Cure merc armor

So I'm using a triple heal merc on my single player sorc (Cure, Insight, Prayer), and debating what to do about armor. His survivability is decent, but he dies a fair amount too. I have been swapping between a Duriel's Shell and a Skin of the Flayed One (for resists and life leech, respectively). The issue is, I can't have both. I'd use a Chains of Honor, but my first Ber is going to Enigma, and the next 2 (luck willing) will be for Infinity.

So, I am hoping to find an ethereal Skin of the Flayed One (ideally with 7% LL) and upgrade it, socket it with an Um, and call it a day. I already have a non- Eth one, not sure if it's worth waiting for Eth and possibly getting a worse roll.

The only other option I can think of would be socket the Duriel's Shell and put a jewel with life leech in it, but I actually am not sure those even exist (I think no lol).

Does anyone have any other ideas or a go-to when it comes to armor for this particular merc set up?

justinman114 wrote: 7 months ago

So I'm using a triple heal merc on my single player sorc (Cure, Insight, Prayer), and debating what to do about armor. His survivability is decent, but he dies a fair amount too. I have been swapping between a Duriel's Shell and a Skin of the Flayed One (for resists and life leech, respectively). The issue is, I can't have both. I'd use a Chains of Honor, but my first Ber is going to Enigma, and the next 2 (luck willing) will be for Infinity.

So, I am hoping to find an ethereal Skin of the Flayed One (ideally with 7% LL) and upgrade it, socket it with an Um, and call it a day. I already have a non- Eth one, not sure if it's worth waiting for Eth and possibly getting a worse roll.

The only other option I can think of would be socket the Duriel's Shell and put a jewel with life leech in it, but I actually am not sure those even exist (I think no lol).

Does anyone have any other ideas or a go-to when it comes to armor for this particular merc set up?

I personally really love Fortitude body armor on A2 merc for survivability, but I know it's not for everyone.

CMPrison wrote: 7 months ago

justinman114 wrote: 7 months ago

So I'm using a triple heal merc on my single player sorc (Cure, Insight, Prayer), and debating what to do about armor. His survivability is decent, but he dies a fair amount too. I have been swapping between a Duriel's Shell and a Skin of the Flayed One (for resists and life leech, respectively). The issue is, I can't have both. I'd use a Chains of Honor, but my first Ber is going to Enigma, and the next 2 (luck willing) will be for Infinity.

So, I am hoping to find an ethereal Skin of the Flayed One (ideally with 7% LL) and upgrade it, socket it with an Um, and call it a day. I already have a non- Eth one, not sure if it's worth waiting for Eth and possibly getting a worse roll.

The only other option I can think of would be socket the Duriel's Shell and put a jewel with life leech in it, but I actually am not sure those even exist (I think no lol).

Does anyone have any other ideas or a go-to when it comes to armor for this particular merc set up?

I personally really love Fortitude body armor on A2 merc for survivability, but I know it's not for everyone.

Another good option, no life leech but added damage and all the goodies probably make it worth. I only have one Lo so far, have been pondering using it for a Grief to get a smiter going. I know I'll find another though eventually.

justinman114 wrote: 7 months ago

CMPrison wrote: 7 months ago

justinman114 wrote: 7 months ago

So I'm using a triple heal merc on my single player sorc (Cure, Insight, Prayer), and debating what to do about armor. His survivability is decent, but he dies a fair amount too. I have been swapping between a Duriel's Shell and a Skin of the Flayed One (for resists and life leech, respectively). The issue is, I can't have both. I'd use a Chains of Honor, but my first Ber is going to Enigma, and the next 2 (luck willing) will be for Infinity.

So, I am hoping to find an ethereal Skin of the Flayed One (ideally with 7% LL) and upgrade it, socket it with an Um, and call it a day. I already have a non- Eth one, not sure if it's worth waiting for Eth and possibly getting a worse roll.

The only other option I can think of would be socket the Duriel's Shell and put a jewel with life leech in it, but I actually am not sure those even exist (I think no lol).

Does anyone have any other ideas or a go-to when it comes to armor for this particular merc set up?

I personally really love Fortitude body armor on A2 merc for survivability, but I know it's not for everyone.

Another good option, no life leech but added damage and all the goodies probably make it worth. I only have one Lo so far, have been pondering using it for a Grief to get a smiter going. I know I'll find another though eventually.

The lack of leech would normally be a problem but your Prayer + Cleansing + Meditation synergy creates triple the passive life recovery of Prayer alone. At least, that is my current understanding. In other words, is it possible your merc could make do with that life regen even without leech? Not sure.

What level is your merc? Once he gets to about 90-91 his deaths should drop dramatically.
And yes, Fort is great. Increases dmg so he can leech more and comes with resists.

