How can I boost my mercs str. and dex?

[t***@hotmail.com]

Someone was kind enough to give me an Insight for my merc a while back,
it's been sitting in my stash for the past 20 levels just waiting to
be used. Imagine my surprise when my merc hit 27 and I eagerly ran to
my stash to equip it, only to find that he still lacked the strength
and dex to equip it. So here we are at level 39 and the weakling STILL
cant use the darned thing, even tho the level requirement is only 27.
I can't recall off hand but I think he still lacks about 15 in each
stat.

What are my options for raising str. and dex via either armor or helm
so I can equip this thing? I took a look at the rune words at the
Areat Summit site but didnt see anything that could work.

[Mickey]

Post by t***@hotmail.com
Someone was kind enough to give me an Insight for my merc a while back,
it's been sitting in my stash for the past 20 levels just waiting to
be used. Imagine my surprise when my merc hit 27 and I eagerly ran to
my stash to equip it, only to find that he still lacked the strength
and dex to equip it. So here we are at level 39 and the weakling STILL
cant use the darned thing, even tho the level requirement is only 27.
I can't recall off hand but I think he still lacks about 15 in each
stat.
What are my options for raising str. and dex via either armor or helm
so I can equip this thing? I took a look at the rune words at the
Areat Summit site but didnt see anything that could work.

get a 2 socket hat and put a couple of purple gems in it.

Mickey

[Patrick Vervoorn]

Post by t***@hotmail.com
Someone was kind enough to give me an Insight for my merc a while back,
it's been sitting in my stash for the past 20 levels just waiting to
be used. Imagine my surprise when my merc hit 27 and I eagerly ran to
my stash to equip it, only to find that he still lacked the strength
and dex to equip it. So here we are at level 39 and the weakling STILL
cant use the darned thing, even tho the level requirement is only 27.
I can't recall off hand but I think he still lacks about 15 in each
stat.
What are my options for raising str. and dex via either armor or helm
so I can equip this thing? I took a look at the rune words at the
Areat Summit site but didnt see anything that could work.

There are several unique items which provide a Str boost, f.i. Duriel's
Shell, etc, but these need a higher clvl than the Insight needs.

Your best option would be to either temporarily use some magicals or rares
with some +str bonuses, or socket your current equipment with Perfect
Amethysts (easy to get) or jewels with +str bonuses (a bit harder to come
by).

So what was this Insight made in? My personal favorite for a young merc is
on in an ethereal Partizan: the etherealness shaves off another 10 of the
Str requirement, and the resulting needed 103 Str is quite doable at
clvl27 with some PAmethysts here and there.

Since a Merc wielding a nice Insight is quite overpowered against the
monsters he's facing (late Normal usually), you can also just opt to stick
2 PAmethysts in socketed armors shopped in Acts 1 and 2 in Normal...

Some care has to be taken when making 'start-up' Insight polearms for your
merc: either use the right Exceptional Polearm, of if you really see no
options to get the needed Str for one, opt for one in a Normal polearm. A
semi-nice Insight in even a lowly Poleaxe will get you and your merc
through most of NM even.

Regards,

Patrick.

[t***@hotmail.com]

Thanks for the ideas,

I am not sure what it was made from...I will look into the gems.

[Nomersu]

Griswold's Heart Ornate Plate has 3 sockets and +20 to str as built in
attribute. Guillaume's Face Winged Helm has +15 str and you can socket
it and put a perfect gem to suit your needs. Perfect purple gem gives
you +10 str and green one +10 to dex. Both armour pieces are quite easy
to find or buy.

[Patrick Vervoorn]

Post by Nomersu
Griswold's Heart Ornate Plate has 3 sockets and +20 to str as built in
attribute. Guillaume's Face Winged Helm has +15 str and you can socket
it and put a perfect gem to suit your needs. Perfect purple gem gives
you +10 str and green one +10 to dex. Both armour pieces are quite easy
to find or buy.

The OP specifically mentioned his clvl27 Merc did not have enough Str to
wield his Insight polearm.

Grisworld's Heart Ornate Plate: Req level: 45
Guillaume's Face: Req level: 34

So quite useless at clvl27. Guillaume's is indeed a helmet which will
boost your Str enough to wield about any Insight polearm you can think of
when you have the right clvl for the underlying polearm.

