dul. Next only real choice is the best one, the Captain's Ever-Shifting Vouge from Courts of Al'Afaz. Isn't TOO hard to get, and was simply astounding before KoS came around. The Argent Bastardsword is the weakest choice of all, and I'm convinced it actually no longer drops (making it, logically, not a choice at all). A shame, its got a unique graphic to it. Apparently, I bought the last one to ever drop on Najena.

KoS in T7 is your definite last stop for 2h swords, much to the chagrin of most other players. You've likely got lots of Legendary T7 options for purchase on the brokers at all times. The Doomwing Dragon Katana is a very attractive (No-Trade) goal from the Halls of Fate. Since I've yet to see or hear word from EoF on new 2h swords in T7 (other than the ever-common Manafused Greatblade), I'm assuming the KoS swords are it. So, here are your endgame goals. If you can, strive for Rak'Leklo and any of the others:

Vukar'Ohk, Sword of Legend - This is a great Fabled sword thats easily obtained....IF you win the RNG lottery. This comes from the same guy in Halls of Fate that drops the Doomwing Dragon Katana, but he drops this one far less. Unless you've got extreme patience and dedication, don't count on ever seeing this one. Rumor is actual chance to drop is 1:120.

Rak'Leklo, Runeblade of the Doomflight - And you thought the last one had quite the name. This comes from the Laboratory of Lord Vyemm raid, just above Halls of Fate. I stress striving for this as well as another since it is simply great overall. A huge attribute pool, and two words - lifetap proc. A must when soloing, use stronger damaging swords in groups/raids (if you have them).

Qeynos Claymore - Epic 3.0. Not as strong as most originally hoped, and worse still, can't be adorned. Still, this one's quested, so if your guild's got what it takes later, it can be easily obtained with certainty. High boost to STR/STA and hit points in general, strong offensive proc, and an interesting defensive proc.

Sword of Pain - A common drop from Halls of Seeing. As generic as it seems, its actually probably tied with 2nd best sword you can use. Stats on it are decent. Damage proc is bleh. Huge Plus - this one's actually tradable, so buy it off the broker if you can. Despite sub-par Fabled Damage rating, actually has a large damage range thanks to the 3 second delay.

~~Gnillaw's Sword of Slaughter~~ - From Lyceum of Abhorrence. Also tradable. Also crap compared to others. Its tailored to those with little to no Haste. At 1.5 second delay, its TOO fast for most Zerkers. Sure, you'll be hitting like no tomorrow, but for much lower numbers per hit, meaning sucky crits that are far below your potential. Seriously, dont bother with this one.

Gaudralek, Sword of the Sky - Many swear by this one. Comes from the end of the Labs raid, as does Rak'Leklo. Strong, solid damage rating, about on par with Sword of Pain. Only one sword's better, and that is....

Pride's Edge - It gets no better than this monster for Wind Razors. My Berserker is sadly an alt these days, so he's still waiting to get one (using Rak'Leklo/SoP), but the wait is almost over, and boy will it be a great day when it is. Clocking in at 3.5 seconds, this is the slowest & most damaging sword of all time. Few weapons currently surpass its DR. Its stats and attributes are high where they matter. It looks great. And replacing the cookie-cutter offensive proc is one that fires off 10 second dumbfire pets upon the target, which likely stay up a lot of the time with the crazy haste. Quite possibly the finest non-ranged weapon Deathtoll has to offer, and one of the best 2h, period.

In the end as a lv70 Zerker with just KoS AAs alone, the final verdict in my prime in battle:

28% Haste from T7 M1 in Berserk Line + ~20% Haste from passive AA + 30% from Sword AA +23% Haste from item

=101% Haste in prime (153% Haste during Open Wounds M1) (not factoring in the Fabled 2h 20% Haste adornment until it stacks with current haste or is altered to stack.)

28% DPS from T7 M1 Berserk line + ~19% DPS from passive AAs + 10% DPS through Neck Adornment (x2) + ???

=100% DPS in prime (140% during the Thimzem Cuirass'es activatable)

22% Crit chance through AAs + 2% Crit chance through MoA = 24% general Crit chance (+27% under Juggernaut M1)

I'm swinging well into the 1000s on a regular basis, and with the Sword of Pain, I've crit above 2400. I still await the Pride's Edge, my final frontier until the next expansion.

