Act 3 mercs!

[CrescentWindX]

I have never used a hi level act 3 merc, not even medium, but from other questions made and comments heard I ask ?  please comment

If they used melee attack effectively, when surrounded they would be ok. You could count on them to deal some physical damage and if  their elemental damage was upgraded .....   :D
You could equip him with a life leech sword and he would live and help in most areas and against most opponents, heck he would be a favourite for druids maybe.
So those would be the changes i would implement reliable physical damage output, heck he has a sword he should use it.
Has anybody equiped one with a life leech sword to see if he more or less uses it and if the damage is enough to keep him alive.?

They don't attack in melee. Ever.

OK, they do attack in melee, but it's sooooo rare that you're not going to get much out of it. They also have very low hit points (because they are mages), so it's very easy for them to get mobbed and mugged very quickly. And then you're making another run to town and giving Kashya//Greiz//Asheara//Tyreal//Qual-Kehk another 50,000 gold, just to see the poor guy get himself mugged. Again.

I'm sure that a variant build would benefit quite well from these mercs, sometimes (read - Conviction paladins :P). However, for most all characters, there are better choices.

And my Druids are too happy with their Thorns/Holy Freeze/Might mercs to switch, TYVM :P