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How do I keep a Merc alive in NM (and beyond)?

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Description

He seriously bites the dust so quick. Using an Act 2
Holy Freeze merc, his resistances are decent (all 41, except 71 for cold) but he just gets nuked. Is the Drain Life -5 on his Malice killing him? I'm going to try giving him a
Bloodthief instead to see if that helps, but seeing how he dies so fast I dont think the life steal will make a difference. I've tried using pots on him to but usually am too slow.
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Can be used to make Runewords:

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He seriously bites the dust so quick. Using an Act 2
Holy Freeze merc, his resistances are decent (all 41, except 71 for cold) but he just gets nuked. Is the Drain Life -5 on his Malice killing him? I'm going to try giving him a
Bloodthief instead to see if that helps, but seeing how he dies so fast I dont think the life steal will make a difference. I've tried using pots on him to but usually am too slow.
Answeredby BillyMaysed • 3 years ago•Go to post
Inktreader wrote: 3 years ago
He seriously bites the dust so quick. Using an Act 2 holy freeze merc, his resistances are decent (all 41, except 71 for cold) but he just gets nuked. Is the Drain Life -5 on his Malice killing him? I'm going to try giving him a Bloodthief instead to see if that helps, but seeing how he dies so fast I dont think the life steal will make a difference. I've tried using pots on him to but usually am too slow.
Mercenaries in general are known to constantly die until they have decent gear. But yea i would remove the Malice and make him an Insight, Strength or Honor.

-Heal your merc by holding shift + 1 2 3 4 to quick heal him with potions on your belt.
-Always make sure hes within 1-2 levels of your level. Before you know it he might be 6+ levels behind and you'll need to remove his gear and re-hire a higher level one.

I typically farm for these for my A2 merc: (Farm NM andy for armors/helms)
lvl 27 = Insight Polearm (Ral + Tir + Tal + Sol)
lvl 37 = Smoke (Nef + Lum) +50 All Resistances
lvl 41 = Obedience Polearm (Hel + Ko + Thul + Eth + Fal) If you don't rely heavily on mana
lvl 43 = Treachery Armor (Shael + Thul + Lem)

-If you don't need him to tank for you, Get an Act 1 Mercenary and gear them like this:
lvl 1 = Gemmed 3 socket bow.
lvl 17 = Stealth (Tal + eth)
lvl 21 = Zephyr bow. (Ort + Eth)
lvl 25 = Edge (Tir + Tal + Amn) lvl 15 thorns
lvl 39 = Harmony (Tir + Ith + Sol + Ko) (or better Edge)
lvl 43 = Treachery (Shael + Thul + Lem)
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User avatar

BillyMaysed 2262Moderator

Sorceress Americas PC
Inktreader wrote: 3 years ago
He seriously bites the dust so quick. Using an Act 2
Holy Freeze merc, his resistances are decent (all 41, except 71 for cold) but he just gets nuked. Is the Drain Life -5 on his Malice killing him? I'm going to try giving him a Bloodthief instead to see if that helps, but seeing how he dies so fast I dont think the life steal will make a difference. I've tried using pots on him to but usually am too slow.
Mercenaries in general are known to constantly die until they have decent gear. But yea i would remove the Malice and make him an Insight, Strength or Honor.

-Heal your merc by holding shift + 1 2 3 4 to quick heal him with potions on your belt.
-Always make sure hes within 1-2 levels of your level. Before you know it he might be 6+ levels behind and you'll need to remove his gear and re-hire a higher level one.

I typically farm for these for my A2 merc: (Farm NM andy for armors/helms)
lvl 27 = Insight Polearm (Ral + Tir + Tal + Sol)
lvl 37 = Smoke (
Nef +
Lum) +50 All Resistances
lvl 41 = Obedience Polearm (Hel + Ko + Thul + Eth + Fal) If you don't rely heavily on mana
lvl 43 = Treachery Armor (Shael + Thul + Lem)

-If you don't need him to tank for you, Get an Act 1 Mercenary and gear them like this:
lvl 1 = Gemmed 3 socket bow.
lvl 17 = Stealth (Tal + eth)
lvl 21 = Zephyr bow. (Ort + Eth)
lvl 25 = Edge (Tir + Tal + Amn) lvl 15 thorns
lvl 39 = Harmony (Tir + Ith + Sol + Ko) (or better Edge)
lvl 43 = Treachery (Shael + Thul + Lem)
This post was marked as the best answer.

7
OP
Thanks for the detailed breakdown! I'm trying to get my hands on a base for Insight as I have those runes. Missing a bunch for Obedience and no
Lem for Treachery. Wouldnt really consider myself Melee since I'm playing Hammerdin currently and I've read the
Holy Freeze is popular typically with that build. I'll have to double check his level next time I'm on but I feel like he wasnt far behind.
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User avatar

BillyMaysed 2262Moderator

Sorceress Americas PC
Inktreader wrote: 3 years ago
I'm trying to get my hands on a base for Insight as I have those runes.
Run normal
Secret Cow Level. They will drop 4os polearms or polearms that can be socketed with 4 via
Larzuk A5 quest.

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OP
So I've heard! I have run some cow level but haven't had much luck finding one with sockets and I've already used two
Larzuk quests to make a sword and shield. I've decided to just continue on in Nightmare until I find one naturally.
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Isn't Insight a ladder only item?
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User avatar

BillyMaysed 2262Moderator

Sorceress Americas PC
Greenr04 wrote: 3 years ago
Isn't Insight a ladder only item?
Not anymore. all ladder-only runewords, items and even the endgame events have been unlocked for NL and Single Player. :)

https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/d2r/t ... pdate/3891
Blizzard wrote:
We wanted to take this opportunity to share that Ladder Only Rune Words, Unique Items, and Horadric Cube Recipes that were once restricted to Ladder rank play will now for the first time be included in non-ladder multiplayer and single player play.

