Berserker or Barbarian Dwarf

GlorenBronzebeard

On my full Dwarvish party I was looking to make a berserker type character who would dual wield and basically rage out and destroy. I needed a type of character like this in my party. When creating the character though, for some reason I skipped over the Berserker subclass and went with barbarian. I am wondering now if I am missing out by making my Dwarf a barbarian and not a Berserker....

Now I have done some research before posting this and found a good debate on the forums already. http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/15781/barbarian-vs-berserker-which-is-better

However, the argument seemed to swing heavily in the direction of a zerker/cleric vs barbarian (since barbarian cant dual class). Now, I wanted a full party of Dwarves so a Dwarf cannot dual class anyways so this entire thread sort of became useless.

As it seems now, without the cleric levels, the pure zerker seems to lose out against the pure barbarian.... The Speed and HP boost plus damage resistance makes Grok a very powerful Dwarf barbarian, however he does take damage sort of quickly even when I have him supporting my main tank (Dwarven Defender)

My question is, am I missing out on the zerker class here? I wanted a battlerager and just realized that zerker is a better fit for a dwarf battlerager however looking over the class I can see no real benefit except weapon mastery and heavy armor (both are pretty good benefits as the AC I think might help Grok's problem.)

Now, Im pretty far in the game to start over for some simple technicality but I'll ask the public here... 1.) from a game point, am I missing out on any good abilities that I should have payed attention to when making a Dwarf barb over a Dwarf zerker.... meaning.. am I completely foolish for making this decision (I cant seem to find a reason other than my #2 question which is) 2. From a Role play perspective, would a Dwarf barbarian make a good battlerager? or maybe I will have to tweak Grok's lore in order to fit a more Barbarian role (not really an in game issue) mainly because I picture battleragers being Dwarves in crazy spiky armor and hurling themselves into the fray where maybe a barbarian uses fur skinned armor and ambushes a group of archers (Grok is my archer and wizard slayer due to the speed and damage benefits he gets)

Anyways... Opinions welcomed... thanks!

RedViiper

If we're talking late game play. The barbarian is like a combination of a dwarven defender and berserker due to damage reduction higher hit.points and lower damage per round then the beserker.... then if you were using the barbarians speed to rush caster's and archers and use his hit points to hold position until back up kicks in... seems the barbarian may be the best choice for the role.

jackjack

Barbarian fits the setting SO much better, IMO. Berserkers' winded downside is a bit of a glaring weakness against hordes of enemies.

DreadKhan

Barbarian is better in IWDEE than it is in BG imho... strength boosting is much harder to come by, so that +4 is pretty massive. Iirc, one belt for 19 str, and few boosting items, so we'll say static 20 for your primary hitter.

The zerk has 5 + 8 +2 = +15 damage raged
The barbie has 2 + 12 = +14 damage raged

Not much difference! The Barbarian is worlds better early, but the zerk catches up and passes, especially after GM gives an extra apr. However, the Barbie can effectively use nearly any weapon, including specializing in ranged ones, and also can hit 5 apr with +2 apr, either from Righteous Wrath or DWing speed weapons... importantly, the Zerk HAS to have 5 pips to pass the barbie, greatly limiting his potential in a game with random loot. Not all playthroughs give you good drops, the Barbie can adapt to whatever you may find.

Barbie obviously is swimming in HP raged, 36 more average raged than normal, and importantish for HoF I hear ( @Lord_Tansheron‌ *wink*), zerk rage results in being winded, which sucks.

Damage Reduction is nice too, as you'll find somemloot that boosts it further. If you end up getting swamped, just reequip for durability. You can do ranged too, zerker can't.

Barbie dwarf culturally is okay imho, especially Spine of the Worldwise, as the area is litered with fallen Dwarven forts/nations/whatevers. Iirc, there are also wildish dwarves leaving in that region.

Battleragers are not super disciplined, and they'd like the speed boost imho, so you're good.

Fardragon

I have to say, the +2 movement speed is great.

FinneousPJ

I'd say you made the right choice with Barb.

AndrewKelly

Don't forget that Berserkers get winded. Some of these fights can be long, especially in HoF mode. The Barbarian can rage after rage without a rest period.

SharGuidesMyHand

People like to compare zerkies and barbies because they both have similar "rage" abilities, but they both play much differently and have different strengths and weaknesses. Zerkies are ideal for anyone who just wants to play as a straightforward, conventional tank/meatshield. Barbarians, because of their armor restrictions, require a bit more strategy and finesse to play than a zerker, but they are also more versatile and have the potential to be more rewarding if you don't mind the investment. Barbarians can also come in handy in some unique situations.

This thread may give you some helpful tips on playing as a barb: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/35841/playing-a-barbarian-part-2-advice-for-using-a-barb

Jarrakul

Honestly, the armor restrictions aren't as bad as one might think in IWD. Rings of Protection +2 mean that you usually want nonmagical armor, and the difference between platemail and splint mail isn't that big. Eventually you'll find full plate, but it takes longer than in BG1, and at least sometimes you can find bracers AC 2 for your barbarian a little while after that. Long story short, my barbarian has the best AC in the party, plus damage resistance and a chunk of hit points. No complaints here, as far as tanking goes.

Lord_Tansheron

It's not a big difference if you discount dual-classing (which would make it no contest of course). Losing GM sucks, but not everyone is a damage junkie like me :P

Jarrakul

Definitely. Dual-classing, being incredibly overpowered, clearly favors the berserker (unless you have the expanded dual class mod from the tweak pack, in which case it doesn't matter). Losing Grandmaster does suck a lot, but a high level barbarian will be a better tank than a berserker due to the damage resistance. All in all, my preference is for a barbarian backed up by better damage dealers (barbarian + kensai and archer would be fantastic, I think), but the berserker offers more individually.

Ironically, I'd actually play a solo barbarian before a solo berserker (discounting dual-classing), for the fast movement and ability to use ranged weapons. But in a party, those qualities aren't as important.