Topic: Just out of curiosity...

[Tetmon]

... What merc are all of you using, and what equipment configuration is your merc using?  I'm having a hard time finding a good balance between damage and monster-nerfing abilities on my merc.  Right now the damage he does depends almost completely on crushing blow.  Thanks for any input in advance!

[Iron_Monkey]

Hi,

what kind of char do you have?

[Rune]

CGS Act5 Merk or Act2 HolyFreeze Merk are "best" imo.
Shadowplate for armor, high damage weapon, Lyssians Eyecatcher for boots,
uber rings/ammy/glove and blood runeword for belt.

[Ramierez]

It really depends on what char the merc ist for.
If you are using a bowbarb for example, i would take a fanatism merc with eyecatcher and last wish weapon, to boost the barbs damage output.
If you are using a BUsorc, a merc from Act 5 cgs with conviction would help a lot.
If you are using the Coruption Coil set, a merc with prayer is the right choice.

It really depends on the char you are playing.
for the equipment: I use juwelery of the Diva set the most times. A blood belt. Shadowtrick, because my char isn't wearing one. Mephistos claw for gloves, gives lvl 4 freeze aura, what makes freeze merc unnecesary. Weapon with high damage. Eyecatcher as boots. Helm you could use a second blood rw or something you like.

[ZenPdH]

Even for the same char, there is more than one possibility to choose the merc.
It also depends on what you expect from the merc...
Should he deal great dmg? Maybe another kind of dmg? Only support with auras?

But i think the 'mainstream' builds of the merc are already listed. If you have more questions, be more precise on what you have/want.

[Tetmon]

Ah, sorry, didn't mean to desert my topic like that.

That being said, I wasn't really looking for suggestions on how to outfit my merc -- I was just curious as to what everyone else was doing.  In answer to your question, though, I'm running a hammerdin with an act 2 merc (mostly out of habit, I suppose).  At the moment, he's using:

Sigon's gauntlets
Sigon's belt
Sigon's helm
Sleepthorn (unique spear with 80% slow)
Knell of Discord (ring with knockback & lifesteal)
Nameless Fear (ring with increased attack speed and prevent monster heal)
Shattering Blow (breastplate with crushing blow 1% per character level)

He's pretty badly in need of an upgrade I guess, since he's above level 70, but he's surprisingly efficient.  I'd like to get a holy freeze aura on him, but I don't want to lose any of the other capabilities he has.  The only place I could really see trading out an item would be his helm, and I don't know of any holy freeze helms out there.

[ZenPdH]

Here is a guide for a hammerdin, maybe it helps a little bit, unless it is in german :-/
There is also a section for the merc...
http://chaosempire.eu/forum/index.php/topic,14985.msg207189.html#msg207189


Generally I would recommend an a2 prayer merc as soon as he is available. In my eyes there is no better one at this point of the game, regardless which char you are playing.
If you want to have the hf aura, there are 3 good options you have:
1. rw doom in a thundermaul
2. mephisto's claw (uniq bramble mitts)
3. chiad's halo (set ring)

[Tetmon]

I have a couple of chiad's halo's, so I might run with that idea.  The problem is that my merc has to solo certain things for me, and he has to have prevent monster heal, knockback, slow target, and crushing blow in order to accomplish the task.  I'll have to look at some extended possibilities on how to make up for what I'd have to give up when I switch out rings.  I'll definitely look at the guide, though, as it will probably prove quite useful down the road.

[ZenPdH]

For knockback you can put a nef rune into the weapon/ring(s).
Prevent monster heal -> mal rune (weap or ring)
Slow target comes along with the hf aura or do you think, that this won't be enough?

[Tetmon]

It might be enough, but I enjoy making the bosses basically sit still while I kill them.  80% slow + HF = stasis.  You are right, though.  I should be socketing my weapon and using it for the knockback/PMH.  I'll get after that the next time I'm on.  I guess I could even socket a ring and throw a nef in it.  That should solve my problems, I would think.  Thanks for the suggestions, all!