| “ | Viking unique infantry unit that slowly heals itself. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The Berserk is the Castle unique unit of the Vikings in Age of Empires II. It is an infantry unit with good armor and attack as well as a regeneration ability.
Berserks can be upgraded to Elite Berserks in the Imperial Age.
Overview[]
The Berserk is a heavy infantry unit that is armed with an axe and shield, and has the ability to regenerate 40 hit points per minute. This allows them to last long between combats and makes them effective in pitched battles. As most infantry, Berserks have a small attack bonus against standard buildings and Eagle Warriors. The Viking civilization bonus gives them +20% HP, so a Berserk will have 65 HP, 14 attack, and 3/3 armor in the Castle Age. An Elite Berserk will have 74 HP, 18 attack, and 5/5 armor when fully upgraded. They also have good speed for an infantry unit, making them decent at fighting small groups of foot archers.
Tactics[]
On land maps, a Viking player has to make a choice between training Elite Berserks or Champions. Due to the costs involved in upgrading both units, and the role they fill, it is impractical to train both units. The Berserk's advantages over the Militia-line lies in their regeneration, superior armor (only Elite), attack, and speed. On the downside, they have less hit points, less pierce armor (due to Gambesons), cost an extra 20 food, 5 gold, and are harder to mass at Castles compared to Barracks. The Viking Militia line has superior hit points compared to Berserks, since both units are equally affected by the Viking hit point bonus, but the Berserks still have more hit points compared to the Militia line of other civilizations bar the Armenians. Both unit lines, along with the Spearman line, are equally affected by Chieftains as well.
Counters[]
Berserks share all the weaknesses of most infantry, but to a lesser extent. Berserks can catch up with foot archers, but they still should not be used against them, especially in mass battles. Hand Cannoneers and Slingers absolutely devastate Berserks. Massed Scorpions can also inflict massive losses against Berserks. Samurai (unlike Champions) and Jaguar Warriors are the melee units that threaten Berserks. Cataphracts counter Berserks as well. Like against almost all melee units, Teutonic Knights and Boyars are also effective against Berserks, though the former's slow speed is even starker compared to the Berserk's fast speed. Berserks should avoid battles against Leitis as their attack ignores melee armor, but their self regeneration can give them a slight advantage. However, the Leitis' attack can be very devastating with all 4 Relics collected, being able to deal 22 damage per hit. Despite the regeneration giving an advantage, prolonged combat against Obuchs may leave Berserks prone to the attacks of other units, especially against archers, because the Obuch's attacks remove armor. What's more, the Berserks are near evenly matched with Obuchs in equal numbers, while the latter is cheaper.
Comparison table[]
 Militia line
|
 Berserk line
| |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | 45 food, 20 gold | 65 food, 25 gold |
| Speed | 0.9 | 1.05 |
| Other | Regenerates 40 HP per minute | |
 Castle Age
|
 Two-Handed Swordsman
|
Berserk
|
| Train time | 21 seconds | 14 seconds |
| Hit points | 72 | 65 |
| Armor | 1/2 | 1/1 |
| Line of Sight | 5 | 3 |
| Melee attack | 12 | 12 |
| Attack bonus | +8 vs Eagle Warrior +4 vs Standard building |
+2 vs Eagle Warrior +2 vs Standard building |
| Upgrade cost and time |
750 food, 350 gold 100 seconds |
1075 food, 475 gold 45 seconds |
 Imperial Age
|
 Champion
|
Elite Berserk
|
| Train time | 21 seconds | 12 seconds |
| Hit points | 84 | 74 |
| Armor | 1/2 | 2/1 |
| Line of Sight | 5 | 5 |
| Melee attack | 13 | 14 |
| Attack bonus | +8 vs Eagle Warrior +4 vs Standard building |
+3 vs Eagle Warrior +3 vs Standard building |
- Common
- Rate of Fire: 2 seconds
Further statistics[]
As Berserks are unique to the Vikings, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table:
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Skirmishers, infantry, cavalry, Eagle Warriors, buildings |
| Weak vs. | archer units, Cataphracts, Jaguar Warriors, Boyars, Samurai, Teutonic Knights |
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
| Regeneration |  Berserkergang (+20 HP/min before update 81058, now integrated in the unit)
|
| Attack |  Forging (+1) Iron Casting (+1) Blast Furnace (+2) Arson (+2 attack against standard buildings) Chieftains (+5 attack against cavalry and +4 against camels)
|
| Armor |  Scale Mail Armor (+1/+1) Chain Mail Armor (+1/+1) Plate Mail Armor (+1/+2)
|
| Conversion resistance |  Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted)
|
| Movement speed |  Squires (+10%)
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+33%) Kasbah (+25%, with a Berber ally only)
|
| Other | Chieftains (generates gold when killing Villagers, trade units, and Monks)
|
| Team bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Conversion resistance |  Teutons (+3 min, +1 max)
|
| Line of Sight |  Armenians (+2)
|
Auxiliary bonuses[]
Team bonuses[]
Bulgarians: Blacksmith upgrades are researched 80% faster.- Goths: Researching Squires and Arson is 20% faster.
