Blizzard (the spell) Q

[Pain]

I just decided to try my first Blizzard sorc. It seems to be workign out pretty well with 1 exception. When a monster is up against the edge of something (ex: a wall) it seems to be very difficult to hit them.

If I focus the blizzard directly on them, it tends to miss. If I focus close to them, it tends to miss.

Any suggestions on how to more effectively hit the baddies that have run away and hid in a corner?

[Shanksie1337]

Ice Blast - or whatever spell you prefer to use during the Blizz casting delay.

Or tele on top of the offending monster and let your merc whack him a few times.

[Super5]

Ice Blast - or whatever spell you prefer to use during the Blizz casting delay.

Or tele on top of the offending monster and let your merc whack him a few times.

On the topic of mercs, what's some affordable equipment for a barb merc so that he can survive in hell? I was thinking maybe of a eth honor CB or a crescent moon CB with vamp gaze as helm... or are there better options? I'd also appreciate if replies didn't include "uber" gear like BOTD swords or stuff like that.

[evild2player]

On the topic of mercs, what's some affordable equipment for a barb merc so that he can survive in hell? I was thinking maybe of a eth honor CB or a crescent moon CB with vamp gaze as helm... or are there better options? I'd also appreciate if replies didn't include "uber" gear like BOTD swords or stuff like that.
if u had an eth 5 soc cb the chance would be slim cause max soc on cb is 6 while cs is 5 so i guess u mean cs
even if u did had an eth cs with 5soc i think its actually worth something :) to get a good sword

[Lunatic]

My act5 merc on my blizzard sorc is using the following equipment
Arreat (15% IAS / 61 defense jewel)
Ethereal highland blade with kingslayer in it (gogo crappy 232% ed) :P
Chains of honor in a wire fleece.

The arreat should be clear why I choose it. :D The kingslayer does decent dmg and has 1 really nice mod that helps. The prevent monster heal (yes it does work for mercs , I've seen it myself). And the CoH is a really nice allround armor with the skills , leech , %undead and %demon dmg. Ofcourse the 20 str is always nice too. I choose the highland blade because of the speed , and because it always gets 4 sockets.

[Shanksie1337]

wp Lunatic - list some cheap options why dont you :D

try:
Helm: Tals mask / Crown of Theives / crappy arreats
Armour: Shaftstop / Duriel
Weapon: dunno, always use Act2 myself, but you'll want more LL - all my mercs tend to have 20-30 LL.

They stay alive, you kill, if you need your merc to kills things then you are either single tree or very badly built/equiped.

[Super5]

wp Lunatic - list some cheap options why dont you :D

try:
Helm: Tals mask / Crown of Theives / crappy arreats
Armour: Shaftstop / Duriel
Weapon: dunno, always use Act2 myself, but you'll want more LL - all my mercs tend to have 20-30 LL.

They stay alive, you kill, if you need your merc to kills things then you are either single tree or very badly built/equiped.

Funny you should mention that... actually I am a single tree sorc. I know, I know, not a good way to go, but man oh man does a fully synergized Blizzard rock the socks off non-CIs. Anyway, I guess I'm probably going to go with tals mask, duriel (cause I have it), and maybe crescent moon for weapon? Don't know how much an eth elite 3-socketed sword will cost me tho...

[Shanksie1337]

hehe, my sorc is also pure blizz - her Merc uses:
Tals
Duriels
Bonehew "AmnShael"

and he survives fine - Andy owns him for some reason, but Andy is even easier to Blizz than Meph.
When i find another one (and assuming you are Ladder) i am gonna put a Reapers Toll on the merc as this is ace for slowing them down, so you can Blizz em better.

A Cresent Moon would be a nice weapon for a Act5 merc, but a waste of runes if you ask me. What do you use your Blizz sorc for?

[Superhal]

monsters have to move to be affected by blizz (also meteor's burn.) you can sometimes force them to move by using glacial spike, which, luckily, is a synergy. otherwise, i use my merc and static or glacial spike.

one trick that works for most monsters is to keep them on the edge of your screen, blizz, and take a few steps away from them so they are off screen. they will usually re-position themselves closer to you, thus getting hit by blizz.

[enigmachine]

"I know, I know, not a good way to go"
Says who?

Present company excepted, people who usually don't play enough to realise the niche for such builds or skill involved.

[Ter]

my act 5 mercenary uses
Crown of Thieves
Eth Duriels shell (I found that in the first week of the ladder and he is still using it ;)
and
a Lightsabre that I traded 3 p-gems for just because I don't see a lot of swords drop.

He does fairly well unless he gets totally surrounded and stunlocked.

[pedro11]

My Defiant merc uses
Tomb Reaver Amn/Amn
Glads Bane
Vamp Gaze or Blackthorns (depends on the game)
Max Resists, CBF, Life Leach and Decrepify what else can a Merc ask for.

[HipHop Automust]

Single tree builds are not all that bad, only niche is becoming very merc dependent to slap around immunes.

However, having an extremely powerful Blizz is most useful for MF'in Act Bosses, except possibly the minions of Baal could give you some trouble getting to the big guy.

Anyhow, back to the subject... to compensate for the few enemies that Blizz doesn't touch use IceBlast since it should be maxxed being a synergie. For the most part, enemies will go agro and come towards you anyways, so wall or corner baddies aren't too much of a biggie.

[HipHop Automust]

Ah well.. since everyone is dropping their merc info...

Act2 HF Merc
Eth Bonehew socketed Amn Shael
Eth 12% Crown of Thieves socketed 40ed jewel
Eth Duriel's Case socketed 40ed jewel
Life about 1900ish
Dmg w/ Aura over 2.5k

Awesome tank. He can tank all the act bosses and even survives the Minions of Destruction in Hell difficulty with a bit of survival tactics (i.e. Tele away, heal, etc etc)

Static Field is a Merc's best friend, use it! :cheesy:

[enigmachine]

"Single tree builds are not all that bad"
Indeed. Already said.

"only niche is becoming very merc dependent"
You've never been able to take care of him with your own items?

Most "single" trees have a point in each other tree, at least.