The nice thing about Beast and Fanaticism is it doesnt give a huge damage bonus to anyone other than aura owner. So with 2X Beast on an Act 5 merc, it should be comparable to Might in DPS with added IAS. So expanding axes to a Frenzy Barb variant shouldn’t be a problem.
I think the fantasy of the Iron Wolves as elemental sorcerers is the most interesting lore wise, it just sucks they’re still medicore companions. Blizzard, please consider improving these mercs for next Season!
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2 x Beasts = Level 18 Fanaticism = 339% ED(169 to Party), 34% Skill IAS, 125% Attack Rating
1 x Beast = Level 9 Fanaticism = 186/90, 29% Skill IAS, 80% Attack Rating
1 x Last Wish = Level 17 Might = 200% ED, increased to 370% ED with 2
If Beast was limited to just one for the aura, you’d be correct. Dual-wielding Beast though would be quite strong. However, you’d be foregoing curses for PI opponents unless you have a counter for that on your main character. Granted I don’t think people would care too much if they can get Fanaticsm on a A5 Mercenary.
Thing is wouldn’t this change make A1 Mercenaries all but worthless outside of Harmony for Vigor Aura? I mean I know Pride is expensive for Concentration on A2 but I’d get that + Might whereas Mist on A1 only yields Concentration(no Might Aura) while A1 can also yield Fanaticism via Faith(presently the only way to get it via Merc). You give A5 Axes and A1 Mercenary might as well be oblivious like A3 Mercenaries are right now because the Mercenary landscape would be between A2 and A5 and nothing else.
A2: Dominant Merc due to Auras
A5: New Fanaticism holder thanks to Axe change
A1: Relegated to Harmony…
A3: Who are you again?
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…A single tear rolls down poor Jarulf’s cheek…
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Eh I didn’t mean to say it but its the honest truth. Thing is you add Axes to A5 and you relegate A1 to mediocre status too. Its kind of amazing that we’ve relegated Mercenaries to Aura sources but that’s just the plain truth:
Act 2 yields a host of combinations: Conviction(Infinity) + Holy Freeze being incredibly popular. Defiance, Might and Prayer are also popular and even Blessed Aim sees use from time to time. Thorns is about the only one that doesn’t(yet its one aura that scales really well).
Act 5 got new life after the dual-wield addition. You give it axes and it’ll take the place of A1 for Fanaticism via Beast as its cheaper to make than Faith while having way better survivability too(Skill IAS on a Frenzy Barb… may Diablo covet his Soulstone).
Act 1 is presently relegated for Faith(if needed) or Vigor Aura(via Harmony) since while Concentration aura from Pride is expensive, A2 yields an extra aura that A1 cannot so Mist has little value. It’s also a Mercenary that loves to die quickly so yeah…
Act 3 is presently the Mercenary Black Sheep because it doesn’t even do what its meant to do(dealing Elemental Damage) well while being squishy and lacking a recovery mechanism that the other 3 Mercenaries can tap into(Life Leech). Act 3 needs an Offensive, Defensive and Utility buff. Offensive is buffing overall Elemental Damage(Mastery Skill would do this). Defensive could be adding Shield Block(they have Shields… so why aren’t they?) and Utility could be giving it a Shield Runeword that grants Prayer Aura that would yield them passive Life Regeneration(something that they’d primarily benefit from).
Outside of adding Infinity to Bows(which would help their Elemental Arrow Damage a ton), I’m not sure how you can make A1 remotely relevant if you give A5 Axes. Even then… A1 durability is a massive issue unless they could Dodge/Avoid/Evade like Amazons.
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Agreed. I’m proposing a new shield runeword for Iron Wolves that gives them masteries for damage, prayer aura for life regen and FCR to meet breakpoints. To discourge players from using, minus mana is included as Iron Wolves don’t use mana (it also doesnt have all resists).
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True argument, but not sure if that would make A1 obsolete (your forgot an Ice Frost Maiden, what is actually very viable for CC as well). I could imagine, that the lvl 18 fana on a dual beast would be really good for P8 farming and with a lot of minions. But not sure how that would be on low playercounts or solo. Dual beast on a barb is not a huge thing as far as I remember and the overall dmg of beast is substanially lower then on a dual grief or grief/last wish/plague.
So I would not expect seeing dual beasts chars without many minions? I this assumation would be true, then we would not have an issue here I guess. Or?
A2 HF beats A1 Ice Frost Maidens and I don’t have to make an Ice to get it either. The aura is stronger on Ice, as is the Elemental Damage but the purpose of having Holy Freeze isn’t for the Cold Damage but for the Slow/Crowd Control and Act 2 does a much better job while having a secondary aura to go with it(generally Infinity which is BIS).
As for dual Beasts, Beasts are generally not made in Ethereal bases as its not indestructible. If Act 5 gets Axes, Ethereal Beasts would be highly sought after but the one thing that helps is that Beast has relatively low %Enhanced Damage. That being said… Beast on A5 pretty much makes A1 way less desirable to use.
On another note… could you imagine A5 Mercenary going full Werebear? rofl
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If only AI was improved enough so hirelings used oskills…
Wolfhowl + dual Beast…
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Good point and I´m with you.
