Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

[HanShotFirst]

Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

Who’s this Hector? . . you say . . .

Hector is the hardcore untwinked 1.13 Concentrate Barbarian that I created to participate in Kesteg’s untwinked quest for level 99 challenge/thread. (He’s a Conqueror not a Guardian because Ancients are being reserved for level 98 as I’m still pretending I’m going to get him to level 99 someday). I opted to create a hardcore character as I find leveling for the sake of leveling uninteresting unless, . . . it’s done hardcore. (Insert the usual elitist hardcore reasoning here). I opted to create a Barbarian mostly because they seemed underrepresented in the challenge and also because they seemed good for survivability (both in general and at my endgame target: Nihlathak). Concentrate was chosen for much the same reasons: survivability and usefulness vs. Nihlathak. Plus, Concentrate seemed to be something that could be effective on a budget . . .

So, how’d it work out?

Stats:

Spoiler

Conqueror Hector
The Untwinked HC Concentrate Barbarian

LCS Screenshot

Strength: 158
Dexterity: 136
Vitality: 324
Energy: 10

Life: 1862, 4077 w/BO
Mana: 142, 310 w/BO

Defense: 3,414, 12,290 w/Shout, 20,028 w/Shout and Concentrate
Attack Rating: 6,259
Faster Run Walk: 52
Faster Hit Recovery: 30 (6 frames)
Increased Attack Speed: 52 (9 frames, Final Breakpoint for a Phase Blade)
Life Leech: 25% (Plus 5% Chance to Cast Life Tap)
Mana Leech: Nope
Damage Reduced By %: 42
Damage Reduced By #: 44
Magic Damage Reduced By: 46
Magic Find: 31
Gold Find: 148

Resists in Hell:
Fire: 75 +15% Fire Absorb
Cold: 75 +20% Cold Absorb
Lightning: 75
Poison: 75

Skills:

Spoiler

Combat Skills:
Bash 1/5
Stun 1/5
Concentrate 20/24
Berserk 1/5
Leap 1/5
Leap Attack 1/5

Combat Masteries:
Sword Mastery 20/22
Increased Stamina 1/3
Increased Speed 1/3
Iron Skin 1/3
Natural Resistance 7/9

Warcries:
Howl 1/3
Shout 20/22
Battle Orders 20/22
Battle Command 1/3
Find Potion 1/3
Find Item 1/3

5 Skill Points Unspent . . .

Equipment:

Spoiler

Weapon:
Grief Phase Blade

Spoiler

Grief
Phase Blade
'EthTirLoMalRal'
One-Hand Damage: 31 to 35
Required Dexterity: 136
Required Strength: 25
Required Level: 59
Sword Class - Fastest Attack Speed
Indestructible
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0xf491e48c
Adds 5-30 fire damage
+12 Life after each Kill
37% Increased Attack Speed
Adds +389 Damage
Ignore Target Defense
-25% Target Defense
Prevent Monster Heal
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
20% Deadly Strike
35% Chance to cast Level 15 Venom on striking
1% Damage to Demons (Based on Character Level)
-25% to Enemy Poison Resistance
Socketed (5: 5 used)

Shield:
Gerke's Sanctuary Pavise

Spoiler

Gerke's Sanctuary
Pavise
'Um'
Defense: 263
Chance to Block: 74%
Smite Damage: 10 to 17
Durability: 155 of 172
Required Strength: 133
Required Level: 47
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 55
Fingerprint: 0x1416a032
+234% Enhanced Defense
+30% Increased Chance of Blocking
Damage Reduced by 13
Magic Damage Reduced by 17
All Resistances +49
+100 Maximum Durability
Replenish Life +15
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Helm:
Arreat's Face Slayer Guard

Spoiler

Arreat's Face
Slayer Guard
'Sol'
Defense: 349
Durability: 42 of 55
(Barbarian Only)
Required Strength: 118
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 81
Fingerprint: 0x88b056c0
+20 to Strength
+20 to Dexterity
+189% Enhanced Defense
Damage Reduced by 7
All Resistances +30
3% Life stolen per hit
+2 to Barbarian Skill Levels
30% Faster Hit Recovery
20% Bonus to Attack Rating
+2 to Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Armor:
Shaftstop Boneweave

Spoiler

Shaftstop
Boneweave
Defense: 1224
Durability: 30 of 45
Required Strength: 158
Required Level: 54
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0x78681200
+60 to Life
+207% Enhanced Defense
+250 Defense vs. Missile
Damage Reduced by 30%
Fire Resist +27%
Required Level +7
15% Increased Attack Speed
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Gloves:
Dracul's Grasp Vampirebone Gloves

