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Manic Pixie Dreamgirl: An Alternative Endgame Hireling

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Description

Description by BahamutPrime
5

Can be used to make Runewords:

7
BahamutPrime wrote: 2 years ago
Introduction

Greiz
, the Lut Golein Mercenary boss must be the wealthiest NPC in all of Diablo, because just about every hero across the realms keeps on paying him vast sums of Gold to constantly hire/resurrect his mercs.

They are very good mercs to be fair, straight up indispensible to certain builds, but they're not exactly exciting.

This here thread serves to showcase an alternative type of hireling certain builds may wish to try out for both fun and profit, which I dub: the Manic Pixie Dreamgirl.

What is it?


The Manic Pixie Dreamgirl hireling (MPD for short) is an Act I rogue built around the Delirium Runeword, which usually only ever sees play amongst Druids.

Delirium comes with an 11% chances to cast level 18
Confuse
(i.e. 15.3 ft radius) on striking, and the MPD's primary point is to proc this curse frequently for truly marvelous battlefield control with all the enemies on screen turning on each other, making them sitting ducks.

Compared to the standard Act II merc, it is a completely different play experience to have an MPD back you up, where it actually feels like the Hireling is adding something to the proceedings, rather than just making some of your own numbers bigger.

Also, when she turns into a
Bone Fetish
MPD actually keeps on firing
Arrows
and it's funny as hell to watch.

What do I need to get an MPD?

First and foremost, you need a Delirium (
Lem
Ist
Io
) helmet, which is equipable as early as level 51, assuming the base is a 3os
Diadem
(i.e. no str req).

If not going for a
Diadem
, the
Demonhead
has the lowest Str requirement at 102 (
Bone Visage
is the only viable alternative at 106).

To support the Delirium core mechanic, 2 things are needed on the MPD: Improved Attack Speed and Life Leech.

Breath of the Dying (
Vex
Hel
El
Eld
Zod
Eth
) comes with both a whooping 60% IAS and 12-15% LL, along with a litany of other great mods (30 all attributes, prevent heal, 300-400 ED, etc.)

One pricier alternative would be Ice (
Amn
Shael
Jah
Lo
), which only has 20% IAS and 7% LL, but comes with a level 18 (read, 20 with Delirium)
Holy Freeze
aura as well as some other goodies.

BotD will neccessitate a
Crusader Bow
or
Hydra Bow
base, whilst Ice can be made in the faster
Great Bow
or
Blade Bow
, potentially letting you hit a higher IAS breakpoint in total, which may balance out the lower LL.

For the chest slot, the ever popular
Archon Plate
Treachery (
Shael
Thul
Lem
) is a very solid choice here with it's 45% IAS, 20% FHR, and of course it's
Fade
(and Venom) proc that combines beautifully with Delrium's procs.

With a BotD in a
Crusader Bow
, this will get you to the 10 frame breakpoint, whilst with Ice in
Great Bow
it gets you down to 9 Frames.

The pricier altnerative here would be a Chains of Honor (
Dol
Um
Ber
Ist
), covering resistances and granting another 8% LL and 8% DR, but no IAS (i.e. 11 frames on Ice, and BotD).

Edit: As a super-budget option, Edge (
Tir
Tal
Amn
) reaches the 9 fps breakpoint with Treachery, but only has about a third or fifth the DPS/surviveability of the main two options, which combined with the bad scaling on
Thorns
relegates it to being viable in Nightmare only.


As a sample, here is the stats on a level 92 Act 1 Normal Rogue with BotD and Treachery.

image.png

Surely, this has been done before?

Whilst I've found the odd reference to putting Delirium on a rogue, there doesn't seem to be a comprehensive guide on this best I can find.

Also, don't call me Shirley.

Does MPD work for my build?

MPD works for any character that doesn't already rely on curses (i.e. some Necros) or absolutely need their Act II Merc to provide them with
Meditation
or
Conviction
aura (i.e. some Sorcs).

She pairs beautifully with most Paladins, especially Zealots but also Hammerdins, Trapsins and most physical damage dealers.

How is MPD's surviability?

Actually better than most Act II mercs best I can tell, especially when given a BO boost to health.

Unlike Act II Mercs, MPDs will actually aim to not walk into deathtraps first chance they get, and at the 10 FPS breakpoint (i.e. 2.5 attacks per second), she'll proc her11% chance Confusion in less than 5 seconds once she starts firing, and even then her defensive procs tend to take care of her attackers rather efficiently (also its a plus when
Fade
procs ofc).

