Is FoHdin viable for clearing the game content? Or you switch on him before farming?
What to do before respecting?
I get that fire aura is best for levelling, but i don`t want to use respec at level 35 to something other to get to level 70+ to use another respec to respec in to FoH.
I’m presently in Act 5 Nightmare(level 55) but have been walking(self-found) from Act 1 Normal with FoH in mind since 2.4 dropped. Holy Bolt unlocks at level 6 and is surprisingly strong even early on(maybe not in a team game but then you have allies to help you out and Holy Bolt’s secondary healing effect works wonders). Just note that Holy Bolt is completely ineffective(aka does nothing) to anything that is of the Animal class(aka anything not Demon/Undead) so Act 2 in particular is going to really suck with heavy reliance on merc/teammates. Holy Bolt can last you until you unlock FoH at level 30 but unlike Holy Bolt, FoH can consume Mana pretty vigorously without a boost to your mana pool(Spirit helps a lot here) and some mana regeneration(via Insight or Meditation aura).
Also note that while FoH does unleash multiple Holy Bolts upon impact, they do not heal nearby allies(including Mercenary) and are not as strong as Holy Bolt would be if casted normally. That said, FoH’s ability to clear Undead/Demon mobs certainly lives up to the hype. Countess, Pit, Arcane Sanctuary and Chaos Sanctuary will ultimately be your hunting grounds as everything within them are at Holy Bolt’s mercy.
The great thing about FoH though is that you have considerable flexibility on where to put your remaining points. Got FoH/Smiter, FoH/Hammerdin(not that I would do it but it’s an option), FoH Cleric(Meditation + Prayer synergy. Works great with Plague runeword), pure FoH(w/ Conviction and Holy Shock synergy), FoH/Zeal and perhaps other combinations I haven’t even listed here. These combinations help deal with FoH’s vulnerability to Animal class while the Cleric variant makes you the ultimate medic/support class. If you do go the Cleric route, I highly recommend an Act 5 Frenzy Barb with Grief/Lawbringer, Arreats(with Cham rune) and Fortitude. Do that and your Merc will simply not die with you around while easily disposing anything near you.
Viable? Yeah. Recommended? Not really.
I just did it, so here are my recommendations if you do try it:
If you can get a solid weapon for you and your merc, then throw a few extra points in holy shock for when you need to handle the non-demon/undead. Merc is super necessary for FoH leveling. You can spam your bolt on them to keep them alive. Plus almost all bosses are demons so you will be damaging and healing your tank.
FoH costs 25 mana and will do less light damage than a holy bolt, so it’s next to useless right at 30 unless you are a) dumping points into energy, b) find some really awesome mana gear early on or c) make some really early spirits.
FoH does not make you suddenly good against non-demon/undead. In fact until you have several points in it, you’ll still be whacking mobs for faster kills without draining your mana pool. Arguably FoH just makes you even better in demon/undead areas.
If you don’t care about leveling speed, FoH is fine, actually even fun in the demon/undead areas.
If you do care about speed, and don’t want to be completely hobbled for act 2, parts of act 3, and almost all of act 5, then I’d recommend zeal or hammer until around 60-75.
Edit: For reference, I leveled in hardcore, so it’s not only viable but super safe (healing your merc is amazing).
Double Edit: When I say completely hobbled: I still soloed all of act2 and act3 as FoH. Just went a little slow is all.
Act 2 is just brutal to FoHdins isn’t it? Maggot Lair especially… ugh. Conviction is almost mandatory to pierce Scarab immunity, otherwise you’re completely helpless unless you Smite or Zeal them down. Outside of that and certain parts of Act 3/5(as you noted), the build is really, really safe and fun.
Yes, Viper Temple and especially Maggot Lair is awful (especially in NM, hell and ESPECIALLY on hardcore). However tombs were nice xD.
Tombs are nice when you don’t face Scarabs or Vipers within them. If you face Demon/Undead, then its cakewalk but the moment you add in Beast/Animal, particularly if its mostly Beast/Animal, it can be a pain.
I did find though that if you can get a really well equipped Mercenary that the Cleric variant(Max Prayer/Meditation, Cleansing via Plague) is extremely strong given that the Mercenary is unlikely to ever die thanks to the passive healing, curse/poison duration reduction and insane Healing from Holy Bolt. Act 5 seems to do best but Act 2 is just as strong so long as you have like a Lawbringer or Reaper Toll for Animal/Beast PI. Then pop on Kira’s + Guardian Angel for CBF/90 Resistance and you should clear just about everything in front of you.