Leveling a Prayer mercenary, is he worth the effort?

desktop

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My newborn baby, Frozen Honey, hired him for protection in act 2. She will
be a Frozen Orb / Charged Bold build. Usually I just go for a nightmare
mercenary (Holy Freeze), but I've always wanted to try the Prayer one. So
what do you think, is he worth the extra effort? And yes, I know I can hire
him in hell as well, but that is cheating.

desktop at home dot se
 
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"Desktop" <desktop@home.sweden> wrote in message
news😱LiGd.127739$dP1.458855@newsc.telia.net...
> My newborn baby, Frozen Honey, hired him for protection in act 2. She will
> be a Frozen Orb / Charged Bold build. Usually I just go for a nightmare
> mercenary (Holy Freeze), but I've always wanted to try the Prayer one. So
> what do you think, is he worth the extra effort? And yes, I know I can
hire
> him in hell as well, but that is cheating.
>
> desktop at home dot se

Give him an insight weapon at lvl 27 and you will have to work really hard
to run out of mana.

My es/fo sorc has one and he does fine until the nm worldstone keep. There
he dies to the minions, and without enough sources of leech, he dies even
faster in hell. But until then he does great.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

> My newborn baby, Frozen Honey, hired him for protection in act 2. She will
> be a Frozen Orb / Charged Bold build. Usually I just go for a nightmare
> mercenary (Holy Freeze), but I've always wanted to try the Prayer one. So
> what do you think, is he worth the extra effort? And yes, I know I can
hire
> him in hell as well, but that is cheating.

Find a good Enchantress to help out. A high level Enchant is by far the
easiest way to level any merc. (Except those act 3 guys. Doesn't work so
well with them.) Go to places where the monsters are similar to his level,
and let him do all the killing. You can help him along with a little Static
Field. That makes it easier for him to get the killing blows. As for
"worth it"? I couldn't tell you. Never seen just how effective their
Prayer aura is at higher levels.
 
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> Give him an insight weapon at lvl 27 and you will have to work really hard
> to run out of mana.
>
>

check the post "I've wasted six minutes of my life" then you might know why
your answer is not very useful 😉
Walt


--
-------------
Europe SC non-ladder
*inzaire110, *inzaire1101,
*inzaire1102, *inzaire_hc
*inzaire1103 (ladder, i have to try the new runewords)
http://stud3.tuwien.ac.at/~e9173169/MyDiablo/MyDiablo.html
 
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Desktop wrote:
> My newborn baby, Frozen Honey, hired him for protection in act 2. She
> will be a Frozen Orb / Charged Bold build. Usually I just go for a
> nightmare mercenary (Holy Freeze), but I've always wanted to try the
> Prayer one. So what do you think, is he worth the extra effort? And
> yes, I know I can hire him in hell as well, but that is cheating.
>
> desktop at home dot se

My skellimancer has a prayer guy (as did my former skellimancer), and for
keeping an army alive he's absolutely essential. Haven't tried him with any
other char though, but I say give it a go. You can always ditch him if he
isn't any good.

Devast8or
 
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"Desktop" <desktop@home.sweden> wrote in message
news😱LiGd.127739$dP1.458855@newsc.telia.net...
> My newborn baby, Frozen Honey, hired him for protection in act 2. She will
> be a Frozen Orb / Charged Bold build. Usually I just go for a nightmare
> mercenary (Holy Freeze), but I've always wanted to try the Prayer one. So
> what do you think, is he worth the extra effort? And yes, I know I can
hire
> him in hell as well, but that is cheating.
>
> desktop at home dot se
>
>

Cheating is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. I don't see why you think
hiring mercs in Hell mode is cheating. The Hell mode versions have stat and
skill penalties, so the game gives you a choice between sticking with an
early choice and spending time leveling him, or playing through more quickly
and rehiring an ultimately weaker merc later. A fair trade I would say.

Leveling a Normal act 2 merc is not that bad. All you have to do is spend
more time in act 3 then you otherwise might, then he keeps up pretty well
after that. I have leveled a Blessed Aim merc to 80 and my friend has a
Prayer merc up to about that level. I'm not sure how good it is as I play a
trapper with his Prayer merc char. My red bulb is always full but I don't
take that many hits. I doubt he is good enough to help a melee replace some
leech, but for a caster it is pretty handy not to have to worry about
replenish life items.

-Steve
 
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Steve W wrote:
> "Desktop" <desktop@home.sweden> wrote in message
> news😱LiGd.127739$dP1.458855@newsc.telia.net...
>> My newborn baby, Frozen Honey, hired him for protection in act 2.
>> She will be a Frozen Orb / Charged Bold build. Usually I just go for
>> a nightmare mercenary (Holy Freeze), but I've always wanted to try
>> the Prayer one. So what do you think, is he worth the extra effort?
>> And yes, I know I can hire him in hell as well, but that is cheating.
>
> Cheating is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. I don't see why you
> think hiring mercs in Hell mode is cheating. The Hell mode versions
> have stat and skill penalties, so the game gives you a choice between
> sticking with an early choice and spending time leveling him, or
> playing through more quickly and rehiring an ultimately weaker merc
> later. A fair trade I would say.