We understand these items complement prominent builds and playstyles cherished by the community. Furthermore, we have heard the community ask to include these items into the single player experience for quite some time. Now players playing solo can also partake in the metas that have become popularized from the original multiplayer Ladder experience. Furthermore, single player will now also include access to the
Pandemonium Event and Uber Diablo content.
Check my post here for all 28 changes in the remaster: forums/27-official-changes-in-diablo-2- ... t8558.html

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Not anymore. all ladder-only runewords, items and even the endgame events have been unlocked for NL and Single Player. :)

That's crazy if it's true. thank you.
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User avatar

BillyMaysed 2262Moderator

Sorceress Americas PC
Greenr04 wrote: 3 years ago
That's crazy if it's true. thank you.
If its true? it was announced by blizzard and i already have several ladder-only runewords on my NL character. :P

Hooray!

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User avatar

phifi 19

Assassin Europe PC
Thanks for this! That is exactly the thing i'm having trouble atm.
Where is the best spot to farm runes? I'm currently at the start of act 5 NM
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User avatar

BillyMaysed 2262Moderator

Sorceress Americas PC
phifi wrote: 3 years ago
Where is the best spot to farm runes? I'm currently at the start of act 5 NM
Farm The Countess in Act 1 > Black marsh > Forgotten Tower lvl 5

Countess rune drops by difficulty:
Normal: [El, Eld, Tir, Nef, Eth, Ith, Tal, Ral]
Nightmare: [Ort, Thul, Amn, Sol, Shael, Dol, Hel, io] Ultra-rare [Lum/Ko]
Hell: [Lum, Ko, Fal, Lem, Pul, Um, Mal, Ist] Ultra-rare [Gul, Vex, Ohm, Lo]

Other places to farm for runes when you get to Hell: Lower Kurast in chests, The Summoner (A2) & Nihlathak (A5)

The Summoner,
Nihlathak and
The Countess all drop the keys to open the portals to the Uber bosses as well. very valuable even if you don't use them yourself.

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User avatar

phifi 19

Assassin Europe PC
Thanks to your tips i got an Insight for my mercenary and now he is so much more useful and hardly dies.
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User avatar

BillyMaysed 2262Moderator

Sorceress Americas PC
phifi wrote: 3 years ago
Thanks to your tips i got an Insight for my mercenary and now he is so much more useful and hardly dies.
Of course, glad to hear it! :D

If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to post them, we are here to help everyone.

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BillyMaysed wrote: 3 years ago
phifi wrote: 3 years ago
Thanks to your tips i got an Insight for my mercenary and now he is so much more useful and hardly dies.
Of course, glad to hear it! :D

If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to post them, we are here to help everyone.
Real quick question about this website, I'm having a seriously bad time with all the captcha's and can't find any information about when it may go away. Do you know anything about the captcha overload other than this site had a DDOS attack? Wondering if this site will ever become normal.
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User avatar

BillyMaysed 2262Moderator

Sorceress Americas PC
Greenr04 wrote: 3 years ago
Real quick question about this website, I'm having a seriously bad time with all the captcha's and can't find any information about when it may go away. Do you know anything about the captcha overload other than this site had a DDOS attack? Wondering if this site will ever become normal.
If you look on the homepage he should have a message saying the new servers will be live tomorrow 9/27 and it should be removed then (or at least WAY better)

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User avatar

Teebling 6875Admin

Europe PC
Greenr04 wrote: 3 years ago
Real quick question about this website, I'm having a seriously bad time with all the captcha's and can't find any information about when it may go away. Do you know anything about the captcha overload other than this site had a DDOS attack? Wondering if this site will ever become normal.
New server is coming tomorrow that will solve this and take away the CAPTCHAs - there's a big notice about it on the home page.

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User avatar

phifi 19

Assassin Europe PC
BillyMaysed wrote: 3 years ago
Of course, glad to hear it! :D

If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to post them, we are here to help everyone.
I switched to Hell now and start to have the same troubles with my merc dying again.
Is Insight to weak for Hell?
What items should i put into the other slots? (Helmet, Armor)
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User avatar

BillyMaysed 2262Moderator

Sorceress Americas PC
phifi wrote: 3 years ago
BillyMaysed wrote: 3 years ago
Of course, glad to hear it! :D

If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to post them, we are here to help everyone.
I switched to Hell now and start to have the same troubles with my merc dieing again.
Is Insight to weak for Hell?
What items should i put into the other slots? (Helmet, Armor)
A2 Mercenary mid-range gear to farm for:

A2 Merc Helms:
Rockstopper,
Vampire Gaze,
A2 Merc Body Armor: Treachery(use elite Etheral base),
Shaftstop,
Iron Pelt,
Duriel's Shell
A2 Merc Weapon: Insight or Obedience (use an elite level polearm and recreate it.
Colossus Voulge,
Thresher,
Cryptic Axe.)

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Against bosses like
Andariel you're usually going to struggle but yeah it's probably about time you pick up an Obedience or something to help.
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User avatar

phifi 19

Assassin Europe PC
Thx for the reply.
Guess i have to farm to get my hands on one of those items.

I dont care if he dies during Boss encounters, but since hell difficulty it got something like a babysitter sim for everything but normal trash mobs ;)
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