It's also a very nice melee hat, but it does have the problem of not
offering any life leech. With Insight not having any life leech either,
this only leaves the merc's armor for Life Leech, severely limiting your
options there.

Most of my Insight wielding mercs end up with an eth Insight
Thresher/Great Poleaxe, a Tal Rasha's mask and Duress until they have
enough Str to wield their an eth Insight CV, at which point they get their
Thresher/Great Poleaxe replaced with an eth CV.

Regards,

Patrick.

[Mickey]

Post by Patrick Vervoorn

Post by Nomersu
Griswold's Heart Ornate Plate has 3 sockets and +20 to str as built in
attribute. Guillaume's Face Winged Helm has +15 str and you can socket
it and put a perfect gem to suit your needs. Perfect purple gem gives
you +10 str and green one +10 to dex. Both armour pieces are quite easy
to find or buy.

The OP specifically mentioned his clvl27 Merc did not have enough Str to
wield his Insight polearm.
Grisworld's Heart Ornate Plate: Req level: 45
Guillaume's Face: Req level: 34
So quite useless at clvl27. Guillaume's is indeed a helmet which will
boost your Str enough to wield about any Insight polearm you can think of
when you have the right clvl for the underlying polearm.
It's also a very nice melee hat, but it does have the problem of not
offering any life leech. With Insight not having any life leech either,
this only leaves the merc's armor for Life Leech, severely limiting your
options there.
Most of my Insight wielding mercs end up with an eth Insight
Thresher/Great Poleaxe, a Tal Rasha's mask and Duress until they have
enough Str to wield their an eth Insight CV, at which point they get their
Thresher/Great Poleaxe replaced with an eth CV.

Yeah, but OP also said merc is now level 39 :)

Mickey

[Patrick Vervoorn]

Post by Mickey

Post by Patrick Vervoorn
Most of my Insight wielding mercs end up with an eth Insight
Thresher/Great Poleaxe, a Tal Rasha's mask and Duress until they have
enough Str to wield their an eth Insight CV, at which point they get their
Thresher/Great Poleaxe replaced with an eth CV.

Yeah, but OP also said merc is now level 39 :)

Oops, yeah, missed that more or less, and homed in on the rather nice
feature of Insight, namely it's low level requirements due to the highest
rune being used in it: Sol.

I'm not entirely sure how much Str an Act 2 Merc will have at clvl39 (the
calculators I found do not work in Lynx), but I'd have expected him to
have enough Str to wear about any exceptional poleaerm at that clvl,
except perhaps the Grim Scythe (140 Str needed, and even worse, you also
need 140 dex for it)...?

Be very careful what you stuff Insight in. I once found a rather nice
looking ethereal 4 socket Grim Scythe, and had almost stuffed Insight in,
when I noticed the Str, and especially, Dex requirements: still 130. Not
useable until much later, and when you can, you an also perhaps switch to
a Thresher, Str- and level-wise.

Regards,

Patrick.

[Mickey]

Post by Patrick Vervoorn

Post by Mickey

Post by Patrick Vervoorn
Most of my Insight wielding mercs end up with an eth Insight
Thresher/Great Poleaxe, a Tal Rasha's mask and Duress until they have
enough Str to wield their an eth Insight CV, at which point they get their
Thresher/Great Poleaxe replaced with an eth CV.

Yeah, but OP also said merc is now level 39 :)

Oops, yeah, missed that more or less, and homed in on the rather nice
feature of Insight, namely it's low level requirements due to the highest
rune being used in it: Sol.
I'm not entirely sure how much Str an Act 2 Merc will have at clvl39 (the
calculators I found do not work in Lynx), but I'd have expected him to
have enough Str to wear about any exceptional poleaerm at that clvl,
except perhaps the Grim Scythe (140 Str needed, and even worse, you also
need 140 dex for it)...?
Be very careful what you stuff Insight in. I once found a rather nice
looking ethereal 4 socket Grim Scythe, and had almost stuffed Insight in,
when I noticed the Str, and especially, Dex requirements: still 130. Not
useable until much later, and when you can, you an also perhaps switch to
a Thresher, Str- and level-wise.

One thing I did VERY early on was find me a normal polearm and make an
insight. Merc can wear it the day he turns 27, which helps casters out no
end.