I don't really think it is cheating, but if I'm going to hire my first
Prayer mercenary I want to do it the hard way. 🙂

> Leveling a Normal act 2 merc is not that bad. All you have to do is
> spend more time in act 3 then you otherwise might, then he keeps up
> pretty well after that. I have leveled a Blessed Aim merc to 80 and
> my friend has a Prayer merc up to about that level. I'm not sure how
> good it is as I play a trapper with his Prayer merc char. My red
> bulb is always full but I don't take that many hits. I doubt he is
> good enough to help a melee replace some leech, but for a caster it
> is pretty handy not to have to worry about replenish life items.

Hopefully I can ditch my red pots for a batch of purples. Thanks for your
input.

desktop at home dot se
 
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~misfit~ wrote:
> Devast8or wrote:
>>
>> My skellimancer has a prayer guy (as did my former skellimancer), and
>> for keeping an army alive he's absolutely essential. Haven't tried
>> him with any other char though, but I say give it a go. You can
>> always ditch him if he isn't any good.
>
> Interesting. I've always gone with a might merc with a skellimancer
> and they seem to stay alive fine. At least, it's fairly rare that I
> suddenly realise I'm low on minions.

Really? Perhaps your minions are stronger than mine. What levels are your
minions and masteries?

> Now the big question is: "Is it
> worth training a prayer guy up to see?". If I deem the result a
> negative I then have to train another might merc. We're talking
> potentailly hours of tedious merc-leveling. (Necro and merc at lvl 91)
>
> Further input appreciated.
>
> <g>

Build a new skellimancer with a prayer guy 😉

Devast8or
 
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~misfit~ wrote:
> Devast8or wrote:
>> Desktop wrote:
>>> My newborn baby, Frozen Honey, hired him for protection in act 2.
>>> She will be a Frozen Orb / Charged Bold build. Usually I just go
>>> for a nightmare mercenary (Holy Freeze), but I've always wanted to
>>> try the Prayer one. So what do you think, is he worth the extra
>>> effort? And yes, I know I can hire him in hell as well, but that is
>>> cheating.
>>>
>>> desktop at home dot se
>>
>> My skellimancer has a prayer guy (as did my former skellimancer), and
>> for keeping an army alive he's absolutely essential. Haven't tried
>> him with any other char though, but I say give it a go. You can
>> always ditch him if he isn't any good.
>
> Interesting. I've always gone with a might merc with a skellimancer
> and they seem to stay alive fine. At least, it's fairly rare that I
> suddenly realise I'm low on minions. Now the big question is: "Is it
> worth training a prayer guy up to see?". If I deem the result a
> negative I then have to train another might merc. We're talking
> potentailly hours of tedious merc-leveling. (Necro and merc at lvl 91)
>
> Further input appreciated.
>
> <g>

Might merc, might merc, might merc! The aura makes the skellies kill faster,
staying alive is not an issue. I would think even with modest equipment a
might merc would benefit you more. Holler!

desktop at home dot se
 
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Darrel Hoffman wrote:
>> My newborn baby, Frozen Honey, hired him for protection in act 2.
>> She will be a Frozen Orb / Charged Bold build. Usually I just go for
>> a nightmare mercenary (Holy Freeze), but I've always wanted to try
>> the Prayer one. So what do you think, is he worth the extra effort?
>> And yes, I know I can hire him in hell as well, but that is cheating.
>
> Find a good Enchantress to help out. A high level Enchant is by far
> the easiest way to level any merc. (Except those act 3 guys.
> Doesn't work so well with them.) Go to places where the monsters are
> similar to his level, and let him do all the killing. You can help
> him along with a little Static Field. That makes it easier for him
> to get the killing blows. As for "worth it"? I couldn't tell you.
> Never seen just how effective their Prayer aura is at higher levels.

Somehow the little stick man managed to keep up with me. At the moment he is
24 and my sorceress is 26. It's still a pain to keep him close to me though.
Regarding levels I mean. Finding a circlet with +1-100 lightning damage
helped (level 18 requirement). 🙂

desktop at home dot se
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 00:41:56 GMT, "Desktop" <desktop@home.sweden>
wrote:

>My newborn baby, Frozen Honey, hired him for protection in act 2. She will
>be a Frozen Orb / Charged Bold build. Usually I just go for a nightmare
>mercenary (Holy Freeze), but I've always wanted to try the Prayer one. So
>what do you think, is he worth the extra effort? And yes, I know I can hire
>him in hell as well, but that is cheating.
>
>desktop at home dot se
>
Hey Deskboy,

i know that you're playing non-ladder mostly, but i just wanted to
share this:

