Not sure which is a better choice for Merc in terms of survivability?

Ethereal

Vampire Gaze with 17 Dmg Reduction, or Non-Etheral

Vampire Gaze with 20 Dmg Reduction?

What are the defense values on both?

Is this for you or your merc?

If its for you, the non-

Eth is the winner as you can socket something other than a

Zod.

%Dmg reduction > Def in most cases imo. I think for VG its a difference of about 100-200 Def, not sure if that reduces the chance to get hit by 1%

It is for my merc.

I dont know the defense values for either but let's just assume they are equal.

Etheral - 17 Dmg Reduction / 15 Magic Dmg Reduction

OR

Non -Ethereal - 20 Dmg Reduction / 14 Magic Dmg Reduction

I would use the non-

Eth one for my merc with the information you have provided.
There are always other factors too. How much def does your merc already have? Melee merc or ranged merc? Is your merc's def boosted by another source?

Defiance from Exile or from a native aura? If the def is already really high an extra 100-200 on a

Helm will not out perform the extra DR from VG.

Graphene wrote: 1 month ago

[..]
I dont know the defense values for either but let's just assume they are equal.
[..]

Gaze has a hard 100% ED. As such, the base

Grim Helm always gets 126, leaving you with 252 def non-

Eth or 378

Eth.

It only becomes an unknown if you upgrade it which has it reroll within the

Bone Visage range, giving you (roughly) a 50/50 shot of either increasing or actually decreasing the total defense on it.

All that said, def is nice and all and tends to still be theoretically relevant within a merc's normal def range but %ed probably still wins out overall.
Then again, given decent other merc gear, neither one will make any truly noticeable difference over the other. If I had to choose though, I'd go with the

Eth one. In part out of Principle (merc =

Eth!) but actually more so for the extra point of magic dmg reduction, seeing how elemental attacks tend to be more of a challenge for mercs than most physical stuff.

Blubbalutsch wrote: 1 month ago

%Dmg reduction > Def in most cases imo. I think for VG its a difference of about 100-200 Def, not sure if that reduces the chance to get hit by 1%

That was what I was suspecting.

Appereciate everyones feedback, I will probably go for the better stats even if its non-

Eth.


Thanks!

The physical damage (%) reduction is more important. The integer damage reduction, "damage/magic damage reduced by X" is less important in most cases as it happens after all other damage is calculated, iirc.

Integer damage reduction would become important on an

Energy Shield sorc because only a small portion of damage is getting through the max level, fully synergized ES. So that integer reduction makes a big difference. Especially since an ES sorc probably invests more into Energy than Vitality.

It's complicated. Someone else can probably explain better. I'd look up a detailed

Energy Shield sorc guide.

Otherwise just go with the bigger "Physical damage reduced by x%" unless you're at the 50% cap already. The Eth version will always go on your merc since they don't lose durability on items and can thus make use of the 50% defense or damage bonus on ethereal items.

SkullScythe wrote: 1 month ago

The physical damage (%) reduction is more important. The integer damage reduction, "damage/magic damage reduced by X" is less important in most cases as it happens after all other damage is calculated, iirc.

Integer damage reduction would become important on an

Energy Shield sorc because only a small portion of damage is getting through the max level, fully synergized ES. So that integer reduction makes a big difference. Especially since an ES sorc probably invests more into Energy than Vitality.

It's complicated. Someone else can probably explain better. I'd look up a detailed

Energy Shield sorc guide.

Otherwise just go with the bigger "Physical damage reduced by x%" unless you're at the 50% cap already. The Eth version will always go on your merc since they don't lose durability on items and can thus make use of the 50% defense or damage bonus on ethereal items.

Thanks. The dilemna now is that there are only two items on the market that I can find for my merc. One is ethereal with 17% Dmg Reduction, the other is non-ethereal with 20% Dmg reduction. It still sounds like the non-ethereal 20% dmg reduction for the merc is the way to go.

You could always ask around. Someone might have one that isn't listed.

Honestly when it comes to mercs I'm more likely to just use what I find since other slightly less optimal merc helms are so easily available. For example the starter

Tal Rasha's

Helm use for its resist and and life leech. You'll eventually have a collection of

Crown of Thieves as well. But, I'm not telling you not to trade either. It's up to you.

Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest

I ended up getting the ethereal because it was cheaper =)

The merc stays alive even in hell cow so i guess thats more than enough