Why you SHOULD USE the budget act 1 mercenary - Diablo 2 Resurrected

[@potatolauncher4892]

You can put Sigon's Helm and Armor on a merc and the synergy is 10% life leech. You can also make the new Bulwark runeword helm with a blood armor to get nearly 10% life leech. The BoneFlesh unique plate mail is another good option for life leech some open wounds. I will definitely have to try out an Act 1 merc next ladder season.

[@PhukYu1]

I made Bulwark in a corona :) Works for act 2 merc (since they're already gonna be wearing heavy shit) OR my main pally (who I pretty much want enough strength to wear certain things though at the moment I have to keep str at a stat point level I don't like reducing my vitatlity a bit because the belt I have is for melees and I just spam foth currently)

[@246Rennie]

I find that a lot of ppl understimate how powerful inner sight is, even in hell it will reduce monsters defense to a extent where you have 90%+ hit on them whit mediocre AR.

[@gstvntt]

Yeah, it massively helps my druid, inner sight + faith bow + ice arrow = gg melee merc

[@lbonvillain-wm4ds]

Angelics + decrep >

[@greggen63]

Although with Angelics you have to give up at least a ring and ammy slot.

[@kristopherleslie8343]

Not a lot, just certain people.

[@kristopherleslie8343]

@@greggen63that means very little

[@PedroJPedro]

Act 1 merc is amazing. Inner sight is like conviction level -defense. And the ability to slap on a +3 matriarchal bow to increase the frozen arrows helaos out a ton. I run a harmony on my werebear druid for the run walk is icing on the cake.

[@Moth-1077]

I can’t count the number of times since the updates that I’ve gotten a cold rogue from my first bloodraven quest and just stuck with her forever. Most of my fresh toons end up sticking with a rogue well into hell difficulty

[@mrcannibal9266]

Man, I really love your videos. Sometimes I get blinded by character building guides and dont even think outside the box because of that. But you bring some new fresh ideas.

[@nextwave5164]

Running a Edge bow wil necro summoner is great

[@joshuamahon260]

I'm running through my first time on single player with a summon necro doing the same thing (though I just switched it up when I got Trangs glove/body combo for fireball) Its not my first character so I have a stash built up. And made my iron golem into an insight golem for the meditation aura, gave my Act 1 merc Kuko Bow for big booms. Only most of the way through NM RN but damn does she slap. It's great not having my merc not die every 10 seconds.

[@mattlucier9740]

I’m doing that with a summoning Druid and having a blast!

[@bane9685]

This is pretty cool, end game option, maybe faith bow for a1 merc summon necro and insight iron golem. A beast alternative, and then you can hold hoto or something.

[@attractivegd9531]

you lose might aura which is a massive dips in DPS

[@JosephMagicFlower]

​​@@attractivegd9531not so much damage increase for your summons... damage rules are different for summons, it's more valuable attack speed from fanaticism than might aura

[@attractivegd9531]

Don't think so, however Infinity is still king@@JosephMagicFlower

[@JosephMagicFlower]

@@attractivegd9531 just use a pet calculator if you don't believe me. Faith > might + pride

[@Theswazzer]

I can’t keep iron golems alive

[@jasontaylor6370]

I had no idea you can make insight in bows this is a game changer ! Thanks fill

[@billygoodin6194]

I forget when this was added but it’s kind of newer. Definitely opens up a lot of new options

[@alextelegin6467]

@@billygoodin6194 it was added like 2 years ago

[@justinemarkdajay7485]

​@@billygoodin6194 ive been back to this game after almost 20 years and Ive just rushed Insight on all my characters. 😂 holds up till Nm

[@Mike-om4tv]

Love running the bow merc early ladder with insight to moat trick mephisto without merc running into mephs attacks every run.

[@bivdog]

Damn that’s a great idea

[@qinghai1]

I’ve used act 1 with my barbs and necros for years. It was a mission to keep the first one I got alive and leveled up. They do pretty good damage. Botd bow.

