Please add (or replace) 1H axe merc as one of the two types of Act 5 merc you can hire. The frenzy merc is clearly better than the bash merc, so instead I propose the following two mercs:
The game already has art assets for Act 5 1H axe merc; they use the Axe/Cleaver/Small Crescent weapon model.
In terms of end-game builds, this would allow for Beast and Doom RW use among others. In terms of balance, this wouldn’t be too different from Act 1 Faith or Ice RW mercs and would be comparable in power-level to the Act 2 merc with all of their powerful options. Players would need to decide on if their build would benefit more from Last Wish/Lawbringer/Azurewrath/etc. vs Beast/Doom/Death*/etc.
*Death RW can be made in axes or swords, but the only 1H sword with 5 sockets is Phase Blade, which is not ideal for Death RW
I think there is a balance issue unfortauntely. 2x Beast would give level 18 fana - thats a lot of fana. Add in a paladin main character, or a barb wielding a further 2x beasts and you are in realms of imbalanced.
1 axe + 1 sword though… Thats a good balanced suggestion. One id get right behind.
2 axes - i would never use an act 2 merc again (once i got all the required runes). Thats a good thing in that act 2 mercs are still the meta, but leaves the ceiling of potential very high indeed.
I believe there are already act 5 barb models which carry 1 sword and 1 axe. So this is a real achievable thing.
Would be cool to have an ethereal Beast/Doom. Lets do it.
Beast is lvl 9 Fanat, 2x Beast is lvl 18 Fanat. I’m not clear on what you said but it seems like your saying the merc’s lvl 18 Fanat and a paladin’s or barb’s fanat would stack (18 + 18 = 36 Fanat, for example). That is not the case. Only the highest level Fanat from either the merc or the player would apply (18 + 18 = highest is 18 Fanat). In terms of balance:
Faith Act 1 merc = lvl 15 Fanat
2x Last Wish Act 5 merc = 34 Might (370% ED)
Conviction Act 2 merc is still BIS for many builds
Reapers Act 2 merc is still BIS for many builds
Lvl 15 Fanat and 18 Fanat are actually very close in stats:
The most valuable stat is the IAS and there is a one point difference. An Act 5 2x Beast merc would do more physical dps than an Act 1 Faith merc, but an an Act 1 Faith merc would do more elemental dps and provide better chance to hit with Inner Sight.
I really like the idea of allowing the Frenzy merc to use axes, that would open up a lot of interesting options. Beast for Fanaticism and Lacerator for Amp Damage (since A2 mercs can use javelins I think it’d be fair to allow A5 mercs to use throwing axes) could be a powerful (but also expensive) combo that could rival A2 Might + Reaper’s Toll mercs.
Having said that I don’t see why the sword and axe usage should be separated, I think they should be allowed to use either. As Mizzo said there’s A5 barbarian models that use both an axe and sword at the same time so that could be used.
My only issue with allowing an Act 5 merc to use both 1H axe and 1H sword, is now there is only one kind of Act 5 merc: the frenzy merc. I think it’s good game design to have choice+limitations and I think my suggestion captures that.
However, I think if Blizz went with allowing frenzy merc to use use both 1H axe and swords, then, in addition to the frenzy merc, they should add another merc (for a total of two Act 5 merc options), maybe one that used Berserk + BO + Natural Res and 2H weapons (axe or sword).
Yes! That would be a very fun combo. Actually, can you imagine another merc type that was themed around throwing? Act 5 throw merc = Double Throw + Frenzy + Double Swing. Their AI would try to keep Frenzy buff up while throwing and would only switch back to Frenzy to regain the buff.
Throw Mastery would be less useful because merc wouldn’t use quantity (like how they don’t use durability).
2x eth Lacerator could even compete with Act 2 Reaper Merc.
Why change an existing merc, when they coild add a new? Why do we need 2 Frenzy merc, but with different weapon setups? And why only 1H weapons? Why not make it 2H and 1H? The choice is yours. And make dual sword merc wield 2 2H swords, like all barbs, it’s their special trait.
Lacerator is a reason why act 5 merc with axes would be kinda ridiculous. That amplify damage chance is way too high
If Winged Axe would be a TC87 or required level 90 or smth, then it’d be OK. But with how accessible it is, it’s kinda too good.
Alternatively, I’d see an “Axe” barb merc that uses BERSERK as his main attack. Then the usage of the Lacerator would come at serious disadvantages of the merc not lifestealing, and not benefitting from the AD himself. It will still be worth using because of how much damage AD adds, but will come at a price
Reapers is lvl 75 and 33% ctc Decrep; is that really so different from Lac at lvl 68 and 33% ctc Amp? Reapers also has amazing LL and DS, and does way more dmg, not to mention the potential might aura of the Act 2 merc.
Also, physical damage is generally weaker in PvM than the other damage types, so I’m not too worried about physical damage becoming OP when the game already has Javazons and LightSorcs with Conviction mercs and light facets.
Precisely what I was going to mention. Decrepify is also a lot more safety with the damage reduction + slow.
There’s also the matter of consistency, against regular mobs Reaper’s is much more consistent since it has Ignores Target Defense and the Amp proc from Lacerator can be overwritten by the 50% monster flee chance and the Frenzy merc’s Taunt proc.
As for accessibility, I don’t think Lacerator is too easy to get. It could actually act as a sort of stepping stone between a Lawbringer Frenzy merc and a Reaper’s merc, then also has potential as an endgame merc with Beast + Lacerator that would compete with a Reaper’s + Might merc (though at the cost of a Ber rune it’s pretty expensive in comparison).
Same can be said for Lawbringer decrep - and is almost free in terms of cost.
I still have some reservations about dual beast dps + IAS. It is a lot of IAS. Especially since dual beast eth would be huge damage with crushing blow and all the mod cons.
I would happily look past that. I have never had sufficient runes to make 1 beast, nevermind 2.
that would be insane