Act 2 Merc weapon tips

[Harleyquin]

Act 2 Merc weapon tips

I recently picked up a meat scraper in Hell Act 2 and I'm wondering whether I should use it. The current weapon I have on my Act 2 merc does more damage and does non-physical damage compared to the meat scraper. The difference is at least 100 on the min side and 200-250 on the max side however meat scraper has faster attack rate and generally better mods. Which should I use?

Suggestions regarding other weapons like Reaper's Toll or Tomb Reaver are out of the question, I play players1 with no help and very little in the way of magic find.

 

[farting bob]

Well it would help if you gave us the ATMA readout for the other weapon, that way we can see all the stats and compare easier.
As for what youve told us, i think that the meatscraper would be better. faster attack and alot of LL IMO more important than 100 extra damage. And open wounds may not be very noticveable, but it basically stops healing and provides constant posion effect. 25MF and masteries are just gravy really.

 

[Harleyquin]

I don't have the ATMA readout since the notebook with my character is not capable of going online. A rough idea of specs:

Rare Grim Scythe
20% IAS
25-40ish fire damage
+1 to masteries (useless)
A damage increasing mod
And other mods that aren't important

What's LL by the way?

 

[farting bob]

LL = life leech.
Based on those mods, i'd say its more balanced. a big dose of damage with IAS and a little fire dmg. If your not certain, i'd try out both of them in the same area (ie: run nm baal twice, each with a different merc weapon. let him do most of the killing and judge how fast he kills and how much he misses the LL) If you go with the grim sythe, i'd socket it with larzuks quest and stick an Amn in there since having life leech is very important in hell.

 

[killian27]

LL = Life Leech "x% life stolen per hit" really a must for a merc if you want him to be durable imo.

too slow

 

[Bazhell]

Do as FB suggests try both in the same area.

I've generally found that faster is better, but in this case you are only talking a 10% increase. Given the damage difference I don't think it will be worth the speed increase.

Your rare also has some elemental damage that while not much will help with the physical immunes.

 

[ToastedTacoGuy]

i know you said no weapon recommendations, but a hone sundan is hardly out of your reach, i think i picked one up in about 10 nm meph runs, and it is pretty much your best option. if that is still out of the question then meat scraper is the way to go, the 10% ll and the opens wounds are nice mods, and your merc is gonna need the LL

 

[XDoomasX]

Maby you should try to run nm meph a bit?
I got my hone sudan(CB is the king IMO) from him 100-200 mf is enough(you can change your gear to mf gear befor killing him if you have problems surviving) just get yourself a nice map seed and farm him
edit: is's hard to understand how much damage does your stick...

 

[PyroStock]

I also generally prefer speed. A grim scythe with 20IAS clocks in at 7frames, where a Lochaber Axe with 30IAS comes in at only 7.5. So your rare hits harder and is faster. The only thing it's missing is LifeLeech.

I really like Meatscrapper for Nightmare with MF boost, but it doesn't do enough damage for Hell even untwinked. If you have problems with keeping your Merc alive, don't want to use your socket quest for a Merc item and just want your Merc as a tank then maybe Meatscrapper might help with it's LifeLeech, but for the most part I would try to stick with your rare (unless of course you do find HoneSundan or another great weapon). If he only has minor problems a potion now and then should do fine.

The Meat Scraper
Lochaber Axe
Two-Hand Damage: 16 to 160
Durability: 49 of 50
Required Strength: 80
Required Level: 41
Polearm Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: Expansion
Item Level: 91
Fingerprint: 0x29608e5a
GUID: 0xffffffff 0xdeadbeef 0x0
+176% Enhanced Damage
10% Life stolen per hit
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
30% Increased Attack Speed
50% Chance of Open Wounds
+3 to Masteries Skills (Barbarian Only)

The difference is at least 100 on the min side and 200-250 on the max side

So your rare comes in at around 100min and 350-400Max... that's pretty significant.

 

[NSXdreamer]

Google for "diablo 2 weapon speed calculator" and go to the first result. Play with it to see if the 10% extra make a difference or not.

 

[Twoflower]

maybee upgrade the meat scrabber ? would help on the damage side and you still have the mods

 

[Harleyquin]

I decided to use the meatscraper for the Life leach, since my character's a necromancer who has not problem breaking Physical immunity. I don't have the runes to upgrade the meat scraper and my necromancer is terrible at killing Mephisto so running him is out of the question.

Thanks anyway for the suggestions, I think I'll go with Farting bob's recommendation on open wounds, if it triggers it probably makes up for the reduced physical damage on the unique