Hi guys, newcomer to Diablo 2 here.

[pharphis]

The champions and boss packs can be pretty tough in there. Mostly the blood clan and the archers. Also a hint; The Countess drops more runes on p1 than on higher settings. It's because of the order in which her drops are chosen, (the special rune drop and the reguarl drop). So if and when you end up looking for runes, that will help out a lot.

Amazons are fun, I think. I would try anything that looks fun to you. Have a look at the skills each character has, or even some of the write-ups in the mat/pat thread. I personally like zealots (paladins) or frenzy barbs (barbs have a huge life pool, so they make for a great first melee char).

Another hint: The chance of items dropping is identical for
p1-p2
p3-p4
p5-p6
p7-p8
The experience is different, though.
When it comes to overall efficiency with finding items, either p1 or p3 is usually best, as p3 makes them a lottle bit stronger, but there chance of dropping items is greatly increased.

[Veristek]

Hmm, I'll try P3. I used P8 all the way through Normal difficulty, and that was why I was level 52 when I killed Baal and started NM.

I'll rummage around on P3 in the countess dungeon and the Monastery's depths.

By the way, I was wondering what to do with my merc when I hit Act 2 soon. I know there's 2 good choices- the Might and the Holy Freeze mercs. Reading the Wiki on these, the Holy Freeze might help slow down enemies, but might not help much with blizzard. Might has no cap, and I can get up to level 30 might aura on a maxed level 99 merc, which should increase damage quite a bit. Dunno if I should do that and give up my defiance merc, which is level 52.

[pharphis]

Well, might increases the damage on the merc, and since you're not melee it's up to you whether or not you think he needs more damage. I like holy freeze because it slows down terrible groups like Lister, and will make a huge difference in hell. You could also get a prayer merc, which will stack the prayer with the meditation aura for some pretty decent life regeneration for you and the merc. At least, I think so. Defiance isn't too shabby, either, if you would prefer to stick with it.
Holy freeze may help keep enemies in the path of blizzard for longer, too, though I guess your merc can do that just fine. I don't have much experience with blizzard, though.

[kestegs]

Actually might is capped at level 20 for a merc, here is a merc guide just fyi

[Veristek]

I checked that guide and some of the stats and breakdowns are a bit overwhelming. From what I see, level 30 might is the max, and it doesn't give 300% damage, but rather, 300 more damage points per attack. So I'm down to either defiance merc- level 21 defiance aura is the max it seems, and it gives 270% to defense, and the defiance merc has the highest HP + defense stat of any Act 2 merc, and more HP than even the Act 5 barb merc (2300'ish compared to 2200'ish). Holy Freeze might slow down these fast and annoying monsters, and huge mobs especially in Acts 4 and 5.

Man, I can't decide between defiance or holy freeze. :(

[zaphodbrx]

You can try out both and decide.
While many will favour holy freeze, my personal opinion is that holy freeze = crap and defiance > all, except for those guys who can keep a might merc alive ( high level shout/BO for barbs, summons for necro/druid summoners ). I don't like < 8k defense on any merc, they seem to die way too much then.

[Veristek]

Another significant update... I grinded my way through Acts I - III on NM, and just starting out on Act IV. I'm *not* looking forward to the Chaos Sanctuary and that overpowered seal group I had trouble back in Normal, AND fighting Diablo again. As for equipment, I finally got a Cedar staff and put Heart of the Oak on it. I haven't found the Grim Scythe yet to put Inspire on it despite finding lots of other exceptional polearms.

[kestegs]

Another significant update... I grinded my way through Acts I - III on NM, and just starting out on Act IV. I'm *not* looking forward to the Chaos Sanctuary and that overpowered seal group I had trouble back in Normal, AND fighting Diablo again. As for equipment, I finally got a Cedar staff and put Heart of the Oak on it. I haven't found the Grim Scythe yet to put Inspire on it despite finding lots of other exceptional polearms.

Hoto can't even go in a staff. Insight can go in any 4OS pole, and the runes are cheap so make it if you have a 4OS pole.

[pharphis]

Isn't pike a spear? I'm pretty sure insight can't go in spears.

[djmbbandie]

Yep. Pike is a spear, My amazon in Act III is using one right now to charge strike everything down. I would suggest a poleaxe or a halberd.