How to equip my merc

[Karatejag]

I need some advice on how to best equip my summon necro's merc. Prices are not an issue for me right now so let it rip with what you think the best possible equipment is.

I've narrowed down the field for my Weapon and Armor but by all means if something is not included in my list let me know.

Possible Weapon: Botd, Doom, Obedience, Pride

Possible Armor: CoH, Fortitude

Possible Helm: Anything that fills in necessary holes. (Life leetch, CB, Resists)

What I'm looking for is the optimal balance between helping my army out and my merc being able to hold his own without anyone around him.

[crimsonfury]

well ur a summoner, so if that's a might merc(it better be) u can use pride to a better effect, also, u can use fort to increase his dmg, and then use vamp gaze/tal mask(poor man's alternative) for ll, dont use crown of thieves becuz it has more def, vamp gaze gives dr%
pride cuz it gives concentration->more skel dmg
doom is the only other decent alternative, obedience? strong but...doesnt help out u and skels, same with botd, i think u can reach a higher dmg with ur pride due to the aura, coh isnt really needed cuz it gives mass res and etc. where as a fort does the same but if ur merc has higher dmg, his life leach can be used better

conclusion:pride with vamp gaze and fort

P.S. my hammerdin has a merc with an insight, tal mask, and gris armr with ral ort thul for res, when conc is on, that merc can take on cows, BY HIMSELF

[Karatejag]

Of course it's a might merc :wink3:

The main reason I was thinking CoH is because of the +2 Skills which would help out his might aura (along with any other he may have). Which in turn helps out my army as well. To that effect Andariels Visage may also be another option for his helm.

[crimsonfury]

hmm ur right, andy's is better, but the 2 skils points wont help u much, i garantuee it, get them from andy's, fort is still a better variable since with pride, and might, god cant stop him(assuming god can be life leached ;)

[High Priest]

Is pride and fort Ladder only rune words? If not is there a updated place to see all rune words?

[AnimeCraze]

Try here:
http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/runewords.shtml

[crimsonfury]

pride is ladder only, fort, i believe is, not sure, u can check
go to
http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/runewords.shtml

it shows every rune word out there, well not every...its missing 3 secret vs 1.11 rune words that some1 is yet to figure out

[crimsonfury]

damg u anime..posted 2 minutes faster than i did

[High Priest]

Thanks for he information, that site kicked a$$


:thumbsup:

[the boss]

pride is ladder only, fort, i believe is, not sure, u can check
go to
http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/runewords.shtml

it shows every rune word out there, well not every...its missing 3 secret vs 1.11 rune words that some1 is yet to figure out

3 missing?

I've seen Plague in a Zerker and was gonna make it but then i figured that they didn't put that on the patch so it turns out didnt work.

[MikeFord]

well ur a summoner, so if that's a might merc(it better be) u can use pride to a better effect, also, u can use fort to increase his dmg, and then use vamp gaze/tal mask(poor man's alternative) for ll, dont use crown of thieves becuz it has more def, vamp gaze gives dr%
pride cuz it gives concentration->more skel dmg
doom is the only other decent alternative, obedience? strong but...doesnt help out u and skels, same with botd, i think u can reach a higher dmg with ur pride due to the aura, coh isnt really needed cuz it gives mass res and etc. where as a fort does the same but if ur merc has higher dmg, his life leach can be used better

conclusion:pride with vamp gaze and fort

P.S. my hammerdin has a merc with an insight, tal mask, and gris armr with ral ort thul for res, when conc is on, that merc can take on cows, BY HIMSELF

Guessing you mean Infinity runeword, not insight.

A2 Merc with a good weapon and plenty of LL and they do real well against anything they "can" leech from. Physical immunes though can cause them plenty of trouble. Same for IM. Weapon choice seems to me to be something as fast as possible, but maybe not the super high damage stuff, at least not all physical damage, maybe some nasty mods may better serve.

[the boss]

For this build, I've seen many threads arguing over if Pride or Infinity is better, I personally pick Infinity because it helps more of your skellys(damage), mages(damage), golems(damage), merc(crushing blow), and yourself(corpse explosion) than just Pride giving damage to your skellys and golem. (BUT, play style matters)

Armor CoH does the job enough (REALLY low defence though...)