Message Edited by yettii on 01-03-2007 10:32 PM

uux · 01-04-2007, 08:07 PM

yettii wrote:

[...]
In the end as a lv70 Zerker with just KoS AAs alone, the final verdict in my prime in battle:

28% Haste from T7 M1 in Berserk Line + ~20% Haste from passive AA + 30% from Sword AA +23% Haste from item

=101% Haste in prime (153% Haste during Open Wounds M1) (not factoring in the Fabled 2h 20% Haste adornment until it stacks with current haste or is altered to stack.)

28% DPS from T7 M1 Berserk line + ~19% DPS from passive AAs + 10% DPS through Neck Adornment (x2) + ???

=100% DPS in prime (140% during the Thimzem Cuirass'es activatable)

22% Crit chance through AAs + 2% Crit chance through MoA = 24% general Crit chance (+27% under Juggernaut M1)

I'm swinging well into the 1000s on a regular basis, and with the Sword of Pain, I've crit above 2400. I still await the Pride's Edge, my final frontier until the next expansion.
Message Edited by yettii on 01-03-2007 10:32 PM

A mastercrafted imbued ring of strength will also stack with the other +dps mods. With the slow weapon and lots of haste, it procs a lot (might as well be permanent). Also, for evil toons, the cloak from Rallos Zek has a +dps proc. You can also adorn a ranged weapon (not a bow, sadly) with another +10 dps modifier.I've used the same AA choices above (4/4/8 down STR, WIS, and INT) and with a Sword of Pain no less. I had no trouble keeping up with another berserker who was using a STA/WIS (mathmatically, not the top choice for pure dps, but he parsed close to the same anyway). There is miracle from Rallos Zek that gives you a 100% chance to crit for a short duration and stacked with Open Wounds it's pretty wild to see multiple 2200+ hits going up constantly.While I can solo much better with a 1H and buckler setup, and can offtank in raids quite nicely, I don't think I've ever pulled out a shield for any heroic zones (and note, I say this having never been in Nizara). My usual group kills mobs so fast I actually had to wait a couple seconds for the single target taunt timer to refresh. Avoidance just didn't matter when things drop that like that.I've used 4/4/8 INT and 4/4/8 AGI with the WIS final ability for a long time. You'll lose some DPS, but you will gain quite a bit of avoidance back. There are no penalties on either stance. You'll gain avoidance in your offensive stance, but the real winner is your defensive stance. The AGI line gives you something similar to your offensive stance proc. Also, no offensive penalties and you gain all that avoidance. It wasn't unusual to be around 41-43% avoidance with +defense gear on. With a buckler (sta 4/4/8/ SMILEY

, I'm sitting around 46% in the same gear. The major difference is that a buckler provides block%.I can't comment on PvP, but for PvE a 2H is very viable and I'm thinking about going back to it.

Anjin · 01-04-2007, 08:20 PM

Shiznitz wrote:

If you are going to use a slow weapon, INT (haste) and STR (crits) lines are good.

No weapon can be hasted below a 1.0 speed so the slower your weapon, the more likely high levels of haste will be useful. Of course at level 30, you are highly unlikely to hit the haste cap in any situation.

Slow weapons have higher dmg. Since the damage from critical hits is a direct percentage bonus from your weapon's damage, big hits= big crits.

This is not true - there is no cap on weapon speed.

fyrelan · 01-05-2007, 04:08 AM

Shiznitz wrote:

If you are going to use a slow weapon, INT (haste) and STR (crits) lines are good.

No weapon can be hasted below a 1.0 speed so the slower your weapon, the more likely high levels of haste will be useful. Of course at level 30, you are highly unlikely to hit the haste cap in any situation.

Slow weapons have higher dmg. Since the damage from critical hits is a direct percentage bonus from your weapon's damage, big hits= big crits.

This wrong fact has been in circulation since early eq1, where some people kept saying that you can not go below a weapon speed of 1. It was not right back then and it is not right now. you would think after so many years and 2 eq games, people would know that you can go below a weapon speed of 1, but no it always seems to pop up every few months.Another thing a bigger hit does mean a bigger crit, but a faster weapon also gives more chances of getting a crit, so in the end it works out to about the same.

uux · 01-05-2007, 04:21 AM

fyrelance wrote:
Shiznitz wrote:

If you are going to use a slow weapon, INT (haste) and STR (crits) lines are good.

No weapon can be hasted below a 1.0 speed so the slower your weapon, the more likely high levels of haste will be useful. Of course at level 30, you are highly unlikely to hit the haste cap in any situation.

