DPS mercs a viable alternative?

[Maleck]

Greetings everyone. Another returning paladin here in need of some assistance.
I have read about the dps mercenaries, and I was wondering if a low level (70) paladin with a less than 200 AA's should invest in a dps merc for faster killing. I was thinking about hitting the Hole, and getting to level 71 then go all out on AA's to 800-1000 or so.

Should I keep it safe and keep the healer merc of go more offensive? Other than combat agility, stability, planar durability and some other defensive AA investments; I have gone mostly offensive to help my kill rate especially since I have been using a healer merc.

I am basically equipped in defiant gear of the appropriate level and I am currently using the epic 1.5.

Any advice would be greatl welcomed!

Thank you
Maleck

[Normy]

If you can survive your content, drop the merc entirely in the hole. Slay makes short work of nearly all mobs in there if you do the jump in method. Other than that, yea generally killing things faster is going to be better than surviving longer, but it depends slightly on situation. I would go all DPS personally, but DPS doesn't matter if you don't survive the fight.

[Harlan]

Having just finished over 700AAs in the Hole at level 71 I can say that you'll get better exp with no merc. However, when I started I had a cleric. Now I keep a wizard. The cleric was handy in that I could train all the way up from the pond to the tower and fight all the golems and gargs along the way. Then I'd park my merc and solo the undead tower. I started with a maximum pull of 6 at a time. I'm still level 71 but have much better gear and 700 more AAs and I can now pull the entire tower safely in one pull (~36 MOBs). Since I no longer need the cleric merc to help me start the soloing in the Hole I use a DPS merc for everything else. I 2-box a bard and I've parked the cleric on him. That way I have a group that has solo pulling, slow, tanking, healing, and damage.

If you'd like some insight on swarm-soloing in the Hole send me a PM. I've thought about writing up a "How To" guide but frankly I'm just too lazy...

-Harlan

[Maleck]

Thank you both for the great advice. I feel I can solo down there fairly well, however I still have to try my shot at swarming. At least with a parked cleric if I die I have a 96% rez waiting for me =).
I think I should also begin the quest for my 2.0, for that can be a great boon.

Sir Maleck Sterling

[Droctrebor]

Harlan - I spoke to you a few days back in the Hole, I don't know if you remember or not. Anyway, can you expand on the Swarm Killing ? I am 71 and have 930 AA's and have all of the major offensive and defensive AA's . I am using a full set of Lost Rubicite Armor and an Unrest Battle Blade. I also run WoT at all times. However, it seems that a pull of 10 to 12 mobs can drop me down to the 50% health range. I would surely think a pull of 30+ would do me in. Can you tell me how you do it ? For what it is worth, I use poison proc's and damage shields as well.


Normy - Did I misread your response to the OP ? You said something about a "jump in method" . Can you elaborate on this ? Just wondering if this is a true method you use or if I am misreading the statement.


Thanks guys, I appreciate your time !

Regards,
Droc

[Ughbash]

[Normy]

The jump in method. Used to be just hit DA and jump in, land on the other side unharmed. They put DA in the song window now though, so you need to jump in from the Paineel side, and cast DA after you zone while falling.

I've not been there in a while, so I can't confirm if Ughbash is correct that you just don't die anymore? That seems odd if true, there was still a hell of a fall on the other side when i was soloing there.

As far as swarming killing goes, exactly as it sounds. Gather up a large amount of mobs, find a solid corner and let them kill themselves on your slay. Survival ranges, and everything is dependent on gear, but come ready to heal yourself is all I can really suggest. Carry HoT potions. Cast the spell version on yourself as you go to pull. Have a fast cast heal up and ready. Get a rune weapon if you don't have one already. On a big pull, don't be afraid to pop defensive/deflection if you need to. Especially with deflection, you'd be amazed at how much you can thin down targets in about 20 seconds.

I used to swarm it in sections. Pick up everything outside the castle first, then move inside and take the first floor. Then move up the stairs and take 2 of the room up there, finish up top and move back down with respawns starting again outside the castle. That was more consistent for me, 4 semi-large trains of like 10-12 mobs each.

[Ughbash]

[Normy]

Wow, so you jump in and just show up at the bottom? Been a while, lol.

