After playing the Zerker myself in a server that isn't empty, I think it's safe to say that the Berserker is actually pretty bad right now. Even if you ignore the fact that the time it takes for a Zerker to get into his most optimal range for zed killing is also time it takes for other perks to kill them, the reduction in damage resistances is to such a degree that even if you time your parries correctly, you'll still get chewed up like you're made of paper.
Now if we don't ignore the fact that Killing Floor is a ranged game, I think i have some points as to why Survivalist in the beta branch is a better Berserker than Berserker.
While definitely not as good as playing other perks and using their respective guns, the comparison is more directed towards the Berserker. By the time the Berserker gets into his most optimal range to kill a zed, someone else will have already gotten the kill. On versions 1113 and earlier, the seemingly ridiculous power that he has is more to make up for being a melee class in a game focused around ranged combat.
What Survivalist brings to the table is the ability to shoot guns better than the Berserker while also being similarly proficient in melee weapons (I'll get to that in better detail later). For now, what you need to know is that he can shoot zeds while making his advance, thinning whatever horde is in front of him before his mag runs out and by that point, he can switch to melee to finish off weakened enemies, while also benefitting from Tactical Reload skills based on what perk skill he chose at Level 5.
Damage resistances
Having been able to actually try the Zerker's balance changes in a server full of people, I can't help but note that even if you time your parries correctly, zed groups can still chew the Zerker up like he's made of paper (Resistance only brings your max Damage Resistance up to 25%, while Parry gives a 35% resistance on successfully parrying). Meanwhile, a Survivalist can get a 25% damage resistance simply by being Level 25 and on top of this, he has Heavy Armor Training similar to the SWAT's Heavy Armor Training skill, but as a passive. Yes, a Zerker with Parry will still have more damage resistance than a Survivalist, though the Survivalist more than makes up for it by having a gun to thin out whatever horde he plans on engaging in melee, so he'll already be taking fewer hits than what a Berserker will take when going into melee.
Melee weapons
The meat of the Berserker. If you're taking Butcher, then yes, you CAN do more damage than the Survivalist, though this amounts to a 95% damage bonus on bodyshots and 120% on Headshots. However, if you pick Vampire to mitigate the impact of received blows, then you'd be looking at 75% on body hits and 100% on headshots. However, the nerfs to Vampire kinda make the health recovery on kill pretty pointless so the usage of Vampire's pretty irrelevant at this point. So, Is a 95% damage bonus (120% on headshots) worth not having a gun? I guess that one's debatable though I have my personal doubts when considering that Zerker's damage output is weighed against the Survivalist's 90% extra melee damage with no extra damage on headshots, 15% extra damage with ranged weapons and faster reload speeds based on Level 5 skill selection
Other
On top of having a 25% damage resistance and SWAT's heavy armor training, Survivalists opting to only carry 15 blocks or less can make use of Medic Grenades to heal his teammates and/or heal himself in a sticky situation. That's gonna be a pretty big deal if you plan on Zerking as a Survivalist. In addition to this, you also have the Spontaneous Zed-Splosion skill at Level 20, which can help soften your targets in both melee and ranged combat.
With all that in mind, can people say with a straight face that Zerker is still worth playing when you consider what Survivalist brings to the table?
Now if we don't ignore the fact that Killing Floor is a ranged game, I think i have some points as to why Survivalist in the beta branch is a better Berserker than Berserker.
Weapon Damage and Level 5 skillsWhile definitely not as good as playing other perks and using their respective guns, the comparison is more directed towards the Berserker. By the time the Berserker gets into his most optimal range to kill a zed, someone else will have already gotten the kill. On versions 1113 and earlier, the seemingly ridiculous power that he has is more to make up for being a melee class in a game focused around ranged combat.
What Survivalist brings to the table is the ability to shoot guns better than the Berserker while also being similarly proficient in melee weapons (I'll get to that in better detail later). For now, what you need to know is that he can shoot zeds while making his advance, thinning whatever horde is in front of him before his mag runs out and by that point, he can switch to melee to finish off weakened enemies, while also benefitting from Tactical Reload skills based on what perk skill he chose at Level 5.
Damage resistances
Having been able to actually try the Zerker's balance changes in a server full of people, I can't help but note that even if you time your parries correctly, zed groups can still chew the Zerker up like he's made of paper (Resistance only brings your max Damage Resistance up to 25%, while Parry gives a 35% resistance on successfully parrying). Meanwhile, a Survivalist can get a 25% damage resistance simply by being Level 25 and on top of this, he has Heavy Armor Training similar to the SWAT's Heavy Armor Training skill, but as a passive. Yes, a Zerker with Parry will still have more damage resistance than a Survivalist, though the Survivalist more than makes up for it by having a gun to thin out whatever horde he plans on engaging in melee, so he'll already be taking fewer hits than what a Berserker will take when going into melee.
Melee weapons
The meat of the Berserker. If you're taking Butcher, then yes, you CAN do more damage than the Survivalist, though this amounts to a 95% damage bonus on bodyshots and 120% on Headshots. However, if you pick Vampire to mitigate the impact of received blows, then you'd be looking at 75% on body hits and 100% on headshots. However, the nerfs to Vampire kinda make the health recovery on kill pretty pointless so the usage of Vampire's pretty irrelevant at this point. So, Is a 95% damage bonus (120% on headshots) worth not having a gun? I guess that one's debatable though I have my personal doubts when considering that Zerker's damage output is weighed against the Survivalist's 90% extra melee damage with no extra damage on headshots, 15% extra damage with ranged weapons and faster reload speeds based on Level 5 skill selection
Other
On top of having a 25% damage resistance and SWAT's heavy armor training, Survivalists opting to only carry 15 blocks or less can make use of Medic Grenades to heal his teammates and/or heal himself in a sticky situation. That's gonna be a pretty big deal if you plan on Zerking as a Survivalist. In addition to this, you also have the Spontaneous Zed-Splosion skill at Level 20, which can help soften your targets in both melee and ranged combat.
With all that in mind, can people say with a straight face that Zerker is still worth playing when you consider what Survivalist brings to the table?