Rogues can use Faith now (+15 Fanaticism Aura)
Does this make Rogues the best merc for summon necros now?
They could also do fire damage to phys immune enemies. Or are Skele Mages good for that now?
Rogues can use Insight too but I don’t think that is super important for summon necro?
The Party +damage on Fanat is +144. Might gives +200 at lvl 85. A lvl 63 Might merc gives 150 thus at lvl 63 your might merc helps the damage more than Fanat.
On top of that the Desert Snake can use Infinity or other weapons that give more aura’s. He also just pumps out more DPS than the Rouge.
The Rouge is nice as a ranged attacker doesn’t get stuck behind a skelly and not attack. She can be nice but if you are looking at pure DPS for your Skellies. Might merc is still the boss.
Ditto a2 merc - infinity or obedience has 40% crushing blow… That and decreptify helps bring down act bosses quickly.
Wait I thought A5 was the highest damage now?
A5 merc is the highest DPS from just the merc. That’s not what you want when you are running a summoner. You want the merc that makes your whole group do better damage. The might merc increases your party damage by 200+% in addition to the damage done by the merc.
There are many builds where the A5 merc is great. Mercs need to be something that augments and compliments your build, not just themselves. A merc running Infinity will be better for any lit build than A5 as it compliments the player as well. Sometimes the best compliment to your build is utility not just dps.
I made a detailed vid comparing new Dual Wield A5 merc with A2 merc (for necro). Summary: Act 2 wins because A5 merc has taunt which overrides amp damage and it is disgusting because it is a huge damage loss.
Act 2 does not win because of might. In theory you can stack 2x Last Wish on A5 merc and get level 34 aura (yes 2x last wish does indeed stack and gives level 34 might aura). However A5 merc overriding amp damage is a huge loss. Act 2 merc also has better range since it uses threshers/giant threshers in general. This helps summon necro a lot because your merc can still attack from 2nd and 3rd rows (when the enemy is surrounded by your army).
Speaking for Necromancers, Act 1 Rogue Merc cannot replace A2 merc because ranged attacks cannot effectively apply Crushing Blow. This is a huge dps loss against bosses, not to mention uber bosses.
Act 2 is still the best choice for the reasons highlighted above. Here is my analysis vid comparing A5 vs A2 (for ubers):
Act 3 Merc is best in slot now because he casts static field like crazy now.
act 5 with a lastwish and plague is a really good combo for summon or psn