Werebear

Berserker is a Cursed One in the game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

"Now finish your soup, or a berserker'll come and swallow ye whole."-Skellige mother scolding a child

Skellige legends speak of men known as berserkers who transform into bears when overwhelmed by battle rage. IN doing so, they lose all self-awareness and are driven by blood-lust which they must satiate in order to return to human form. Few believe these blood-curdling tales, however, not even in Skellige, where the inhabitants usually treat even the least probable legends with the utmost gravity. This indicates either that bersekers are in fact mere figments of meat-sodden imaginations, or else that they have learned to hide their abilities from the rest of the islanders.

The skalds' ballads indicate a berserker transformed in the heat of battle cannot be distinguishable from a true-born bear. Only minute anatomical details- such as the shape of their tongues and teeth- reveal their secret. Descriptions of their fighting prowess paint them as invulnerable to pain and able to heal any wound received almost at once.

If these men-turned-bears truly do exist, one can suppose that, like werewolves and Lycanthropes, they are particularly vulnerable to oils that harm cursed creatures. But if we are to give credence to ancient songs about these creatures' deeds, about the mass murders and massacres they have committed, we can only hope that no Witcher will have to test this hypothesis.

Combat Tactics
A berserker begins as a human. Steel swords and hanged man's oil do well against them, and any tactics learned from fighting other humans will serve you well here. It is when they transform into their bear form that a silver sword, tainted with cursed oil, will show its worth.

Outside of anatomical differences, a berserker's bear form can be treated like fighting a real Bear, save that these bears are tougher and more relentless.

If you have invested in improving Igni, this is where the melt Armor enhancement can really show value. If you have this available, be sure to activate it before you deal with a berserker.