Quote:I want to take this moment to say something about the wonders of magic damage reduce. I've run into a lot of people on bnet who don't understand it and think it's a "junk" stat. However, what they don't get is that it is applied *after* resistances and works on every frame of an attack.
I don't want to disappoint you, but just for the sake of accuracy, MDR has always been applied before resistances, and it is further penalized against frame based attacks such as Firewall too. The following might be of some interest to you:
Article #1: Tommi's Damage Modification Mechanics. See section 3, Applicatoin Order. ES/BA are now applied first in v1.10 though.
Article #2: Tommi's MDR vs. Frame Based Attacks. Still valid in v1.10 I think.
I didn't go through the rest of your posts in detail, but a quick search for Life Tap turned up empty, so I'll make the routine suggestion that you purchase a Wand of Life Tap and use that to keep your merc alive. It should save you quite a few potions and mouse clicks for teleport. Using Life Tap would obviously conflict with Delerium, but it is something worth considering when you encounter champion packs or other hard hitting bosses.