Berserker - Power DPS

Part of the current metagame

Our curator decided this build is in the current metagame regardless of rating. The community gave this build a rating, making it top-tier: Great

Focused on: Direct damage

Designed for: Raids and Fractals

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Normal

This build was last updated on November 23, 2024 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A fresh iteration of the Heart of Thorns era build, Power Berserker. This version has strong burst and sustained damage from spamming Decapitate in Berserk.

Skill Bar

Axe/Axe

Spear

Utility

Weapon Variants

• Greatsword is the best replacement for Spear for players that don't own Janthir Wilds.
• You could keep the offset for utility weapons such as:
  • Mace (in either hand) for CC
  • Warhorn to provide Swiftness in the event you don't have it from your supports
  • Rifle or Longbow for ranged damage (if you don't have access to Spear)
  • If using any of these options, just camp Axe/Axe for damage. Axe/Mace does enough damage to swap to (see below for video example).

Skill Variants

• Throw Bolas or Bull's Charge can replace Outrage. This will provide more burst DPS through Peak Performance (assuming you don't stun yourself), but will be lower DPS long-term so you'll need to know what your phase times will be. Therefore this is more viable in fractals than in raids.

Template Code

[&DQIEHzMeEhXyEvIS1xLXEq8ArwCpAKkAwhKcAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]

Copy Template Code

Specializations

Trait Variants

• If the target has boons, run Destruction of the Empowered.

Equipment

Head
Berserker

Shoulders
Berserker

Chest
Berserker

Hands
Berserker

Legs
Berserker

Feet
Berserker

Backpiece
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Amulet
Berserker

Ring
Berserker

Ring
Berserker

Axe
Berserker

Axe
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Spear
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Relic

Equipment Variants

• If not using Spear, Relic of the Thief is the best relic.
• In encounters where the boss does not get stunned, you can replace the Sigil of Superior Sigil of Impact with a Sigil of Superior Sigil of Air on the Axe and a Sigil of Superior Sigil of Hydromancy on the Greatsword or Spear.
  • This will be a small DPS increase, but particularly on Spear it makes the rotation more reliable by providing additional sources of adrenaline.

Consumables

Food

• or ascended alternatives

Utility

Usage

Beginner Rotation

Click to View

The full rotation for Power Berserker is very fast paced and relies heavily on hitting certain skills off cooldown to avoid dropping out of Berserk. By camping axe, you can use your rage skills earlier, making it easier to maintain Berserk. Additionally, as you no longer weapon swap you can switch Discpline for Tactics:

Opener

1. Head Butt
2. Berserk
3. Outrage
4. Decapitate

Due to the lack of Axe Mastery, adrenaline takes longer to build up so use the following combos to reach full adrenaline for Decapitate (listed in priority order):

1. Head Butt ⇒ Outrage (if you had Stability then you don't need the stunbreak from Outrage and can Decapitate immediately after Head Butt)
2. Outrage
3. Blood Reckoning
4. Wild Blow + Cyclone Axe + Throw Axe + Dual Strike
5. Whirling Axe
6. Cyclone Axe + Throw Axe + full auto chain

In fights with longer phases, the lack of adrenaline means you should swap Signet of Might for Shattering Blow. This makes it easy to stay in Berserk as long as there is a target to hit, and also provides you with more adrenaline generation. In this case your opener is:

Opener

1. Shattering Blow
2. Head Butt
3. Berserk
4. Decapitate

And your combo list is:

1. Outrage
2. Blood Reckoning
3. Wild Blow + Cyclone Axe + Throw Axe + Dual Strike
4. Shattering Blow ⇒ Head Butt
5. Whirling Axe
6. Cyclone Axe + Throw Axe + full auto chain

Video guide by Masel

Spear Rotation

The rotation aims to get as many casts of Decapitate off as possible, maintaining Berserk mode for as long as there is something to hit. Effectively, this means that while on Axe/Axe you cast Decapitate followed by a combination of skills that gets you back to 10 Adrenaline to recast Decapitate.

Using Spear efficiently requires more precision than other weapons. Maiming Spear and Harrier's Toss deal extra damage to the target closest to the centre of their AoEs, and Disrupting Throw and Spear Swipe do increased CC to the first target they hit. Additionally, if skills are not used fast enough or at the correct time, it can disrupt later parts of the rotation.