Based on my own tests, MPD can handle Hell Cows,
Baal
Runs, Pindle Runs and most other common farming routes without issue, with the exception being
Travincal
. The combo of
Hydra
and Curses wreck MPD same as any merc, maybe worse.

Does MPD shine anywhere?

image.png

Other than making Cow farming even more of a breeze than it already is (pictured above), I have found MPD actully improves play in 3
Key
areas where Hirelings generally don't contribute.

1. Nihlatak runs: Over the course of 100 runs, MPD died exactly once from accidentally teleporting in right on top of a CE whilst cursed. On all other runs, she never needed healing and actually helped greatly by regularly procing Confusion on cursed rooms full of of Vipers and Chargers that would otherwise have been a headache to deal with.

2. Mini Ubers: With MPD, the
Furnace of Pain
was even easier than usual, and while the mobs in
Matron's Den
usually murdered my Act II merc frequently and were a headache to Hammer to Death, MPD's presence made getting to Uber
Andariel
trivial whist she never got close to dying. Certainly won't be red-portaling without an MPD ever again.

3.
Uber Tristram
: MPD largely trivialises the nuisance that is the mobs spawned by the big 3. She's not remotely as untouchable here as she is in the lesser uber dungeons, but that bit of breathing room to hit a
Life Tap
and start Smiting away really makes the whole ride a lot smoother.

Okay, this sounds pretty sweet, but I'm not sure it's for me


Using the afforable options, you can make your own MPD for the price of a
Vex
,
Zod
,
Ist
, 2 Lems and some change for the other runes and bases. So like 10 Ists and change total.

Give it a try and watch in amazement as your Manic Pixie Dream girl completely changes your play experience.
Very good guide, thanks. Any update that you consider?

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* I trade both ladder and non-ladder, please check before asking.
* All my trades are for runes, keys (especially KoT and KoH) and essences!
7
User avatar

Necrarch 2080Moderator

Necromancer Europe PC
mockingbirdreal wrote: 2 years ago
Necrarch wrote: 2 years ago
Additional question : As I found a
Lycander's Aim
, if I up it and
Amn
it, that could be a good budget alternative, right ?
Edge in a high speed base is better because you want more hit => more
Confuse
proc.
Edge already has LL, no need to socket with Laruk quest.
Thanks Mockingbirddeal for the answer ! Agreed tht IAS is reduced, so a bit less
Confuse
, but the damage output of Edge is way lower (currently in a
Diamond Bow
).
And with the (small) IAS on Lycander + the 45% IAS of Treachery, it did not seem that bad.

I guess it's a matter of choice : less damage but more proc on the Edge side, while Lycander offers more damage but less proc ?

Image

Main: Necromancer / Second: Assassin / Third: Amazon / Check my stash, my crafts and my many cheap
Annihilus
7
User avatar

Necrarch 2080Moderator

Necromancer Europe PC
Have looked more in the tables:

Current Edge in
Diamond Bow
: 0 wsm + 35% ias for Edge + 45% Treachery => 11 fpa according to tables.

Would have been 10 if I had taken a
Blade Bow
or
Great Bow
(-10 wsm, would have been smarter, or a
Matriarchal Bow
- but made before 2.4).

If I use
Lycander's Aim
+10 wsm base + 20 +45 ias I am at 12 fpa, so just losing one frame and the
Thorns
aura while getting much more damage and improved cold
Arrows
when she fires them.

Sure it has a cost (
Pul
to up +
Larzuk
quest) but that seems an affordable intermediate between cheap Edge and way more expensive Ice or BotD, or am I getting something wrong here ?

Thanks !

Image

Main: Necromancer / Second: Assassin / Third: Amazon / Check my stash, my crafts and my many cheap
Annihilus
7
User avatar

Necrarch 2080Moderator

Necromancer Europe PC
Yep, failed so the current Edge is in a
Diamond Bow
, my bad.
The tables I saw seem to differ with yours (maybe mine are not up to date ? https://www.purediablo.com/forumarchive ... od.718942/)

More damage also means much more life steal and survivability, hence the dilemma. :)

Image

Main: Necromancer / Second: Assassin / Third: Amazon / Check my stash, my crafts and my many cheap
Annihilus
7
Sorry to say but Edge is in a
Diamond Bow
is still better.

Upgraded
Lycander's Aim
has 67-266 or avg 166.5 dmg.

