[GUIDE] New Player Guide to MERCENARIES - Diablo 2 Resurrected

Broadcasted live on Twitch -- Watch live at / mrllamasc

[@coolyoutubeluke]

"I'll put that to good use"

[@rayvincyful1]

I can't use that.

[@rylandtappe-inglis6325]

No you won't, shut up, I'm not stupid. Now go tank shots from The Cold One till you die four times so I can range him like we both know you're going to.

[@greegeree]

I'll put that to mediocre use for 2 seconds before getting deleted by some random rare spawn. Have fun spending 50k gold to res me again :P

[@KageNoTenshi]

“Thanks”

[@thelastlaughh8614]

@@KageNoTenshi The amount of times I’ve been seeing this daily. Without Fort or some high def armor he just dies on every champion mob.

[@phil6844]

The amount of gold I’ve blown on reviving mercenaries makes me cry 😭

[@blackoutgstar9949]

you can give them potions if on pc hold shift and the potion number

[@staviersss8039]

my sorc literally went broke in the middle of act 5

[@sugondesenuts69]

@@blackoutgstar9949 any idea how to do this on the Switch?

[@hangmingzhang5067]

if i get 10k everytime i had to rez a merc, id still have less gold than if i never got a merc... XD

[@Kr33t0s]

@@sugondesenuts69 zl and arrows i think

[@simpicusmaximus]

I used to watch your content back when I was heavy into broodwar years ago. I'm so glad to see that you're a diablo 2 God and you made a bunch of stuff for it

[@davidgilbert3247]

Why everytime i think about something i need i open my cellphone and see a new llama video about it ? You're sick bro keep it up

[@yittmashups]

He could be a University professor of Diablo 2. What a fun class that would be.

[@CaleoGaming]

Thank you so much for your guides Llama, I'm quite new to Diablo 2 and just recently built a wind druid that you suggested and having loads of fun! I'm even trying to help/teach my other friend how to play their amazon based on your guides and they are really enjoying the game now also! :D

[@ogolthorp]

Hey llama, I gotta say this channel is probably one of the most informative and open to feedback of basically any video game related channel on youtube. Your knowledge of the game inside and out and willingness to explain things from the ground up are great. I’m sure your numbers are exploding right now and you deserve every bit of it.

[@rylandtappe-inglis6325]

"There's no 'I raised him Pokemon buff'" I actually lold. thank you.

[@CPT_IDPS]

Iv been enjoying your videos the past few weeks while I’m reliving my childhood. Thank you for all the great knowledge. I’m 100x better at reading maps and I lvl super fast now with all the sweet rune words I learned to make. Thank you sir

[@JohnnyCasey]

Few things he missed --- All mercenaries except Iron Wolves (Act 3 merc) will do double the amount of damage depending on an equipped weapon. Desert Mercenaries (Act 2 merc) will do double dmg if they're equipped with javelins. One handed damage applies, NOT the throwing dmg. Barbarians (Act 5 merc) will do double dmg if they're equipped with one handed sword. Therefore, making Lawbringer on one handed sword is recommended. Rogue Scout (Act 1 merc) will do double dmg if they're equipped with bows. Yes, they can only equip bows, and that makes them always do double the amount of dmg. It's a bit oblivious about which dmg mod will be doubled or not. +damage mod from Grief certainly won't. Mercenaries from lower difficulty has better stats than those from higher difficulty. It's best to hire them in normal if possible. All mercenaries have 2 range for melee attack. Equipping a longer ranged melee weapons on your merc will not increase their attack range. Act 2 merc's Jab hits 2 times, not 3. Giving either thawing or antidote potions on your merc will not increase their cold/poison res and their maximum res, but will unfreeze/cure them.

[@Qwufi]

I didnt know that. Thank you!

[@jkkim6928]

Wow i had no idea giving me those potions would increase my res. Mind blown!

[@kentisbell839]

Nice addition thanks

[@tanvaras9961]

Been enjoying your streaming of D2R whilst I am playing. Your guides are always top tier and easy to understand :)

[@EBZ766]

Sending my love and respect for your work and effort. You are the reason I actually improved my knowledge and gameplay experience. Along the way, I have a new found love for Diablo 2. Thank you.

[@Preacher_.]

I kinda liked the "I raised him pokemon buff". Made it feel like an extra little buff that I had worked for.

[@KSauceOnWu]

I appreciate this guide. Hope to see some of your D2R farming highlights.

[@D2R2Ronin88]

Just a warning, if you're making an Insight for a merc, remember the str req on the weapon. I made one with a Collossus Voulge and it's 210 str requirement! Even at 85 he can't wear that without +30 Str from armor/helm.