[@darkdays6196]

I am so glad to finally hear someone say this. I feel so vindicated because I have had this same opinion about the act 1 cold merc since the original release of lord of destruction wayyyy back when... but all people say is "you dont wanna do that" or "that merc is trash bro you need act 2 or act 5's merc or youre gonna die a lot". Ive always had success with the extra slowdown this merc provides by being both freezing magic equipped and ranged. It is super helpful to me. That being said, you definitely cant use it for every character but I dont think this merc gets the love it deserves.

[@lukemehalick370]

Because everyone says act 2 or 5, I usually use act 1 and 3. Turns out, they are (imo) much better than act 2, especially when you deal physically damage.

[@Joepopa12]

Hustle is real good budget armor for the bow merc. I been using an upgraded RipHook bow on mine for the slow, open wounds and life leech.

[@Hakkis109]

Act 1 merc has been my go-to with my FoH. Equip with Insight, Cure and whatever armor you want and the merc rarely dies running CS.

[@smalps-gaming]

Emilio puts his life on the line for you!

[@leejordan001]

And dies... :P

[@justalonesoul5825]

@@leejordan001 But only mostly if you're not doing it right. Proper equipment and use go a long way lol. Sure, let him charge in a pack of hard hitting mobs and then say it's his fault when it was perfectly predictable ;-)

[@leejordan001]

@@justalonesoul5825 right.

[@luckyrelic]

good analysis on the act 1 merc... irecall when i used to play d2 back in the early 2000's that either act 1 or act 3 mercs are quite handy coz they are a ranged attackers, which increases their chances of not getting killed by mobs quickly... i'm curious on how she can survive duriel, mephisto council members, act 4 seal enemies, especially on nightmare and hell difficulties with players 8..

[@pavelnikolov6354]

Absolutely, I usually make the insight in a razor bow for the AS and use the fire merc until at least until the end of nightmare because it does a decent damage more often and you don't really need crowd control so much until you go to hell. I see people talking about inner sight... I've to add that besides reducing monsters defense it also reveals them which may be very helpful in dark areas, especially if you are very squishy. In general if you don't need the might aura, running a budget a1 merc rather than budget a2 merc is much more reliable, like the example in the cow level Phil gave. If it was a2 merc it would die right away.

[@MrJonas2255]

I'd definitely like to see some end game builds for her. I'm running insight, cure and duress on mine and she's great. I don't know if cure is best in slot though, I feel like there might be a better option.

[@Gloomyllama]

Night wings

[@Cyclonitron]

My Dragondin runs with an A1 cold merc with Mist, CoH, and Nightwing''s. She provides a ton of CC from freezing anything not immune to being frozen. Her damage is also very respectable as well.

[@dark1021]

Glad A1 merc finally getting some cheers. A little more budget but I love my A1 merc with bramble/faith/cure on my necro. Absolute support unit! And she rarely dies and can just snipe.

[@Itz_KLONOPIN]

Once i tried out the A5 frenzy barb Merc i changed all my other merca to A5 and its incredible especially for melee characters if you cab afford it. I use dual wield lastwish fir my barb, and fir the hdin i run lastwish+Lawbringer. Lawbringer on an a5 merc gives high lvl sanctuary aura which is amazing for squishy builds cuz ut completely incapacitates all doom knights and undead wi they cant even qttack u cuz they're getting knocked back every 3 seconds

[@Zanhya]

Hey Phil, You can even do the Mephisto moat trick with her since she stays at range

[@lordlucario8828]

out of curiosity, if you're worried about the merc going high aggro why not run insight act 2 merc but with a holy freeze variant? that way whatever it's attacking will be slowed. that's really my only argument to not using an act 2 merc lol. i run an act 1 merc on my zon for the faith aura, i use mist so getting fanaticism and concentration. then using shaftstop and vgaze so the merc has 50%dr while getting life leech as well

[@kristopherleslie8343]

Unfortunately that holy freeze on its own only does so much. If you fully commit to making your merc slow things down that helps out a bit more but in Hell meh it’s lack luster.

[@lordlucario8828]

​@@kristopherleslie8343never really tested it myself, it was a random thought. Now that you say that I wanna test it to see how bad the freezing is then with just that alone

[@kristopherleslie8343]

@@lordlucario8828 now I used amazon basin as a guide on slows target. You can totally make bosses trash lol.