Helm go with eth Gaze or eth Andys (Plus skill vs DR)

[Karatejag]

Hmm some interesting opinions so far, still looking for more. Make any arguments for/against any equipment. Thus far I get that I need to be using a weapon that gives an additional aura along with gaze or andys, armor is still wide open though.

[MikeFord]

Its down to playstyle, WHAT do you want the merc to do besides wear a lot of bling bling?

[Karatejag]

I want him to be the colonel of my army if you will. Be able to singlehandedly go out and get the first kill in hell mode and be able to lead/enhance the troops when there are 40+ of them around him.

So I guess the most important things for him to be able to do are:

A) Stay alive
B) Do enough damage to make him more than just another footman.

[Evrae Altana]

If you just want him to stay alive and provide some killing power, then get a Shaftstop and Gaze for him for the damage reduce and the life leech on Gaze. His weapon can be anything with a high damage, so he can quickly poke stuff to death (Obedience is a nice cheap runeword with high damage).

[Karatejag]

I guess it would be beneficial to say what the overall purpose of this necro is. His job is going to be for mfing anything and everything. However I also intend on having him double as a character who can help out in uber trist. So having said that I think the best weapon for my merc overall is pride for the extra aura it gives. Armor and helm are still up in the air but I'm leaning towards fort and vamp gaze.

[crimsonfury]

obedience is indeed strong and cheap, but, if u can make a stronger item, y not???

[Karatejag]

Agreed.

So after chatting with a friend I've decided on Pride, Fort and Vamp Gaze.

Thanks for all input.

[natural disastr]

well ur a summoner, so if that's a might merc(it better be) u can use pride to a better effect, also, u can use fort to increase his dmg, and then use vamp gaze/tal mask(poor man's alternative) for ll, dont use crown of thieves becuz it has more def, vamp gaze gives dr%
pride cuz it gives concentration->more skel dmg
doom is the only other decent alternative, obedience? strong but...doesnt help out u and skels, same with botd, i think u can reach a higher dmg with ur pride due to the aura, coh isnt really needed cuz it gives mass res and etc. where as a fort does the same but if ur merc has higher dmg, his life leach can be used better

conclusion:pride with vamp gaze and fort

P.S. my hammerdin has a merc with an insight, tal mask, and gris armr with ral ort thul for res, when conc is on, that merc can take on cows, BY HIMSELF

Guessing you mean Infinity runeword, not insight.


actually I'm guessing insight cause infinity is a really sucky runeword when it comes to hammerdins (wth are you gonna do with conviction)

[Karatejag]

I need to ask the question, where can I find the stats/debate between pride and infinity. I'm still waivering on which to choose. Looking at them disregarding the auras they grant, infinity appears to be better overall weapon. Plus infinity would help my entire army and anyone who's partied with me instead of just the meleers. However concentration gives a bigger bonus to a select group as opposed to a moderate bonus to everyone. Dear lord help me please.

[the boss]

If you like aura stuff on merc, Dream helm, Bramble armor(return damage) and Pride will provide enough help with that

[the boss]

I need to ask the question, where can I find the stats/debate between pride and infinity. I'm still waivering on which to choose. Looking at them disregarding the auras they grant, infinity appears to be better overall weapon. Plus infinity would help my entire army and anyone who's partied with me instead of just the meleers. However concentration gives a bigger bonus to a select group as opposed to a moderate bonus to everyone. Dear lord help me please.
http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=419309&highlight=pride+infinity

There ya go

[Karatejag]

Appreciated, thanks dude.

That discussion still leaves open ends but I tend to agree with you anyways, I'd rather help everyone plus infinity itself is a better weapon than pride. Guess that helps my decision then.

[cynicalcat1]

just my 2 cents,i have both pride and infinity and have tried both out for extended periods.i came to find out that with infinity critters drop faster and my merc kills better.once that first corpse drops, everything else is toast.especially the 40 cb against baal.

merc set is eth fort,infinity cryptic axe,and guillames.baal drops in about 18 seconds.

[Karatejag]

That was just the kind of insight I was looking for. Now all I gotta do is get my hands on the runes.