Leveling my merc

[mageofthesands]

Okay. My necro is level 25 and in the Bloody Foothills. My prayers merc I got when he was level 9 is now level 16. I need him to level up fast. Any ideas?

[Archon_Wing]

Most likely the Arcane sanctuary. A lvl 16 merc gets very bad experience in the Bloody foothills. I don't think it's worth the stress. :o

[AtomicKitKat]

Early Act 3 is moderately viable. You could consider levelling to 30 in the BFs till you get Poison Nova first before levelling the merc. PN makes Fetishes SOOOO much easier(at least, in normal. I bet the little bastards are poison immune in Hell. Have I mentioned before how much I despise immunities?)

[mageofthesands]

But I'm putting points into skeleton skills, some golem skills, only. An overlord with the new super skeletons. (They are super skeletons now, right?)

[Brista]

You need to level him carefully until he hits level 25. After level 25 he will be fine.

The AS is too cramped for a Summoner. I suggest Lost City, Canyon and Act 3 jungles and Kurast

Once he's over level 20 you could do Act 4 if you prefer (areas before the River are probably best)

You want to kill monsters within 5 levels of his level. He does better if he gets the kill in personally but don't worry too much about that, it's not easy for a Summoner to control. Just kill lots

Monsters in the AS are mlvl 19
Monsters in Act 3 are mainly mlvl 21-24
Monsters in Act 4 are mainly mlvl 24-30

An easier area and Players 8 is more effective than a tough area and players 3, imo

Once he's level 25, don't worry, he should catch up although not quite as fast as in 1.09

[mageofthesands]

Thank you. Is it just me, or does the Act 2 merc seems to have dumbed down? He no longer charges the enemy, but stays out of the fight.

[Brista]

It's not just you

He definitely gets less excited about it all these days. Old age?

[Archon_Wing]

One argues it's a good thing. Perhaps after so many deaths, he realizes suicide is a bad thing. :)

*Tallies up merc resurrection fees*

[mageofthesands]

One argues it's a good thing. Perhaps after so many deaths, he realizes suicide is a bad thing. :)

*Tallies up merc resurrection fees*

True, but when a tank/meatshield isn't tanking/shielding, his effectivness is reduced. Not to mention that he likes to stay far enough away so his aura doesn't effect my troops. Thats bad. And the rogue, she seems to charge more often and shoot less. What's up?

[Archon_Wing]

I noticed that he usually tries to be closer to you, shouldn't the aura effect your army, who I assume are fairly close? Even if not, as he grows stronger by leeching of your troops, his aura will naturaly grow bigger.

But fine with me. I always saw the only purpose of an act 2 merc was to give me auras.

[mageofthesands]

It's not working! My merc is level 19. I'm 30. One of my skeletons killed a lasher in Act 5. Do you know how much exp my merc got? 6 points! Help!

[Tiffany_Scott]

Your merc is level 19. :/ YOU NEED TO HAVE HIM KILL MONSTERS IN ACT 3. Not Act 5. Why are you missing this, after all the great info people have given you? :/

Use Brista's chart. It's dead-on concerning monster levels.

[Occhidiangela]

Go to the AS. Players 8. Kill things. Make sure you buy him a Pike in Act 5, either with ED, fast attack or Life Leech, pick your fave.

When he gets to level 20, head for the Canyon of the Magi, and do all seven tombs with him.

When he gets to level 22, try a single run through all four Kurast areas.

When he gets to 23, hit the OUter Steppes, the Plains of Despair, and the City of the Damnes.

Once he gets to 25 or 26, you are good to go, he will catch up to you rather quickly in Act V.

Is you stay in Act V with his low level compared to monster level, you have doomed him to his current level due to the miniscule number of points he accrues per kill.

Easy area fast is better than hard area slow.

[mageofthesands]

All right. I just thought that he would leech more experience than that.

[Obi2Kenobi]

*grins*
Hmm... Maybe that is a rushing penalty? So maybe it will apply to leechers. :wacko:

[Archon_Wing]

*Sends act 2 merc after mage for ignoring the advice in this thread for so long.* :P
*Act 2 merc trips over rock and dies*
Damn!

[Occhidiangela]

Nah, it is the built in break at lvl 25, where the experience formula relative to level differential changes.

[mageofthesands]

Boring! Yep, my merc is gaining exp faster, but the wait is making me bored. On a similar note, my paladin's rogue is falling behind too. Is it just me, or do mercs level slower than in 1.09d?

[Brista]

No, I agree, they do level slower

I think they're applying Darwinian principles to the problem of players with short attention spans :D