Dmg Wise without any support reapers toll is really sick. But the loss of corpses hurts.

If you factor in Amplify Dmg there are better options that do not waste corpses. This guide describes nearly all thinkable options.

depends, are you trying to be super lazy and let merc do 100% dps while you afk? this is going to be difficult without amp, and he will die a lot without support from war cry. There's also issue of phy immunes...

I also dislike having to load to a4 and repair after each run. So I run a active/passive hybrid build where I zerk down about half the council, swap to 2x babas, and hork while merc finishes off the rest. For this setup merc has ebotd/fort/andy, but i'm guessing arioc/coh/andy will work just as well. I would not recommend reapers if merc is doing significant dps - he will shatter a lot of corpses. If YOU are primary dps and can be quick about it, then reapers can work fine since merc doesn't get that many hits off, so maybe 1-1.5 shatters per run.

I don't really mention GFace setups, or even DPS Goldfind (Zerkers, etc.), because the guide was written when the timer was 60 seconds. I often wish I could go back and edit to add nuance to the 0-40s timer options

You could make a new topic. But maybe 2.4 brings other great merc options or new stuff. If you decide to put all the love and work in and remake I'll donate you the 10fg for red/bold topic, if that helps, haha. (Was just kidding, as if you would need it. Would do it anyway lol)

This post was edited by ExtasyOfGold on Jan 18 2022 12:35am

i think even with big buffs a2 merc will be hard to beat

This post was edited by Spartacus160 on Jan 21 2022 04:09am

A5 Merc is super close already due to the min/max dmg bug scaling on 1h weapons, but now that the A5 Merc will override Amp Dmg with Battle Cry, I don't think he'll be better.

yea amp dmg is rly the gamechanger on goldfind barbs mb blizzard should fix that overriding...

also i thought about a1 merc with new runeword bow to add concentration aura for necro summon minions
but i guess infinty is still stronger for corpse explosion...

This post was edited by Spartacus160 on Jan 21 2022 05:24am

For a very short while before they fixed IAS cap, there was a super fun Faith Demon Crossbow Necro build with insane IAS/Crushing Blow to smash bosses.
Alas, it was nerfed too fast u_u

that sounds like real fun

also firewall was nerfed too fast in my eyes could have been a real nice build for ladder start...

dont want to start all the time ladder with blizz sorc mb trying fb hybrid or something like that

A2 merc is happy with patch notes. Leap change sounds awesome. And warcry will be interesting to level with. Maybe more.