Slow weapons have higher dmg. Since the damage from critical hits is a direct percentage bonus from your weapon's damage, big hits= big crits.
This wrong fact has been in circulation since early eq1, where some people kept saying that you can not go below a weapon speed of 1. It was not right back then and it is not right now. you would think after so many years and 2 eq games, people would know that you can go below a weapon speed of 1, but no it always seems to pop up every few months.Another thing a bigger hit does mean a bigger crit, but a faster weapon also gives more chances of getting a crit, so in the end it works out to about the same.

Are crits normalized like procs? If so, the advantage is to the slower weapons.

Anjin · 01-05-2007, 02:25 PM

A faster weapon may give more chances to crit, but the crits will be smaller that with the slower weapon - DR is based on not just damage but delay as well. I imagine it evens itself out.

HisMajes · 01-05-2007, 03:35 PM

IMO, screw getting the WIS line, go for STR 4-4-8 AGI 4-4-8 and INT 4-5-8

way more AE damage, better then WIS by far in alot of situations with prides edge and the 24% chance to auto-attack AE does sick damage, more then a little DPS by far.

yettii · 01-06-2007, 01:39 AM

HisMajesty wrote:

IMO, screw getting the WIS line, go for STR 4-4-8 AGI 4-4-8 and INT 4-5-8

way more AE damage, better then WIS by far in alot of situations with prides edge and the 24% chance to auto-attack AE does sick damage, more then a little DPS by far.

You know, you carry a VERY good point.

My outlook and setup may be a little outdated. It was when DPS mods were very hard to come by. Back then, the DPS mod from the Wis line mattered quite a bit. I should try the Mastercrafted rings again as well. Now that I can get my DPS over 100% with the rings, the diminishing returns make Wis not so necessary anymore. Respeccing to Agi would indeed grant me some extra avoidance, as well as a smidgeon of Open Wounds every 4 hits or so.

Its true, I see it ever so clearly now. Whats more ideal?

4 hits of 100 damage each with a 20% DPS modifier = 120x4 = 480.

4 hits of 100 damage each with a 24% chance to hit again = ~100x5 =~500.

Now, it may not work that way, but it'll slap other enemies around you, and there usually ARE other enemies around the Berserker as well. I've found that we may be the best exp-grinding group tanks for how fast we take on and take down multiple mobs, and the AGI line will help me drive that message home even faster. I might even solo faster.

Still, don't give up too much of the DPS mod. I'd say try to reach the 60-80% DPS mod range when self-buffed in prime.

Another important question, I kinda forget if Open Wounds also applies as a double attack upon the mob you're currently swinging at. Can anyone confirm or discredit this?

hakedu · 01-06-2007, 02:53 AM

i had the agi line twice and i really would not recommend it (only the end ability is nice).

Our AE dps is already excellent and it helps more to do extra damage on the main mob. Especially on raids it can be very annoying when you peel 1 or 2 mobs from the MT.

I have str/int and i am very happy with it. The dps is very good (i use Gaudralek/Vilucidae as sword) and tanking is very good as well.

Open wounds does not attack the targeted mob twice, this would be to good to be true SMILEY

FightGame · 01-06-2007, 08:32 AM

hakedu wrote:

Open wounds does not attack the targeted mob twice, this would be to good to be true

So, are you "confirming" this? Even with stamina's 76% chance? hehe I'm interested as well

Edit: Here's a link to a coder stating that there is no minimum weapon delay. Someone showed me when I asked about it awhile back.

http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=combat&message.id=100167&query.id=0#M100167

Message Edited by FightGame on 01-05-2007 07:44 PM

yettii · 01-06-2007, 09:01 AM

hakedu wrote:

i had the agi line twice and i really would not recommend it (only the end ability is nice).

Open wounds does not attack the targeted mob twice, this would be to good to be true

Thanks for the confirmation on Open Wounds, I'll keep this in mind now.

I've heard from others that the AGI line isn't worth much. Even the 3rd ability isn't so good? The 24% chance to proc with 8 points looks extremely tempting. But I have heard from other reputable zerkers that either it doesn't proc as much as 24% chance would lead you to believe, or it "doesn't work like you think it will".