Spoiler

Dracul's Grasp
Vampirebone Gloves
Defense: 135
Durability: 5 of 14
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 76
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xd999e96c
+11 to Strength
+106% Enhanced Defense
10% Life stolen per hit
+8 Life after each Kill
25% Chance of Open Wounds
5% Chance to cast Level 10 Life Tap on striking

Belt:
String of Ears Demonhide Sash <--- Forgot the Screenshot

Spoiler

String of Ears
Demonhide Sash
Defense: 112
Durability: 17 of 22
Required Strength: 20
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0x154c12a5
+179% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 14
Damage Reduced by 12%
8% Life stolen per hit
+10 Maximum Durability

Boots:
Gore Rider War Boots

Spoiler

Gore Rider
War Boots
Defense: 148
Durability: 33 of 34
Kick Damage: 39 to 80
Required Strength: 94
Required Level: 47
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x884b90a2
+20 to Maximum Stamina
+175% Enhanced Defense
+10 Maximum Durability
Requirements -25%
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike

Amulet:
Prismatic Amulet of Life Everlasting

Spoiler

Prismatic Amulet of Life Everlasting
Required Level: 37
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 89
Fingerprint: 0xb8925212
Damage Reduced by 24
All Resistances +20

Ring:
Raven Frost

Spoiler

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0xc57ac885
+17 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+249 to Attack Rating
Adds 15-45 cold damage over 4 seconds
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen

Ring:
Dwarf Star

Spoiler

Dwarf Star
Ring
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xb2c9f26b
+40 to Life
+40 to Maximum Stamina
Heal Stamina Plus 15%
Magic Damage Reduced by 15
100% Extra Gold from Monsters
15% Fire Absorb

Switch:
Echoing Throwing Spear x2

Spoiler

Echoing Throwing Spear
Throw Damage: 12 to 30
One-Hand Damage: 5 to 15
Quantity: 80
Required Dexterity: 65
Required Level: 45
Javelin Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 95
Fingerprint: 0x85131544
+3 to Warcry Skills (Barbarian Only)

Echoing Throwing Spear
Throw Damage: 12 to 30
One-Hand Damage: 5 to 15
Quantity: 80
Required Dexterity: 65
Required Level: 45
Javelin Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 95
Fingerprint: 0x17344a6a
+3 to Warcry Skills (Barbarian Only)

Charms:

Spoiler

Gheed's Fortune
Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 62
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 94
Fingerprint: 0x81ea39fb
148% Extra Gold from Monsters
31% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Reduces All Vendor Prices 14%

Sharp Grand Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 69
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0xb6d86617
+40 to Life
+62 to Attack Rating
+9 to Maximum Damage

Fine Large Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 66
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x3eefd74c
+31 to Life
+10 to Attack Rating
+3 to Maximum Damage

Iron Large Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 66
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0xdcbd2c93
+33 to Life
+47 to Attack Rating

Large Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 66
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xf3a3dc4a
+35 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0x887d8ac9
+18 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0xfd838b58
+19 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xf7ef1339
+20 to Life

Amber Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x791e811e
+17 to Life
Lightning Resist +11%

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 84
Fingerprint: 0xf2a9fd6e
+17 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0xdbcacc3
+17 to Life

Small Charm of Vita
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 39
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 95
Fingerprint: 0xe069db35
+20 to Life

Mercenary:

Spoiler

Chalan, Might Desert Mercenary. Chalan doesn’t do Players 8 Nihlathak very well but is pretty strong everywhere else (and the Might Aura is nice).

Weapon:
Eth Insight Cryptic Axe

Spoiler

Insight
Cryptic Axe
'RalTirTalSol'
Two-Hand Damage: 171 to 744
Durability: 33 of 33
Required Dexterity: 93
Required Strength: 155
Required Level: 59
Polearm Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xa908888f
+5 to Strength
+5 to Energy
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Vitality
+231% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
Adds 5-30 fire damage
+75 poison damage over 5 seconds
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+3 to Critical Strike
35% Faster Cast Rate
231% Bonus to Attack Rating
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
Level 12 Meditation Aura When Equipped
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (4: 4 used)

Helm:
Guillaume's Face Winged Helm

Spoiler

Guillaume's Face
Winged Helm
Defense: 217
Durability: 33 of 40
Required Strength: 115
Required Level: 34
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0x692fd493
+15 to Strength
+120% Enhanced Defense
30% Faster Hit Recovery
35% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike

Armor:
Ebug Eth Treachery Dusk Shroud

Spoiler

Treachery
Dusk Shroud
'ShaelThulLem'
Defense: 922
Durability: 11 of 11
Required Strength: 67
Required Level: 49
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x9e5a9aaa
Cold Resist +30%
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
45% Increased Attack Speed
20% Faster Hit Recovery
25% Chance to cast Level 15 Venom on striking
5% Chance to cast Level 15 Fade when struck
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (3: 3 used)

Gaming Experience:

Spoiler

In two words: ‘Pretty nice’. Hector was my first ‘freestyle’ single player hardcore character in years and that turned out to be pretty fun. I had suspected that regular hardcore play might not be as engaging as it had been before I started playing in SPF tournaments but it’s still fun. No small part of the fun was surely that I’m a sucker for restarting and I approached Hector as though I’d decided to restart to hardcore only SP play and Hector was going to be my opening character.

To that end, getting the most MF possible (as soon as possible) was Hector’s premier priority. Early gear for Hector and the Mercenary was anything that had MF . . . but it didn’t pay off right away. Hector and his Rouge Mercenary scored a grand total of zero set/uniques in Normal Act 1. Normal Act 2 however, went much better . . . once I started running Beetleburst as he was right off the Far Oasis Waypoint. Beetleburst dropped an eth Dimoak’s Hew Bardiche which made Hector’s Desert Mercenary very effective (good thing too, because Hector sure wasn’t killing much with his Steel Broadsword).

The eth Dimoak’s Hew Bardiche / Desert Mercenary continued to do all the killing until Normal Act 5 when the Dimoak’s Hew Bardiche got upgraded to a Lochaber Axe. So then the eth Dimoak’s Hew Lochaber Axe / Desert Mercenary continued to do all the killing until NM Act 1 when a Partizan Insight was made (and yes, the mercenary continued to do all the killing). NM Andariel dropped nothing of interest on her opening drop but I decided to try her again (mostly to see how long a run would take) and she dropped this. The Shaftstop of course became my endgame armor and the Hexfire meant that Hector could do some of the killing . . . for a time. Sadly neither Hector nor his mercenary would get another weapon upgrade throughout the rest of Nightmare.

As a result, I was rather concerned about entering Hell with nothing but a Hexfire Shamshir and a Partizan Insight . . . but experience in NM was becoming scarce and so it seemed time to press on. The players setting was dropped for the first time and Hector discarded some MF gear for the safety of his Shaftstop and Gerke’s Sanctuary and ventured into Hell. At players 3, Hector with his Hexfire, was useless as a melee fighter so he became a Warcries shouting support character . . . the only problem was that he was supporting a mercenary who wasn’t much stronger . . . Still, Hector managed to creep to The Pits and locate a good map (one that had lots of chokepoints). Sporting about 300 MF (when the mercenary killed . . . and the mercenary always killed) Hector proceeded to creep through The Pits from clvl 77 to clvl 83 when suddenly a golden phase blade dropped! It turned out to be a Lightsabre, usually something that would really annoy me (as I can’t get an Azurewrath to in SP for anything), but in this case it was really exciting. The Lightsabre was a huge upgrade from the Hexfire and Hector was suddenly as or more capable than the mercenary who too got an upgrade in the form of a Thresher Insight. Suddenly The Pits became much much easier. Hector continued to run The Pits (now at players 5) to clvl 88 by which time he’d found and cubed an eth Colossus Vouge, eth Cryptic Axe, and eth Giant Thresher to four sockets greatly upgrading his mercenary’s damage (the Colussus Vouge came out to the most damage per second). Hector too got an upgrade in damage as an eth Colossus Blade dropped and cubed to four sockets enabling Hector’s creation of Oath.

Hector then had an easy time questing through Hell and found some good stuff too. A Gheed’s dropped from Big D (important because it helped me gamble more amulets more often) and an Arreat’s Face dropped in the Arreat Plateau (how cool is that). After questing up to (but of course not including) the Ancients, Hector returned to MF Mephisto. A thousand set/uniques and two character levels later, Hector had everything he wanted from Mephisto (Dracul’s Grasp was the last thing to drop). Oh, I almost forgot, a Lo Rune dropped from the special chest behind Mephisto. A Lo Rune? Yes, a Lo Rune. The only high rune that could really be a game changer for Hector . . . Amazing. Three socket quest rewards and a respec (to optimize strength and dexterity only) and Hector was ready to do or die (literally).