But still, would that be really a bad thing? A1 is already less desireable (although I like the Ice-Maiden a lot 
). I´m not sure if this addition will change any meta drasticially. Just added a another viable option to the table imho.
And those two eth superior axes with 5 OS will need to be found before you would have fun with it. I guess a 4 OS +3 GMB is easier to obtain…
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All you need is Ethereal Ettin Axes for Merc Beasts since they natively roll 5 sockets via Larzuk or have the best odds if you use Socket recipe(although that requires no Superior modifier). One Beast is all you need since you’ll likely want Lawbringer, Oath or something to deal with Physical Immunes on the other weapon slot unless you already have that covered on main character. Dual-wield Beast would be rather strong and cost more than a single Faith on A1 Merc but comes with better Fanaticism and consequently a Mercenary that survives far better. My point regarding A1 is giving it purpose. You take Faith Mercenaries away and they’ll fall into obscurity like Act 3 presently enjoys and we’re trying to prevent that from happening.
Granted the only class that really benefits from A1 Faith mercenaries are Avengers(since they roll Conviction), Spearzons(Impale primarily) and Barbarians. Every other class uses A2 or A5. A3 is an afterthought save for maybe the Fire variant on Summoners since that Enchant is pretty nice to have for the minions. You give Fanaticism to A5, who’s going to use A1 if that option for A5 exists? That’s the point I’m trying to make. If anything, the point you’re making is that A1 durability is still not good enough but the only thing that comes to mind that would give them a chance would be Dodge/Avoid/Evade perks that Amazons enjoy(and I don’t even feel right suggesting that).
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I agree we don’t want to make changes to Act 5 merc that would take away from Act 1 merc.
There is the consideration of Inner Sight which is a massive source of -defense that doesn’t compete with curses and the fact Frenzy A5 mercs have Taunt which constantly overwrites curses, though depending on the build those may or may not be factors. Tesladins wouldn’t really care for -defense nor curses but bowazons using Atmas might.
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Bowzons wouldn’t be using A5. They’d be using A2 HF with likely Reaper Toll to proc Decrepify for them given the piss-poor proc chance for Amplify Damage on Atma’s. That’d open up Amulet slot for Highlords/Cat’s Eye. That said your point on Inner Sight is valid but A1 isn’t generally used for that but for the Aura(Faith or Vigor via Harmony) or for Freezing Arrow damage(Ice yielding Holy Freeze).
I just can’t see myself using A1 any time soon and that’s something that should be addressed with A3.
I don’t play Summon Necro much, but I would imagine Act 1 Merc with faith bow would be fun. Basically just faith, vamp gaze, and shaftstop to maximize her damage reduction.
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If I was a Summoner then yeah I might consider it but I generally don’t play Necro, if at all. As I said, Faith is pretty much the only thing keeping A1 relevant right now and if we give A5 the ability to use Beast, A1 really drops off in terms of viability given I can use A5 to get the same effect while not having to worry about him getting smoked by the enemy as often like I would with A1. I would also argue that if I wanted to maximize Physical damage, A2 may be better suited with Might + Pride combination and self-wielding Beast for Fanaticism as a Necro Summoner. Furthermore, Act 3 might hold some value with Fire Iron Wolf yielding Enchant but that’s about it.
Kind of a shame that a Druid Spirit like Heart of Wolverine(or Spirit of Barbs) doesn’t apply Skill IAS. If it did… that would be rather interesting ngl. Yet this is a thread about Merc’s so I’ll stop it there XD
Basically Act 1 and Act 3 need items(most likely runewords in this case) that yield them auras specifically to make them more useful. Act 1 could easily use Conviction(given they deal Elemental Arrow Damage, just have to add Bow bases to Infinity or create a new Bow Runeword specifically for them and Frost/Fire Maidens) while Act 3 needs Prayer(for recovery), Conviction(Elemental Damage… duh… Self-Wielding would ultimately be the result sadly if we did this) and Resist Auras(Resist Cold/Lightning given Resist Fire exists via Flickering Flame). Might even include Salvation given nothing exists with that aura in mind and perhaps Defiance since Exile only rolls on Paladin Shields. Maybe extend this to Normal Shields, permit Act 3 to use Paladin Shields or create an entirely new runeword(perhaps one with 3 sockets as opposed to 4) that grants Defiance Aura plus Defensive perks.
Something along the lines of this…
Willfulness
Shield + Necro Shrunken Heads(when they get 3 sockets)
Mal + Sol + Um
Level 14 Defiance Aura When Equipped
150% Enhanced Defense
Damage Reduced by 10%
Increased Chance of Blocking +20%
+2 to All Skills
Magic Damage Reduced by 7(Mal)
Damage Reduced by 7(Sol)
All Resistance +22(Um)
Requirements -30%
Repairs 1 Durability Every 4 Seconds
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Only in Town? Would not mind if that would be in general like for chars?
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Does make sense and makes it consistent. 
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If I could have only one change, it would be for mercs to engage when combat is detected. Having them idle behind a corner just a few feet from attacking monsters is frustrating.
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Such an AI change should be applied to all minions, not only hirelings. And to monsters as well, so it’d not be a unilateral buff.
This would also reduce the summoners’ dependence on Teleport (Enigma) just to reposition the army.
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