[@PecheAventure]

Is bear sorc still a thing? Can you do a build guide please!

[@PecheAventure]

Wonder if metamophosis bv would help…

[@bivdog]

I think it’s not because of some attack speed changes

[@CommanderReplay]

While theres certainly tons of options. Early Ladder I like to throw a crafted Blood Armor on my merc for the +life on demon kill. A cool stat that I wish showed up more.

[@aeriyah2769]

The A1 merc has been a preference of mine ever since they got access to insight. I'm curious to see what your high budget builds are for her and if they differ from what I usually see. Kinda felt like it belonged in this video as well, but at the same time, I get it. Hope to see it out there in the future!

Nice vid, let's see those endgame A1 merc builds. Also, are there ones for the A3 and A5 merc? Could be nice to include them in the next video as well. :)

[@Tonythemonk620]

I want to see a melee lightning sorc with lightsaber and every other like 12%chance to cast chain lightning mana shield Infinity merc. Ty

[@miiko7859]

Ive been running faith A1 merc ever since Coooley came out with that throwbarb build. Its fantastic to say the least

[@alexdbz0077]

That intro!😂😂😂😂😂 Throughout the years of Diablo 2 that is so accurate I even had times where I was teleporting as a sorceress and my mercenary would get in the middle of a group!

[@HinderYourGeneral]

I have been really enjoying the act 1 merc for a bit now. She doesn't get the cheesy cure/insight/prayer combo but she stays safe which is very nice on the staff wallet.

[@SNTrepie]

I recently started a new summon necro and have been using the Act 1 Rogue I got for free from the Blood Raven quest with an Edge runeword. Seems to be just as good as the usual Act 2 Might merc so far.

Some people might say that the A2 thorns merc can have another aura. That may be true in theory, but in practice Emilio sometimes doesn't even bother to turn on his built-in thorns before I finish my run. :D

[@Dzylynyky]

He has to get hit once to turn on the aura

[@travis1228]

I am curious about act 1 endgame gear. Mine has eth shaft, windforce with 36ed jewel and tals mask…

[@LuketheGamerDuke]

I tried using Act 1 Mercs forever because of Inner Sight but she just couldn’t stay alive. I have no doubt it’s because I was heavily lacking good equipment for her. I’ll have to give her another try with my next Summon or Barb build.

[@AzureKev]

Could even make a cheap Peace armor (Shael Thul Amn) at only level 29 for the +2 zon skills (works for act1 mercs now), +1 critical strike, 20% FHR, etc.

[@SlapDashR]

I should’ve scrolled down more before I made a comment. Do you know if it will summon a valk?

[@AzureKev]

@@SlapDashR Unfortunately I don't think so, since it's a merc and mercs can't have summons apparently. The slow missiles proc should work though.

[@SlapDashR]

@@AzureKev true that

[@erick3755]

​@@SlapDashR merc cannot summon valk.

[@travtuck7646]

So can you not make a crafted orange sword in the cube?? I swear I remember being able to do that back in the day with rune/gem/jewel recipe.

[@WildFungus]

that was patched out on the day 1 battlenet patch for LOD but lots of people didnt patch up right away back in the day

[@travtuck7646]

@@WildFungus yeah that would explain it...I don't think I had internet service at all back then, so I was playing whatever version came on the disc.

[@Tyr4xx]

I like her a lot.... as a sorc main, I have her with me most of the time, since she can be saved by teleporting and she is adding the missing element damage to shoot down monsters in hell, where my sorc cannot. I like to give her a witchwild string bow (usually with life-leech), which does a pretty good job - even when not upgraded. 👍👍👍

[@Gloomyllama]

Phil can you do a3 enchant merc next?

[@nikzel]

Since it doesn't have any synergies, past normal the damage added is really low. However, for a play through normal, I do like him especially for a summoner.