As you may recall, long ago before the many readouts and much rambling I stated that Hector’s prime purpose was to battle Nihlathak . . . my most feared super unique / boss. I opted to start out cautious engaging Nihlathak at players 1 . . . and to my surprise everything worked well . . . perhaps too well . . . Could it be a trap?! I did a dozen more runs at players 1 to find out . . . nothing seemed dangerous (to Hector at least, Chalan was dead, dead, dead, left dead). Okay, let’s try players 3. A dozen runs later . . . nothing seemed dangerous. Okay, let’s try players 5. A dozen runs later . . . nothing seemed too dangerous. Okay, let’s try players 7! A dozen runs later . . . nothing seemed too very dangerous. Dare I try players 8? . . I never use players 8 . . . never . . . mostly because I’m never trying to level so players 7 is plenty good . . . hmm . . . hmm . . . ‘/players 8’ . . . ‘Now for wrath! Now for ruin! And the red dawn! Death! Death! Death! . . . and guess what, it was Nihlathak’s death, not Hector’s. Hector went from clvl 90.5 to 91.5 at Nihlathak at players 8 and everything went well (he may yet die there but it seems it will take a perfect storm of monsters mods and some mistakes for it to happen). I stopped running Nihlathak when I bothered to do some math and realized that The Pit was still better for experience . . . Hector has been running The Pits without incident ever since . . .

Final Thoughts:

Spoiler

Um, let’s go for something that sounds wise . . . ‘Don’t find everything that you want, it really decreases motivation’ . . .

Hector has presently found everything that I’d hoped to find right down to the Grief Phase Blade and the gambled Prismatic Amulet of Life Everlasting (okay, I’d wanted Chronomatic but +20 resist all is pretty darn close). So now what?! I’m running The Pits and Nihlathak so there’s some chance that something amazing could drop . . . but with only 31 MF . . . it’s not a good chance.

I’ve leveled past my previous hardcore clvl record . . . a clvl 92 1.12 Bone Necro on Bnet (that either leveled solo or with a friend’s Auradin) . . . so really it’s a very oranges vs orangutans comparison. I am enjoying chasing loomy’s hardcore paladin (so don’t stop :badteeth: and let’s see a write up when you reach your endgame gear :thumbsup: )!

Will Hector reach clvl 99 (or even clvl 94). Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading :thumbup: ! And as always, comments, questions, concerns, could’a-should’a-woulda’s all welcome! Oh, and if you have the recipe for a mercenary that laughs at players 8 Nihlathak (and associated monsters) . . . that would be interesting too . . . I’ve been thinking maybe an Act 3 Cold Mercenary with Lawbringer / Stormshield / some source of integer damage reduction might be interesting . . . but I haven’t gotten around to doing any testing . . . yet . . .

Thanks again! Cheers!

 

[crawlingdeadman1]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

good show, sir. the thing that sucks about act 2 mercs and nith is that they'll run right through the bugged clouds of poison and die, pretty much no matter what you do. teleport is the way to keep them alive, and even that isnt a guarantee.

 

[pharphis]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

Could act 3 mercs be used instead, so that you still have some small additional help? Cold so that he shatters corpses, too? I'm not too sure how useful thei AI is for avoiding stuff like that, though.

Very cool, and very lucky for you to get the Lo before the other high runes you'll undoubtably find at some point with this char. I'm somewhat tempted to join this thread eventually.

 

[thefranklin]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

Nice character!

Quite impressive to go from 0 to 93. Now do it in hardcore.. err, naked. The character, you keep your gear on.

 

[CorruptedMollusk]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

Since it appears you're doing the tanking yourself, have you thought about an Act I rogue? The Inner Sight is always nice, and they tend to stay alive and their AI is a (very slight) notch above A2 mercs. Plus depending on what you find, you can make some fun bows for them. I'd get a cold one personally, and I would think you could make Harmony easily enough. Another Treachery and a hat with ll and she would be ok unless she got mobbed. I know its not perfect, but its perhaps at least some help.

CM

Edit: Also a solid bravo and well done on 1) playing a Concentrate Barb, and 2) finding all that nice gear.

 

[Drystan1]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

Nice! Long way to 99, but big 'grats. He'd make it to Guardian if you wanted him to, so he's there.
And well done on that gear, untwinked, with a Conc barb! Wow!

 

[zaphodbrx]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

Untwinked Level 99 - or even level 93 HC is pretty amazing! Keep up the good work!
Gladiator's bane gives iDR for a merc, and you can socket Sol runes. That's about all I can think of.
If you use the act3 cold mercs, they cannot freeze Nihilithak's guys, they are always cold immune.

 

[pharphis]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

^Duh, silly me. I guess I've never fought them with anything but a lightning sorc, so I didn't think about that.
Sounds like Mr. HSF Needs himself a *Insert favourite aura* merc with the above suggestion for a set-up. I'm guessing that could make a pretty sweet difference in run speed in the long run, or just the tiny increase to survivability?

