Act3 mercs, can they wear paladin shields?

[MichelRPG]

Yeah just that question. Can iron wolves wear paladin only shields, or is it like with the rogue/no-amazon equipment thing?



[edit]

I almost forgot to ask; act5 barbarians can ONLY use swords right? Not axes and other melee weapons?

[krischan]

Yes, act 3 mercs cannot wear paladin shields and act 5 ones can only wear swords.

[ffejrxx]

the only mercs that can wear class only equipment are barbarians
they can wear barb helms
they can use 1 sword, 1h or 2h, but cant dual wield

[MichelRPG]

kind of stupid though. Might be a nice idea for a never-happening patch 1.12; to give act5 barbarians classes like "axe wielder"/"sword wielder"/"Hammer wielder".

But crud...guess I'll have to think of another strategy. Thanks for the heads up guys

[xanderdos]

The merc's all have a certain weapon master. Act 5 merc is the only merc than can use pally shield's .

[ffejrxx]

a5 mercs cant use any shield, only armor, helm, swords

[Evrae Altana]

Act 5 merc is the only merc than can use pally shield's .

Errr...what the hell? No they can't.

[batuchka]

kind of stupid though. Might be a nice idea for a never-happening patch 1.12; to give act5 barbarians classes like "axe wielder"/"sword wielder"/"Hammer wielder".

But crud...guess I'll have to think of another strategy. Thanks for the heads up guys

I second that idea! Also ley +barb skills work for these barb mercs also! It would be soo cool to have a bully of a barb merc wielding an IK Maul..or a Beast Glorious Axe..mmm :grin:

[ffejrxx]

heres my barb hireling from some time ago, about the only thing that kills him is im when running diablo
http://www.intergate.com/~ttool/tank.jpg

[MichelRPG]

I'm pondering a certain built for a new assassin, and I was just checking to see how many aura's I could put on her and a merc. And its kind of a standoff really. (which is why I asked if a3 mercs could use a paladin shield...it would add an extra option for me. But since they dont, I'm dropping them).


barbs can have a lv17 might aura (last wish)
Rogue's can have a lv12 fanaticism aura (Faith)
Act2 mercs can have a natural aura + conviction (which lowers defence as well) (infinity)

My assassin herself could weild a lawbringer (sanctuary aura), or the last wish (but that would override my burst of speed). She'll use a shield with the Phoenix Runeword for enhanced damage and the redemption aura. So its really quite an annoying (yet fun) choice to make. My options would be;

(with A1 merc) Using might + fanaticism + Burst of Speed = insane attack speed AND insane damage. However, last wish has a chance to cast fade, which could brutally screw my attack over. Also, a rogue isn't exactly a tough nut to crack for monsters.

(with a5 merc) Use Might + Sanctuary + burst of speed = Fast attack, high damage, and my merc could (in theory) only be killed by maiden casters. Drawback here is that I rely on my merc quite a lot. Advantage is that while doing a lot of runs, undead are all pushed back which drastically brings down odds of being surrounded.


Now comes the interesting part.

(With a3 holy freeze merc) Holy Freeze + Conviction + sanctuary + burst of speed = Fast attack, nice damage, enemies are slowed down massively, and defence is lowered. However this is allround, while the other 2 options have extremely high benefits.

(with a3 holy freeze merc) Holy freeze + conviction + Might (my sin would use last wish instead of lawbringer) + burst of speed = High additional damage, lowered defence, and enemies are slowed down. However, again the chance to cast fade COULD be dangerous during an attack, and this combination means I cant prevent being surrounded by undead. With a chance to cast lifetap however, that might potentially be a savior.


Opinions would be appreciated, as I'm just puzzling with this somewhat (I cant play D2 for some time anyways). Also, for those of you who are wondering; I don't intend to use dual-dream or whatever for my mercs. Holy shock/fire has never really appealed to me.