u dont really get fhr from gear, just 20 from the sandstorm treks.
I usually get the rest from small charms / skillers, or if ur extremely lucky u can get part from the new sunder charm upped.

as for fcr, i use the following to get to 105

25 griffin
30 viper
20 magefist
10 fcr ring
20 arach

other slots i use are

infinity scythe
soj
said sandstorm treks
mara

i guess crescent moon + spirit is viable as well, gives a better mix of fhr / fcr / resists through the spirit shield option.
If that clears p7/8 for you on single player, then i'd say fuck LK, as it drains the braincells.

I use shako with um rune on my merc, just to have a +2 skills swap helmet available for my BO without cube.

thats a fun idea

Ok interesting. I play HC so my butt just puckers if I take my shield off (even though spirit isnt really a defensive shield as much as a stat stick)

but between the mana loss, resists etc. it becomes difficult to feel safe. I am realzing FHR probably doenst even matter as much because you arent taking big hits to HP

Honestly I htought i was gonna end up needing max block/SS but the CM + spirit setup doest feel dangerous at all

Might need to do some experimenting with a hero editor self made, and just understand how the difference feels both offensively and defensively.

This post was edited by sammyt555 on Mar 23 2026 09:09am

My advice is by all means not hardcore proof. I die like 1 sometimes 2 times a week doing p8 games with my setup.
Also of course not playing that cautiously etc, but still.

And also best option:
Cure
Insight
Gloom

Yeah I got the griffs yesterday, made for quite a nice sunday haha. So I am still pretty new to the character but yeah, spamming p5 TZs without much issue, playing pretty dumb myself lol

heralfds go down a little slower than Id like but other than that it feels good enough for me in terms of clear speed.

maybe im alone in this but, p5 always felt like plenty of loot and is usually what I shoot for in HC, its just not usually worth the occasional hiccup in either danger or a spongy elite etc

This build was just never on the table the way mana burn used to work so I never really learned the nova sorc personally. Lots of fun considerations though here, I really love a specialized merc setup

This post was edited by sammyt555 on Mar 23 2026 09:16am

can you share a little more on that why is gloom a good option? No life leech (does the merc do ok with just their own regen from the auras?)

Is it the dim vision proc??


ahhh sounds like it helps with souls and ranged attacks in general yeah. Ok I will try that out too

This post was edited by sammyt555 on Mar 23 2026 09:25am

True! Great Merc Armor as well