I am new to the game, currently playing the 14 day trial of EQ2 and am playing a Dwarven Berserker who is currently level 36 and level 28 AA. 1. How many AA should I have at this level? How do I know when I should be gaining AA as opposed to normal levels? Can I not just powerlevel to 90 and then get to max AA from there? 2. Where should I be spending AA points at this level? I'm just solo'ing my way through at the moment so any need for a 'grouping' spec is nonexistent. I put most of my points into the 'Berserker' tree, as I thought it sounded like the obvious choice, but really, I have no clue how AA works as the whole menu looks a bit in-depth and complicated. I played WoW for a long time and there you just get your three talent trees and choose a path and thats where you spec, here there are about five different tabs and I'm not sure what they all 'do' as such, I have chosen my racial abilities ones on the first tab and put a bunch of points into the Berserker tab, as mentioned before, but I just don't know if I'm choosing the right things. Any help is appreciated.
There really isn't a path for AA's at that level. But yes, if you wanted to, you could get PL'd to 90, then grind your AA's. Some say it's easier to do AA's at lower levels, then PL to 90. I find it doesn't really make much difference. Another site for you to look at is EQ2Flames.com. They have a Berserker forum there as well which is a little more "open" than this one is. There you will find posts on Current AA spec's and such. Have fun on the trial.
You'll want to focus on AoE if you are soloing - most likely. The 'Agility' tree under your class is nice. I found that quite useful. The 'bloodbath' improvements on the sub-class tree might be one you want to take as well.
Since there are so many different play styles, everyone is going to have different input for you, but I would suggest going down your Strength line first...then your Stamina line. After you've maxed out that first tree, then I would spend as many AA's as you can on your AoE's and reuse timers. Level locking is definitely important...at least I thought so...with Zerk's. Lock at 40, 50, ect. and research your spells to masters before unlocking. If you do it right, you should have no problem taking on 15+ mobs of you same level at the same time...most likely many, many more than that. I would not really reccomend rushing to 90, as there are quite a few zones that a Zerk can clear solo that will help you gain your AA.
GussJr wrote: Definately agree with that. I got my Berserker to level 37 - locked in and AA'ed to over a 100 now. It will make the leveling easier - period, if you want to rush to 90 or take your sweet time - the extra AA's just help. Now that all being said, I betrayed to a Guardian to check the class out. If you try that, be cautious you really loose a lot of your AoE ability - that being said, I'm not going to say one tank is better than the other. If you consider Betraying at all, consider a good 3 hours to complete it - you won't get the class change option until the quests are done. Not sure what level you are, but I give you a couple bit of info on what I found AA'ing - Ry'gorr island is excellent for a level 14 AA grind - why 14? Because you can Grandmaster 'Bloodbath' at that level - major AoE damage right then. But that's only so good for so long before you start seeing orcs in your dreams - then I got up to level 37 to grind out the rest of my AA's - in spite of it being 'green' - the heroic mobs in Varsoon deliver great AA XP right around 37. Also, I never hesistate to call back to my guild hall / city each time I get new abilites and at the least, get 'journeyman' - better yet, 'Adept' versions of the abilities ASAP. You can open your abilities window and drag the icon from the knowledge book to the broker's search field to make life easy too. Well, if you are soloing you can slack on some of the hate management skills to save coin... but don't forget them all together, make sure you setup the hotkey in a good spot. I think I'd start with 5 points in 'bloodbath' to get the AoE rolling - then 1 in bind wound and 1 in Agi - that at least gives you 'Dragoon Spin' - another ability right off the bat. Then if you prefer to bump up your critical - the above is great advice too. Critical will shine if you are AoEing too - each mob that dies is XP and a bit less damage you take. My thinking is to ease the ability to kill and gain AA's - is what I spec-ed for. I wanted to maximize AoE potential - so instead of tailoring my tree to the zone I might be in, I move zones until I find one that I can AoE good with my AoE leaning spec. Of course, I've changed it all since then. Here's NPC's that you can use to re-spec. You'll get 5 freebie cards - use them wisely, it starts to get pricer after that: http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Alternate...espec_my_AAs.3F There are some who are of the opinion that you won't really be terribly viable tanking at 90 until you have 200/225+ AA's.. It's very situational - keep in mind, you can level lock in any dungeon and have serious fun. Find one you like, lock it in when the mobs are comfortable kills for you based on what level of challenge you want - sell the goodies for ability/gear upgrades.. And Welcome!
