Seeking the critical path in single player

[little birdy]

Still need to think about what to do with the act III one. I might take a cold one and team it with the barb

An Act III Fire merc w/ Enchant could be helpful for a Barb if your AR needs a boost.

 

[little birdy]

make Insight in a bow and use the act 1 merc

I think this is my new favourite merc now

 

[snickersnack]

Well it’s actually a thing I wanted to do in this sept: finish the game with a different merc for each character. So the Palladin finished with an act I merc (which was quite ok), the furyzon got the act II merc with insight because she’s so mana dependent.

I kinda liked the idea of a barbarian’s raw muscle teamed up with the sorc. And I’m not unhappy. He’s beaffy enough to tank long enough for me to kill anything not immune to cold and otherwise I teleport him out.

Still need to think about what to do with the act III one. I might take a cold one and team it with the barb

For a character that doesn't need Might or Insight on the merc, I think that the barb merc is a good choice.

I think that a cold act 3 merc would be best for something that needs some crowd control, but a barb usually doesn't. I tried out an act 3 fire merc on my hunter/summoner, and while he did cast enchant often enough, the fire damage was pretty low and I'm not sure how much the +AR helped, given that I already had HoW.

Good point... hadn't occurred to me that in D2R you could now moat Meph with an A1 merc with Insight and have her doing damage. Shop a life tap wand from Drognan and keep it on switch, and you could be in business? I will have to try that on my sorc.

I haven't tried it yet, but it's worth checking it out. Let us know how it goes.

An Act III Fire merc w/ Enchant could be helpful for a Barb if your AR needs a boost.

I was thinking the same thing!

 

[coju]

For a character that doesn't need Might or Insight on the merc, I think that the barb merc is a good choice.

I think that a cold act 3 merc would be best for something that needs some crowd control, but a barb usually doesn't. I tried out an act 3 fire merc on my hunter/summoner, and while he did cast enchant often enough, the fire damage was pretty low and I'm not sure how much the +AR helped, given that I already had HoW.

I haven't tried it yet, but it's worth checking it out. Let us know how it goes.

I was thinking the same thing!

Would the blessed aim Merc be a better choice on paper? I still haven’t tried any other mercs since the update. They still feel like style points to me.

 

[Arjan]

An Act III Fire merc w/ Enchant could be helpful for a Barb if your AR needs a boost.

Only set back is that the sept is LoD… but I will be using this merc in D2r for sure. Thanks for the tip

Would the blessed aim Merc be a better choice on paper? I still haven’t tried any other mercs since the update. They still feel like style points to me.

I play the game on consule and before I want to rely on a merc I first need to find the way to feed him/her potions…

Going to inventory - select merc tab - go to belt - press x to give potion merc… feels sluggish and if in stressful situations the merc is probably dead anyway

 

[Triple Helix]

Only set back is that the sept is LoD… but I will be using this merc in D2r for sure. Thanks for the tip


I play the game on consule and before I want to rely on a merc I first need to find the way to feed him/her potions…

Going to inventory - select merc tab - go to belt - press x to give potion merc… feels sluggish and if in stressful situations the merc is probably dead anyway

Which console do you use?

 

[little birdy]

I play the game on consule and before I want to rely on a merc I first need to find the way to feed him/her potions…

Going to inventory - select merc tab - go to belt - press x to give potion merc… feels sluggish and if in stressful situations the merc is probably dead anyway

On Switch: ZL + D-pad arrow to feed the merc a potion instead of consuming it yourself. I expect it will be something similar on PS4/XBox. (Probably L2 + potion button on PS)

 

[Arjan]

Which console do you use?

PS4

 

[snickersnack]

Would the blessed aim Merc be a better choice on paper? I still haven’t tried any other mercs since the update. They still feel like style points to me.

I haven't checked which is better, but for AR alone, yeah, BA act 2 merc is probably better. I was using the act 3 fire merc b/c I thought that the fire damage would help with PIs. It *kind of* did, but then I switched to a barb merc with Lawbringer for Decrep and that worked much, much better.

Edit: I checked in-game. Around level 90ish, the act 3 fire merc has level 33 Enchant (buffable with gear) that gives +308% AR. The BA merc at a similar level has level 18 BA that gives +330% AR. Not that different, and given that the act 3 merc can wield Spirit sword/shield and Enchant gives some fire damage (around 200), I think that the Iron Wolf wins...