[@jespergrothallermand8230]

Yeah did the same.. had to use +25 str og chest or helm :(

[@spacejaga]

Did it even tho for past half year was practicing like mad.... Now 87, used a tals mask with fal socketed to get it working... :)))

[@iamatlantis1]

Valid point for sure!

[@iamatlantis1]

kinda like when I had a superior archon plate enigma, those repairs were insane

[@viperswhip]

An Eth one? Don't bother if it is not Eth, but ya, generally I use a Cryptic Axe

[@eugenstash]

New to D2 and you’re my go to for learning this game. Thank you for all your work

[@T3AL]

Hey MrLlama, just wanted to say thanks for all your hard work. Your content is 10/10.

[@PretentiousLatinName]

for real! I wish 14 year old me would have had a MrLlama to guide my path. But now I'm ready!

[@mercenaryninja]

happy birthday? been binging your content lately, thank you for all the work you've been putting in. :)

[@EmperorTerran]

Ok, hear me out. What I discovered when I play HC key hunting sorcesres that might be very valuable to mention in some videos. Lawbringer runeword sword - Amn+Lem+Ko It will get you 20% decrepify, sanctuary aura pushing away undead, monster rests in peace. It lacks dmg but baba merc is still able to kill countess in seconds or nihltak or whoever comes who is fire/cold immune for my soso. But the fact that I wont die to corpse explosion or dolls or those undead that drag sword.. its huge. Its the safest merc for keys hunting I had and I just came to possesion of all runes for infinity but I dunno if I even want to switch to infinity and respec to lighting or not. I really am comfortable with the dmg and the safety. There is also delirium helmet for additional crowd control and chance for confuse and terror, but I like decrep more

[@johnhardwick1736]

He did mention lawbringer in the vid

[@oguzcanoguz5977]

I get the undead and corpse explosion, but why do you not die to dolls?

[@EmperorTerran]

@@oguzcanoguz5977 they are undead and sanctuary aura pushes them away every 2 seconds. Sure I could die, but its far far far less likely than without sanctuarly. Also the dmg of the sword I have is kinda pathethic, so not one jab kill like with eth elite infinity merc

[@mauno100]

Ölö5ö58ööö

[@mauno100]

Ölllölöö

[@joellowe4460]

One of the best things about D2R release is the amount of content coming from your channel. Hope your channel really takes off!!

[@calm2348]

You've been crushing it with the videos lately

[@eldiablo7128]

i hope a lot of new players see your videos you do a amazing job teaching them :)

[@dracus6877]

Thank you!!! Thank you!! for breaking this game down into detail.

[@Fishbro]

Pro Tip: Tl Dr: Feed mercenary on console is left trigger held down while using from belt. On computer hold shift down before using them to feed your mercenary. Console players hold left trigger to activate alternative use abilities, which include alternative use potions (feeding your mercenary potions) Side note: You can give an act 5 Merc 2 different runeword weapons aswell.

[@corniani]

[@tsizzle12345323]

Llama with the non stop. Keep up the hard work

[@andrewh9629]

Thanks for this, I knew very little about mercs and not 3 hours after watching this I did a Hell Countess and thought ah might as well do Andy. On the way there a boss pack drops CoT 11ll - probably the best item I have now and I wouldn't have even known it was good before this vid.

[@xvinx2446]

I've played this game for 20 years and I didn't know about that merc bug. Great stuff for my fishymancer!

[@LikeSilver1]

Thumbs up for the pokemon buff reference, was my exact thought when you brought the subject up. 😂😂

[@gummydogs]

Dude dropped an Enigma on the GROUND! If I did that (only in my dreams), I'm 99.99% sure that would've been the exact time that AT&T would send me a middle finger.

[@ms.aelanwyr.ilaicos]

This happened to me back in 2010 and I put the game down for a decade

[@fitgamerdaddy7407]

Lol. Servers are fixed now. I have yet to be dropped once. I thought it was my 1 gig fiber that was costing it

[@molnez]

Holy shit you are pumping out content like an absolute mad lad these days!

[@xxx0ox0]

Supply and demand and demand is high and he's making bank while we appreciate him. That's the beauty of capitalism

[@Ves189]

Great guide overall. Two things i missed were the increased dmg mercs take from bosses and how the aura of the act 2 merc scales with lvls though.

[@bananamanx7910]

lol you got me there with drooping your mercs items so quickly! :D

[@loretozamoras4459]

I love the mercenary bug part. Thanks for the info.