Edge is in a
Diamond Bow
with the lowest roll 320% is 0.5*(33+40)*4.2 = 153.3
But It is 9% faster so 153.3*1.09 = 167 dmg

Raw dmg is a bit better and she hit faster so more elemental dmg and
Confuse
proc more.

pm me here (d2.
Io
) for trade
7
User avatar

Necrarch 2080Moderator

Necromancer Europe PC
Ah, only with demons and undead then ? Grant you, animals and construct are rare. Missed to count that part, hence my miscalculation. Thanks for the info and details, seems Edge is indeed even better than I thought !

Image

Main: Necromancer / Second: Assassin / Third: Amazon / Check my stash, my crafts and my many cheap
Annihilus
7
What about Faith? Is it, too, a great alternative although it's expensive?

Image
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* I trade both ladder and non-ladder, please check before asking.
* All my trades are for runes, keys (especially KoT and KoH) and essences!
7
User avatar

Necrarch 2080Moderator

Necromancer Europe PC
I suppose it is indeed. Provides attack speed through aura but misses life leech for survivability though.

Image

Main: Necromancer / Second: Assassin / Third: Amazon / Check my stash, my crafts and my many cheap
Annihilus
7
How about a
Fire Arrow
A1 hireling with Delirium
Helm
, Dragon armor, and Hand of Justice weapon either
Edge Bow
or
Matriarchal Bow
with +3 skills?

A little too expensive for me, but if anyone wants to donate some HRs.... you'd get decent enough IAS to proc
Confuse
quickly IMO, life leach from HoJ, stacked
Holy Fire
aura (would this get synergy from
Fire Mastery
?), reduced fire res and a big fireworks show
Meteor
if she ever does go down just for kicks.

Anyways, like the idea! Tried budget version and it's a fun playstyle.
7
NinjaPants wrote: 2 years ago
How about a
Fire Arrow
A1 hireling with Delirium
Helm
, Dragon armor, and Hand of Justice weapon either
Edge Bow
or
Matriarchal Bow
with +3 skills?

A little too expensive for me, but if anyone wants to donate some HRs.... you'd get decent enough IAS to proc
Confuse
quickly IMO, life leach from HoJ, stacked
Holy Fire
aura (would this get synergy from
Fire Mastery
?), reduced fire res and a big fireworks show
Meteor
if she ever does go down just for kicks.

Anyways, like the idea! Tried budget version and it's a fun playstyle.
Stacked
Holy Fire
is just too weak without synergies +
Conviction
aura.

pm me here (d2.
Io
) for trade
7
Just giving this a try now... Didn't have all the gear but my Tesladin uses an Act 1 Merc already, so thought I'd make Delirium in a
Diadem
I had in stash. Early testing the Delirium's
Confuse
in Chaos and
Baal
runs is impressive. I've equipped her with Delirium in
Diadem
; Treachery in
Dusk Shroud
; and using her Faith in
Great Bow
- working out very well even in this setup. Thanks for the idea and the great writeup.
7
User avatar

Necrarch 2080Moderator

Necromancer Europe PC
And the
Confuse
everywhere is just SO fun !

Image

Main: Necromancer / Second: Assassin / Third: Amazon / Check my stash, my crafts and my many cheap
Annihilus
7
Necrarch wrote: 2 years ago
Yep, failed so the current Edge is in a
Diamond Bow
, my bad.
The tables I saw seem to differ with yours (maybe mine are not up to date ? https://www.purediablo.com/forumarchive ... od.718942/)

More damage also means much more life steal and survivability, hence the dilemma. :)
I am also using a similar table and shows everything to be one frame slower.
e.g.
Blade Bow
Ice (20% IAS) + Treachery (45% IAS) = 10 FPA not 9 FPA

where is the updated IAS to FPA table, if there is one?
7
dracolnyte wrote: 2 years ago
where is the updated IAS to FPA table, if there is one?
per these:
https://thorobr.github.io/D2R-Calc/
https://d2.lc/IAS/
Act 1 Merc IAS Table -10 WSM
Act 1 Merc IAS Table -10 WSM

Traders: Please don't PM me for trades without a trade posting or add me on BNet without a comment on a trade posting

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Trade zone: PC | Softcore, Non-Ladder | UTC-8
7
User avatar

rikus 141

Assassin Americas PC
my pixie is doing nicely with Harmony and Treachery, and of course Delirium
Helm
.
those huge area confusion shots are fun

goodluck, and may the RNG god be with you.
7
User avatar

rikus 141

Assassin Americas PC
louner wrote: 2 years ago
on merc
merc sounds act2?
or is that a rogue act1?

goodluck, and may the RNG god be with you.
7
rikus wrote: 2 years ago
merc sounds act2?
or is that a rogue act1?
Faith on merc so it must be Act1 Merc.

pm me here (d2.
Io
) for trade
9

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