I build your standard Tals Sorc (FB/FO) and decided to go with a
ultra-rabbi. That is a prayer merc with an insight stick (not
infinity, alice .-)). His heal rate is around 50 Hitpoints per second
(or is it two seconds?) at level 90. I made this beauty in an eth col
voulge, and he's jabbing away with bla bla to 3500 damage, not too
shabby! several consequences: Pot usage is down to an absolute miminum
(if i play in act 1/2/3 hell, i can go without a single pot), no need
for antidotes (heal rate offsets even achmel's poison!) and a greatly
decreased need for mana. I have around 600 mana and can teleport all
night long at 120 FCR. In fact, its almost not possible to empty the
mana ball even by spamming level 30 fireballs.
FYI the heal rate from prayer transfers to the meditation aura from
the insight stick, its the same bonus your common pally gets. So, if a
level 18 (highest natural skill level on a "normal" prayer merc)
prayer aura heals about 25 HP/sec, the meditation gets the same amount
as a bonus - hence doubling the heal rate. Hell Mercs only get a level
16 prayer aura, no matter which level they are. Decide for yourself if
its worth the hassle leveling them. I'd say yes.


Cheers, Kai
 
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After going to <http://tinyurl.com/2tnqw> and realizing that it's a
small world after all, "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> said:

>Chris Lansdell wrote:
>> "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> wrote in message
>> news:350dgtF4gi91sU1@individual.net...
>>> Devast8or wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> <g>
>>>>
>>>> Build a new skellimancer with a prayer guy 😉
>>>
>>> Sure, I'll do it in a minute. 🙂
>>> --
>> Poor shady. See, misfit, there's an innovation called "foreplay", and
>> it doesn't involve 3 other people!
>
>Man, you guys are so perverted!! I feel right at home. Just don't be talking
>up the whole foreplay thing to shady ok? ;-)

Foreplay includes talking?

Why didn't anybody tell me?
--
no, i didn't forget the 'F's
http://www.geocities.com/jerk_o2002
http://www.geocities.com/nameless_mod
-My Diablo 2 Mod
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/bunny.php
-My theme song
 
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After going to <http://tinyurl.com/2tnqw> and realizing that it's a
small world after all, "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> said:

>jerk-o wrote:
>> After going to <http://tinyurl.com/2tnqw> and realizing that it's a
>> small world after all, "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> said:
>>
>>> Chris Lansdell wrote:
>>>> "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> wrote in message
>>>> news:350dgtF4gi91sU1@individual.net...
>>>>> Devast8or wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> <g>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Build a new skellimancer with a prayer guy 😉
>>>>>
>>>>> Sure, I'll do it in a minute. 🙂
>>>>> --
>>>> Poor shady. See, misfit, there's an innovation called "foreplay",
>>>> and it doesn't involve 3 other people!
>>>
>>> Man, you guys are so perverted!! I feel right at home. Just don't be
>>> talking up the whole foreplay thing to shady ok? ;-)
>>
>> Foreplay includes talking?
>>
>> Why didn't anybody tell me?
>
>Because sheep don't talk?

Hey! I'm not in New Zealand.
--
no, i didn't forget the 'F's
http://www.geocities.com/jerk_o2002
http://www.geocities.com/nameless_mod
-My Diablo 2 Mod
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/bunny.php
-My theme song
 
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Kai Scholz-Starke wrote:
> On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 00:41:56 GMT, "Desktop" <desktop@home.sweden>
> wrote:
>
>> My newborn baby, Frozen Honey, hired him for protection in act 2.
>> She will be a Frozen Orb / Charged Bold build. Usually I just go for
>> a nightmare mercenary (Holy Freeze), but I've always wanted to try
>> the Prayer one. So what do you think, is he worth the extra effort?
>> And yes, I know I can hire him in hell as well, but that is cheating.
>>
>> desktop at home dot se
>>
> Hey Deskboy,

Hello non-relative of Gundemarie.

> i know that you're playing non-ladder mostly, but i just wanted to
> share this:

You have my blessing to do so.

> I build your standard Tals Sorc (FB/FO) and decided to go with a
> ultra-rabbi. That is a prayer merc with an insight stick (not
> infinity, alice .-)). His heal rate is around 50 Hitpoints per second
> (or is it two seconds?) at level 90. I made this beauty in an eth col
> voulge, and he's jabbing away with bla bla to 3500 damage, not too
> shabby! several consequences: Pot usage is down to an absolute miminum
> (if i play in act 1/2/3 hell, i can go without a single pot), no need
> for antidotes (heal rate offsets even achmel's poison!) and a greatly
> decreased need for mana. I have around 600 mana and can teleport all
> night long at 120 FCR. In fact, its almost not possible to empty the
> mana ball even by spamming level 30 fireballs.
> FYI the heal rate from prayer transfers to the meditation aura from
> the insight stick, its the same bonus your common pally gets. So, if a
> level 18 (highest natural skill level on a "normal" prayer merc)
> prayer aura heals about 25 HP/sec, the meditation gets the same amount
> as a bonus - hence doubling the heal rate. Hell Mercs only get a level
> 16 prayer aura, no matter which level they are. Decide for yourself if
> its worth the hassle leveling them. I'd say yes.

Now I'm all jealous. :-( But I have decided to level him. 🙂

> Cheers, Kai

desktop at home dot se