Search the database
Search forum topics
Search members
Search for trades
diablo2.io is supported by ads
diablo2.io is supported by ads
43 replies   4165 views
2

Description

5

Can be used to make Runewords:

7
departure wrote: 5 hours ago
I've been tooling around in Terror zones with the Abyss/chains build using the Void above and a bound demon for a little while, and I've landed on a weird spot with my merc.

At first I tried Prayer/Insight/coh/Cure. The merc kept dying to heralds. I figured this was due to lack of damage, so not enough leech. My thinking with that was that the caster is way more powerful than the merc in this case, so the merc should really just be supporting the caster. But the merc dying was slowing me down.

So I switched to a damage based build. I went might/Insight/Fortitude/andy's. The merc no longer had a problem, but my health was all over the place. A super poison would leave me burning rejuvs. A few big hits and I'm popping more juvs. Then some folks die and siphon gives me life back. The whole thing was very unpredictable and felt quite precarious.

Instead of addressing that, I switched to a max damage build to see how much siphon was offering (in case I wanted to double down there). I went with might/Pride/Fortitude/andy's. Now my merc and bound demon were ripping things up better, but my health AND mana were all over the place. The potential of Abyss/miasma was wasted because I couldn't get into the mix effectively. This was probably the most frustrating to play.

I wanted to get back to a more maintained/speed style, so I switched to Prayer/Insight/Fortitude/andy's. This seems to be the right balance. It sacrifices might, but in exchange I keep my life and mana topped up, which lets me unleash a lot more damage. Ultimately I'm cruising with this build.

I really want that Flickering Flame aura to maximize magic find (offsetting fire res charms). But I think I need andy's to keep the leech going. The merc still dies with this build occasionally. But not often. The main use of rejuvs is for the merc against heralds.

Thoughts?
For what it’s worth, most of my mercs have zero leech. If you watch them heal outside of enemies, they heal pretty fast. Currently using Defiance Act 2 merc on my main.

Only time I have to portion heal my merc is in high player count games against heralds, some of the time.
7
User avatar

Schnorki 5608Moderator

RotW PC
Potions are just an unacceptable ask for a merc imo. :P

Prayer A2 w/ Insight + fort + proper leech helmet of choice = no worries whatsoever, neither for him nor yourself.

Even more so if you sigil:lethargy Herald packs (since there's no point to :Death for most of the fight time anyways).

And of course again even more so (if there is an "even more" left ^^) if you go for Holy Freeze on your bind. Though fana or the like also bump the merc up even more, thanks to faster/stronger attacks -> more leech.

And yet again even more so (albeit with really no room left anymore tbh) if you throw in cursed for amp and hence again significantly increased merc dmg -> leech.
7
Schnorki wrote: 3 hours ago
Potions are just an unacceptable ask for a merc imo. :P

Prayer A2 w/ Insight + fort + proper leech helmet of choice = no worries whatsoever, neither for him nor yourself.

Even more so if you sigil:lethargy Herald packs (since there's no point to :Death for most of the fight time anyways).

And of course again even more so (if there is an "even more" left ^^) if you go for Holy Freeze on your bind. Though fana or the like also bump the merc up even more, thanks to faster/stronger attacks -> more leech.

And yet again even more so (albeit with really no room left anymore tbh) if you throw in cursed for amp and hence again significantly increased merc dmg -> leech.
Even more so if you are a bowlock and have knockback and/or slows enemy.
7
Well, I like to run Cure, especially at lower player counts like P3 or lower, because I go around fast enough that without it I'm pretty much constantly under amp damage. Having Cure is like running double life against most physical attacks in that scenario.

And then I run Infinity since I have elemental damage.

Armor is the one area I could play with. Currently running a Defiance merc, so I like how Fortitude plays with that.

Against some undead, still no leech though. And I suspect w/o giving up Cure (if I run COH I have to give up Fortitude which will lower damage), the leech won't be enough to mitigate most of the cases where I need to potion him, it's usually only against pretty nasty heralds that I do. Do you really never have to potion your merc, even against the nastiest P8 T5 Heralds?
9

Advertisment

Hide ads
999

Greetings stranger!

You don't appear to be logged in...

No matches
You haven't specified which diablo2.io user you completed this trade with. This means that you will not be able to exchange trust.

Are you sure you want to continue?

Yes, continue without username
No, I will specify a username
Are you sure you want to delete your entire Holy Grail collection? This action is irreversible.

Are you sure you want to continue?

Yes, delete my entire collection
No, I want to keep my collection
Dclone Tracker preferences:
Choose what you see in the sidebar widget and what you are notified about.
Version:
Game mode:
Online Terror Zone Tracker preferences:
Choose when and which online terror zones you are notified about.
Value:
Hide ads forever by supporting the site with a donation.

Greetings adblocker...

Warriv asks that you consider disabling your adblocker when using diablo2.io

Ad revenue helps keep the servers going and supports me, the site's creator :)

A one-time donation hides all ads, forever:
Make a donation