The Naysaying about it has been rather vague so far, so I need and want specifics from someone who maxed the 3rd Agi skill. What is their experience with it? Cause if someone doesn't come clear on it soon, I may just have to start paying plat to find out myself, lol.

hakedu · 01-06-2007, 02:26 PM

i had maxed out the 3rd ability in the agi line and i would not say that it doesnt proc for 24%, but

- it wont help you on single mobs

- if you have a named mob with some smaller adds, the adds will be killed by destruction and open wounds soon anyway

- it does not stack with open wounds

i respecced from agi/int to str/int and the dps went up.

Without stamina line open wounds will not hit the targeted mob twice (exactly like the 3rd ability in agi will not hit the mob twice).

You can easily check this if you kill a group of mobs with open wounds and auto attack: they will all die at about the same time.

I am not 100% sure anymore about buckler and open wounds: If i remember correctly you attack the targettted mob twice (with a 76% chance) and the other mobs once.

01-04-2007, 08:07 PM	#6
uux Loremaster Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 486	yettii wrote: [...] In the end as a lv70 Zerker with just KoS AAs alone, the final verdict in my prime in battle: 28% Haste from T7 M1 in Berserk Line + ~20% Haste from passive AA + 30% from Sword AA +23% Haste from item =101% Haste in prime (153% Haste during Open Wounds M1) (not factoring in the Fabled 2h 20% Haste adornment until it stacks with current haste or is altered to stack.) 28% DPS from T7 M1 Berserk line + ~19% DPS from passive AAs + 10% DPS through Neck Adornment (x2) + ??? =100% DPS in prime (140% during the Thimzem Cuirass'es activatable) 22% Crit chance through AAs + 2% Crit chance through MoA = 24% general Crit chance (+27% under Juggernaut M1) I'm swinging well into the 1000s on a regular basis, and with the Sword of Pain, I've crit above 2400. I still await the Pride's Edge, my final frontier until the next expansion. Message Edited by yettii on 01-03-2007 10:32 PM A mastercrafted imbued ring of strength will also stack with the other +dps mods. With the slow weapon and lots of haste, it procs a lot (might as well be permanent). Also, for evil toons, the cloak from Rallos Zek has a +dps proc. You can also adorn a ranged weapon (not a bow, sadly) with another +10 dps modifier.I've used the same AA choices above (4/4/8 down STR, WIS, and INT) and with a Sword of Pain no less. I had no trouble keeping up with another berserker who was using a STA/WIS (mathmatically, not the top choice for pure dps, but he parsed close to the same anyway). There is miracle from Rallos Zek that gives you a 100% chance to crit for a short duration and stacked with Open Wounds it's pretty wild to see multiple 2200+ hits going up constantly.While I can solo much better with a 1H and buckler setup, and can offtank in raids quite nicely, I don't think I've ever pulled out a shield for any heroic zones (and note, I say this having never been in Nizara). My usual group kills mobs so fast I actually had to wait a couple seconds for the single target taunt timer to refresh. Avoidance just didn't matter when things drop that like that.I've used 4/4/8 INT and 4/4/8 AGI with the WIS final ability for a long time. You'll lose some DPS, but you will gain quite a bit of avoidance back. There are no penalties on either stance. You'll gain avoidance in your offensive stance, but the real winner is your defensive stance. The AGI line gives you something similar to your offensive stance proc. Also, no offensive penalties and you gain all that avoidance. It wasn't unusual to be around 41-43% avoidance with +defense gear on. With a buckler (sta 4/4/8/, I'm sitting around 46% in the same gear. The major difference is that a buckler provides block%.I can't comment on PvP, but for PvE a 2H is very viable and I'm thinking about going back to it.

01-04-2007, 08:20 PM	#7
Anjin Loremaster Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 423	Shiznitz wrote: If you are going to use a slow weapon, INT (haste) and STR (crits) lines are good. No weapon can be hasted below a 1.0 speed so the slower your weapon, the more likely high levels of haste will be useful. Of course at level 30, you are highly unlikely to hit the haste cap in any situation. Slow weapons have higher dmg. Since the damage from critical hits is a direct percentage bonus from your weapon's damage, big hits= big crits. This is not true - there is no cap on weapon speed.