[Brohg]

They zone you in a couple inches over the pool down there, so you plop down like zoning from PoSky to Freeport's harbor.

I haven't parsed dps mercs, I bet they'd be super addition to soloing paladins. At least on live mobs they'd definitely earn their keep exp wise. Cle mercs are still kinda trump for value in groups, though. Interface needs to change so one of each type can be hired, imo. Pay a little extra for each member of your "mercenary company" who's in reserve, since you can only use one at a time. Shared Suspend/Unsuspend timers. If wishes were horses...

[Normy]

Only because you brought it up... I have parsed my DPS merc. I have a rogue merc that I leave on burn mode. He ranges from on the low end of 1400 dps, to the high end of 1800 dps, since I can't haste him. I think it's well worth it, since my DPS while tanking is in the same range, so he basically doubles my effective killing speed. I intend to test out the caster ones as well, they might be better for me since I can't really buff a melee DPS and help with anything on that.

edit: highest tier of merc possible at the moment, just for the sake of putting it out there.

[Harlan]

[Normy]

ok, a few comments:

First, persistant casting is probably nice (I still don't have them all), but I can't agree that they should be over Slay Undead for swarm killing undead mobs. This is literally what will allow you to swarm as a paladin. DPS is always the area we lack. Max SU as quickly as you can if you intend to solo anything undead ever. At 71 I was showing that SU basically doubled my DPS against undead mobs on average.

Second, cycling targets nearest to you will not increase the damage you put out in anyway, and can only lower your dps by accidentally cycling to something out of range. You will attempt to riposte ANY attack from the forward arc no matter what you have targetted. It will do you no additional good at all to have all the mobs around the same health, all that does is increase the number of mobs hitting you and might potentially kill you. Having 30 mobs hitting you at half health is much more dangerous than 15 mobs hitting you at full health.

I do cycle targets while swarming now in RoI, and I did in the Hole as well, but it was to find low health mobs and finish them off. One less mob beating on you is one less thing to heal through.

Third, I can't remember if we have access to sheild block at 71. If you do, do not underestimate the value of using sword and board for swarm killing. With those AA's and in the swarm killing position, it cuts off a VERY large chunk of damage. The more mobs you gather in a train, the more your shield will shine. Obviously use what is comfortable for you, and if we don't get shield block by that point then really ignore this because the sheild won't do enough to make it worth it without that AA line.

[Harlan]

[Normy]

I wasn't refering to sheild specialist. That will increase your DPS while using a 1hand weapon. I'm talking about shield block, a chance to completely avoid an incoming hit. In terms of defensive strength, I would put it up there with the first three ranks of combat stability and agility, although obviously only while using a shield.

I see what you are saying about maxing your DPS when you aren't hurting for the heals and the train isn't likely to overwhelm you. Good point.

Only comment I can add is that for the hole, you do get the mix of live and dead mobs sometimes (I hated those garg's), so whenever possible if you are cycling through, try not to leave it on a live mob if going for max DPS.

[Harlan]

[varutia]

Slay undead is about 70 percent boost to dps fighting undead when it is maxed. This is pretty huge as it applies on riposte damage as well. The biggest AA for swarming is the double riposte line next to slay undead, persistent casting is not that useful as you can easily jam yourself into a corner and get the spells casted without too much trouble.

Without shield specialist, the 2 hander is much better for biggest riposte damage on weapons with similar quality, especially at lower level.

At higher level the 1 hander + shield combo is extremely powerful, not so much at level 70, 71.

[Harlan]

[varutia]

You max out double riposte aa line at level 65 I think, double riposte is what really make slay undead work on swarm. Slay and double riposte work with each other, they enhance each other's effectiveness significantly. I don't remember a lot of problem casting spells in the Hole, but then I only had to cast ward of tunare most of time, that spell really got nerfed to hell to say the least.

Persistent casting only works allow you casting through a mob stun I believe, since you eventually become immune to melee stun via steadfast will, it is not a good investment verse return in the long run. Even at level 71 you should be about 60 percent immune to melee stuns via steadfast will, which is a must have AA for tanks and actually pretty good dps booster via swarming as well, since the chance of you get stunned just multiplies while swarming.