[@iamgem]

Merc enchant doesnt do any dmg. People only use the enchant merc for the added AR. But at that point theres way better options from other merc to get AR. They say the enchant merc is not bad on Necro skellies for the boosted AR and little fire dmg. But again, theres better options from other merc. I hope they buff the a3 merc

[@therealjessejames111]

phil, maybe i missed it, but does enchant work on the mercs?

[@Jjohnny642]

Does with a dmg penalty. Think 50%

[@energi_inc.3022]

I got an 86 ww barb with an act 1 merc running faith to boost both our damage. Ww is hitting 11k Berserk 14k Concentrate 13k Merc is hitting 2k. I'm using fire and exploding arrow. May change that up now

[@kittengold9814]

Another great low level/budget option is an Edge bow for a summon necro/druid, she'll stay back with u and help keep herself alive, and all your summons will get that pretty high level thorns aura to boost their damage output and boss clear speed

[@Durrtyboy]

I switched to act 1 merc for my hydra sorc she is great vs hell andy with her fire arrow and she doesnt need to do anything for hell meph but givr me mana she is also really great for summon necro or summon druid but i prefer act 3 merc for summon builds the act 3 fire merc will still buff dmg with enchant and that adds hit rating too but act 3 lightning merc can be really good for boss farming with its static field

[@happosai_sama5298]

Is the harmony available for offline or online/ladder only?, I've made a bulwark but it seems its only for online/ladder only

[@justinemarkdajay7485]

No, they've made them all available offline. I have an insight bow and polearm and it says on the sight ladder only but i play offline. It works.

[@Elbazian]

​@justinemarkdajay7485 harmony is available for online too. Only the the new runewords like cure,mosaic and such are not available at online non ladder but available on offline

[@jurajjakubik6795]

She is just a monster with the enchant sorc. 6k dmg per shot and 83% pierce

[@LucasLucas-ne4xs]

Good vid. When using a caster on early ladder I'll never switch out my Freeze Rogue untill I'm well into the 80s and have decent enough gear to change the style of play. I was expecting you to show the difference between a caster MFing the easy bosses from a distance grinding for those good items with an Act2 suicidal dumb ass or an Act1 Rogue that has the sense to stay behind. Moat trick Mephisto and the act 2 Merc will still try to get in Mephs face and will get blasted in seconds (and if you are low on skill and gear yourself it will take you forever and alot of mana potting to bring him down). An Act 2 Merc will never wait till you have cleared out the pesky monsters in Andys chamber but will go for the shaman in the distance, stepping on the carpet and spawning Andy (and get poisoned by her within seconds) And don't get me started on Travincal where the Act2 nitwit will always run up to the temple stairs if you let him, drawing out the entire council and get crisped by their Hydras in a heartbeat (all Mercs handle Hydras very badly so standing in the middle of them is not a smart move for that Act2 retard)

[@chriszako8386]

awesome video, always giving out good advice. I just learned today that amn runes can turn some unique pole arms like bonehew into great options for a2 mercs.

[@greggen63]

Yeah, anything with a socket, the unique Yari has sockets too IIRC.

[@deepsixer2283]

Hard to pass up an insight though

[@zoolooz2327]

I like to use her on summon builds too like necro or druid, they already have an insane meatwall and don't realy benefits from the act 2 merc, just give her an early edge bow and thron aura will works wonder on your minions

[@EricN73158]

I used on my sorc way back in 2001 a act 1 merc. It was great because back then I was a potato. I still am a potato but back then I did like the act 1 merc on a sorc just cuz they can still attack as you tele around and fire too.

[@ray_donovan_v4]

I'm not sure if this translated to d2r.. but. In LoD, if you add at least +3 "ALL skills" .. she would throw lightning out as well.. I haven't tested it for d2r yet tho.. They may have changed it 🤷

[@markcapestro5390]

The act 1 Freeze Arrow merc is really really good. Add the frost nova runeword to her and it really ups her game.

[@jarredcarlson2479]

I rocked an a1 firebow with hoj dragon and ff for a while :) lol Love the harmony bow

[@geraldstauty8320]

hrmmmmm might have to give this a go on my Nova ES Sorc, getting sick of the A2 Yolo Merc - thnx Mr. Phil !!

