new to this game, Berserker DW or Buckler?

You know after reading the way this thread has turned down a path it has I really wonder how much of a RL "Social" life some folks who've posted here have. My ponders the question of if they choose friends based on criteria such as "Yeah! He is a big one who can move my furniture when I need that done", "Oh! She knows how to sew so I'll need her when I rip my shirt!", or if maybe the only "social" contacts they have in life are those who punch the clock at the same employer.

I'm sorry but one or two have reminded me of Stalin telling folks they must conform to the mold to fit the goal of the state! Heaven forbid that you actually play this game for such social interactions such as having others to talk to while you play since your only goal should be to level and reach that ultimate goal at the end.

Guess I'm just so dang old that the reaching the goal wouldn't be worth a dang if I missed the laughs along the way. That I'd rather stumble along with a group of individuals then I would a group of ants whose only goal was the drive to the end game.

Oh well! I'm off to help a friend I met in game. He loves DW because its the way he sees a Berserker. Maybe we'll die more then if he was Buckler specced but at least I'll enjoy the chatter much more then I would in a group of the ANTS as they follow the dictates of the hive.

Skel, you're being dumb again! Bad Skel!!! You are boiling things down to a simplified "work" definition but work itself is an expanded concept of a reward system.
I'm nice to you, and you're nice to me... see? A mutual reward cycle! Being nice is not work (well, maybe in your case), but work, tasks, and the like are part of a base reward system that is deeply rooted in our social psychology. You are linking concepts together that share a basic idea even though they are not related in the way you imply. It's not tiered system where play is a form of work, both work and play are derived from the same simple mechanism that is essentially the basis for society in pretty much every form: from moral foundations to economic prosperity.

Some people hunt for survival and for that reason it's work. Some people also hunt for sport, in that case it's not. The task is the same, but the methodology is not. The survivor NEEDS to hunt, otherwise he won't eat. The sportsman is hunting to test is capabilities, to enjoy a social activity (if hunting with others), or because he's republican. Those are just a few examples of course. It doesn't make it work.

Look at just about any animal that plays: What does their play-time consist of? The same tasks that they need to use for survival. Dogs playing resembles fighting, cats playing resembles hunting and stalking. They aren't actually working for survival, they are just enjoying themselves at what they like to do, just like us. Some of us like to play with numbers and so we number crunch in the game. Some of us like to collect things, so we hunt down every shiny we can find. And yes, some of us like to work, so we treat the game like a job.

Now just because you consider something work, it doesn't mean that it's not play to someone else. I've found that it helps if you at least acknowledge to yourself that, "Hey, maybe he's not me!" when you consider what other people do.

Perhaps you are confusing "work" with the generic usage of the word "work" such as in "I'm working on a quest." Or maybe you've broaden the specific usage of "work" that people are using here to include "objectives."

Kaberu wrote:

Very well said Kaberu, my hat is off to you. It isn't Skels fault he has a reading disability, but I like how you picked up the "objective" also.

Ramahan wrote:

You see what alot of people like these ants you are refering to fail or forget to remember is that if it wasn't for the casual gamers in these games, there would be no end game content. The minscule amount of people who take the game so seriously isn't no where near enough subscriber base to keep a company afloat or wealthy enough to keep on adding content.
Imho, SoE hits the nail on the head here suppling us with solo, group and raid content in a pretty nice variety. It doesn't cater to any one thing, maybe a bit higher on the grouping side of the scale, but thats what most people do, group and quest or just kill for and for what? Fun and giggles.

Ok, im Joseph "Skel" Stalin, the warrior [I cannot control my vocabulary]. You found me out.

EDIT:
Hrmm apparently we cant say the short term for national socialism

No no no! You're suppose to mention Mister Hilter (as Monty Python would call him), not Stalin! Sheesh, it's a classic political debate technique (or rather, cop-out)! How could you mess that one up!!! At least you were close...

Ramahan wrote:

you didnt read this, apparently

One thing that I could never understand that if we were destined to be the best using "sword and board", why they always start us out at level 1 with two axes.
Shouldn't we start out with a buckler and a sword or axe so we KNOW for sure that's the way we should end up?

Well with no AA's buckler's are useless to a zerker. Since you cant get AA till lvl 10 it would be pointless to start you with a buckler.

Ya, that was a bad cascade of effects... I saw your post, so I scrolled up to see what you were referring to (since I didn't notice it before my previous post just after it) but I didn't reference the original post at all. I should really stop trying to post as I scramble out the door to work

Needless to say, Skel is hardly a Stalin figure. He's more of a Emo Phillips, Aonein is Andy Kaufman, Ramahan can be a Carrot Top and I'm a PeeWee Herman... er, wait, can I get a do-over on that comment?

Kendakon wrote:

[I cannot control my supremely extensive vocabulary], I learned something about myself today. I'm selfish and egotistical. I think my therapist will call this a breakthrough!

new to this game, Berserker DW or Buckler?

Just go buckler. DW is ok for soloing though so if that's all you do then DW is fine for that. I do miss dual wielding prior to KoS coming out....how stupid was I to be excited about AAs.