Mickey

[~misfit~]

Post by Mickey

Post by Patrick Vervoorn

Post by Mickey

Post by Patrick Vervoorn
Most of my Insight wielding mercs end up with an eth Insight
Thresher/Great Poleaxe, a Tal Rasha's mask and Duress until they
have enough Str to wield their an eth Insight CV, at which point
they get their
Thresher/Great Poleaxe replaced with an eth CV.

Yeah, but OP also said merc is now level 39 :)

Oops, yeah, missed that more or less, and homed in on the rather nice
feature of Insight, namely it's low level requirements due to the
highest rune being used in it: Sol.
I'm not entirely sure how much Str an Act 2 Merc will have at clvl39
(the calculators I found do not work in Lynx), but I'd have expected
him to have enough Str to wear about any exceptional poleaerm at
that clvl, except perhaps the Grim Scythe (140 Str needed, and even
worse, you also need 140 dex for it)...?
Be very careful what you stuff Insight in. I once found a rather nice
looking ethereal 4 socket Grim Scythe, and had almost stuffed
Insight in, when I noticed the Str, and especially, Dex
requirements: still 130. Not useable until much later, and when you
can, you an also perhaps switch to a Thresher, Str- and level-wise.

One thing I did VERY early on was find me a normal polearm and make an
insight. Merc can wear it the day he turns 27, which helps casters
out no end.

An ethereal Battle Scythe is nice, (-10) although I've only ever seen one. I
usually use an Eth Partizan (10). Either usable at level 27, (both get 5
sockets from Larzuk though) maybe with a bit of strength or dex tweaking.
However, the damage they do is phenomenal for that level so it doesn't
matter that you may have to compromise on hat and coat.

I think an eth halberd is about the best though. No tweaking of stats
required. I had one last ladder that was used my very many mercs as they
grew up.

[Mickey]

Post by ~misfit~

Post by Mickey

Post by Patrick Vervoorn

Post by Mickey

Post by Patrick Vervoorn
Most of my Insight wielding mercs end up with an eth Insight
Thresher/Great Poleaxe, a Tal Rasha's mask and Duress until they
have enough Str to wield their an eth Insight CV, at which point
they get their
Thresher/Great Poleaxe replaced with an eth CV.

Yeah, but OP also said merc is now level 39 :)

Oops, yeah, missed that more or less, and homed in on the rather nice
feature of Insight, namely it's low level requirements due to the
highest rune being used in it: Sol.
I'm not entirely sure how much Str an Act 2 Merc will have at clvl39
(the calculators I found do not work in Lynx), but I'd have expected
him to have enough Str to wear about any exceptional poleaerm at
that clvl, except perhaps the Grim Scythe (140 Str needed, and even
worse, you also need 140 dex for it)...?
Be very careful what you stuff Insight in. I once found a rather nice
looking ethereal 4 socket Grim Scythe, and had almost stuffed
Insight in, when I noticed the Str, and especially, Dex
requirements: still 130. Not useable until much later, and when you
can, you an also perhaps switch to a Thresher, Str- and level-wise.

One thing I did VERY early on was find me a normal polearm and make an
insight. Merc can wear it the day he turns 27, which helps casters
out no end.

An ethereal Battle Scythe is nice, (-10) although I've only ever seen one.
I usually use an Eth Partizan (10). Either usable at level 27, (both get 5
sockets from Larzuk though) maybe with a bit of strength or dex tweaking.
However, the damage they do is phenomenal for that level so it doesn't
matter that you may have to compromise on hat and coat.
I think an eth halberd is about the best though. No tweaking of stats
required. I had one last ladder that was used my very many mercs as they
grew up.

I think I made mine in a volgue.

Mickey

[t***@hotmail.com]

Well I finally got the thing equipped...believe it or not I have not
been able to find the right gems or parts of gems to make any perfects
so I just watied. Turns out Clevel 44 is what my merc needed to be in
order to equip this thing with no str/dex mods. But I like it :D

Tonij

[Patrick Vervoorn]

Post by t***@hotmail.com
Well I finally got the thing equipped...believe it or not I have not
been able to find the right gems or parts of gems to make any perfects
so I just watied. Turns out Clevel 44 is what my merc needed to be in
order to equip this thing with no str/dex mods. But I like it :D

Just out of curiosity: what did you make this Insight in then? I'm
guessing here it's in a Grim Scythe? :)

Regards,

Patrick.

