Alright folks, let me tell you about my recent adventure trying to make the perfect Fortitude armor for my merc in Diablo 2. Man, it sounds simple, pick an elite armor base, throw in the runes, right? Nope. Learned that the hard way, nearly wasted some good high runes. Gotta share this mess.
First off, I gotta tell you, I got cocky. Found a sweet Lo rune in the Countess’ tower last week – felt like king of the world! Immediately thought, “Time to pimp my merc!” Grabbed that Lo, a Mal, and some Els and Tirs from my stash. Ready to roll. Needed an elite armor base though.
So, I started shopping around, right? Thought I knew what I was doing.
Step 1: Just Grabbing “Elite” Stuff Like a Dummy
- First snagged a normal Duskshroud off a corpse in Hell Cows. Just saw “elite armor,” got excited. Stuck the runes in… Boom. Created Fortitude. Nice! Then I actually looked… Defense felt kinda low. Didn’t think much.
- Next run, got a Wyrmhide. Figured, heavier armor, better defense, yeah? Made another one. Defense was higher, sure. But then… clunk clunk clunk. My Act 2 merc sounded like a tin can rolling down a hill. Suddenly realized I never checked the strength requirement. Whoops! Guy could barely lift the thing, let alone chase Fallen.
- Then, like an idiot, tried a Shadow Plate. Looked awesome! Big, bulky, terrifying. Defense? Sky-high numbers. I was grinning. Popped the runes in… error message. Flat out wouldn’t work. Nearly screamed. Forgot it has no sockets. Felt like a total chicken.
My merc was wobbling around in mismatched armor parts like a badly dressed scarecrow. Embarrassing. Time to actually learn.
Step 2: Getting My Brain Involved (Finally)
Right, okay. Fortitude needs a 4-socket elite armor base. Simple rules. Need to balance:
- Defense: Higher is good, obviously. Want merc to survive Mephisto’s face lasers.
- Strength Requirement: Merc has limits, guys! He ain’t Superman. Gotta pick something he can actually wear.
- Weight: Heavy armor makes them move slower? Didn’t believe it until I saw my merc lagging behind like he was dragging an anchor.
- Ethereal: The big secret sauce everyone whispers about. Ethereal stuff has higher defense and doesn’t lose durability on a merc. Like wrapping glass around an egg – looks risky but works!
Started looking properly at stats. Learned the mercs have set stats. My Act 2 Nightmare Offense guy? He tops out at like 198 strength at level 90-something. Anything needing more is useless. Heavy armors were out immediately.
Step 3: Testing the Real Contenders
Hit the trading channels and started hunting bases like a madman, focusing on ethereal and sockets:
- Archon Plate (Non-Eth): Snagged one cheap. High defense (~500ish), only needed 103 strength – easy for merc. Weight? Medium. Felt solid. Put the runes in… worked! Merc didn’t grumble, defense felt good.
- Dusk Shroud (Eth): Oooh baby, ethereal this time. Low strength requirement (77!), super light. Defense rolled well (~800). Slapped Fortitude in it. Merc became silent death, gliding around. Perfect stealth tank.
- Balrog Skin (Eth): Found one! Looked mean. Defense rolled very high (>1000!). But needed 165 strength. My merc managed it at high level, barely. It’s heavy though. Saw a tiny bit of slowdown, but felt like armor plating on a truck. Survivability king.
What I Learned (The Painful Way):
Don’t be me. Don’t waste runes on junk. Here’s the takeaway:
- Archon Plate: All-round solid choice. Fairly easy to find/make 4os, good defense, reasonable requirements. My safe bet now.
- Dusk Shroud (Eth): The ninja choice. Light as a feather, high defense ethereal, merc loves it. Looks cool too. Top tier if you find it Eth.
- Balrog Skin / Kraken Shell (Eth): The walking fortress option. CRAZY high defense, but needs a beefy high-level merc. He’ll be a bit slow, but boy will he take hits.
- Avoid Like Plague: Anything requiring over 200 strength (like Sacred Armor), anything without sockets, anything super heavy unless you really want that max defense.
Why do I know all this? Because I nearly put that damn Lo rune into a plain Wyrmhide I fished out of the Tristram river. Lost weeks of farming trusting a “good defense” number alone. Got scammed in a trade over a “low req elite base” that turned out normal grade. Overpaid like a chicken. It’s chaos out there. If your base looks ugly and needs a forklift, the numbers are probably too. Keep it smart, keep your merc alive!