[@cursedsummoner]

Remember building a summon necro and wanting to do something different. So I went with an act1 merc with Harmony, while it's not optimal for damage, it was a lot of fun watching my skelies run around really fast.

[@james_tiberius_kirk73]

Another excellent video MrLSC.

[@AXLee27]

Wow, I did not know about the merc bug. Thanks so much!

[@DwarfsRBest]

Man, if I had a single magic wish for this game, it would be to make all (or at least most) of the mercs badass in different ways. That way, you could hire different mercs based on what your character needs to overcome in a particular encounter, instead of just taking the obligatory Act 2 NM Merc

[@jkkim6928]

Amen brother. Everybody carrying act 2 merc bores the shit outta me

[@georgikukov5129]

Wow i learned smth new, Thanks Llama! I play D2 (not Resurrected) on a different server (not Battle.net) and they are running patch 1.11. And on this patch all of the mercenaries give auras, and only the barbs from act 5 have a chance to proc battle orders and battle cry.. Act 1 mercs give Fanatism aura, and act 3 Conviciton.. Damn i was gonna be in a surprise waiting for conviction aura from my Act 3 merc :D

[@tanete]

Reaper's Toll + Guillaume's Face is also a decent combo. Since you already have good life tap from the weapon, and decrepify for additional safety, you don't need even more life tap from the helm, so instead you can equip him Guillaume's Face, which gives 35% crushing blow and 15% deadly strike (and the weapon already has 33% deadly strike, so 48% in total). Guillaume's Face also has 30% faster hit recovery.

[@BearCozyMusic]

This is fantastic, ty Llama

[@FalconTalk]

You autistically infiltrated my algorithm by me just simply just looking up two videos on necromancy . You’ve literally dedicated your life to this video game. Impressive .

[@retrogameslover2023]

Really glad to know about the fact as to why melee enemies target you and not the mercenary, so "I'll put that to good use!"

[@zitokeratin2643]

That bug is amazing for melee main characters to avoid him dying quite much!

[@youreatowel1103]

Epic fake out with the merc replacement! Got me good lmao

[@alinstoian4393]

I had no idea about the inner cloister bug. I'll definitely do it as I'm farming cows. ty

[@Kevan_VG]

Thanks for showing the merc bug that was game changing

[@Spacedott_]

Thank you for these videos.

[@bdwanz6631]

Love the act 3 with sanctuary sword. Style points for days

[@AKAAAK]

I think it would be nice if they added shouts/warcries to the Act 5 Barbs. That might make things a little more interesting

[@TaurusGaming717]

Dev's must have read this comment ;-)

[@AKAAAK]

@@TaurusGaming717 😁

[@Banana-cc5rx]

you are an awesome content creator for D2 really

[@bradleyswartz]

I really love all your guides im new to diablo 2 just got my stealth and leaf playing thru the acts now. Having some issues with mana always gotta go back too town

[@nk-dw2hm]

Watch his playthrough videos, fill almost your entire inventory with potions and ignore 99% of items that drop. You won't have to go back nearly as often that way

[@icycut9822]

Check out the insight rune word. Its a manareg aura on for your merc. Both auras apply to you and your party. Farm norm cows and use a socket quest in act5. Lama did a video about it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipKQnqyJa9KAe5Y

[@Sayajiin2]

Thank you mr. Lama! :)

[@MarcoOdW]

This was helpful ;) Thanks a lot

[@Ratatosk80]

Favorite merc setup for me would have to be act5 barb merc with a lawbringer sword made in something like an eth legend sword. Then a treachery armor and cannot be frozen mod on helm. Yeah a reapers toll act2 merc does the same job but better. It's much more fun though with the barb merc. Also early on when you don't have gear (I play single player self found) a lawbringer is much easier to make rather than finding reapers toll. Also a very underrated easy to get armor for a merc is the spirit shroud. Exceptional unique lvl 28 item. Gives cannot be frozen and +1 skill. Cannot be frozen is very important and will help with the merc leeching life and doing damage.

[@sakarakit5835]

appreciate your content, dropping a support comment for the algorithm!

[@RekijanGaming]

Saw this video today, tried to make a insight in a spear yesterday...

[@benrobinson375]

Some great advice. Rune words really make a massive difference to your mercs I have found. In Hell difficulty they are still very fragile though and serve better as a distraction instead of killing a lot on their own.

[@jotaux3652]

I basically just gave up on my merc. I have the runes ready for an insight, got a tal rasha's helm, all I need is an armor piece with sockets. I'll try again when I can make a fortitude.