[@russellcrowe187]

I use a1 till i get a eth thresh or gt and crown of thieves use in a grate bow and just put a tals helm on her

[@davidasteed]

how many solo self found games did i start my Rogue gal out by finding and gemming up a hunter's bow for her? all of them?

[@mightyfera4466]

Good vid, didnt knew how much i missed Leroy meme.

[@kenlocjusmurkedu691]

Cheaper option for jewelers armor of the whale (etc) you can charsi

[@Barn80]

I brought this game recently on ps5. I’ve played alot of d3 and d4 but really wanna try this. It just seems abit overwhelming watching videos because I just have no idea what’s going on or where to start

Don't watch videos, just enjoy the initial experience. You will only get to see the game from this perspective once. You will make mistakes, but you learn more that way in the beginning than by watching YT videos, most of which caters to the 20+ year veterans of the game.

[@iamgem]

^ what he said. Its very annoying when content creators makes videos claiming to be “budget” when theyve already spent hours and hours farming already. Runewords can already overwhelming to begin with as a beginner. My advice is just to play and take it slow and keep it on players 1 and you will find gear organically.

[@bhuffine2557]

Act 1 merc with a Faith bow, and Bramble on a summon necro does great.

[@Dunkelelf3]

my bowa has an endgame a1 merc with a sup 10ed gmb faith bow with 15 aura 2 skills, eth ap fortitude and eth andy with ias/fr jewel

[@erick3755]

My random use is A1 with lowest defense possible bulwark and treacher/shaftstop with a brand bow on endgame singer. Tele stomp till she casts amp and the yell everything to death.

[@warmachine1770]

Use her with Crown of thieves,Duress and Harmony…she kills it…she pairs well with my Frenzy Barb,she freezes em,he smashes them….the more Dexterity has the faster she put rounds dow range,so Crown of thieves is awesome.

[@DrewDalasta]

i bet kuko wisdom helm and treachery armor on fire merc would be way better for killing cows. can do a fun fire sorc build too where you both have kukos or demon machines. probably wouldnt try it without a razortail or wisdom runeword as well. shit now i have to try it out lol

[@TheDudeAbides4344]

I always use an act 1 merc with edge for my early summoners (necro/druid) the thorns plus defense reduction means they can actually hit shit

[@mikemurray3962]

Is a bow with life leech any good? Or is the damage from bows too low?

[@lordlucario8828]

it's mainly to stay out of aggro so that the meditation aura stays from not dying, since the act 2 merc just bee lines to kill

[@bivdog]

That’s a pretty nice blood helmet for merc!

[@SlapDashR]

Does a peace armor give the merc bonus to + to skill stats? Will they summon the valk? That would be kinda dope

[@erick3755]

Nope, cannot summon valk.

[@erick3755]

Now do a video on the never used A5 1 handed merc who casts one of the most underrated skills in the game for melee chars.

[@PhukYu1]

How do I get can not be frozen on an act 2 merc on weapon? :(

[@kinglichful]

I decided to change the merc and it worked completely she does not die unless we get stuck because of a bad tp, I don't waste money on bringing back my act 2 merc and she has a decent damage.

[@serioushex3893]

i still say duress is the best bang for your buck for merc armor. a bit of damage, a bit of guaranteed cold damage, fhr, all res, crushing blow, open wounds, good defense, all for just an um rune? i know fort is more flat damage, but crushing blow is real nice for bosses.

[@the1deadman543]

That's my wifey :) I do whatever I can to protect her, and she does the same for me! I was playing around the other day , and I gave her my BEST gear , and I gave myself almost nothing 😂 She was SLAYING , she was more powerful than me. Lmao it was funny

[@jonathangortz8104]

Yes please I made a mist bow offline thinking since I made it in a Amazon bow she couldn't use it!!! Just watched you do that and was like uhhhhh SWEET might make a badass Rouge for my paliden.

[@Rosebrand_]

I play Single Player and Hardcore. For this reason I, basically, always choose the Normal Act II Mercenary for their Prayer Aura. No, it might not jump off the page and attract players, given that it doesn't increase or enhance combat prowess, but what it does do is ensure that my character is full health, basically, all the time. For a Hardcore character, this peace of mind is irreplaceable. Greta content, as usual Phil.

