I play Berserker and I prefer the Dark Rush (Mayhem) route because it amplifies damage by forcing a 25% HP baseline and locking Burst Mode. I’ll tell you what works, why it works, and what tends to trip people up — from basic mechanics to practical tips I’ve learned raiding since 2020. Honestly, it’s brutal early on, but very rewarding if you practice.
🗡️ What Dark Rush does (short)
Mayhem sets your HP to 25% and keeps you in burst permanently. That means huge damage gains and immunity to some debuffs, but you’re fragile. In my experience, positioning and timing become the most valuable skills — and they beat raw gear most of the time.
Core skills and why they matter
The build leans on a handful of high-damage skills that combo well. Use them in that order because of damage windows and debuff uptime (yes, order matters):
| Skill | Why | Tripods (short) |
|---|---|---|
| Red Dust | Debuff setup | Weak Point Detection → Bleed |
| Hell Blade | Main burst | Flame Storm → Weak Point |
| Tempest Slash | Sustained hits | Mobility → Armor Destruction |
| Finish Strike | Execute | Mortal Strike → Weak Point |
Why these tripods? They maximize damage per cast and keep you moving so you survive boss mechanics. This doesn’t always work in every fight (depends on your niche). There are exceptions.
Quick combo (readable)
Red Dust → Hell Blade → Tempest Slash → Finish Strike → Strike Wave (gap close)
Repeat during windows; save Hell Blade for vulnerability.Rhetorical: want to die fast or deal more? Choose the latter and learn the timing.
Engravings — practical picks
Prioritize Mayhem level 3 (it’s the build). Then add damage-focused engravings as you can. I’ve noticed grinders and raid leads often prefer:
- Master’s Tenacity 3 — steady, reliable boost
- Grudge 3 — huge on bosses, painful if you’re undergeared
- Cursed Doll 3 — more attack power
- Keen Blunt Weapon 3 — improves crit damage
Be careful: Grudge can feel punishing if your gear isn’t up to par. Start with Tenacity + Mayhem, then layer in Grudge and Cursed Doll when gear supports it.
Stat targets (updated to 2025)
As of June 1, 2025, aim for crit-first builds. My ballpark numbers:
- Early T3: Crit ~1200–1400; Swiftness 400–600
- Late T3: Crit ~1600–1700; Swiftness 500–700
Why crit? It scales your burst better than marginal increases in specialization. That’s specific: prioritize crit because your windows are short and you need big numbers when they land.
Gems and enhancement strategy
Invest in damage gems for your core skills first. Level them to 5 before you pump cooldown gems (short fights benefit more from raw damage). Balance later, based on your playstyle and raid needs. (Yes, I grind gems too.)
Advanced rotation notes — real talk
Animation canceling matters. Strike Wave into Hell Blade shaves frames. Shoulder Charge is both mobility and a cancel tool. But watch this: animation cancel practice beats a single marginal stat point every time.
Controversial? Many players say Mayhem is overpowered in small groups; I think it’s over-tuned for casual bosses but underappreciated in hardcore raids where positioning punishes you. Others will disagree — and that’s okay.
“A dead Berserker deals zero damage.” — said at every raid night, and it’s true.
Practical gearing and progression
Weapons first. Then armor that gives biggest stat bumps. Don’t blow too many resources on honing unless you can afford the risk—materials get expensive fast.
One counterintuitive tip
Keeping lower max HP forces smoother play. Oddly enough, it can make you better at fights because you stop button-mashing and learn cooldowns. Try it; it’s annoying but useful.
Warnings and caveats
Never trade position for DPS. You’ll learn this the hard way. There are exceptions where you can risk it, but most fights punish mistakes harshly. To be fair, some trash pulls let you go wild — but bosses won’t.
Between us: if you’re new, don’t push Mayhem into raid tiers before you’re comfortable. You won’t work the way you expect otherwise. Also, I stumble here — I used to forget cooldowns mid-fight, so you might too, don’t panic when that happens.
Extras
- Emoji reminder: ⚠️ Positioning > constant uptime.
- Short quote: “Practice the timing more than the gear.”
- Code tip: put a simple macro or keybind for your gap-closer (example below).
// Example: bind gap-close to a single key for smoother execution
bind G +StrikeWave
// then follow with HellBlade for cancel
If you want more specific numbers for your current item level, tell me your exact gear and I’ll walk the math through with you. Want a quick checklist instead? I’ve got one ready.
— A Berserker who raids, tweaks, and still dies to dumb mechanics sometimes (female author).
