Quote Originally Posted by BetterDeadThanRed
A word on berserkers:

Besides just being a really cool unit, they are simply outstanding fighters and well worth the price. Why people don't seem to like them, I really don't know, but there is definitely a technique in using them. I always try to keep at least two of these buggers in my front line armies, sometimes more. Especially when fighting the Romans, battles tend to get into a giant mass of men pushing at each other until the other line gives: here is where the berserker shines.

Keep them held back for just such a scenario, and once the enemy is committed to a frontal attack, hit them hard on the side with the berserkers and watch the line crumble and rout. There is no other unit that thrives as well in the thick of it as the berserker can, and the moral penalties dealt to the enemy are harsh to say the least.

The only possible threat they face is a cavalry charge, but a little foresight can negate this threat all together.
Personally, I love Berserkers. They're what the term "shock infantry" is all about - nobody does better when the weapons are swinging and the blood is flowing and the body parts are getting severed willy-nilly than berserkers.

Of course, I also like Chosen Axemen for much the same purpose, and I've had some luck with Bastarnae mercs when no other shock infantry is easily recruited near the battle zone - Germania's campaign against Dacia is prone to boring, casualty-ridden slugfests over desolate mud-holes in the middle of nowhere. The provinces don't even qualify as fixer-uppers, some of them need a level 3 population growth temple just to stay above 6000 population, it seems like. Assuming you can ever get them up that high.

Still, if you can get a tier 3 temple of Donar going somewhere convenient to the fight, your Berserkers won't let you down.