Eventually, we'll have to compare things like Act 2 Might merc with Infinity and Act 3 merc with Lastwish versus act 5 merc with dual LW.

I play the game on consule and before I want to rely on a merc I first need to find the way to feed him/her potions…

Going to inventory - select merc tab - go to belt - press x to give potion merc… feels sluggish and if in stressful situations the merc is probably dead anyway

Yeah, that sounds like a real pain.

On Switch: ZL + D-pad arrow to feed the merc a potion instead of consuming it yourself. I expect it will be something similar on PS4/XBox. (Probably L2 + potion button on PS)

I hope that works for @Arjan.

 

[BBS_Agonistes]

I haven't tried it yet, but it's worth checking it out. Let us know how it goes.

Reporting back: I tried the A1 merc with an Insight bow but she was fragile and I don't really want a wand of life tap on switch because I have Gul/Rhyme on switch for MF.

I'm now thinking for Meph runs on higher psetting maybe a viable set up would be something like Prayer Merc with Blackhorn's Face (Ort) and Guardian Angel (Thul) to make him as impervious as possible to Mephisto's lightning/cold elemental damage. Looking at his drop tables, however, I'm pretty happy just running him faster at /p1 and /p3. Smoke + Blackhorn's + Insight is fine for that.

 

[gtpoestorage1]

Pretty sure that's the French sans, meaning play without a merc for the Meph runs. Merc can't die if you don't have one! But forgoing the merc will then make you much more reliant on mana pots, which is a bit of a nuisance.

Thanks.

Hmmm, Insight CA is a bit slow, so the 5% (iirc) life leech on the helm won't be super effective. Maybe you should farm NM Meph until you can get a helm with more life leech, but I don't recall exactly which uniques can drop in NM. Do you have any body armors with life leech?

Skin of the Flayed. However, its lower defense and less resists. Also I don't think the merc can leech from Meph.

I would suggest that you pick one target and run it. You need a good map for all of these targets and it is extremely unlikely that you will be able to find all three in one.

• Meph is probably best run at /p3, p5 if you are strong enough.
• Tunnels you want to run at /p1, 65FCR and as much MF as possible.
• LK at /p7 - Do not kill anything, just hit the 105 or even 200FCR breakpoints.

I'll have to level additional chars to separate out my farming activities.

Maybe he's just not high level enough to survive? What level is he? Also, you could avoid letting him get swarmed by teleporting half a screen away. I don't remember if you're in LoD or D2R, but in D2R, you can make Insight in a bow and use the act 1 merc. You can then train yourself to run without a tank, though that'll take quite a learning curve. Hmmmmm, I wonder if an Insight Rogue is actually the best merc to run Meph with?......

My merc is level 82 like my Sorc. I'm in D2R off-line play. I thought the new Insight Bow was only available to the ladder players online until this current ladder ends. I can tele away from large crowds but its just he can't take hits. Again, I've just been lazy about using A-2 merc with Insight for the mana regen. which allows me to ignore mana pot usage and mana management concerns.

No mage fist yet and I do have 1 point into warmth. With the + to skills I'm only up to rank 6 of warmth. No skill charms yet. I've been moat tricking Meph to keep my sorc and merc alive.

Minor update on drops:
* War Travelers
* Frostburn
* Chance Guards
* Sandstorm Trek
* Tearhaunch
* Black Hades (I think this might be my first drop of this unique)
* Que-Hagan's Wisdom
* Twitchthroe
* Spirit Shroud
* Nightsmoke
* BlackOak Shield
* Radamant's Sphrere
* Demon's Arch
* Titan's Revenge

I got a Mal rune drop.

 

[little birdy]

My merc is level 82 like my Sorc. I'm in D2R off-line play. I thought the new Insight Bow was only available to the ladder players online until this current ladder ends. I can tele away from large crowds but its just he can't take hits. Again, I've just been lazy about using A-2 merc with Insight for the mana regen. which allows me to ignore mana pot usage and mana management concerns.

I'm playing offline single player as well, and I have been using 'Insight' bows on Act I mercs (as well as some of the new runewords) with no problems. Those changes all seem to be working in offline single player. I assume it's just non-ladder online players that have to wait until the first ladder season ends.

 

[snickersnack]

I'm playing offline single player as well, and I have been using 'Insight' bows on Act I mercs (as well as some of the new runewords) with no problems. Those changes all seem to be working in offline single player. I assume it's just non-ladder online players that have to wait until the first ladder season ends.