01-05-2007, 04:08 AM	#8
fyrelan Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 18	Shiznitz wrote: If you are going to use a slow weapon, INT (haste) and STR (crits) lines are good. No weapon can be hasted below a 1.0 speed so the slower your weapon, the more likely high levels of haste will be useful. Of course at level 30, you are highly unlikely to hit the haste cap in any situation. Slow weapons have higher dmg. Since the damage from critical hits is a direct percentage bonus from your weapon's damage, big hits= big crits. This wrong fact has been in circulation since early eq1, where some people kept saying that you can not go below a weapon speed of 1. It was not right back then and it is not right now. you would think after so many years and 2 eq games, people would know that you can go below a weapon speed of 1, but no it always seems to pop up every few months.Another thing a bigger hit does mean a bigger crit, but a faster weapon also gives more chances of getting a crit, so in the end it works out to about the same.

01-05-2007, 04:21 AM	#9
uux Loremaster Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 486	fyrelance wrote: Shiznitz wrote: If you are going to use a slow weapon, INT (haste) and STR (crits) lines are good. No weapon can be hasted below a 1.0 speed so the slower your weapon, the more likely high levels of haste will be useful. Of course at level 30, you are highly unlikely to hit the haste cap in any situation. Slow weapons have higher dmg. Since the damage from critical hits is a direct percentage bonus from your weapon's damage, big hits= big crits. This wrong fact has been in circulation since early eq1, where some people kept saying that you can not go below a weapon speed of 1. It was not right back then and it is not right now. you would think after so many years and 2 eq games, people would know that you can go below a weapon speed of 1, but no it always seems to pop up every few months.Another thing a bigger hit does mean a bigger crit, but a faster weapon also gives more chances of getting a crit, so in the end it works out to about the same. Are crits normalized like procs? If so, the advantage is to the slower weapons.

01-05-2007, 03:35 PM	#11
HisMajes General Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6	IMO, screw getting the WIS line, go for STR 4-4-8 AGI 4-4-8 and INT 4-5-8 way more AE damage, better then WIS by far in alot of situations with prides edge and the 24% chance to auto-attack AE does sick damage, more then a little DPS by far. __________________ Glusk - 70 Berserker Pryor - 70 Monk Linde - 70 Necromancer Galeant - 70 Fury

12-28-2006, 11:01 PM	#1
vargfloejt Champion Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1	Hi,I'm a berserker in his mid-30s . I recently acquired the legendary HQ twohanded axe, and I figured I'd re-place my AA points. I'll mostly be duoing with a Swashbuckler, and I'm on a PvEserver. Where should I place my Achievement points after 448 Strength line?

12-29-2006, 02:41 AM	#2
Ni General Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 192	If you are going to use a slow weapon, INT (haste) and STR (crits) lines are good. No weapon can be hasted below a 1.0 speed so the slower your weapon, the more likely high levels of haste will be useful. Of course at level 30, you are highly unlikely to hit the haste cap in any situation. Slow weapons have higher dmg. Since the damage from critical hits is a direct percentage bonus from your weapon's damage, big hits= big crits.

12-29-2006, 02:38 PM	#3
Legiax Loremaster Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: England Posts: 353	Get an axe or sword as your primary, and carry a hammer with you to use the wisdom mitigation debuff. Use your hammer to open the fight with for the mitigation debuff, then swap to your 2 hander. This process combined with a swashy is sick. Your are going to put out more DPS with a 2 handed sword due to the haste buff you receive from the INT line ability. However if you take an axe you get an extra CA, which when used correctly with either Frenzy / Demolish or an AoE can be nasty. 4-4-8 STR 4-5 WIS 4-48-8 INT

12-30-2006, 01:13 AM	#4
Jackula Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 257	And if you're trying to take advantage of crits (STR line + gear and buffs), it is also better to use a weapon with a larger gap between min and max damage. As a random example, an axe that does 20-80 damage and another axe that does 40-60 damage will show the same dps (each will do an average of 50 damage), but the 20-80 axe will outperform the other because of larger crits.If you want to see some fancy charts about that, here's a link to the swashy forums:http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=combat&message.id=111347

