Borderlands Class Guide The Berserker (Brick)
Borderlands Guide, Berserker Skill Trees for making Berserker Builds
Nov 8, 2009
Borderlands offers a unique First Person Shooter / Role Playing Game blend with intense action. It features online cooperative multiplayer for up to 4 players just like Halo 3. But, instead of featuring an epic campaign like most FPS games, Borderlands features a mission-based, action RPG with experience points, 4 different character classes, leveling up, skill points distributed across three branches, and loads of loot.
The following strategy guide offers information, strategies, skill trees, and more on Brick, the Berserker class.
Brick as Himself (The Berserker) Overview
Brick's Action Skill, Berserk, turns the character into a frenzied melee-machine, regenerating health, automatically running, and dealing huge damage with melee strikes - great for dealing huge damage, and running away when overwhelmed.
Whether focused on the fist-flying Brawler skill tree or the hard-hitting Blaster skill tree, Brick works great taking out huge mobs of weaker enemies, but struggles against tougher foes, particularly bosses, and especially when playing single-player. However, a Berserker build focused on the Tank skill tree can make toe-to-toe fights with bigger enemies less deadly.
Brawler Skill Tree - Berserker Skills List
The Brawler Skill Tree focuses on increasing melee effectiveness, and adding bonuses to the Berserk action skill.
- Iron Fist: Increases melee damage, +6% per level
- Endless Rage: Berserk duration increases +10% per level
- Sting Like a Bee: Berserk punches dash toward targets, +4 feet per level
- Heavy Handed: Killing an enemy briefly increases melee damage, +12% per level
- Prize Fighter: Melee attacks while in Berserk can spawn extra cash, +6% chance per level
- Short Fuse: Decreases Berserk countdown time, 6 seconds per level
- Blood Sport: Killing an enemy while Berserk regenerates extra health, +2% per level
For melee-focused builds Berserk, Iron Fist, Endless Rage, and Short Fuse are by far the most beneficial. Adding a total of +30% melee damage adds up quickly when throwing numerous right jabs, and the extra Berserk duration, and quicker cooldown timer means more time spent clobbering enemies to death.
Sting Like a Bee works well for dodging in and out of another melee striker's attack range, but the auto-target system makes critical hits nearly impossible, making the skill more of a hindrance than a benefit. Heavy Handed is a decent skill but not necessary considering the short duration, and Prize Fighter is only for those eager to achieve that $1,000,000 achievement.
The final skill for Brawler, Blood Sport, is a bit of a letdown. Only %10 health added (at level 5) per kill is only helpful against weaker foes, of which Brick has no real problem with in the first place. Skill points are better saved for the Tank tree, to make Brick a more formidable opponent to tougher enemies.
For more information, check out the Berserker Melee Build.
Tank Skill Tree - Berserker Skills List
Players will unlikely use The Tank skill tree as the primary path in any build, instead using it as a secondary tree to give Brick boosts in toughness and staying power.
- Hardened: Extra maximum health, +12% per level
- Safeguard: Extra shield strength, +6% per level
- Bash: Chance to daze enemies with melee strikes, +10% per level
- Juggernaut: Killing an enemy briefly grants damage resistance, +10% per level
- Pay Back: Gain damage bonus for 10 seconds after shields deplete, +8% per level
- Die Hard: Increase health gained when revived, and adds more time to be revived, +30% health and +20% time per level
- Unbreakable: Gain 5 seconds of powerful shield regeneration when shields deplete, +3% per second per level
For Melee builds, Hardened, Juggernaut, and Bash allow Brick to take out far tougher opponents, adding a huge bonus to health and the ability to stun with melee strikes, and the damage resistance after killing an enemy gives health time to regenerate.
For players going solo, or for simply boosting Brick's ability to soak up damage and act as a distraction in co-op play, the Safeguard and Unbreakable skills greatly increase shield defenses, and Die Hard is hugely beneficial, especially in single-player, for staying alive and preventing a costly respawn into town. And Payback's 10 seconds of extra damage is a nice bonus, especially when used with Unbreakable's quick shield regeneration.
Blaster Skill Tree - Berserker Skills List
The Blaster skill tree focuses primarily on Rocket Launchers, but also adds minor bonuses to other explosives - good skills for Berserker builds with a focus on long range and explosives.
- Endowed: Increases explosive damage by +3% per level
- Rapid Reload: Increases reload speed and recoil reduction, +4% reload and +6% less recoil per level
- Revenge: Killing an enemy briefly increases damage with all weapons, +10% per level
- Wide Load: Increases rocket launcher magazine size +1 per level
- Liquidate: Dealing explosive damage reduces Berserk cooldown time, 1 second reduction per hit per level
- Cast Iron: Increases resistance to explosives, +8% per level
- Master Blaster: Killing an enemy increases fire rate with all weapons, and regenerates rocket ammo for a few seconds, +12% fire rate and 2 rockets per minute per level
Those pursuing the Blaster path might feel a bit underwhelmed. An extra +15% total damage is negligible, so the Rapid Reload is preferred to reduce the excessive reload time for rocket launchers. Revenge is an excellent skill for any path, while Wide Load helps reduce the frequency of reloading.
Liquidate is beneficial for a berserker mixed with both melee and explosives, and Cast Iron is an okay skill for a Tank / Blaster combination.
Master Blaster sounds great in theory, but when put into practice, regenerating rockets per minute when the bonus lasts for only a few seconds means in most cases, no rockets are regenerated. Players will likely see little benefit until maxed out at level 5.
The Berserker Class Conclusion
Brick works best as a melee-focused fighter. While the Blaster path may be entertaining, it's clearly the weakest of the three, and best saved for experimentation in later levels. And The Tank tree, while unlikely ever a main focus, greatly enhances either branch by giving The Berserker greater staying power.
Interested in more classes for Borderlands? Then check out the Borderlands Class Guide. Interested in more great games for the 2009 Holiday season? Then check out the Best Xbox 360 Games for Holiday 2009.
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