problem: merc and frenzy gf barb takes too much damage in travincal
solution: metalgrid IG / material moser with 2x ums
My initial problem was that my act2 merc died too easily in travincal gf runs.
I found a solution, it was using a eth GA.
Another problem arose, which was that I had to use potions too often due to the high dam from the council.
So I decided to use the metal grid to up my res , up defense and up AR. This sort of solved the problem but since i am wearing a metal grid, why not use an IG. Then I wanted to make a durable IG as a distraction.
So this is my solution to gf barb that makes gold farming easier.
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Newb question: what’s IG? Oh Iron Golem 
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never really acted on the metalgrid option, cause I just put on a random +2 barb, @resist.
Although don’t think I would’ve caught the moser iron golem tech.
Makes sense good resist, good ar, iron golem, prevent death/scary deaths when council has conviction or fana/might.
10/10 advice
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Well, my act 2 might merc uses fortitude (hit me with your best “Cold bad” shots), crown of thieves and eth reapers toll with lem (lol). My necklace is +2 barb +33 mf and I am doing super good, clean fast and average somewhere around 600k per 2-3 minute run. With the mf I have I also pick various items, including but not limited to the charm the other dude is asking in topic below 
so your merc has never died? What level?
Does Iron Golem block?
Also, if you just want big res, surely put 4 Ums into a paladin shield.
Interesting idea man.
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My merc survives pretty well with Duriels + Temper. I was playing around with a +4 Ariocs Needle for the extra Might that I threw an Amn into. When they are TZ he still occasionally needs a rejuvie, but usually does well. Before I caved and threw an Enigma on I would also run to Durance lvl 1 and back up, to make sure merc didn’t get stuck on the terraces taking hydra damage unable to attack/leach, since they love doing that, which also helped, but adds time to the run which sucks of course.
I run LoH for the extra damage vs. Chancies, b/c I originally made him with left overs and was worried about killing speed, but they have massive fire res too so the barb himself basically just ignores the council damage when I’m fighting/leaching and after I can even switch to the babas to hork and ignore hydra damage.
I know my GF is sub-optimal - only 1039% GF / 442% MF when I swap to hork, but I still get gold faster than I can use/trade it typically so I consider it good enough, and I enjoy the extra MF and like to play him outside of Trav as well.
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I’m full committing to getting my horker runs smooth since I’ve 99ed my 2 zons. This is high end and in no way value oriented. I’m leveling with a group to get him to 98/99, he’s 96 atm. But the setup worked great at in the 80s, merc just gets about 10k more dmg for leveling if I recall. 3os 8LL tiara (helm is around Jah now) with 2x ias ED jewels and Cham, Coh and Eth Ariocs Needle. Since I hold a beast I socket Eth high ED Ariocs (cheap, Ist to Vex) with a Lo. eBOTD War Pike is even better since it 2x’s the LL again. Really nice vs the conviction/Fana/Might packs. He’s 100% of my dmg so I’m treating the merc like I would treat my bowazon. Just one hard point into war cry to keep mana costs reasonable. Make sure to wear 2x 15MD Dwarf stars for the gold find and protection from hydra. Use Gavel of Pain for the Amp charges, 3x dmg is 3x more LL and a demon limb to max chance to hit, even at a lvl 96 merc get 11k more damage per second. I like using a bone break too to kill any hard immunes. He usually 1-3 shots these most Trav members uniques included and does well even if I miss an amp.
sounds like an interesting setup. how many minutes per run?
for me, i absolutely hate it when my merc dies. eth GA <socketed with 15ias 40ed> with flickering flame and inifnity is the answer for me. i use act2 defiance merc.
The trav part itself is fast. Honestly prob repairing the charges and enchanting him takes longer. I picked a random run from the youtube I linked you in Discord and it’s 12s to kill trav.
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This is why I like some form of FRW. Losing 10% (300/3000) GF makes sense if you are getting to Council faster. I find the best way is still to time from 0 to 10M gold
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good take, never thought of metalgrid. Maybe we should make a list of options (Moeser was a good find)
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Rip my runes, now reconsidering looking for a circlet upgrade to get the FRW from enigma while keeping wealth on the chest 
Sounds like some cool set ups - I’ve been going pretty basic:
Frenzy GF baba
Chancies
Infernostride
Enigma
CoT
Trang belt (haven’t socketed CoT with Cham or acquired a decent circlet to use)
Dwarf stars
Highlords (better kill speed)
Grief PB
Lemmed PB
Swap:
Dual wield lem’d Ali babas
Merc - coh, CoT, and infinity (to lower phys resist)
For sure needs improvements but on average I’m getting 350k-ish per run
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Infinity helps with chance to hit, doesn’t lower physical resist
Would be interested to see how this setup does
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Ah yeah lower defense not remove resist
I just use berserk for when you get the random phys immune council
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You and I have a very similar setup. Here is mine.
Frenzy GF baba
Chancies
30frw tri res with 69gold
Enigma
CoT/ with cham
goldwrap
2 x Dwarf stars
metalgrid (iron golem distraction lol)
Grief PB
Lemmed alibaba
Swap:
2 x +3 warcry swords (i should use alibaba for maximum gain but too lazy to even switch)
Merc -
flickering flame (need this for fire protection/ a true godsend)
infinity (to lower phys resist)
eth GA with 15/40ed jewel
*my merc never dies. the closest he came was 1/2 HP left. This occurs once every fifteen runs.
I am mostly getting 330kish per run.
Range is 110k~450k
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I’ve tried several barb gf builds and berserk barb have been fastest for me to run 10M gold.
In general, really solid merc option is A2 merc geared with CoT, eBotD and eth fortitude. Another nice option is A5 frenzy merc with dual Last Wish, eth forti and Cot/arreats.
My gf berserks gear at the moment:
Grief PB
Lemmed PB
2x lemmed nagas as swap
Enigma
Chancies
2x Dwarf Star
goldwrap or 75gf 10fcr craft belt (depending on amu, 9 fcr is nice to have for tele)
Cham’ed tiara w/ 2skills, visio, 75gf, 27 lr
boots w/ 30 frw, 80gf, 24cr, 35fr, plr25
amu w/ 2 skills, 75 gf, 13@r, 30ar
Grand charms w/ gf and warcries or attack rating
Small charms w/ gf and all res, maxdamar, lr
All resistances except poison at 75%
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Cool build! That tiara and the lemmed Nagas are dope
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