Blizz sorc - act 5 merc?

[JasonBriggs]

Hi. Im going to be running andy ancient tunnels and mephisto in hell, probabley in 8 player games, solo and from level 71 - 75. I was wondering if an act 5 merc would be viable. I dont like the act 2 mercs they sometimes seem to walk around and simply do nothing but the act 5 merc is more aggressive and will get stuck right in, drawing enemies attention away from my sorc.

The problems ill be facing are:

Will the merc be able to survive? Ladder reset means low lvl gear / easy to get gear is a must, also the low level means he'll have less resists life and str which limits his gear (not sure how much str he'll have at around lvl 70)

Also, does anybody have ANY suggestions for a gear setup? Delirium looks like a nice helm but then what sword do i use, where does my life leech come from? Max resists is a must otherwise my merc wont be able to survive meph or the skeleton mage things in the ancient tunnels.

All suggestions are welcome and thanks in advance.

Briggzy

[Noite Escura]

With my (now non-ladder) lvl 74 Blizzer I went an act 5 Merc to test with it, and I must say I was not impressed. It lacks the auras and doesn't do any more damage than act 2 merc. Plus, good swords are harder to find that polearms/spears
As for equipment good combos would be Botd/Rockstopper/Fort or Last Wish/Vamp Gaze/Fort
[Edit]I just noticed you mantion ladder, well, I don't know of good equipment for untwinked act5. Prob viable is Honor Runeword, Tals Mask and Duriel's Shell. all can be found/assembled in NM. As I said, doin't expect much of him.

[JasonBriggs]

Damage isnt my priority, i just want to know if one of these guys can survive the bashing he'll get from meph and andy which in up to 8 player games is going to be a hell of a lot. Then damage is second priority, even about 800 damage will definately be enough, its only for immunes i find in ancient tunnels.

Ive been looking at the doombringer sword, that looks very nice, any opinions on that people?

Briggzy

[DaemonLegend]

If you can find a large damage 3 socket sword giving him Lawbringer will keep the poor lad alive...his killing speed won't be anything near say Grief, but for Amn, Lem, Ko, having a lvl 15 Decrep, 16+ Sanctuary Aura (for sed mages), Life stealing, Monsters rest in peace, fire and cold damage, -target D, + missle D, hey the sword actually works out quite nice, so long as your main target is keeping him alive rather than killing speed.

[JasonBriggs]

Thanks for the suggestion! lawbringer truly is quite amazing and affordable at this point in the ladder. I was also looking at the crainte vomir sword which looks quite interesting:

One-Hand Damage: (20-24) To (67-78) (43.5-51 Avg)
Two-Hand Damage: (46-54) To (104-120) (75-87 Avg)
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 73
Required Dexterity: 61
Durability: 44
Base Weapon Speed: [0]
+160-200% Enhanced Damage (varies)
50% Increased Attack Speed
Slows Target By 35%
-70 To Monster Defense Per Hit
20% Faster Run/Walk
Damage Reduced By 10%
(Only Spawns In Patch 1.09 or later)

Slows target would be very useful for meph, damage reduced is always welcome and life leech is included =D

This gives me an idea of:

Weapon:

Lawbringer for ancient tunnels
crainte vomir for meph/andy
duriels shell for armor
tals mask for helmet

what you guys think of that?

[kidsmokin]

If you want major slow get an A2 Defiance merc and use Kelpie Snare.

[JasonBriggs]

Im after an aggressive mercinary to get in there and take hits the only one for that is act 5 merc. Im pretty much decided on his equip now, just need to test it out.

Briggzy

[melianor]

Life leech will not work on Mephisto. Otherwise the Act 2 mercs would be surviving all the way :)

[JasonBriggs]

Life leech will not work on Mephisto. Otherwise the Act 2 mercs would be surviving all the way :)

I knew that :S its a big problem =(. Anyway....

I tried out the setup i suggested and it was fine, the merc survived/killed immunes in ancient tunnels, just one drawback....mana. So now my only solution is insight in a low req weapon for teleporting Or an act 2 merc which i wanted to avoid.

So now im going to try insight voulge or something that looks cool ;D see how that goes. If that doesnt work out too well then the following setup will be used:

act 2 defiance merc
inisight in an elite polearm / kelpie snare in cube for meph/andy
duriels shell armor
tals mask

[Hector]

If you need the merc to survive an Act Boss, buy a wand with charges of Life Tap and cast it at the start of the fight.

[kidsmokin]

Or use Marrowwalks ;)

[melianor]

If you need the merc to survive an Act Boss, buy a wand with charges of Life Tap and cast it at the start of the fight.
This one wins :)

[LRSAIA]

the only combo I used for an a5 merc was a friend's bugged eth fortitude with an eth last wish colossus blade.....he was a monster (killed way faster than any other merc I've seen) had the "insta-death" syndrome vs IM from oblivion knights but what merc that can actually damage enemies doesnt?

I highly doubt a new ladder character could pull off that combo but a gul. face helm with even a crappy rattlecage and (insert life leech helm) could be a great CB machine for an elemental character. You wont leech off meph and higher bosses but should do well elsewhere. Lawbringer is an excellent idea especialy combined with ancient tunnels for a blizz sorc.