Why act 3 Abjurer merc is my favorite (video)

Asteroth wrote:Ye if you replace all the +skills items with better gear (crafted items) then he will be so much stronger (i too learned only recently +skills dont work on mercs   )

There's actually a ton of room for improvement. Not to mention that instead of resistance gems, you could use Ort runes or Zod-crafted jewels for more lightning damage.

Since when do +skills not work for mercs? Can someone tell me if this was a changed feature?

No idea, but i tested it and showed it in short questions thread early this week/last week with a5 mercs

Asteroth wrote:No idea, but i tested it and showed it in short questions thread early this week/last week with a5 mercs

http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/iguides/merc_resource.php

It says here that they should benefit from +skills.

A5 barb mercs have mountain king passive (more strength/dex per soft point--all skills boost this). I took off my merc's amulet (+2 skills), saved&exited, then put it back, saved&exited.

I took screenshots before and after amulet. His strength and dex did not budge.
If the passive isn't being increased then i'm pretty sure +skills don't work on it.

Amazon basin may be right about +skills for old mercs, but it's also possible that the new skills on our mercs aren't affected

Asteroth wrote:A5 barb mercs have mountain king passive (more strength/dex per soft point--all skills boost this). I took off my merc's amulet (+2 skills), saved&exited, then put it back, saved&exited.

I took screenshots before and after amulet. His strength and dex did not budge.
If the passive isn't being increased then i'm pretty sure +skills don't work on it.

Amazon basin may be right about +skills for old mercs, but it's also possible that the new skills on our mercs aren't affected

Ahh, well could it be that the innate bonus skill (mountain king) is treated differently than it's offensive skills, +all skills only working for the latter? Just grasping at straws, but I had merc redo diablo fight alone and he absolutely rekt him. and I could easily be confused that the +skills are working because of how effective his spells are.

That merc with the right gear can do wonders, but he isn't the best...

I mean iirc stoya or strobel or someone had their bloodmage merc solo kabraxis.
mercs are great if used properly. In some ubers (duncraig) they just don't live long because of 1 hit KO mechanics

Asteroth wrote:I mean iirc stoya or strobel or someone had their bloodmage merc solo kabraxis.
mercs are great if used properly. In some ubers (duncraig) they just don't live long because of 1 hit KO mechanics

Yeah, the abundance of lightning immunity with mobs brings the abjurer down a peg, especially since he's technically not dual element, and rarely casts blackhole on things that he needs to.

But I remember very clearly even Brother Laz suggesting + all skills for buffing a3 mercs, and there are plenty of posts that state as such. I just want to be totally sure +skills is wastegear for the merc before I re-gear him. Again, could the innate bonus skill on barbarian (that you tested) be separate from the other skills, and therefore not receive the +all skill bonus?

it's definitely possible, but it's hard to test

possible way to test it: you could get buffed from shapeshifter/barb merc ( bloodlust/motw ) and see how much spell damage you get ( with plugy/d2stats ) , then give them +skills gear, get buffed again and check if you get more spell damage.

I can second the +skills thing; it should work to increase the mercs skills without doubt. My only guess is with that skill the merc uses, it must not be true Mnt King from Barb tree, but a replica that only benefits from hard skill points. For sure +skills works on mercs, has since old days.

Link with some info, esp on 1st post of pg.2: link
Another informative post that explains exactly what type of +skills a merc benefits from exactly: link