How necessary IS a Merc?

N

Nilie

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How necessary IS a Merc?

:lady: My Frost/Zealot Pally is now in Act 2 Hell and I'm spending a LOT of money on reving my Merc which is an Act 2 Might NM. Is it viable to just go without him as he's costing me a small fortune or should I try a different one?
I can't see that he's making that much of a difference. I've got him equipped with items that have CB but his resists aren't that good. Average of about 50% in all but poison which is around 40.
 
Mercs need LL to stay alive, and PDR helps too, slap a Shaftstop or the likes on him (Iron Pelt is ok) and if you've got a Hone Sundan, 2xAmn, Shael will give you LL and CB. For helm, Tal's helm has nice resists as does Rockstopper (Unique Sallet). PDR = Rockstopper, Tals = LL.

Faf
 
my trapsin gave up mercs through all of hell, although thats notadvised, i jsut MP'ed most of the way. rangers need a melee merc really, as they prevent swamping and provide a nice distraction. but melee builds are less dependant on mercs. a pally probably can complete the game without a aura merc absolutly fine,although generally, i have mine as backup for tough bosses. but i agree, if you lose him to often the 50k needed to reserect him will hurt, and if you want to gamble or have big repair builds, you might want to not resurrect him straight away.
 
can I suggest a ranged merc ? if you don't see distinction, go to a ranged merc like act 3 a fire merc will allow another source of damage and he will stay more longer alive
 
Honestly, all of my characters will normally not use a merc with the exception of the necromancer, since the might merc adds a lot of damage to all the skeletons, but beyond that, I do not use them.
 
Before I hit Hell I had an Act 3 Lighting and was having the same trouble...dying a lot so I switched to Might. I would try an Act 3 Cold but I'm running into a lot of cold immune mobs..hmm..do they see me comming? hehe
I was trying for more phys dmg so what about an Act 5 Barb? I'm so confused at this point and getting frustrated, not to mention broke that I'm ready to try about anything. :grrr:
 
I've always used a Merc. typically if I'm playing a melee character, I'll stick with the Rogue merc, and use an act 2 HF or might merc for ranged char's. If you need a Hone Sundin, I've got an extra I could send your way for the cost of an e-mail addy. There could even be a couple of amn's and a shael in there too if you wanted :uhhuh:


-Frank
 
Fafner said:
Mercs need LL to stay alive, and PDR helps too, slap a Shaftstop or the likes on him (Iron Pelt is ok) and if you've got a Hone Sundan, 2xAmn, Shael will give you LL and CB. For helm, Tal's helm has nice resists as does Rockstopper (Unique Sallet). PDR = Rockstopper, Tals = LL.

Faf
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I don't have a Shaftstop, Iron Pelt or Hone Sundan..I do have a Tal's and Rockstopper though. I think I need to do some more mf runs :scratch:
 
Stile58 said:
I've always used a Merc. typically if I'm playing a melee character, I'll stick with the Rogue merc, and use an act 2 HF or might merc for ranged char's. If you need a Hone Sundin, I've got an extra I could send your way for the cost of an e-mail addy. There could even be a couple of amn's and a shael in there too if you wanted :uhhuh:


-Frank
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:lady: Thanks so much for the kind offer but trying to get items on my own..call it female determination hehe and/or stubborness? When I first started playing D2 on BN I got so dependent on friends for items..they spoiled me ..but when I started playing sp I decided I would do it myself...other than a few itmes I got when I first started ( some low lvl gear and an Enigma, how could I resist this? ) I've gotten everything myself.
 
:lady: So the general opinion is that it's pretty much personal preferance. Having said that I would never try it with a caster such as sorceress or necro..but I've read posts from people with melee char's that they didn't use one so I was just curious. I think I may try it without one for a while and see how it goes...the hardest mobs (for me anyway) have always been the ones just before you kill Diablo and the last bunch Bael summons but having a merc won't make that much of a difference in either place I don't think...he'd go down faster than I will. I'm dreading both as I know I'm going to have major problems in those areas.

Thanks for the adivce all..I'll let ya know how it goes. :thanks:
 
someone just gave you a enigma armour????
anyway, just a suggestion, put a rainbow facet in your merc and watch them suffer when he dies. :D
 
I rarely use one. In fact my last traps tree only build has not used one yet. it is only in nightmare but I plan to continue not using one. Its a different game when you play completely alone. You have nothing to protect yourself. I guess thats where knockback, slow, freezing and running strategies pay off.