[@andrewsakowski9012]

Im new player but i believe there is a bow called ice that gives cold aura

[@kylehoover9927]

make insight in zon bow and it benefits act one merc

[@thetimeee1312]

The problem is that a prayer merc with cure insight and smoke is still more powerful and also really cheap in my opinion. The powerful healing of 3x Prayer would also most of the time keep him alive.

[@iamgem]

Its really good for the player but the merc AI is so dumb. Bring that cure/prayer merc to CS and he easily goes down by doom knights. I think the cure/prayer merc works best with ES sorc but thats about it.

[@Darbobski]

I really wish we could stable our mercs and switch them out as needed.

[@lukemehalick370]

By the end of act five, my act 2, very well geared merc had died a handful of times. The act 1 merc? Ya, just tanks everything. She just doesn't go down, doesn't get hit very often.

[@warrenwallace2]

Use her with piercing equipment and you will be shocked

[@xyrthor]

Once I find a good bow base for Insight, I'm switching to Act 1 merc with my bone necro. Keeping Act 2 merc alive is becoming quite tiring.

[@stevenforrest1798]

I ran one with an edge bow forever on my summon necro

[@camerons6028]

Edge bow and druid/necro summon build.

[@jayreimsgaming]

In the early to mid game, but once you get the gear A2 still king.

[@misterduelog]

I like the act 1 merc when playing summoner Druid

[@joejojo5966]

a1 merc ai is great. also never really see her die on bliozz sorc lol

[@bradpitel1517]

Lol. He's Pals for Life tho!

[@Worf-js5oh]

A1 merc is better for chaos pally builds imo cause she doesnt even really need life leech so you can run cure and she freezes solid de seis pack usually and you dont need a tank cause you are the tank

[@CommanderReplay]

You havent lived until you play a Cold Arrow Merc with a Dream Paladin. Lv 25 conviction. Someone hostiled me once and died on the way point to a 1 shot from my merc.

[@matthewray5954]

Bro Waheed sucks . He never does anything. All he does is sit behind me and let me get hit. He hides in hallways and never does anything except stand there. I'm done with act 2 Mercenary

[@Semirotta]

People go for the Act 2 merc for a reason; the auras. Nothing more, nothing less.

[@peternowlan5196]

Question. If someone doesn’t answer I’ll be disappointed. In all the Guides this man makes, there are no health potions in his inventory. My inventory is stacked with potions. Why is this, is because he is just so good at the game or is it due to items being carried that leech health. ?

[@erick3755]

Once you have endgame gear you really don't need a ton of potions. Also alot of times you are just farming small areas over and over so you can easily buy pots after each run or just pick up as you go.

[@peternowlan5196]

@@erick3755 awesome. Thanks so much.

[@ch-arts-us]

I use tals mask on my merc often

[@attractivegd9531]

Prob the worse char to display A1 merc as you can always teleport her to safety otherwise great vid :p

[@rollinmetzger7392]

A1 merc is my standard for every play though until I get gear good enough to keep Emilio alive.

[@Jjohnny642]

This merc could be fun with delirium and you are boss targeting

[@suboglacius]

me merc is frenzy barb use dream and dragon last wish and plague

[@shawmeck9323]

She needs to cast slow missile, instead of inner sight.

[@OrKkTeKk]

I slotted ice, fire, and poison dam on my girl and let her snipe while i stroll, that and a bunch of wolves as backup. Shes good.

[@dirkstadil8621]

I like to use the act 1 merc. She just survived a lot better (if you don't have the greatest gear for the act 2 merc).

[@slof69]

i miss d2 already

[@amfitness5598]

Come on, what’s “until u get budget” gear BS. How budget is to rock an Insight, Bulwark, Hustle or Smoke based on what u need? When the highest rune u need to find is a Ko or Lum…Act 2 remains king in all situations but a few. Budget or not.

[@humptydumpty1575]

Agreed

[@allanlyndon9893]

I didn't know act1 mercs can use amazon bows.