01-04-2007, 11:24 AM	#5
yettii Loremaster Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 74	I was originally a Berserker (still am at heart), and I've sworn myself to 2hs for life, swords in particular. For a long time, I had to prove my worthiness over Guardians. People just didn't know what we were capable of. So I looked for ways to improve my DPS with 2h's in any way possible. I had my job cut out for me with so many going the way of the Buckler AA. However, I found a very delicious AA setup for this. The downside is that you'll have no chance to take any endlines. As a Zerker, you'll be very dependant on your equipment as well. Having the finest 2h swords is a must, but even more important - Haste! An above poster mentioned that the haste cap is 1.0 seconds. This was true at one point, but I've been hearing from several people for a while that this cap was removed at least when the haste cap went to 200% (not like its really 200%) Few 2h's are quicker than 2 second delay at base speed however, so this is irrelevant, but our haste has more meaning than it used to now. So, with purely KoS AAs figured into mind (barely played him into EoF yet), I present the "Wind Razor" Setup - 4-4-8-0-0 into STR & WIS 4-5-8-0-0 into INT Rather simplistic and similar looking, heh? The Strength line is a freaking must. I feel that all Zerkers, even tanking ones, must strive for the best DPS they can do, be it with 2h, 1h & Buckler/Shield, or DW. No class likely has better Auto-Attack potential than we do. It beats the $#!t out of our single target CAs for sure. To ensure this end, maxing our Crit Chance AA is probably the first thing one should do. The Wisdom line can probably come 2nd or 3rd, depends on your preference (and weapon at the time). Going into this line as far as I've said will give you the option of the Belly Smash & max out your DPS boosting AA. Belly Smash was useful for me for a while when I used a hammer a good portion of the time. Reminded me of the good old days with my trusty Royal Great Flail. (Its never getting vendored or transmuted. It was my first true @$$-kicker, I can't let it go.) However, I'd find it a hassle to keep switching to it for the Mitigation debuff. Besides, its merely in the way of getting to the DPS bonus. Haste and DPS modifications are high and mighty on Zerkers, I can't stress this enough. Our Auto-Attack is king, and should be a prime priority to enhance. The Int line is a huge booster for the 2h users, and should probably come next after the Strength line plan if you're already using a Sword. I'd obviously max out both hasting AAs, but we're 3 points short. Thus, once I came to the first haste AA, I checked it out and over. Its actually a CA, and requires a Sword of any type in Primary slot. The CA is turned on, then once 3 other offensive CAs have been used and landed (in other words, it must do damage), the haste for the CA kicks in, and the icon for it vanishes, initiating the recast on it. Its little hassle to keep it going all of the time, and even one point into it grants a generous amount of Haste. More points into it make it strange though. Unlike the 2nd haste AA (permanent passive haste buff, regardless of weapon choice), the first AA haste skill doesn't scale up the haste on an even level per point. 5 points into it = 30% Haste, and I found that satisfactory. Almost 20% Haste, plus 30% more with Swords = very nice. Past this point, you'll need various pieces of gear and Master 1s to optimize. For gear, you'll obviously want something with Haste on it. The Flowing Black Silk Sash should be a great starter for you in T5. Anything with Haste, just keep one on. I'm afraid, however, that you only have 2 real options for gear that have DPS-boosting mods. One is a Tier 4 Legendary Cuirass that you should probably start shooting for right now. Comes from a named in Ruins of Varsoon, Thimzem or something. Has a 30 second buff that boosts DPS by 40% (drains power meanwhile, though), 20 minute recast. Great for burst DPS, Zombie form too! A must for all Zerkers, maybe even all Plate tanks, if for nothing more than novelty. I consider the other option the pinnacle of non-weapon Zerker DPS that I still use to this day, and is, however, a far less likely option these days - its Fabled, raid-aquired, and above you for the time being. I'll spoil nothing on it out loud for fear of eventual nerfage, PM me if you seek more info on it. Or simply find Serval / Karacal / Venomer if you play on Najena :p As for Master 1s, the primary goals of course should be boosting the Berserk line, as this is the base of your bread and butter. Later on past 50, be sure to keep up Rampage/Destruction, and Open Wounds at lv58 will be so delicious, you have no idea. Juggernaut at lv65 is freaking sweet, but will also bring yourself the pain rather quick without healing. With base abilities and boosters out of the way, time for the primary focus, your weapon. With 2h, you'll be getting the most out of your Haste, DPS, and Crits. The Wind Razor setup (again, 2h Sword preferred) optimizes single target DPS and DPS in general, although the