Alright so yesterday I finally sat down to test out mercenary strategies in Diablo 2 after getting my butt kicked repeatedly. Seriously, those Act 2 guys kept dropping like flies against Duriel. Here’s exactly what I did step by step.
The Starting Point – Hiring the Merc
First thing I did was run straight to Greiz in Act 2 Normal difficulty. I always pick the Prayer merc here early game because that tiny healing actually matters. Hired him and named him Steve – don’t judge my naming skills. Immediately dumped my leftover junk gear on him: some basic spear and the worst armor I had. Predictably, Steve got wrecked in Blood Moor within minutes. Like, literally folded against Fallen shamans. Pathetic.
Gearing Up Phase
Okay, lesson learned: Steve needs actual gear. Farmed Countess for runes like my life depended on it. Made an “Insight” polearm – took like 12 tries cause Larzuk refused to give 4 sockets. Finally stuck it in a crappy Bill. Also gambled for a 3-socket boneweave armor and shoved “Treachery” runes into it. Huge upgrade! The fade proc and attack speed change was insane. For helmet? Just used a random life leach circlet I had collecting dust. Basic setup:
- Insight in Bill for mana regen
- Treachery armor for speed and resists
- Life leach circlet because no Vamp Gaze drop yet
Testing Tactics Against Bosses
Took Steve to face Andariel. Holy crap – he tanked her poison clouds like a champ while my sorc spammed fireballs from behind. Healing aura + Prayer + life leach kept him barely alive. But Baal’s minions? Disaster. Wave 2 corpses exploded Steve into red mist instantly. Tried repositioning him manually – run behind pillars, pull back during chaos – still died 3 times. Swapped his Insight for “Obedience” in a thresher. Massive damage spike! Those crushing blow procs melted Baal’s health bar when Steve actually survived long enough to swing.
Final Tweaks That Actually Worked
After losing 50k gold resurrecting Steve, I finally got it right. Hunted down a “Tal Rasha’s Helm” – the lifesteal and resists are perfect for mercs. Combined with Treachery’s fade activation, he stopped being made of paper. Key takeaways for smooth runs:
- Always pre-cast fade by letting Steve tank trash mobs before bosses
- Feed him healing potions like candy during big fights
- Keep him away from corpse explosion enemies – just teleport past them
- Obedience > Insight if your build doesn’t need mana
Now Steve lives through most Chaos Sanctuary runs… most of the time. Still working on that darn Fortitude armor drop though.