A question about CS running and merc

[Marcinos]

Hello,
first-time poster here. I have a lvl 90 Frenzy Barb ready to do some serious CS running (1.13, mind you). Altough sample runs went pretty smoothly on players 3, i have some problems with merc (A2,Might one). I would like to make him bulletproof, but were unable to do so. I would like to get some suggestions about his gear:

Weapon - I thought about Crescent moon runeword. I've got Reaper's also, but with lawbringer on my barb it seems a waste. Obedience maybe? Higher tier RW are out of question for now.
Armor - I lack Fortitude. I thought about someting like Gloom (for Dim Vision) or Duress. Maybe there's something I miss?
Helm - I've got Andy and Vampire Gaze, Rockstopper also. Andy seems nice, but fire res goes down, and socketing it with Ral seems a waste.

Maybe this seems really trivial, but I'd appreciate all suggestions. He usually dies when he gets swarmed by these Balrogs, who quickly make barbecue from him. If you would like to hear more details, I'll happily provide it.

 

[Cyrax]

If it's the fire damage he's dying from a GA is a nice armor of choice. It ups his max resists to 90 IIRC. This only helps if his resists are actually that high ofc. Both Andy's and vamp gaze are good helmets. One for str + leech and the other for DR + leech. If you go with Andy a ral is actually a good thing to socket it with. Especially if it's the fire that's killing him. And even more so if you combine it with GA.
Gloom i wouldn't do. The dim vision would override your decrep.

Despite already having decrep from your barb's weapon, don't forget that reaper's also has leech which helps keeping him alive. Obedience is also a nice weap. Good damage combined with leech from helmet.

Having said all that. The CS remains a dangerous place, even for well equipped merc' (and chars).

 

[japanzaman]

Ideally you would want to use Grief with Reaper's on your Merc for your weapons, and then use Vamps/Andy and Shaftstop/GA depending on your needs. Another possibility is Tomb Reaver for your Merc, combined with GA gives a pretty nice protected merc and has some other nice mods as well. You could Amn it for even more leech, or drop a IAS/ID jewel depending on how you like to roll or what you have available. If you decide to use Tomb Reaver and Guardian Angel, you could toss on Vamps and be fairly well protected.

 

[Marcinos]

Thank You both for your answers.
I'm afraid that weapons like Grief and Tomb Reaver are out of my scope - no luck at finding single Lo oraz TR yet. As far it goes, I'll go probably with Andy as a helmet, with Ral.
But I can't still make my mind about weapon and armor. Reaper's is obviously nice, but I'd like to use something else for a change, hence this Crescent Moon proposal. What do you think about it? Obedience in a nice base can probably be nice too.
And there is an armor problem too. Gloom's DV will override decrep as you mentioned - I forgot about it, so this armor is out. I've got also GA, Duress, Treachery. Maybe the last one with Crescent Moon would be a nice combo?
Sorry for drilling, just looking for something unorthodox. Using same gear on every merc although efficient, isn't definetely stylish.

 

[Cyrax]

I wouldn't use CM. The static is a nice feature, but the ED is fairly low. That also means he won't be leeching as much as he could. In that respect obedience wins hands down. It has way more ED, CB and resist all.

Since you said the fire dam is what is killing the merc, i'd go with GA. Treachery surely is a nice option. Lots of IAS and DR/shorter curse duration with fade. Problem is your merc will still be taking the same amount of fire dam. And possibly even more if resists aren't maxed without fade (until it triggers).

You can go for unorthodox/stylish, but remember there's a reason why some gear is considered orthodox. That's because it's (arguably) the best. The unorthodox is just that because it usually works somewhat (or a lot) less. So if you want to go style by all means go ahead, but if you're looking for the best possible way to keep that merc alive, the orthodox methods will most likely work best.

 

[krischan]

Even if your merc will make it past the Infector of Souls, there's still Diablo who will kill him in a few seconds in case he decides to attack him, in particular if you are on a budget or when he's using his inferno attack.

With other words: In the CS, forget the merc.

 

[Corrupted]

Reaper's, Treachery, 11 absorb Steelshade with Ral.

 

[mir]

I would go for andy/duress/obedience for merc. You can use dracul's gasp gloves to help him occasionally, you can also use howl if you see him in trouble.

 

[NoisemakerArrow]

I'd use Obedience, Guardian Angel (if he's dying from fire damage) or Duriel's Shell or Stone or Treachery, and Tal's helm.

Dracul's means overwriting Decrepify.

 

[mir]

I'd use Obedience, Guardian Angel (if he's dying from fire damage) or Duriel's Shell or Stone or Treachery, and Tal's helm.

Dracul's means overwriting Decrepify.

Yes, but it won't stay for long and might help if merc can't leech enough by himself.

 

[Marcinos]

Thank you for all your replies. I went with Andy (Ral), Treachery (Fade triggers usually before I reach CS) and Obedience (though I'll experiment with Reaper's some more). It really works well.
But probably the best advice was about using Howl. I'm used to it when playing Berserker, but I forgot about it when using Frenzy barb. These utility skills make world of difference sometimes.

 

[jdkerr]

I second the recommendation for Steel Shade; integer absorb wipes out both fire threats. When my CS-running character started using it on the mercenary, survival increased dramatically.

 

[jeffy]

"I bet no one has mentioned Steel Shade yet. I'm going to just go in there and dominate with my awesome CS running knowledge"

Reaper's, Treachery, 11 absorb Steelshade with Ral.

Damn you!