For Honor – Berserker Guide

The Berserker class in For Honor is all about close combat and agility. This Berserker guide will cover everything you need to know about the Berserker class in For Honor, how to win with the Berserker, how to defend against the Berserker, and advanced tactics to keep you ahead of the competition. This Berserker guide will also evolve over time as new strategies are discovered for the hero class.

Feel free to watch the video below if you’re not into reading, but please note that this article covers the Berserker in slightly more detail than the video. Watching the video and reading this Berserker guide will teach you everything need to know to get the hang of this quick and agile For Honor hero.

Blocking

For new players, the first thing you need to know about the Berserker is that they do not block like most other heroes. You can’t simply have the Berserker blocking to the right and expect the hero to block all attacks in that direction. Instead, you need to tap the Right Analog Stick in the direction you want to block, just before the attack connects. You have a decent amount of time to successfully block, but it’s not an automated block like many other heroes in the game.

Deflecting

The Berserker is one of the few hero classes that has the ability to deflect incoming attacks in addition to simply blocking them. To properly deflect an attack, you need to dodge (X on the PS4) in the direction of the attack just before it connects with the Berserker. When you land a deflect, press the Guard Break button (Square on PS4) and the opponent be unable to defend against the guard break. You can then follow with a guaranteed Light Attack or several other attacks before the opponent can block again.

Stamina Drain

The forward throw of the Berserker drains the stamina of your opponent. This means you should keep a close eye on your opponent’s Stamina gauge. If it’s starting to get low, go for a forward throw to drain the last of it and force them into a bad situation. While an opponent can still block while they are out of stamina, they can’t do much else. If you vary your attacks and mix in a guard break or throw, you can punish them severely for losing their stamina.

Dance of the Paired Blades

One of the best tools in the Berserker’s arsenal is the ability to endlessly chain their attacks. The Dance of the Paired Blades attack allows the Berserker to alternate between Light and Heavy attacks endlessly. In addition, after four consecutive attacks each additional attack becomes uninterruptible and costs less stamina. This carries over to attacks performed outside of the endless loop of the Dance of the Paired Blades.

Obviously you can’t just continually attack because you will eventually run out of stamina, but in many cases you’ll be able to inflict significant damage or force your opponent to block, dodge or simply run away from your looping attacks long before your run out of stamina. You can also chain into almost any of the Berserker’s other combo moves from the Dance of the Paired Blades, making it extremely versatile.

It should be noted that using a Top Heavy Attack (Up) will bring the Dance of the Paired Blades to an end, but it will inflict more damage when used as an ender. You also can’t start the Dance of the Paired Blades with a Top Heavy Attack. If your opponent knows this, you may want to start with a Top Light Attack to throw them off as they will likely assume you’ll start from the right or left to initiate the endless attacks.

Movement and Dodging

As one of the more agile heroes, you can get a lot of mileage out of the Berserker’s dodge ability. Instead of trying to block every attack, dodge in the direction of the attack. If you time it correctly you’ll get a deflect into a guaranteed follow-up, but even if you time it incorrectly, chances are you’ll still avoid the attack and leave the opponent open to a counter attack that can start up the Dance of the Paired Blades.

Likewise, if you get into trouble, instead of turning around to run (which exposes your back), dodge back or use your Zone Attack backward. Every character has a Zone Attack (Light + Heavy Attack together), but if you press away from the opponent (usually Down on the Left Analog Stick) and Light + Heavy Attack, you will perform the Zone Attack while moving away. This makes it much more difficult for an opponent to chase you down and will hit any opponents behind you. Keep in mind, this does drain 50 percent of your stamina so don’t use this tactic if your stamina is low.

Finally, you can use the dodge button to cancel your attacks, even if they don’t connect. Simply press the dodge button (X on PS4) shortly after you begin an attack and you will cancel the attack. This makes it much easier to transition into something else or simply avoid a counterattack from your opponent.

Defending Against the Berserker

When fighting against the Berserker you need to be aware of the fact that the direction the Berserker is attacking from will not always be visible. Unlike most of the other heroes in the game, once the Berserker enters a neutral stance (even while locked on), their attack direction disappears until they actually use an attack. However, there are some default attack directions that the Berserker cannot avoid.

Anytime the Berserker locks on to you after being in a non-locked on position, they default to attacking from the right (which means you defend to the left). If you don’t see them change attack stances (which will show which direction they’re attacking from), it will be to the right as a default. While the Peacemaker, another class with a similar ability, somewhat telegraphs their attacks if you pay close attention to their neutral stance, it’s very difficult to discern the direction of the attack just by watching the neutral stance of the Berserker. When they’re facing right (your left), their right arm is slightly further back, but otherwise all three neutral attack stances look nearly identical.

You can’t interrupt the Berserker after four consecutive attacks, so don’t try to. Instead, dodge or move away from the Berserker. They don’t have a lot of range, which means they have a difficult time against attacks from a distance or heroes with far-reaching weapons. Keep your distance and you’ll maintain the upper hand.

A big issue with the Berserker is that they are virtually defenseless if you can block one of their Light Attacks. Upon blocking a Light Attack from the Berserker most heroes can get a guaranteed Guard Break before the Berserker can do anything. For some heroes this could mean a huge chunk of damage, and for any hero that could mean instant death to the Berserker if they’re close enough to an environmental hazard. All Berserker players must be very careful when using Light Attacks against skilled opponents.

Berserker Moveset

For general combat help, head over to our Combat Tips, or you can find other useful articles in our For Honor guide hub.