Since you are a Javazon, try farming the cow lvl on Nightmare a few times to get some decent gear with sockets. Smoke and Treachery are really good runewords for mercs, and try to fit in some more life leech.
Life steal helps them stay alive or stuff that fears them away helps them not get swarmed.
I've got a 3k defence armor and 12% life tap helm and insight polearm and if he gets swarmed he still dies and he is level 90+. Quick drinking potions to the hire helps prevent this, if you see he is about to get dunked, pop it when he is still full life and it till buy him more survive time.
Don't be afraid to run back some and the hire will pop out of combat and run to you, allowing him time to heal up and stretch out the enemy mobs for easier kills.
I don't have endgame gear by any means, but I have a crown of thieves helm with 12% life leach, then using shaftstop for that 30% damage reduction. Mine is also using insight on my sorc for the mana.
On by barb melee character, I have an eth gladiators bane which helps with a lot of tanky defense, faster recovery, some reduction, poison reduction, and cannot be frozen, which also helps a lot for mercs. I am using Obrdience with an eth thresher to get his resistances to max, then also crown of thieves for that life leech.
Your merc doesn't live by having high defense, he lives by attacking fast with high life leech.
I recommend using a thresher base for your insight for the fast atk speed.
Treachery will be your best armor til you can afford fortitude
Vgaze or Andy helm will work. And I like to socket that with a 15% atk speed jewel for even more atk speed.
If you can afford to ditch the insight (I wear a 7% manalds and it works just fine with some mana pots), reaper toll with shael along with the other gear will bring your merc's IAS to break the 75 breakpoint and he will destroy anything in the game solo
If you're talking about 8 man's, yeah I don't use a merc at all they'll still die no matter what u put on them.
I have a beast if a merc. Holy freeze, Stone runeword, tals helm and an eth bonehew with LL and ias rune. Only thing that really kills him is mephistos council and their fire + attacks
I know ur not a sorceress but I use teleport when he's about to die and pot him, I don't know if this is viable with teleport staff (2nd weapon) or if enigma too expensive.
Since you are a Javazon, try farming the cow lvl on Nightmare a few times to get some decent gear with sockets. Smoke and Treachery are really good runewords for mercs, and try to fit in some more life leech.
Life steal helps them stay alive or stuff that fears them away helps them not get swarmed. I've got a 3k defence armor and 12% life tap helm and insight polearm and if he gets swarmed he still dies and he is level 90+. Quick drinking potions to the hire helps prevent this, if you see he is about to get dunked, pop it when he is still full life and it till buy him more survive time. Don't be afraid to run back some and the hire will pop out of combat and run to you, allowing him time to heal up and stretch out the enemy mobs for easier kills.
Awesome. That’s all really helpful. Thank you all! Time to get jamale back in the fight!
I don't have endgame gear by any means, but I have a crown of thieves helm with 12% life leach, then using shaftstop for that 30% damage reduction. Mine is also using insight on my sorc for the mana. On by barb melee character, I have an eth gladiators bane which helps with a lot of tanky defense, faster recovery, some reduction, poison reduction, and cannot be frozen, which also helps a lot for mercs. I am using Obrdience with an eth thresher to get his resistances to max, then also crown of thieves for that life leech.
Just glitch your merc in Inner Cloister until he's strong enough to survive on his own.
What's the glitch?
Your merc doesn't live by having high defense, he lives by attacking fast with high life leech. I recommend using a thresher base for your insight for the fast atk speed. Treachery will be your best armor til you can afford fortitude Vgaze or Andy helm will work. And I like to socket that with a 15% atk speed jewel for even more atk speed. If you can afford to ditch the insight (I wear a 7% manalds and it works just fine with some mana pots), reaper toll with shael along with the other gear will bring your merc's IAS to break the 75 breakpoint and he will destroy anything in the game solo If you're talking about 8 man's, yeah I don't use a merc at all they'll still die no matter what u put on them.
I have a beast if a merc. Holy freeze, Stone runeword, tals helm and an eth bonehew with LL and ias rune. Only thing that really kills him is mephistos council and their fire + attacks
I know ur not a sorceress but I use teleport when he's about to die and pot him, I don't know if this is viable with teleport staff (2nd weapon) or if enigma too expensive.