Berserk

Version 0.30: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

You are hasted, deal increased damage in melee combat, and have increased health, but are unable to make most actions other than moving or attacking. The status will wear off very quickly unless you are attacking other monsters, and when it expires you will be slowed and unable to berserk again for a short duration

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Berserk is a status effect which fills you with overwhelming rage. It makes you significantly deadlier in combat, but disables most actions. Afterwards, you are left severely handicapped.

Useful Info

Berserk has the following effects:

Pros

• Current and max HP increase by 50%
• Might (+1d10 melee attack damage)
• Haste
• Immunity to sleep

Monsters also get immunity to fear, and gain +50% damage instead of +1d10, but don't get the HP boost.

Cons

• Cannot do anything except for attacking, moving, opening or closing doors, shouting, and wielding, unwielding, dropping, or picking up items.
  • Doing anything but attack reduces the duration.
• Sets your stealth to 0.
• Causes you to make lots of noise when opening doors (You throw open the door with a bang!).

Once it ends, you are left slowed for 12 + 2d12 turns. You also get the -Berserk status, preventing repeated rages.

Duration

By default, berserk has a duration of (20 + random2avg(19)) / 2 turns (10-19 turns, weighted towards 15). However, doing anything but attack will quickly reduce the duration, lasting as few as 3 turns if you do nothing.

Trog enhances berserk. Regardless of the source, you have a (piety/10)% chance of extending your rage by 4 - 13 turns each time you kill something.

Restrictions=

Formicids and the undead (Ghoul, Mummy, bloodless Vampire, those in lichform) are unable to berserk. Players under fear, mesmerise, or Death's Door are also unable. (Wielding the obsidian axe lets you berserk while mesmerised.)

Cheibriados suppresses the haste effect of berserk.

Having clarity will prevent unintentional berserk, but you can still use potions or Trog's ability to berserk yourself.

Sources

Intentional

• Potions of berserk rage.
• Trog's Berserk ability.

Unintentional

• Items with *Rage or wrath ego have a chance to inflict berserk whenever you make a melee attack. Most items have a 20% chance, but certain unrands have a 50% chance.
• The Berserk mutation has a chance (3% or 9%) to inflict berserk, like items of *Rage.
• Getting attacked by a moth of wrath.
• Chaos effects and Xom
• When a player is hit by a datura dart, you are sent berserk.

Strategy

• Used correctly, a berserker can overcome challenges far beyond its level. Used improperly, it'll leave you seriously weakened just as things are at their most dangerous.
• Don't assume that nimble, dexterous characters armed with short blades have less to gain from going berserk than a lumbering brute with a massive weapon; the +1d10 damage per hit applies to light and heavy weapons equally. The faster you hit your enemy, the more free damage you apply.
• Bear in mind that berserk characters have zero stealth. While this might make no difference to a rampaging troll or minotaur in crystal plate armour, stealthier characters might want to be careful about going berserk near enemies that aren't yet aware of them; doing so may draw more enemies into combat than you can handle at once, especially if your rage runs out mid-fight.
• A potion of haste will counter the post-berserk slowness, which can be useful if your berserk wears out while you're still in combat with dangerous enemies. Elyvilon's Purification ability and Ru's Draw Out Power will simply end the slowing effect early.
• If none of these options are available, think carefully before going berserk. It's a good idea to lure enemies to an already-cleared area with a staircase leading up before starting your rage so you can escape in case a monster approaches while you're still slowed. Summoning allies (incidentally, another of Trog's given powers) also increases your chances of survival if your rage expires while you are still in combat.
• Ranged weapon users should switch to a melee weapon before going berserk, as you can't shoot while raging.

History

• Prior to 0.28, some artefacts let you manually invoke berserk, but *Rage only provided a 5% chance to berserk. Cheibriados forbid intentional berserk, but still suppressed haste from berserk forced on you.
• In 0.27.1 only, Clarity did not prevent berserk from *Rage.
• Prior to 0.27, berserking had a chance to paralyze you after it ends, and both Trog and berserkitis would protect you from it.
• Prior to 0.26, the high hunger cost made it prohibitive to constantly go berserk.
• Prior to 0.25, there were two more sources of the berserk effect: amulet of rage and miscast effects from the Charms magic school. Also, berserk gave the player a +5 bonus to Strength.
• Prior to 0.20, berserk gave the exhausted status effect after wearing off instead of -Berserk, which also stopped Death's Door and Ru's active abilities. Also, players and monsters were unable to (un)wield things while berserk.
• Prior to 0.19, players could not go berserk if they were Very Hungry or worse; the hunger cost was applied at the end. Also, butchering corpses would sustain your rage the same way as attacking.
• Prior to 0.11, an amulet of rage also reduced the risk of you passing out after your berserk ended.
• The Berserker Rage spell used to allow the caster to go berserk at will (and reduced the risk of passing out afterwards), but it was removed from the spells players could use in 0.9.
• Prior to 0.9, Berserk made players 2* as fast.