Need advice on what to do

[Mariachi]

Need advice on what to do

I have an etheral great hauberk that i cubed and got 4 socs(yay me).I'm considering three different ways to go:make a stone or fort for a merc,or perhaps trade it.It's got 1093 def. if that affects your opinion.What would you do in this situation.BTW,I currently don't have all the neccesary runes for a fort,though I'm about to begin doing some trades here on these forums.I could then probably get the runes,but I'm just looking for opinions on this.Thanks.

 

[tinncann25]

the most profitable and benefitual approach in my opinion is fort

however stone does provide def and fhr

=P
go with fort

 

[Evrae Altana]

Fort when the Ladder's still there.
You can make Stone on NL.

 

[mythos]

I've tried eth fort's on my merc, and decided that i actually prefer eth coh. more res, dr and strength. the strength can help your merc equip an eth cv which has 200 str req. it also has 8% life steal which i think is very important for keeping your merc alive. combine it with a vamp gaze and polearm of your choice (ie insight, infinity, pride, obediance, etc) and you merc will be set =)

 

[TurbulentTurtle]

The fortitude would probably be a more popular choice since you get some nice damage for your merc. The CoH idea sounds a lot better though; it has a lot more bonuses that are useful to mercs.

 

[thefranklin]

The dr is really low so it doesn't do that much. The higher damage for the leech is better than the leech on there. Fort has added life and higher defense. Fort has lower resis, but your merc is close to maxed with what fort gives you anyway, so the 65 from coh doesn't really do anything.

I agree with the str thing, but that is why there is andy's helm. Ral that and your merc has an easy +65 or so to all resis and thats enough. If only one of them had ias or fade, that would really separate them.

 

[mythos]

well, coh has 100ed to undead and 200ed to demons, whereas fort has 300ed.
so you will get more damage from the fort, but i don't see the need for a hard hitting merc. I just want him to be a tank. He occupies the monsters while i kill them. So from that approach I think the coh is better. it will garuantee 75 res in hell, very important for a tank, add the 8dr to 15+ from a vamp gaze and you've got 23dr, minimum. Again, it adds to his tanking ability. With a gaze you'e got 14+% life leech to keep him alive and an open socket.
Added gravy is the 25%mf.
If you really want your merc to hurt monsters, but a weapon with crushing blow on him.

 

[Mariachi]

Thanks for all the input folks.Seeing as how I'd need to aquire runes to make fort or coh,I think I'll sit on this armor for a bit.There's no rush to make anything at this time,so I'll do some trades and then see where I stand.Anyone else with comments please feel free to keep doing so.I welcome your ideas.

 

[Eilo Rytyj]

Well, the Lo for the Fort would be the only rune you'd need to trade for. The other 3 are just a few Countess runs away.

Host a normal Tomb game to collect chipped and flawed gems for cubing above Thul to get to Dol and Sol. Just remember to tell the low levels to leave the gems for you, or you'll terminate the runs...

That's what I do when I need a few lows/mids for runewords or other purposes.

 

[Frosty_The_Snowman]

I've never tried Fortitude on a merc, I usually go with CoH or even Shaftstop (very nice old-school armor for merc, when ethereal, upgraded to elite and UM'ed :grin: ). I also use Treachery on some builds, this armor gives him insane speed. Combine it with an Infinity or Obedience + Guillaume's Face, and that Crushing Blow becomes deadly !

 

[tinncann25]

I've never tried Fortitude on a merc, I usually go with CoH or even Shaftstop (very nice old-school armor for merc, when ethereal, upgraded to elite and UM'ed :grin: ). I also use Treachery on some builds, this armor gives him insane speed. Combine it with an Infinity or Obedience + Guillaume's Face, and that Crushing Blow becomes deadly !

I have always used tals/shaft/weapon on my mercs, never found any trouble =P

I would not make an eth coh, just make a regular coh and give it to your merc so in the end it has some trade value.

 

[Frosty_The_Snowman]

Eth. bugged CoH have a big trade value as well, these are nice merc armors. I have a 2000+ Def eth bugged Sacred Armor with CoH in it, and my merc loves it very much :thumbsup: !

 

[Yossarian]

Eth. bugged CoH have a big trade value as well, these are nice merc armors. I have a 2000+ Def eth bugged Sacred Armor with CoH in it, and my merc loves it very much :thumbsup: !

I have 2 low to mid str 1600 def COH's and have never had a much interest in them form people. Having said that I love them on a merc. For all the reason already mentioned oh and the +2 skills is great for an act2 merc. I actually use one with a Faith merc and the other on an old uber runner. The uber one has positive res against Meph and is fairly capable of living with a little attention.

however stone does provide def and fhr

With CA a fort actually has better D.


Having said I did I recommend an eth fort for the OP. Cheaper and very effective. Plus it has fast guarenteed trade value of 3 hr's in the future (atleast on west).

 

[Frosty_The_Snowman]

I don't care about its trading value btw, I don't think I will ever trade it since it's the perfect armor for my überkiller's merc :thumbsup: !