AoEs as a Zerker stay strong, and the Open Wounds performance will be terrific. This is done through 2hs, bringing high auto-attack damage ranges & massive crits through DPS mods, and solving the slow delay issue through great Haste. Slower is indeed better on your swords. For Tier 4, Gorehorn's Blade of Butchery is a nice start. T5 has many 2h Sword options for you, Legendary and Fabled alike, even a Heritage & Prismatic. T6 greatly cuts your choices down unfortunately. Three choices, all Fabled and two require raids: the non-raid option is the Eviscerator from the Court of Blades faction instance in Maj'Dul. Next only real choice is the best one, the Captain's Ever-Shifting Vouge from Courts of Al'Afaz. Isn't TOO hard to get, and was simply astounding before KoS came around. The Argent Bastardsword is the weakest choice of all, and I'm convinced it actually no longer drops (making it, logically, not a choice at all). A shame, its got a unique graphic to it. Apparently, I bought the last one to ever drop on Najena. KoS in T7 is your definite last stop for 2h swords, much to the chagrin of most other players. You've likely got lots of Legendary T7 options for purchase on the brokers at all times. The Doomwing Dragon Katana is a very attractive (No-Trade) goal from the Halls of Fate. Since I've yet to see or hear word from EoF on new 2h swords in T7 (other than the ever-common Manafused Greatblade), I'm assuming the KoS swords are it. So, here are your endgame goals. If you can, strive for Rak'Leklo and any of the others: Vukar'Ohk, Sword of Legend - This is a great Fabled sword thats easily obtained....IF you win the RNG lottery. This comes from the same guy in Halls of Fate that drops the Doomwing Dragon Katana, but he drops this one far less. Unless you've got extreme patience and dedication, don't count on ever seeing this one. Rumor is actual chance to drop is 1:120. Rak'Leklo, Runeblade of the Doomflight - And you thought the last one had quite the name. This comes from the Laboratory of Lord Vyemm raid, just above Halls of Fate. I stress striving for this as well as another since it is simply great overall. A huge attribute pool, and two words - lifetap proc. A must when soloing, use stronger damaging swords in groups/raids (if you have them). Qeynos Claymore - Epic 3.0. Not as strong as most originally hoped, and worse still, can't be adorned. Still, this one's quested, so if your guild's got what it takes later, it can be easily obtained with certainty. High boost to STR/STA and hit points in general, strong offensive proc, and an interesting defensive proc. Sword of Pain - A common drop from Halls of Seeing. As generic as it seems, its actually probably tied with 2nd best sword you can use. Stats on it are decent. Damage proc is bleh. Huge Plus - this one's actually tradable, so buy it off the broker if you can. Despite sub-par Fabled Damage rating, actually has a large damage range thanks to the 3 second delay. ~~Gnillaw's Sword of Slaughter~~ - From Lyceum of Abhorrence. Also tradable. Also crap compared to others. Its tailored to those with little to no Haste. At 1.5 second delay, its TOO fast for most Zerkers. Sure, you'll be hitting like no tomorrow, but for much lower numbers per hit, meaning sucky crits that are far below your potential. Seriously, dont bother with this one. Gaudralek, Sword of the Sky - Many swear by this one. Comes from the end of the Labs raid, as does Rak'Leklo. Strong, solid damage rating, about on par with Sword of Pain. Only one sword's better, and that is.... Pride's Edge - It gets no better than this monster for Wind Razors. My Berserker is sadly an alt these days, so he's still waiting to get one (using Rak'Leklo/SoP), but the wait is almost over, and boy will it be a great day when it is. Clocking in at 3.5 seconds, this is the slowest & most damaging sword of all time. Few weapons currently surpass its DR. Its stats and attributes are high where they matter. It looks great. And replacing the cookie-cutter offensive proc is one that fires off 10 second dumbfire pets upon the target, which likely stay up a lot of the time with the crazy haste. Quite possibly the finest non-ranged weapon Deathtoll has to offer, and one of the best 2h, period. In the end as a lv70 Zerker with just KoS AAs alone, the final verdict in my prime in battle: 28% Haste from T7 M1 in Berserk Line + ~20% Haste from passive AA + 30% from Sword AA +23% Haste from item =101% Haste in prime (153% Haste during Open Wounds M1) (not factoring in the Fabled 2h 20% Haste adornment until it stacks with current haste or is altered to stack.) 28% DPS from T7 M1 Berserk line + ~19% DPS from passive AAs + 10% DPS through Neck Adornment (x2) + ??? =100% DPS in prime (140% during the Thimzem Cuirass'es activatable) 22% Crit chance through AAs + 2% Crit chance through MoA = 24% general Crit chance (+27% under Juggernaut M1) I'm swinging well into the 1000s on a regular basis, and with the Sword of Pain, I've crit above 2400. I still await the Pride's Edge, my final frontier until the next expansion. Message Edited by yettii on 01-03-2007 10:32 PM

