Berserker - DPS Berserker

The community gave this build a rating, making it top-tier: Great

Focused on: Strike damage and Dps

Designed for: WvW Zerg

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Normal

This build was last updated on September 29, 2025 and is up to date for the August 19, 2025 patch.

Overview

A high burst damage Berserker WvW build with overwhelming damage.

Skill Bar

Greatsword

Dagger/Axe

Utility

Variants

Weapon

• All three options are viable:
  • Dagger/Axe - Burst damage and boon rip
  • Longbow - Ranged AoE damage
  • Hammer - CC and Mobility

Utility

• Balanced Stance ⇒ Outrage
• Sundering Leap ⇒ Signet of Might/Banner of Tactics

Elite

• Battle Standard ⇒ Signet of Rage

Template Code

[&DQIEGzM6EhXyEgAAsgAAAK8AAAChEgAA7gAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]

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Specializations

Variants

• Great Fortitude if capped on Might

Variants

• For Longbow

Equipment

Head
Marauder

Shoulders
Marauder

Chest
Marauder

Hands
Marauder

Legs
Marauder

Feet
Marauder

Backpiece
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Amulet
Berserker

Ring
Berserker

Ring
Berserker

Greatsword
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Dagger
Marauder

Axe
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Relic

Equipment Variants

Stats

• Feel free to use as much Berserker's gear as you can without dying
• Swap some Marauder's for Demolisher's if you take Great Fortitude

Relic

• Relic of the Warrior - higher DPS, lower burst

Sigils

• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Frenzy on Longbow
• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Energy ⇒ Sigil of Superior Sigil of Force

Usage

Quick Guide

• Berserker is a melee range pure DPS focused on frequent burst damage
• Combine your Primal Burst skills into larger spikes through Blood Reckoning and by using one Primal Burst immediately before Weapon Swap into another
• Weave weapon skills between your Primal Burst skills for maximum damage
• Finish groups of enemies with Battle Standard

Surviving

• This build has moderate passive defense
• This build has moderate mobility skill access
• This build has high active defenses

Defensive Skill List

• Defiant Stance - Convert incoming damage into healing
• Balanced Stance - Stunbreak + Critical hit immunity
• Whirlwind Attack - Evade + Movement + Immobilize Clear (Warrior's Sprint)
• Rush - Movement + Immobilize Clear (Warrior's Sprint)

• Use Whirlwind Attack to move out after spiking
• Rush can be used for repositioning or gap closing
  • Drop your target if using defensively

Priorities

High

• Burst Damage

Moderate

• Damage

Low

• Battle Standard

Detailed Explanations

Burst Damage

• Start fights in Greatsword, conserve Berserk until your commander commits to the fight
• Once your commander commits, use Signet of Fury to fill your Adrenaline then activate Berserk
  • Make sure you're in combat before pressing Signet of Fury. Use autoattacks, Bladetrail or even walk into ground damage if needed
• After using Berserk follow the following priority:

1. Arc Divider
2. Blood Reckoning
3. Arc Divider
4. Weapon Swap
5. Slicing Maelstrom
6. Dual Strike
7. Whirling Axe

• The goal of this rotation is to land as many Primal Burst skills as possible within the smallest time window possible
• Omit Whirling Axe and use it on the next swap if you won't be able to channel most of its duration
  • If you find you never have a good opportunity to use Whirling Axe Longbow is likely a better weapon choice
• Make sure you are in range of Sigil of Superior Sigil of Hydromancy when swapping to your Dagger/Axe set

Damage

Dagger/Axe

Skill priority

Dagger/Axe

• Slicing Maelstrom
• Whirling Axe
• Dual Strike
• Autoattacks

Greatsword

• Arc Divider
• Blood Reckoning - while Arc Divider is on cooldown
• Whirlwind Attack
• Hundred Blades
• Bladetrail - only if no projectile block/reflect, realistically almost never use this
• Rush
• Autoattacks

