Shock Pally in Hell...

[zoroastr]

ok, i developed this shock-based ranger and basically breezed through normal and nightmare, and even in the first act of hell, it's not hard to drop 95% of the monsters by switching between my maxed, fully synergized holy shock-augmented bow attack and my developing holy freeze, with a fire arrow merc by my side. but i occasionally run into these f-ing dual-immune bastards! wtf? I'm wondering if i should just ignore them until i get a great drop or move up a couple of levels, or whatever. the lightning / cold-immunes can be hurt with fire, but i've never invested points in this area, apart from a meager amount of holy fire aura, and the merc's fire arrow damage is nothing to write home about at this point...
right now, i'm ChrLvl 69, and i'm wondering if others have tried to get a shock pally through hell, and if so, what did you do about these guys? my sense of neatness has always dictated total monster annihilation, but maybe it's wiser in the first act or two of hell to just ignore some of the tougher baddies for the sake of advancing in the game.....whaddaya think?

BTW: i took a crack at the first boss in act I....what's her name? ["my army will d-e-s-t-r-o-y you!"] and it was stoopid: yes, I can invest huge amounts of resources and time in slowly wearing down the boss until she pops, but it doesn't seem worth it. I need to know the best strategy for getting over what seems to be a major weakness hurdle in the first stages of hell.

any ideas? [apart from starting over with a sorceress...)

Thanks

[AnimeCraze]

Get a higher physical damage weapon, and shop for a life-tap wand. Getting a act 2 might merc (offensive in nightmare mode) helps a lot too.

[LoboMau]

I tried a melee shocker. I used a "crescent moon" pb but with a zerker you should reach a weapon enddamage of around 200. That should help against those dual-immunes.

[zoroastr]

thanks, y'all...i'll start start learning 'bout that stuff....:azn:

[zoroastr]

ooh...this is kewl! i just learned about the various intrinsic skills for the different mercs available in different acts / difficulties. the merc that got me through nightmare was a 'combat, Act II' guy. I was really disappointed at his performance when we got to hell. I'll try the 'offensive' dude next [skill: might] and see if there's any difference.
BTW: i also forgot to mention that I've been sticking with bows throughout norm and nm, and i'd kinda like to see if i can keep on this way without the melee swap--do i really need it?

thanks again peoples...:laugh:

[LoboMau]

ooh...this is kewl! i just learned about the various intrinsic skills for the different mercs available in different acts / difficulties. the merc that got me through nightmare was a 'combat, Act II' guy. I was really disappointed at his performance when we got to hell. I'll try the 'offensive' dude next [skill: might] and see if there's any difference.
BTW: i also forgot to mention that I've been sticking with bows throughout norm and nm, and i'd kinda like to see if i can keep on this way without the melee swap--do i really need it?

thanks again peoples...:laugh:

I think a non-melee shocker (ranger) is quite possible. Check out the guides collection on Arreat Summit. Maybe you'll find all your answers in there.