A couple of questions

[Gashad]

Hi, Playing diablo 2 has given rise to a few questions which I would like to have answered

1. I read somewhere that hr no longer poof, is this correct?, does it apply to all items are only high runes?

2. Sometimes people in trade window tell you to move items(within the trade window), and my friend told me he was scammed why doing so(sounded like some 3 party program), is people requesting you to move items a scam?, and if so how does it work(i.e how do you avoid it)?

3. My mercenary never gains any xp when I'm doing baal runs, once again, why is this so, can it be avoided?

4. On the topic of merc leveling do the same penalties apply for mercenaries as for players on gaining xp(i.e will a merc gain very little or no experience in an area which is too high level for him(but ok for the player))

5. Finally how important is 40-60 defense, I have players making a big fuss about such differences when trading, and would like to know the gameplay effect on it(I am also wondering because I am thinking of making a CoH archons plate, but my ap has only 480 def, and I want to know if this will be a problem)

thanks

[Darkoooo]

1. No, that is not true. Dupes poof, all dupes.

2. Watch out for scams guide (http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=388625)

5. Defense isn't that important. Thing is with all the dupes around, people want to have perfect items, and that 40-60 defense won't make a big difference.

Don't know about the merc questions though... But if your merc is way below your lvl just hire a new one, stats will be the same if you bought them on the same difficulty.

[thegiantturtle]

1. I read somewhere that hr no longer poof, is this correct?, does it apply to all items are only high runes?100% false

2. Sometimes people in trade window tell you to move items(within the trade window), and my friend told me he was scammed why doing so(sounded like some 3 party program), is people requesting you to move items a scam?, and if so how does it work(i.e how do you avoid it)?People ask you to move items as there are hacks that allow people to spoof items in the trade screen, but the spoofed items cannot move. Moving items won't hurt you. Them moving items won't hurt you either, just make sure you check their item before clicking ok.

3. My mercenary never gains any xp when I'm doing baal runs, once again, why is this so, can it be avoided?Mercs gain full experience when they make a kill and 1/3 experience when you (or your minions) make a kill. They gain nothing when party members (or their minions) make a kill.

4. On the topic of merc leveling do the same penalties apply for mercenaries as for players on gaining xp(i.e will a merc gain very little or no experience in an area which is too high level for him(but ok for the player))I believe so.

Note, you can always just hire another merc if your merc isn't leveling well. Make sure the merc is hired in Normal (or Nightmare for act 2 mercs only available in nightmare) for best stats.

5. Finally how important is 40-60 defense, I have players making a big fuss about such differences when trading, and would like to know the gameplay effect on it(I am also wondering because I am thinking of making a CoH archons plate, but my ap has only 480 def, and I want to know if this will be a problem)It's essentially negligible. People want perfect gear because (1) it's fun saying you have perfect gear, and (2) in PvP, 1/100 of 1% less chance to be hit might make the difference in a close battle.

[Gashad]

100% false

Note, you can always just hire another merc if your merc isn't leveling well. Make sure the merc is hired in Normal (or Nightmare for act 2 mercs only available in nightmare) for best stats.

.

I know, but do not rehired mercenaries have lower stats then naturally leveled mercs(think i read this somewhere)?

Thanks for all the answers guys

[thegiantturtle]

I know, but do not rehired mercenaries have lower stats then naturally leveled mercs(think i read this somewhere)?

Thanks for all the answers guysNo. The only thing that matters is the difficulty the merc was hired in.

In 1.10 and earlier, there was a level cap for hiring mercs. Normal Act 2 mercs could only ever be hired with a level up to like 23. So if you wanted a Normal merc (which would have the best stats/highest skills) you had to level it. patch 1.11 removed this max level hire cap.

[sqchram]

No. The only thing that matters is the difficulty the merc was hired in.

In 1.10 and earlier, there was a level cap for hiring mercs. Normal Act 2 mercs could only ever be hired with a level up to like 23. So if you wanted a Normal merc (which would have the best stats/highest skills) you had to level it. patch 1.11 removed this max level hire cap.

Bringing this thread to life in my quest for the truth.

Picked up an A2 NM Holy freeze merc for my sorc the second I walked into Lut Golein. Now he's lvl 91 and I'd like to try a Combat prayer one.

Current merc has 2007 life, checked norm a2 merc, lvl90 1300 life, hell a2 merc lvl90 1600 life - any tips?

Additionally, my clvl should not be a factor and I should be able to get a same-stat A2 NM merc back if I switch and decide to come back correct? The NM mercs are even down several hundred life for clvl90.

[lionheartthebrave]

You forgot that the merc hiring screen is a brother of the LCS ie it lies. The life of a merc is higher than what that screen says.

Go to NM and ty and hire a HF merc, and see what life it tells you it should have.

Basically ignore the screen and hire a prayer merc, after unequiping yours of course. Merc stats are not linked to the clvl anymore, just the difficulty ie Normal >NM >Hell

[sqchram]

Excellent - I probably would not have done the hire without confirming this as I cringe to make any changes that cannot be undone.

That said, and to restate what I posted in sorc thread, when a merc dies, why not just hire a norm lvl one for 4k instead of paying 50k and just have them be down one level?

[Noodle]

That said, and to restate what I posted in sorc thread, when a merc dies, why not just hire a norm lvl one for 4k instead of paying 50k and just have them be down one level?

So you don't lose the equipment on the dead merc?

- Noodle

[sqchram]

So you don't lose the equipment on the dead merc?

- Noodle

bwa ha, just came to me last night - ya you recognize it as soon as you go through the steps of hiring a new merc *remove old armor*

I'm loving the prayer, i'm spoiled with the life and mana regen and think i'm now too lazy to go back to hitting pots for the benefit of holy freeze.

[SnickerSnack]

People who run mephisto say that the hardest part is teleing through the Durance of Hate level 2 because of the exploding dolls. If you have a high level prayer merc with insight, he heals you quickly enough that the dolls pose little threat. My merc heals 42 life per second (I think it's every second, could be wrong tho), so even if I tele into a mob of dolls, I don't miss a beat.

I've been thinking of making an insight wielding abbot and trying to get prayer up to level 40 or so. Defensive Grand Charms are cheap.

[SnickerSnack]

Well, I was just teleing through the WSK on NM and I got some heavy lag. The lag ended after about 10-15 seconds and my health bulb convulsed, but I survived.

[sqchram]

I've been thinking of making an insight wielding abbot and trying to get prayer up to level 40 or so. Defensive Grand Charms are cheap.

Wait, prayer should be maxed at lv18, or so I thought, clarify abbot?

Also, I've found that putting str helm on, I can equip a high str req armor, then remove the helm and the stats stay, then re-equip a lifesteal helm - does this sound right or is the merc stats page showing incorrectly.

Finally, +skills won't help a merc's Prayer/holy freeze correct?


-hmm, okay, I notice that my merc will keep the armor stat (the armor itself has str to get him to the requirement), however if I enter a new game, the stat screen shows him without the armors attributes until I pop in the str helm which allows him to equip the armor. So, because the armor itself has str, its fooled in a 'chicken before the egg' situation of equipping armor which satisfies the str bonus itself?