The merc decision is entirely up to you. For me they cost to much and are not enough of a help to be worth the burden of slowing down to wait for them.
 
farting bob said:
someone just gave you a enigma armour????
anyway, just a suggestion, put a rainbow facet in your merc and watch them suffer when he dies. :D
Click to expand...

:lady: Yes a longtime friend who no longer plays gave me the Enigma. He hasn't gotten rid of his char's or stash yet (hmm..think he'll be back someday and by then hopefully I'll have my own) and he said there was no use in letting it just collect dust so it's now mine. If he does return I will of course give it back. I now realize how hard they are to come by.
 
I never understood why you wouldn't want a merc. it's free damage, even if only for a moment until they die. If I am playing a melee build, I stick with my Act1 merc throughout the game. give her a 3 or 4 socket bow with pGems and a PSkull (I like going 1 PSapphire, 1 PRuby and 1 PTopaz just to cover all the bases) or a Kuko Shakako(SP?) and she rocks and stays out of harms way (most of the time).

as for resurrection costs, gold is cheap. 2 staffs/wands/orbs with a couple of +skills will get you the money you need.
 
I always use mercs, on every single char. And they always are act 2 mercs. I just love the auras they have. My necro is my only char who is somewhat dependant on mercs killing ability, for others they are just a resource. Just give them good life leech and decent defense and they will survive good enough
 
Prior to me finding out about Muling Programs like ATMA, I used to have an Act 3 Cold Merc that died all the time- but still served a very specific and very useful purpose: Storage. Since my barb used swords and shields, it was a perfect way of sticking alternate (read MF) equipment on someone until you need it. Even better is that they keep their stuff after they die, so it's like having another stash.

I think the storage still comes in handy, but since I no longer need the Act 3 Merc, I switched to a Might Merc, and it's been phenomenal. I was fortunate enough to have found a Bonehew before I made my switch, and already had a Griswold's Heart- super key for a merc, because you can use pgems to give the merc up to 50 str to meet equipment requirements, or alternatively, give your merc more than 100 HP with pRuby. Using an act 2 merc, I suggest this to keep them alive:

Equipment that gives HP or PDR
Weapons that give LL
Make sure they're up to level- levels are huge for mercs because 10 levels mean +15 resist all, 100 def and 100 HP.

Poor:
Weapon: Any socketed polearm with AMN's or Pskulls thrown in. A good rare with 2 sockets shouldn't be hard to find.
Armor: A socketed armor with rubies thrown in, or a Boneflesh/Rockfleece/Ironpelt
Helm: A socketed helm with rubies.

Super Rich:
Weapon: Bonehew or Tomb Reaver with AMN's
Armor: Shaftstop. If you're using a Defiance Merc, use a Griswold's Heart, if you're using a Might Merc, it's hard to beat Templar's Might.
Helm: VampGaze, Harlequin Crest, Crown of Ages (you get the theme)
 
HBeachBabe said:
I never understood why you wouldn't want a merc. it's free damage, even if only for a moment until they die. If I am playing a melee build, I stick with my Act1 merc throughout the game. give her a 3 or 4 socket bow with pGems and a PSkull (I like going 1 PSapphire, 1 PRuby and 1 PTopaz just to cover all the bases) or a Kuko Shakako(SP?) and she rocks and stays out of harms way (most of the time).

as for resurrection costs, gold is cheap. 2 staffs/wands/orbs with a couple of +skills will get you the money you need.
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My play style is slower and more methodical having that extra AI out there attracting monsters and waking others can be a real bad thing for my way of playing. Yes, they can be a very effective meat shields but, when they die with a group around them and that group heads straight for me I know that I have to deal with a crowd not just stragglers, which can easily be picked off. Also depending on your build it is possible to kill completely off screen. I have seen LI's fall without seeing any bolts excape because they were completely off screen.
 
I play hardcore, so mercs are a must. Yes they may attract danger at times, but generally they are VERY helpful. They absorb most of the ranged attacks for me.

I've been playing caster characters because of the FE bug :grrr: so usually have an A2 merc. They are much stronger than my chars, so have the best melee gear I can find.
 
I find mercs helpful - my fireball/orb sorc has an act 5 merc who takes down all of the FI/CI monsters, even if stone skin (at players 3). He only dies to nasty boss packs (cursed + extra strong, for example) or skeletons and PI's (no life leech).

The ressurection costs can be a pain, but I figure it beats retrieving corpses. :D

slowpoke
 
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