• Make sure every time you weapon swap your skill usage is Primal Burst ⇒ Weapon Swap ⇒ Primal Burst
  • By using your Primal Burst as soon as you enter a weapon set it will be available right before your Weapon Swap is ready
    • This also stacks your highest damage skills to burst enemies down, instead of spreading them out
• Use Sundering Leap immediately after a Primal Burst skill to refill Adrenaline and deal solid damage
  • Make sure to aim to the side or behind the enemy group, not the middle or in front of them
  • Be ready to Dodge immediately after the cast if needed
• Maximizing the amount of primal bursts you cast by using your very fast weapon swap cooldown is very important
  • If you land your primal bursts and Sundering Leap cleanly through the entire berserk duration you should be able to cast Blood Reckoning twice before Berserk ends via duration extension from Smash Brawler
• Use Dual Strike right before or after Slicing Maelstrom to add more burst
• Try to use Whirling Axe immediately after Slicing Maelstrom on your first swap to Dagger/Axe if the situation is appropriate
  • If everything lines up properly and you extend Berserk long enough then Whirling Axe will be available just as you leave Berserk
  • Use Dual Strike first if you don't have Quickness
• Hundred Blades is situational. You stand still during channel, which means hitting CC'ed, movement impaired and downed foes is the ideal setup for this ability.
  • Don't be afraid to cancel Hundred Blades after only a few ticks of damage, look for any chance to get multiple ticks off
  • Generally you should only channel Hundred Blades during Berserk downtime, but channeling a few ticks then cancelling midway through the cast during Berserk can also be valid
• Save Whirlwind Attack to disengage back to your group, but try to hit enemies with it when possible since the Evade will protect you while dealing decent damage
• Beware the animation lock of Rush. Its best use is for single target damage while already in melee, but even then it must be used very carefully if at all

Longbow version

Skill priority

Longbow

• Scorched Earth
• Blood Reckoning - while Scorched Earth is on cooldown
• Arcing Arrow
• Fan of Fire
• Autoattacks

Greatsword

• Arc Divider
• Blood Reckoning - while Arc Divider is on cooldown
• Whirlwind Attack
• Hundred Blades
• Bladetrail - only if no projectile block/reflect, realistically almost never use this
• Rush
• Autoattacks

• Start fights in Longbow, conserve Berserk until your commander commits to the fight, do not use it on range spikes
  • Your damage at range is minimal outside of Berserk but using it too early will only lead to padding the damage meter without doing useful damage - don't play to pad the meter
• Once your commander commits, use Signet of Fury to fill your Adrenaline then activate Berserk
  • Spam Scorched Earth until you get a chance to go into melee, then swap to Greatsword and follow your priorities
    • Don't be afraid to go into Greatsword for a single Arc Divider, disengage with Whirlwind Attack then swap back to Longbow
• Make sure to drop your target when casting Scorched Earth otherwise it will aim towards the target instead of where your character is facing
  • A Lock Autotarget keybind can be useful for this
• Since all your Longbow skills other than Scorched Earth are projectiles, avoid casting them into projectile blocks/reflects
• Your Longbow skills other than Arcing Arrow all require facing the target at the end of the cast
• Hundred Blades is situational. You stand still during channel, which means hitting CC'ed, movement impaired and downed foes is the ideal setup for this ability.
  • Don't be afraid to cancel Hundred Blades after only a few ticks of damage, look for any chance to get multiple ticks off
  • Generally you should only channel Hundred Blades during Berserk downtime, but channeling a few ticks then cancelling midway through the cast during Berserk can also be valid
• Save Whirlwind Attack to disengage back to your group, but try to hit enemies with it when possible since the Evade will protect you while dealing decent damage
• Beware the animation lock of Rush. Its best use is for single target damage while already in melee, but even then it must be used very carefully if at all

Battle Standard

• Battle Standard revives allies in its entire radius and finishes downed enemies in its center radius
• You should focus on using Battle Standard for finishing enemies, especially once you've used your burst
  • If you predict enemies will go down on your groups spike you can pre-cast Battle Standard to finish them before the enemy group can respond with rez skills
• If no other revive skills are avalible from supports, use Battle Standard to rez groups of 3+ allies