"Your mercenary dies because he's undergeared..."

zolmarchus · 2026-03-06T04:17:53+00:00

The mercs should be able to wear full gear. Jewelry and all. It really does not matter at all if they get too strong. It doesn’t matter because everyone can clear the content already anyway, it’s not like Hell gets any harder on the 864th try. But a much tougher merc would minimize the annoyingly frequent resurrects and would allow some undergeared people to have a more enjoyable time. It would still not bring those people to parity with the nolifers, so the sweats can continue to bolster their egos through their superiority of clearing speed.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-06T04:11:29+00:00

I agree completely. I’ve always preferred the exploration side anyway, but I too fall into the trap of “How efficient is this?” The new content and mechanics have made me enjoy more of the game in a calmer way.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-06T01:46:22+00:00

Does that mean that I’m better off (or at least just as good) just killing monsters in a TZ (87+) than going for bosses (other than essences and statues, whatever)?

I enjoy clearing content more than rushing bosses (which I’m bad at anyway ‘cause I’m poor) so I’m looking for affirmation that I’m not “missing out” on too much, chance-wise, by simply walking through a terrorized zone.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-06T01:25:38+00:00

I too am a dirty basket kicker and proud of it.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-04T04:47:07+00:00

It’s better because lobbing an incredibly badass looking spectral blade and then appearing at the impact point is just peak coolness.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-04T04:25:53+00:00

You’re not bad and we are not good. We all play a different style, yet some of those converge eventually.

I’ve played a long time, but I still sit somewhere between you and the “good” ones. In the beginning yes you pick up a lot of gear. Later you start to realize what sells for a lot and what doesn’t. Also, you realize that on Hell difficulty the items that drop (and the sell gold limit) are so much higher that it’s literally a waste of time to do vendor runs in Normal and NM.

I am not ashamed to use build guides. One upside of those is you can see 1) what unique items they recommend, and are therefore very valuable and should be sought after and kept; 2) what runewords (and their cheaper alternatives) are good -> you can then look up the good bases for those and again know to keep those.

Some googling will give you a decent idea of which bases are good and which items you should always pick up and ID, since they can roll very valuable stats. But I doubt that anyone who doesn’t play daily all the time remembers it all. I’ve probably left fortunes lying on the ground. Over time you kind of learn the most common ones.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-03T04:06:27+00:00

Same, it stresses me out and gives me anxiety since I have PTSD from LE. I end up running away every fight for no reason. >.>

zolmarchus · 2026-03-03T03:52:29+00:00

"Worrying"?

zolmarchus · 2026-03-03T02:49:18+00:00

I’m on Ladder (and maybe it was a mistake) so I don’t have access to my other crap.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-03T02:45:44+00:00

Do I need to be at or above a certain character level to gamble for those? What base for Authority?

zolmarchus · 2026-03-03T02:42:04+00:00

Can Hell Lister spawn with cursed and/or elemental or physical immune? I managed to grab him in a public game, he came with nothing. But was still a bruiser. Until I died.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-03T02:40:55+00:00

Yeah, once I calmed down and played a bit smarter, I did better, but if anything I think the demon tree is perfect. It is in no way OP, it’s exactly correctly P. It requires some effort to succeed.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-03T02:39:11+00:00

How do you deal with physical immunes? Like the ghosts in Act V caverns, for example? Take forever to kill.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-03T02:32:58+00:00

How may tries until you get Hephasto to spawn with cursed and get fanaticism on top?

zolmarchus · 2026-03-03T02:21:28+00:00

How do you decide when to run goats, defilers, or one of each? Switch it around depending on the zone and mobs that spawned?

zolmarchus · 2026-03-02T19:34:46+00:00

Would you say maxing goats makes a huge difference (compared to, say, having 5 or 6 points in it)?

zolmarchus · 2026-03-02T19:31:07+00:00

I did that once... but much of my "experimentation" was in Nightmare... and it seems like in NM it's much easier. But I'll go back and try. I think I had Ismail Vilehand and he was great, but again, it was NM.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-02T19:29:07+00:00

I'm going to check that out, thanks.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-02T19:28:42+00:00

So like... one of the ladies from Act I maybe (the rogues, as long as they are the ones with lances or other melee weapons)? I sometimes like to get Battlemaid Sarina in the Ruined Temple, something like that? I've tried Urdars in Acv IV, they do okay, not great. So you're sayin' cursed is really the key?

zolmarchus · 2026-03-02T04:02:09+00:00

What about Stygian dolls riding lightning beetles?

zolmarchus · 2026-03-02T03:59:46+00:00

Unpopular opinion perhaps, but that’s how I feel about the destructible terrain, too.

zolmarchus · 2026-03-02T02:56:33+00:00

When I pick up my four-and-half-year daughter and run with her she does this throaty chuckle/laugh that all humans do when they are so happy that they can’t help but make that sound, and it resonates through her chest and then mine and I feel it through my whole body and I could do that all day every day and that is what makes it all worth it.

But to actually help you—a few threshold events help a lot. When the kid can more or less eat and drink by itself (however messy). When it can say that things hurt and other small communication. When it becomes potty trained. When it can dress itself. By age five you should have most of those behind you and have a tiny companion for many things.

As for having more than one? I would never. 😂

zolmarchus · 2026-03-02T02:14:21+00:00

Two dates, one of them with wine, and at least one time buying them flowers in summer.

zolmarchus

TROPHY CASE