The newly allowed bases on old runewords (such as Insight and Obedience) are working for all players/characters in D2R, but the new runewords (such as Plague and Pattern) aren't available in offline until the ladder ends.

 

[little birdy]

The newly allowed bases on old runewords (such as Insight and Obedience) are working for all players/characters in D2R, but the new runewords (such as Plague and Pattern) aren't available in offline until the ladder ends.

I beg to differ re: the new runewords. I’ve made a few so far in offline single player. I did ‘Pattern’ first as a test since it is the cheapest to make—tossed the runes in the first 3os claw I could find, and I was pleased to find that it worked! I have since made ‘Unbending Will’ for an Act V merc, and both ‘Flickering Flame’ and ‘Obsession’ for my Fireball Sorc I was also of the understanding that they wouldn’t be available until the end of the first ladder season, but that seems to not be the case.

 

[gtpoestorage1]

I'm playing offline single player as well, and I have been using 'Insight' bows on Act I mercs (as well as some of the new runewords) with no problems. Those changes all seem to be working in offline single player. I assume it's just non-ladder online players that have to wait until the first ladder season ends.

I beg to differ re: the new runewords. I’ve made a few so far in offline single player. I did ‘Pattern’ first as a test since it is the cheapest to make—tossed the runes in the first 3os claw I could find, and I was pleased to find that it worked! I have since made ‘Unbending Will’ for an Act V merc, and both ‘Flickering Flame’ and ‘Obsession’ for my Fireball Sorc I was also of the understanding that they wouldn’t be available until the end of the first ladder season, but that seems to not be the case.

Awwe sh----!!!

 

[snickersnack]

I beg to differ re: the new runewords. I’ve made a few so far in offline single player. I did ‘Pattern’ first as a test since it is the cheapest to make—tossed the runes in the first 3os claw I could find, and I was pleased to find that it worked! I have since made ‘Unbending Will’ for an Act V merc, and both ‘Flickering Flame’ and ‘Obsession’ for my Fireball Sorc I was also of the understanding that they wouldn’t be available until the end of the first ladder season, but that seems to not be the case.

Cool. As I recall, every time this has come up, it was said that they wouldn't. Good to know. I'm travelling atm, but I'll try it out when I get home.

 

[gtpoestorage1]

Guys,

What are your thoughts on leveling a sorc with A1 Merc using:
* Kuko Shakaku bow
{
Required Level: 33
+150-180% Enhanced Damage (varies)
Fires Explosive Arrows Or Bolts [Level 7]
Piercing Attack (50)
Adds 40-180 Fire Damage
+3 To Immolation Arrow (Amazon Only)
+3 To Bow And Crossbow Skills (Amazon Only)
}

* Socketed with Shael for the iAS

Put a Lower Res wand on the Sorc (on switch).

I got the idea from MacroBioBoi ==>

I have a level 15 Sorc I will be leveling up for Larzuk quest and was wondering if the piercing attack and explosive arrows could be used put to great effect while leveling. The bow dropped on my high level Sorceress and that sent me looking for info. I also have some of the low level unique bows like Rogue's Bow, Stormstrike, and Wizendraw.

 

[little birdy]

In general, I think Kuko Shakaku is a great choice of bow for an Act I merc. I'm levelling a Pally right now that is running with an Act I merc w/ a Kuko, and she is very effective. And that Sorc build specifically looks like a lot of fun! You could at times run into mana troubles, so keep blue pots in the belt at all times, but if you're planning to build an Enchantress similar to what is described in the video, letting the merc do most of the work, then mana will probably be less of a problem.

 

[gtpoestorage1]

I wasn't planning to make an enchantress. The idea was to use the A-1 merc with the bow while leveling toward 75+ in order to get to the Act-5 Hell Larzuk quest so that I can have 3 socketing quests available as well as the 3 imbue quests and hell forge drops. The build looks like fun so once I'm rich I'm leaving the option on the table to convert an alt into that build. Running a pally as the main character with that A-1 merc and bow setup seems like a very fun option as well.

 

[snickersnack]

@gtpoestorage1 If you have some +skill gear to put on her, and I assume that you do, 1 point in enchant would help the merc. The fire damage may not be huge, but the +AR will help her land hits. Alternatively, keep an orb with +enchant on switch for buffing the merc. I'm not 100% sure, but I think that the fire damage from enchant will add to the explosion damage. If I'm wrong, hopefully someone will come along to correct me.