Damnit! Now I want to do this

*Gets to level 99 with his new barb named TUB*
Okay, has anyone named their barb TUB, yet?

 

[Arkardo]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

Holy Moly, this is nice! Your gear is awesome, especially that ammy! Keep up the good work!

 

[Kaerion]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

wow this is incredible. well done sir and a big congrats!

 

[Grisu]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

Wow! What an achievement and what a goal! Hope you make good progress towards level 99! I was always tempted to make a 99er Barb, because they are underrepresented overall in the 99er league, but I lack time and patience, I guess...

And I really enjoyed the writeup! Lots of work you put in there!

 

[HanShotFirst]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

@pharphis – Yes join! The more the merrier! . . . you know you want to . . .

@CorruptedMollusk – I have been giving some thought to an Act 1 Cold Merc with Harmony (in fact, I have a few different elite four socketed bows stashed away . . . ). The Inner Sight and Vigor Aura would be nice . . . I had also been wondering if the ctc Valkyrie on a ‘Peace’ armor works on a merc in the present patch, and if it does, would the + skills to Valkyrie on the Harmony keep it from disappearing? . . . that would be amusing . . . though probably there’s no helm that I possess that could keep her alive if ‘Peace’ was her armor. Still, an Act 1 Cold Merc with a better damage reduction setup would be worth trying.

@zaphodbrx – Sadly I didn’t find a Gladiator’s Bane while I was in full mf mode but I do have a Black Hades and Griswold’s Armor stuffed full of Sols . . . it helped, a bit, but maybe really what I need is an Artisan’s Helm of something that I can stuff full of Sols too . . .

Thanks for the comments and ideas!

 

[DaveW]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

Nice stuff Hanshotfirst. I've never used Concentrate as an offensive skill. Must try it out. Love the Grief btw. I recently made my third Grief after deedsing my dual-Grief Trav barb bout a year ago. (He also lost a Fortitude too. lol) Hope that 99 comes around soon enuff. So will you keep running Hell Milly for the exp? How does your barb run in the Chaos Sanctuary?

 

[crawlingdeadman1]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

@pharphis – Yes join! The more the merrier! . . . you know you want to . . .

@CorruptedMollusk – I have been giving some thought to an Act 1 Cold Merc with Harmony (in fact, I have a few different elite four socketed bows stashed away . . . ). The Inner Sight and Vigor Aura would be nice . . . I had also been wondering if the ctc Valkyrie on a ‘Peace’ armor works on a merc in the present patch, and if it does, would the + skills to Valkyrie on the Harmony keep it from disappearing? . . . that would be amusing . . . though probably there’s no helm that I possess that could keep her alive if ‘Peace’ was her armor. Still, an Act 1 Cold Merc with a better damage reduction setup would be worth trying.

@zaphodbrx – Sadly I didn’t find a Gladiator’s Bane while I was in full mf mode but I do have a Black Hades and Griswold’s Armor stuffed full of Sols . . . it helped, a bit, but maybe really what I need is an Artisan’s Helm of something that I can stuff full of Sols too . . .

Thanks for the comments and ideas!

last i knew, they disabled valks on mercs b/c it crashed every time it was cast.

 

[LiquidClear]

Re: Guardian (er, um) Conqueror Hector

If you like shopping (and by like, I mean are prepared to spend 10 hours every day doing it) you could try for some sort of Jeweler's armor of Amicae; 4 open sockets for Sol's (28 PDR) along with additional 8-15 PDR. As someone mentioned Glad Bane is a great option, but don't forget about the Iron Pelt Trelissed Armor, which might be easier to find.

When I played on BNet in the past, my strategy was always to start off with a Concentrate Barb to run Nihlathak (for his keys) to "get rich". I believe there's a thread somewhere on these forums about running him, and it talks in more depth about the actual amount of PDR you need to negate the snakes' poison cloud. IIRC, 40 or so pretty well eliminates any threat. The merc might do fine with just a plain 4 socket armor (all Sols) and any 2+ socket hat with Sols. I'm not sure how much danger he is in from anything other than the snakes, so I dunno how much the loss of LL from hat would hurt. I'd imagine Nihl runs go pretty quick and you're usually howling the majority of the threats away anyways, so he might be okay. Just some food for thought

Edit: I see he has no LL anyways, so yeah, just try popping a bunch of Sols in him and give it a whirl. You can get 49 PDR with just plain old white armor/helm. His primary purpose is his aura anyways (and as it is, he's dying before he gets to hit anything too).