[@johnathanflannagan2407]

Llama has been prepping this release of massive video library for 20 years

[@pragmat1k]

I would like to say my boy Gulzar with Prayer has been really nice on my Windy Druid. Was doing Chaos runs in Nightmare with him and I could often go through an entire run without healing at all.

[@simodelafrog3690]

who?

[@pragmat1k]

My act 2 normal prayer merc is named Gulzar.

[@katherineminor3402]

My prayer merc sucked and never would run it when I was hurt. Or he would stand so far away from me that I wouldn't get the benefit

[@pragmat1k]

YMMV. Since I don't have a lot of FRW yet he was keeping up with me pretty well.

[@janfiala2051]

As a noob, i like to get Act3 merc with cold spells for crowd control untill nightmare. But you explain things really well so i might actually learn something so thanks :)

[@simodelafrog3690]

act 3 merc can drop u pul mc rune only in hell meffisto

[@average311]

@@simodelafrog3690 I’ve never heard about that, is that really a thing??

[@TheSnoopyclone]

As a casual player, I like act 1 mercs as they help out a lot with those annoying monsters that fly around, those annoying flayers and those crawling sand beast.

[@unceldolan8020]

Love your Videos. Wish I had more time to play to get all these items :-D

[@sophisticated]

I was literally looking for a video about this 2 hours ago 😆

[@brothergrok]

On a PS controller, holding L2 then using the directional buttons can also give your mercenary a potion.

[@aussiepumpedgump2555]

best d2 youtuber for sure

[@InquisitorSinCross]

That casual "I have Tyrael's Might right now" knowing how long it took to get it on the Holy Grail Sorc just kills me.

[@samturner6061]

Barb: I am overburdened. Gulzar: Thanks! Rakanishu: Rakanishu!

[@caffeinepowered3957]

That merc bug is AMAZING for an under-geared merc for cows to keep that holy freeze/meditation aura running.

[@WOODDIGDIY]

I'm rolling with lawbringer, treachery 807 eth, and none eth Andy helm on a5 merc till I find a eth insight or reaper tolls. It works great on my hdin for player 8 chaos runs.

[@Bitchslapper316]

After playing D2 for years I just noticed something today. Mercs from normal have higher resists, more strength and higher skill levels then mercs from nightmare and hell. I only noticed it because I tried to swap merc gear between two characters that were the exact same level and the nightmare merc couldn't equip the gear. That made me look at the other stats and they also have lower resists and skill levels. Skills as in the attack skills like jab. Life and base damage is lower as well.

[@IYPITWL]

OMG i never knew the shortcut to feed merc potions! No more dragging for me :)

[@rgracon]

I miss the days of act 1 merc. with +3 to bow and crossbow gear -- lightning hose OP attack!!

[@angelofbliss]

Is it possible to get a sockets guide as it’s own info vid? Ty for all the guides, constantly reviewing them for answers. Making life so much easier.

[@joemsaberon]

I think sockets have been covered in the runeword bases vid? kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z52oeImlh5ismZo

[@kickassandchewbubblegum639]

ya his reviews are a must if youre deciding to play this game a lot...diablo 2 isnt a weekend game...you have to commit to years and years to this game to get all the characters and items...it is a feat mrllama is a blessing to our community for sure and helping this games life go infinite...d2 never dies man...it didnt even need a remake..it would have survived another 20 years but now for sure 50 years lol btw...im not sure about this remake but in the og d2:lod your mercs mf stacks with yours...so their kills have the same mf as you...meaning if they carried a shako and other mf gear...ya its nice :P

[@angelofbliss]

@@joemsaberon yeah but I have to think about it and look for it. I prefer how he names it and that the topic, even if it’s small tip vids. To accompany his larger vids. Like his character build guides. He could have “addendums” , I guess.

[@craigferge4702]

@@kickassandchewbubblegum639 idk man i loved this game when I was younger when it came out, but coming back to it in D2R I realize the game is pretty outdated. Everything is clunky, you can beat the whole game in a couple hours, and there is literally nothing to do except repeatedly farm the same stuff that you beat within those first couple hours, except slightly faster. There's just no content in comparison to today's games

[@kickassandchewbubblegum639]

@@craigferge4702 whose to say they wont add an act or 2? or a whole thing for pvp added?

[@kennerkenna9097]

Happy Birthday! 😃

[@SmokinJayDunCare]

MrLlama is the HAMMERDIN? He carried my amazon BOOHOO and 2 other sorcerers pass through hell's baal 2-3 weeks ago. Thank you Mr.Llama :D

[@3101kevkev]

The merc bug is so good as a hammerdin on cows. Thank you so much for that!