Personally I like the cheap Treachery a lot.
As soon as the Fade procs, it is just a great armor for almost no cost.
Esp. when he is lower level, the gets to max resist with it.
Since it is so cheap, IMO it is always worth a try. But if you try it out, remember that Fade has to proc. As long as it hasn't procced, the merc can go down much faster.

CoH is the only armor for that build.

Are you playing CM Nova?

He does get life regen like I do, but he gets hit hard and it doesn't help sometimes. It's definitely better than nothing.

Merc is lvl 92 now, so his base resists are 59 I think? No physical resists with this gear though, unfortunately. Cure is great for the synergy but lacks what the other good merc helms offer (LL, DR, etc.)

Treachery is another one I should just make and try out for him, good idea. Fade solves a lot of those issues.

As for sorc type, I swap her between blizzard and ES Nova sorc. Nova is still pretty weak due to lack of minus enemy lightning resist currently. Might make a Crescent Moon Runeword to try that out.

When it comes to armor with life leech you're pretty well limited to Boneflesh, Greyform, and Skin of the Flayed One unless you can roll a COH. The best leech options for a mercenary is from the helmet slot which you've used for a Cure runeword. Otherwise Andariel's Visage, Vampire's Gaze, and Crown of Thieves are all excellent life leech helms for mercenaries. Andariel's Visage for instance gives 8% to 10% LL, and your merc will get 20% attack speed which further enhances leech. Since you're locked in with your Cure Helm, then unless you can roll a COH, you're back to the 3 afore mentioned armors.

i love my A5 barb merc with Grief and Plague, and i have Flickering Flame and Fortitude on him. He rocks and hardly ever is dead.

Greyform is actually best before COH.
You need to upgrade it , get a jewel LR or AR LR jewel．　
Or even just Damage reduce Sol.
Even if you ready to build CoH, this armor still very close to CoH performance (lose slightly for sure, in case of enough resist socket Sol, it is almost same).

The defense, compare to Eth skin, it is around 4% Dodge.

vued wrote: 7 months ago

justinman114 wrote: 7 months ago

So I'm using a triple heal merc on my single player sorc (Cure, Insight, Prayer), and debating what to do about armor. His survivability is decent, but he dies a fair amount too. I have been swapping between a Duriel's Shell and a Skin of the Flayed One (for resists and life leech, respectively). The issue is, I can't have both. I'd use a Chains of Honor, but my first Ber is going to Enigma, and the next 2 (luck willing) will be for Infinity.

So, I am hoping to find an ethereal Skin of the Flayed One (ideally with 7% LL) and upgrade it, socket it with an Um, and call it a day. I already have a non- Eth one, not sure if it's worth waiting for Eth and possibly getting a worse roll.

The only other option I can think of would be socket the Duriel's Shell and put a jewel with life leech in it, but I actually am not sure those even exist (I think no lol).

Does anyone have any other ideas or a go-to when it comes to armor for this particular merc set up?

Life leech jewels do not exist.

For armors, CoH is best for LL, then skin of flayed one. Greyform and Boneflesh exist, too. And you could craft a blood armor if you feel fancy.

I'd probably go with Treachery. Once Fade procs your res problems are gone and physical damage is reduced. With triple heal that should be enough for a lvl 92 A2.

Are you playing on P8?

Never on P8, no. Usually P3, P5, or P7, depending on the area and how frisky I'm feeling lmao. AFAIK, P8 doesn't get me better drop odds than P7, just more exp. Kill speeds are generally very slow above P5 though with my current gear.

Best option if you want your Merc to survive is clearly CoH, with a high-end Eth Insight leech is better than Fortitude's defense. If you want your Merc to do more damage, Fortitude is better, but then, your sorc does 99.9% of the damage herself and the merc is only there for 3 aura buffing. For doing that he must be alive, ergo you go COH, end of story.

vued wrote: 7 months ago

Fade fills the hole of this setup perfectly

Fade won't help against elemental damages because Emilio will already have 75 all res.

In example, he may get killed by Megademon Inferno in Chaos Sanctuary.

Don't forget, Chains of Honor is not only best because of the leech, which the merc still needs in dangerous situations, regen is still too slow, but it also provides +2 skills, so you get a better Prayer aura (and better Critical Strike), so a little bit more damage and more regen for the merc and most importantly, more regen for your Sorc.

Of course, it requires a Ber which is hard to get ssf. When you need res, go Treachery. When you have a high-level Merc and res are not a problem anymore, a The Gladiator's Bane might be a good choice for the merc. Hustle's high attack speed bonus is a bit wasted without any source of life leech. I would not go for it.

Fortitude is probaly the best option here in terms of high defense and damage output to help your merc kill faster/stay alive.

Stone is a nice budget option the provides high defense, but not the damage output that you can get from Fortitude.