Earliest possible merc

[Skarphedinn]

Would it be possible to get a might merc in nm at lvl 1 (thus giving him the absolute best stats later on in the game). Granted I have to get to nm without leveling, but I see lvl 1's in hell at least once a day. Beyond this, I still plan on leveling normally though, just want the stat increase.

[Halciet]

All mercs from the same difficulty and act are scaled appropriately, so it wouldn't matter. What I mean is, if you get a nm act 2 merc at level one and level him to 47, he'll be the same strength as he would've been if you had just bought him at 47; the attribute level difference only applies from mercs of different difficulties - so a normal merc at 47 would be stronger than a nightmare at 47, though any two of the same type from the same difficulty will be of equal strength at the same levels. At least, that is how it worked in 1.09, and I havn't heard of it changing in the patch.

Hope that helps,

-Hal

[Rigel Kent]

Sadly, the Pokemon myth about Diablo II mercenaries continues to persist! Because mercenaries hired from normal difficulty are better than mercenaries hired from nightmare or hell, everyone assumed mercenaries worked like Pokemon. (Leveling Pokemon up yourself from a low level makes for higher stats than catching them at a high level in the wild.)

Since you want a Might mercenary, of course, you don't have a choice. You have to get the nightmare version of the mercenary. Here's his 1.10 stats; you can confirm the accuracy of my data yourself. "Level" refers to current level; level he was hired at doesn't matter, so basically all level 98 Might mercs are identical.

DESERT MERCENARY / OFFENSIVE / NIGHTMARE

Hiring cost: 7900 gold at level 43
XP required: 120%
Equipment: spear, javelin, or polearm (no "amazon only" weapons)
helmet/circlet, body armor

> Level 1~74
HP 567 +25 *(level-43) Skills
Def 377 +19 *(level-43) 1) Jab
Str 113 + 1.750*(level-43) Chance to use: 120%+1.00% *(level-43)
Dex 87 + 1.500*(level-43) Skill level: 13 +0.31250*(level-43)
AR 385 +24 *(level-43) 2) Might
Dmg (22~29)+ 0.750*(level-43) Chance to use: 10%
Res 83%+ 1.75%*(level-43) Skill level: 7 +0.25000*(level-43)

> Level 75~98
HP 1367 +40 *(level-75) Skills
Def 985 +28 *(level-75) 1) Jab
Str 169 + 1.750*(level-75) Chance to use: 152%+1.00% *(level-75)
Dex 135 + 1.500*(level-75) Skill level: 23
AR 1153 +36 *(level-75) 2) Might
Dmg (46~53)+ 1.000*(level-75) Chance to use: 10%
Res 139%+ 1.00%*(level-75) Skill level: 15 +0.25000*(level-75)

PM me if you need the goods on any of the other mercenaries from whatever difficulty level; I've got them all compiled in a single text file.

[Skarphedinn]

Never played pokemon so no clue where I got this one from ;). Thanks for the replies and Rigel, you do me 'ol engineering heart good with all them fancy figures. Not sure what the point of having a 152% chance of using jab is anyway. Thanks for your help and hard data is always a plus.

[MsgBoardHobo]

Sadly, the Pokemon myth about Diablo II mercenaries continues to persist! Because mercenaries hired from normal difficulty are better than mercenaries hired from nightmare or hell, everyone assumed mercenaries worked like Pokemon. (Leveling Pokemon up yourself from a low level makes for higher stats than catching them at a high level in the wild.)

Since you want a Might mercenary, of course, you don't have a choice. You have to get the nightmare version of the mercenary. Here's his 1.10 stats; you can confirm the accuracy of my data yourself. "Level" refers to current level; level he was hired at doesn't matter, so basically all level 98 Might mercs are identical.

DESERT MERCENARY / OFFENSIVE / NIGHTMARE

Hiring cost: 7900 gold at level 43
XP required: 120%
Equipment: spear, javelin, or polearm (no "amazon only" weapons)
helmet/circlet, body armor

> Level 1~74
HP 567 +25 *(level-43) Skills
Def 377 +19 *(level-43) 1) Jab
Str 113 + 1.750*(level-43) Chance to use: 120%+1.00% *(level-43)
Dex 87 + 1.500*(level-43) Skill level: 13 +0.31250*(level-43)
AR 385 +24 *(level-43) 2) Might
Dmg (22~29)+ 0.750*(level-43) Chance to use: 10%
Res 83%+ 1.75%*(level-43) Skill level: 7 +0.25000*(level-43)

> Level 75~98
HP 1367 +40 *(level-75) Skills
Def 985 +28 *(level-75) 1) Jab
Str 169 + 1.750*(level-75) Chance to use: 152%+1.00% *(level-75)
Dex 135 + 1.500*(level-75) Skill level: 23
AR 1153 +36 *(level-75) 2) Might
Dmg (46~53)+ 1.000*(level-75) Chance to use: 10%
Res 139%+ 1.00%*(level-75) Skill level: 15 +0.25000*(level-75)

PM me if you need the goods on any of the other mercenaries from whatever difficulty level; I've got them all compiled in a single text file.

Pokemon are not stronger if caught lower. That too is a myth. The reason lower pokemon are considered stronger when leveled up from say, level 2, is simple because they obtain more EV's, meaning, effort values, which increase certain stats. For instance, Alakazam gives off 3 SP. atk evs upon death in the wild. The cap for Ev's is 255, so if you want an extra high special atk. then just kill a bunch of them.

The reason people assumed that pokemon were stronger when caught lower is because naturally a pokemon caught lower will obtain more evs. More fights, more levels, more evs. Also, rare candies do not weaken your pokemon, they just level you up without the proper ev training. Get all your effort values, and you can rare candy until your *** falls off. Unfourtunately, only Ruby and its counterpart allow you to monitor ev levels with that one hoe in slateport.

Yes, i am a pro pokemon player.