Battle for Middle Earth 2

Berserkers deal extreme amounts of damage and are almost as fast as cavalry. This makes them excellent for hero-killing and harassment. You should only attack units with Berserkers when you have other units to help protect them. Their primary use is to harass and destroy production buildings. Mix them with Crossbows and Wargs to protect them from archers and mix them with pikes to protect them from cavalry.

Berserker Micro

Berserkers have very weak health. Therefore, they must be microed very carefully. It helps to have a meat shield for them to draw away damage, especially from archers and pikes for cavalry. Try to keep the Berserkers behind or in the middle of the rest of your units. Against heroes, it helps to have your units attack from the front while your Berserkers sneak in from behind. This way, you can even slay heroes with splash damage, like Aragorn with Blade Master.

Berserkers are very good harassers. They can be used to keep your opponent with as few resource buildings as possible. A couple Berserkers running around together can avoid all units and constantly search for buildings to destroy. It's very hard to counter this, as Berserkers are as fast as a cavalry unit but they can turn around much faster and are easier to micro. They are also very good at destroying production buildings. With two or three Berserkers, you can easily destroy one or two production buildings when your opponent's units are busy.






Berserkers can also be effectively used on defense. They are arguably the best anti-clump unit of any faction. Just wait for your opponent to clump a building and then have your Berserker attack them from behind. They can also be used as hit-and-run units. Attack your opponents' weak forces. If they only have around one battalion and you know you can kill it without taking much damage, attack them. Otherwise you should run and avoid taking damage.

Berserkers can also counter certain heroes very well, but, they aren't good against all heroes. Make sure that the hero you're attacking does not have splash damage. If it affects more than one Berserker for every attack, don't even try to attack. A hero like Boromir has knockdown and splash, but this isn't really splash damage, but you should still avoid him. Berserkers can't effectively counter mounted heroes either, they probably won't be able to keep up with them and pikes are really the only effective way while they're mounted. It is a good idea to mix pikes with Berserkers. Make sure you have enough Berserkers too; it isn't a good idea to waste them on heroes if you know that they'll lose. All that does is level the hero up.






If you do need to kill a hero with Berserkers, use Lurtz's Pin so they can't escape or trample them.

Using Stances

Berserkers should usually be in defensive stance when they're mixed with infantry. This way, they will have the same speed as them. This keeps the Uruks taking the damage and protects the Berserkers very well. They should be in defensive stance whenever they're attacking units too. They should also be in defensive stance when they're idle and you don't want them to attack anything.



Berserkers shouldn't be in battle stance very often. Use it when they're under attack and you want the increased speed. It's good to use battle stance when they're mixed with Wargs, but not attacking anything. You should usually use battle stance when you're looking for buildings to destroy. It is the best stance to use when approaching towers or the Fortress.

Berserkers should be in aggressive stance whenever they're attacking buildings. They should also be in aggressive stance for attacking heroes. It's good to deal as much damage as possible against heroes fast. That way they won't get to kill as many before they die. Use aggressive stance when you can attack units without being attacked. They should be in this stance for anti-clumping units and ambushing units from behind as well.

Situations for Berserkers

You should get Berserkers quickly against Dwarves and Isengard. Get Wargs first and then Berserkers against Men of the West and Mordor. I rarely get Berserkers against Elves and Goblins. In those match ups, they should only be used if the game goes very late or if you need them, badly, for harassment.






Berserkers can counter swords and pikes, although both will kill the Berserkers when they have no support. They should only attack them if you have enough to destroy them effectively. You usually need at least three Berserkers to accomplish this. They can be used to kill units as they retreat. This is especially good against Dwarves to counter Guardians. They can be used to kill stronger units, since Berserkers deal excellent damage. Units like Guardians, Tower Guards, and Uruk-Hai fall quickly to them. Berserkers are great to use against ground heroes without splash, as well.

You should avoid getting Berserkers against archers and cavalry. Archers will do a large amount of harm to the Berserkers before they can even start to attack them. Cavalry can keep crushing them until they die. Berserkers can't keep up with the cavalry, so they can't retreat from them as well. It also takes almost four hits to kill a cavalry unit, more than some heroes!

When to Get Berserkers

If you're getting quick Berserkers, usually against Dwarves or Isengard, get them around the same time you get your second Uruk Pit. This is usually after three Furnaces, or sometimes four. Four Furnaces can easily support a Berserker/Uruk spam. You should almost always have at least three to five Uruk battalions before starting to get them.

If you're waiting until after Wargs to start getting Berserkers, it's still best to wait until your second Uruk Pit. Another time you can get them is when you're close to your command point limit and when you aren't able to spam Uruks anymore. Berserkers can also be used to support a Warg spam. Berserkers deal more damage than Wargs, so they help with attacking a Fortress or destroying buildings faster. They can also be used to run with the Wargs and counter pikes.

If you're playing against a faction like Elves or Goblins, you shouldn't normally get Berserkers. But, there are still situations when you might want them. They are mostly used for harassment in these match ups. They can be used to help siege a Fortress if you want to. Battering Rams are usually better at this, but it's easier to micro Berserkers, and they are faster too, giving your opponent less reaction time.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this guide on Berserkers, and understand what a vital part of the Isengard arsenal they can be.


Let your opinions about this guide be known in the Berserker Guide: Discussion Topic.