- Lithuanians: Devotion, Faith, and Heresy are researched 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Berserks are researched 25% faster.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
- Berserks have 48 HP (60 for Elite) and regenerate 20 HP/minute.
- (Elite) Berserks train in 16 seconds.
- (Elite) Berserks move at a speed of 0.9.
- Berserks have 0/0 armor.
- Berserks have 9 attack.
- The Elite Berserk upgrade costs 1,300 food, 550 gold.
- The Viking civilization bonus gives (Elite) Berserks +15%/+20% HP in the Castle/Imperial Age.
The Conquerors[]
- With patch 1.0b, Berserks move at a speed of 1.05.
- Berserks have 1 pierce armor.
- Heresy introduced.
- Berserkergang introduced. It costs 500 food, 850 gold.
The Forgotten[]
- Berserks have 54 (62 for Elite) HP.
- (Elite) Berserks train in 14 seconds.
- Berserkergang costs 850 food, 400 gold.
- Chieftains introduced. It costs 700 food, 400 gold and gives Berserks +4 attack bonus against cavalry.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Arson introduced.
- Chieftains cost 400 food, 300 gold and gives Berserks +5 attack bonus against cavalry.
- With patch 4.8, Chieftains gives Berserks +2 attack bonus against camels on top of the attack bonus against cavalry.
Rise of the Rajas[]
- With patch 5.7, Chieftains gives Berserks +4 attack bonus against camels on top of the attack bonus against cavalry.
Definitive Edition[]
- Tracking made free for all civilizations.
Dawn of the Dukes[]
- With update 56005, Berserks have 12 attack and 1 melee armor, Elite Berserks train in 12 seconds, and the Elite Berserk upgrade costs 1,075 food, 475 gold.
- The Viking civilization bonus gives Berserks +20% hit points. As a side effect, the hit points of the Elite version reduced from 75 to 74.
Dynasties of India[]
- With update 81058, Berserkergang was removed and (Elite) Berserk's regeneration rate was increased to 40 HP/minute. In other words, Berserkergang was made free from start of the game.
Heroes[]
There are three heroes in the game with the appearance of a Berserk:
History[]
| “ | Late in the eighth century Viking sea raiders from Scandinavia appeared suddenly in Northern Europe. They raided and plundered coastal communities for the next 150 years. Most of the progress made by Charlemagne in uniting Northern Europe and beginning a rebirth of civilization was erased by the turmoil they caused. The Vikings were known for their great seamanship and ferocity in battle. Witnesses claimed that Viking warriors would occasionally go "berserk" and attack with nearly inhuman zeal, oblivious to all danger. Such behavior was terrifying to behold and very difficult to withstand. The ability to go mad with battle lust was a powerful attribute during a period of widespread superstition. | ” |
Trivia[]
- Despite the fact that Viking warriors never had horned helmets, Berserks are depicted with horned helmets, most likely because they'd be most recognizable that way. Horned helms were only used by Vikings during certain religious rituals.
- According to legends, Viking berserkers wore little or no armor or clothing, going into battle clad only in bear or wolf pelts.
- Berserks were the first units to be given a regeneration ability (in The Age of Kings). Later on, other units joined them, such as heroes, Berber camel units with Maghrebi Camels researched, Polish Villagers, Bengali ships, and Dravidian elephant units with Medical Corps researched.
- The original calculation for the Viking infantry HP bonus was staggered by Age, starting in the Feudal Age. Berserks had 75 HP before update 56005, due to rounding after each Age. Since update 56005, Berserks have (round down to 74) HP, making them have 1 HP less.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