Opener

1. Spearmarshal's Support
2. Head Butt
3. Berserk
4. Outrage
5. Wild Throw
6. Maiming Spear
7. Disrupting Throw
8. Weapon Swap
9. Decapitate
10. Cyclone Axe
11. Throw Axe
12. Decapitate
13. Dual Strike
14. Throw Axe
15. Decapitate
16. Whirling Axe - make sure to let the entire attack finish!
17. Decapitate
18. Cyclone Axe
19. Weapon Swap

Spear Section

1. Maiming Spear
2. Disrupting Throw - Wild Throw will interrupt the cast of this skill if you use it too early so be careful
3. Outrage
4. Wild Throw
5. Blood Reckoning - this will not interrupt Wild Throw so you can queue it during the cast of the previous skill
6. Wild Throw
7. Spearmarshal's Support
8. Maiming Spear
9. Weapon Swap

Axe/Axe Section

You have a brief window after swapping weapon where the damage from Spearmarshal's Support is still ticking. This allows you to use Decapitate immediately and then again after a single Cyclone Axe. If you're too slow, use a single auto to gain the missing adrenaline.

1. Decapitate
2. Cyclone Axe
3. Decapitate
4. Dual Strike
5. Throw Axe
6. Decapitate
7. Head Butt ⇒ Outrage
8. Decapitate
9. Cyclone Axe
10. Throw Axe
11. Decapitate
12. Whirling Axe
13. Decapitate
14. Cyclone Axe
15. Dual Strike
16. Decapitate
17. Throw Axe (optional) - if your target is below 25% health, this is worth using
18. Weapon Swap
19. Return to start of Spear Section

Video example

Greatsword Rotation

Click to view

The rotation aims to get as many casts of Decapitate and Arc Divider off as possible, maintaining Berserk mode for as long as there is something to hit. Effectively, this means that while on Axe/Axe you cast Decapitate followed by a combination of skills that gets you back to 10 Adrenaline to recast Decapitate.

Opener

1. Head Butt
2. Berserk
3. Outrage
4. Arc Divider
5. Weapon Swap
6. Cyclone Axe - the extra adrenaline from Versatile Rage means you can immediately Decapitate after this
7. Decapitate
8. Dual Strike
9. Throw Axe
10. Decapitate
11. Whirling Axe - make sure to let the entire attack finish!
12. Decapitate
13. Cyclone Axe
14. Weapon Swap

Greatsword section

1. Arc Divider
2. Outrage during Arc Divider
3. Blood Reckoning
4. Arc Divider
5. Bladetrail
6. Hundred Blades - Make sure the final hit goes through or you may not have enough adrenaline for Arc Divider
7. Arc Divider
8. Weapon Swap

Axe/Axe section

1. Cyclone Axe
2. Decapitate
3. Dual Strike
4. Throw Axe
5. Decapitate
6. Head Butt ⇒ Outrage
7. Decapitate
8. Cyclone Axe
9. Throw Axe
10. Decapitate
11. Whirling Axe
12. Decapitate
13. Cyclone Axe
14. Dual Strike
15. Decapitate
16. Throw Axe
17. Weapon Swap
18. Return to start of Greatsword section

Video example by Linsi

Video example (with wild blow)

Video example (with offhand mace)

Video example (axe only)

General Tips

Axe

• If you have trouble memorising the Axe section, it may be helpful to think of it as a priority list to build adrenaline for your next Decapitate:

1. Head Butt + Outrage
2. Cyclone Axe + Throw Axe
3. Dual Strike + Throw Axe
4. Whirling Axe

• When Blood Reckoning is almost off cooldown, use your remaining axe skills (make sure to be at full adrenaline) and Weapon Swap instead of Decapitate.

Berserk

• All your Rage and Burst skills extend the duration of Berserk, which means it is important to use them as soon as they are available to avoid dropping out of Berserk.
  • This involves using Outrage and Head Butt to maintain damage rather than a stunbreak/CC.
• If you drop out of Berserk, you should already be at full adrenaline when it is next available, so you use Head Butt ⇒ Outrage after entering Berserk instead. This means your second Berserk has a longer duration and is (even) easier to maintain.
• Generally you shouldn't be auto-attacking while Berserk mode is active.

Outside of Berserk

• Ideally you are always in Berserk during DPS phases.
• Stay on Axe when you're not in Berserk, but as Decapitate isn't available you should just use your Axe skills as they come off cooldown.
• Try to complete your Axe auto chains when not in Berserk.
• Do not use your rage skills whilst outside of Berserk.
• Use Berserk as soon as it is available.