[@VegarotFusion]

I'm a L74 Necromancer. I've got my original Rogue sister. I didn't want to replace her. Silly attachment and all. So I improved her instead. Gave her brand new Runeword _"Harmony"_ Bow. She now does 314-830 dmg and has level 10 Vigor aura. Which makes my 31 minions move ridiculously fast. Skeletons can move from one side of the screen to the other in just over a second.

[@Fantomas24ARM]

Holy freeze merc is by far my most favourite.

[@karbalababy]

Happy birthday!

[@BrinkMira]

After a year of playing and trading I managed to get two perfect Last Wish phase blades (which both had +15% ED and +1 attack rating on the bases) which I put on my act 5 merc. I forgot to take them off when hiring a new merc. It was about 70% of all my wealth. Owie

[@BrinkMira]

I think I'm quitting the game tbh.

[@oldenoughtowatchify]

@@BrinkMira incredibly valid response after that :(

[@LSmallCatL]

It takes a bit to learn what your merc can take and what not. Having an Insight Merc that doesn't last on the boss requires you to position him/ yourself in a way that he gets the least amount of dmg to him as possible. Teleporting gives here a huge advantage as it is instant re-placing. For Andariel, just cast Blizzard and teleport back and forth, Merc shouldn't get any dmg except maybe poison. For Mephisto, you can teleport into a save distant that the Merc will ignore Mephisto however you need to clear at least one side of the entrance or he will pull other groups. It'd be great if you could put him in passive mode. If you don't have insight, keep looking for weapons with Lifesteal and over a few days you'll get something. It's night and day especially in Normal/ Alp.

[@messitup]

what great information! that trick is huge. like 1000% broken.

[@goodkatt]

8:00 he was smiling and i was crying that part xd

[@Randy7777]

Thanks!

[@Bigstoerm]

Bro! You're supposed to be on a birthday date right now....not uploading videos! Never-the-less, thanks for the great content

[@fitgamerdaddy7407]

"This isn't q I raised a pokemon" got me 😂😂😂 at work right now.

[@ichbineddie]

2021 is the first time I’ve ever heard of a fal rune, I had an 80s sorc around 2002. I must be hella broke

[@7Hellzz]

They should update the game so that when you change your mercenary with another one, it's items drop on the ground in case you forgot to remove them.

[@cristiano1g]

You just sometimes have to play this game for yourself - this is not pokemon

[@hardryv3719]

Diablo 2 was never forgiving like that, truly a game of choice-consequence.

[@XxKidnoffxX]

@@hardryv3719 lol wtf, diablo 2 forgive a lot, it's a super easy game with the possibility of respects and limited monsters roll. You don't have a lot of surprises in D2, compare to PoE. But anyway, when you have good stuff on the merc, it's generally because it's your 'real' one, you don't gonna change...

[@jackblu475]

OR how bout they just switch the items over automatically... OR if they can't use everything they get put in your inventory OR if you don't have room a message appears telling you that hiring a new merc is not possible (remove your items from your merc!).

[@Rabijeel]

So, when your Boss fires you, you strip before leaving?

[@embeesl4y3r]

perfect video

[@rawaaziz9701]

i like using the thorns aura Merc on my revive/bonespear Necro, works real well with decrepify

[@jansecj9472]

MrLlamaSC, you forgot to mention just 1 little combo: prayer merc + insight. :)

[@xDooksx]

Hurray!

[@Mark-nh7zg]

Happy bday

[@aramschwartz4502]

I also like Delirium in the helm for my merc.

[@Xerrea]

6:50, remember back in the days when the merc levels was fixed, and you had to level them up afterwards? -All those long days with "just 5 levels more on my merc than he can use x/y/z".

[@iamatlantis1]

I was shocked the other day when I went to get an act2 hell merc finally, and he was matching my level. Pretty dope.

[@rabidbeaver3250]

Lol yes

[@setoseng]

MrLlama with his Oscar worthy acting on the mercenary item lost 😂😂. Got me for a second

[@rayvincyful1]

Man is so rich, he didn't mind losing those items.

[@esmee6308]

Hell is gonna be interesting, I can't even keep him alive in Nightmare :'') The bug will definitely help.

[@yittmashups]

Lvl 61 here in last chapter of Nightmare, still travelling with the first companion I was given as reward, and wouldn't have it any other way! Long live Eliza! ♥

[@jkkim6928]

True love lasts

[@iamaloafofbread8926]

*THANKS*

[@bigballedbastard7737]

Happy birthday