01-05-2007, 02:25 PM	#10
Anjin Loremaster Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 423	A faster weapon may give more chances to crit, but the crits will be smaller that with the slower weapon - DR is based on not just damage but delay as well. I imagine it evens itself out.

01-06-2007, 01:39 AM	#12
yettii Loremaster Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 74	HisMajesty wrote: IMO, screw getting the WIS line, go for STR 4-4-8 AGI 4-4-8 and INT 4-5-8 way more AE damage, better then WIS by far in alot of situations with prides edge and the 24% chance to auto-attack AE does sick damage, more then a little DPS by far. You know, you carry a VERY good point. My outlook and setup may be a little outdated. It was when DPS mods were very hard to come by. Back then, the DPS mod from the Wis line mattered quite a bit. I should try the Mastercrafted rings again as well. Now that I can get my DPS over 100% with the rings, the diminishing returns make Wis not so necessary anymore. Respeccing to Agi would indeed grant me some extra avoidance, as well as a smidgeon of Open Wounds every 4 hits or so. Its true, I see it ever so clearly now. Whats more ideal? 4 hits of 100 damage each with a 20% DPS modifier = 120x4 = 480. 4 hits of 100 damage each with a 24% chance to hit again = ~100x5 =~500. Now, it may not work that way, but it'll slap other enemies around you, and there usually ARE other enemies around the Berserker as well. I've found that we may be the best exp-grinding group tanks for how fast we take on and take down multiple mobs, and the AGI line will help me drive that message home even faster. I might even solo faster. Still, don't give up too much of the DPS mod. I'd say try to reach the 60-80% DPS mod range when self-buffed in prime. Another important question, I kinda forget if Open Wounds also applies as a double attack upon the mob you're currently swinging at. Can anyone confirm or discredit this?

01-06-2007, 02:53 AM	#13
hakedu Loremaster Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 39	i had the agi line twice and i really would not recommend it (only the end ability is nice). Our AE dps is already excellent and it helps more to do extra damage on the main mob. Especially on raids it can be very annoying when you peel 1 or 2 mobs from the MT. I have str/int and i am very happy with it. The dps is very good (i use Gaudralek/Vilucidae as sword) and tanking is very good as well. Open wounds does not attack the targeted mob twice, this would be to good to be true

01-06-2007, 08:32 AM	#14
FightGame Loremaster Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 548	hakedu wrote: Open wounds does not attack the targeted mob twice, this would be to good to be true So, are you "confirming" this? Even with stamina's 76% chance? hehe I'm interested as well Edit: Here's a link to a coder stating that there is no minimum weapon delay. Someone showed me when I asked about it awhile back. http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=combat&message.id=100167&query.id=0#M100167 Message Edited by FightGame on 01-05-2007 07:44 PM __________________

01-06-2007, 09:01 AM	#15
yettii Loremaster Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 74	hakedu wrote: i had the agi line twice and i really would not recommend it (only the end ability is nice). Open wounds does not attack the targeted mob twice, this would be to good to be true Thanks for the confirmation on Open Wounds, I'll keep this in mind now. I've heard from others that the AGI line isn't worth much. Even the 3rd ability isn't so good? The 24% chance to proc with 8 points looks extremely tempting. But I have heard from other reputable zerkers that either it doesn't proc as much as 24% chance would lead you to believe, or it "doesn't work like you think it will". The Naysaying about it has been rather vague so far, so I need and want specifics from someone who maxed the 3rd Agi skill. What is their experience with it? Cause if someone doesn't come clear on it soon, I may just have to start paying plat to find out myself, lol.

01-06-2007, 02:26 PM	#16
hakedu Loremaster Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 39	i had maxed out the 3rd ability in the agi line and i would not say that it doesnt proc for 24%, but - it wont help you on single mobs - if you have a named mob with some smaller adds, the adds will be killed by destruction and open wounds soon anyway - it does not stack with open wounds i respecced from agi/int to str/int and the dps went up. Without stamina line open wounds will not hit the targeted mob twice (exactly like the 3rd ability in agi will not hit the mob twice). You can easily check this if you kill a group of mobs with open wounds and auto attack: they will all die at about the same time. I am not 100% sure anymore about buckler and open wounds: If i remember correctly you attack the targettted mob twice (with a 76% chance) and the other mobs once.