[t***@hotmail.com]

I didnt make it, it was given to me. I can't recall exactly what it is
made out of, I want to say something like Bel Deco Toro or something
like that...no that's not right. I will look it up when I get home.

It's a polearm, not a scythe.

[Mark (newsgroups)]

Post by t***@hotmail.com
I didnt make it, it was given to me. I can't recall exactly what it is
made out of, I want to say something like Bel Deco Toro or something
like that...no that's not right. I will look it up when I get home.

Heheh, sounds familiar. Do you mean Bec-de-corbin? I've got an Insight
in an ethereal one of those which I also made as soon as my merc turned
27. I was saddened to see that like yours he couldn't use it till much
later.

Post by t***@hotmail.com
It's a polearm, not a scythe.

A scythe falls under the weapon category of polearm in D2.

[s***@hotmail.com]

Post by t***@hotmail.com
Someone was kind enough to give me an Insight for my merc a while back,
it's been sitting in my stash for the past 20 levels just waiting to
be used. Imagine my surprise when my merc hit 27 and I eagerly ran to
my stash to equip it, only to find that he still lacked the strength
and dex to equip it. So here we are at level 39 and the weakling STILL
cant use the darned thing, even tho the level requirement is only 27.
I can't recall off hand but I think he still lacks about 15 in each
stat.
What are my options for raising str. and dex via either armor or helm
so I can equip this thing? I took a look at the rune words at the
Areat Summit site but didnt see anything that could work.

Since insight gives +5 attributes you can also use the strength bug to
help equip.
This means temporarily using an item with + strength.
What I do is swap my shako with my merc's helm to equip my Insight eth
CV.
Anyway here is a table with useful items for + dex and + stength.

Dex Lev
6 20 Stealth
10 12 Greyform
10 16 Twitchthroe
15 49 Lionheart Dusk Shroud
15 41 Lionheart Mage Plate
15 37 Crow Caw
40 15 4 sock arm 4 pe
30 45 Griswold's Heart (3) !!


30 15 3 sock helm 3 pe
20 15 2 Sock helm 2 pe
6 8 Isenhart's Horns
25 49 Crown of Thieves
30 59 Natalya's Totem

Str Lev
50 45 Griswold's Heart (3) !!
40 15 4 sock arm 4 pa
25 49 Lionheart Dusk Shroud
25 41 Lionheart Mage Plate
10 16 Twitchthroe
15 35 Spirit Forge
15 41 Duriel's Shell

30 15 3 sock helm 3 pa
20 15 2 Sock helm 2 pa
15 28 Naj's Circlet
15 34 Guillaume's Face
20 59 Natalya's Totem

[Mickey]

Post by s***@hotmail.com

Post by t***@hotmail.com
Someone was kind enough to give me an Insight for my merc a while back,
it's been sitting in my stash for the past 20 levels just waiting to
be used. Imagine my surprise when my merc hit 27 and I eagerly ran to
my stash to equip it, only to find that he still lacked the strength
and dex to equip it. So here we are at level 39 and the weakling STILL
cant use the darned thing, even tho the level requirement is only 27.
I can't recall off hand but I think he still lacks about 15 in each
stat.
What are my options for raising str. and dex via either armor or helm
so I can equip this thing? I took a look at the rune words at the
Areat Summit site but didnt see anything that could work.

Since insight gives +5 attributes you can also use the strength bug to
help equip.
This means temporarily using an item with + strength.
What I do is swap my shako with my merc's helm to equip my Insight eth
CV.
Anyway here is a table with useful items for + dex and + stength.
Dex Lev
6 20 Stealth
10 12 Greyform
10 16 Twitchthroe
15 49 Lionheart Dusk Shroud
15 41 Lionheart Mage Plate
15 37 Crow Caw
40 15 4 sock arm 4 pe
30 45 Griswold's Heart (3) !!
30 15 3 sock helm 3 pe
20 15 2 Sock helm 2 pe
6 8 Isenhart's Horns
25 49 Crown of Thieves
30 59 Natalya's Totem
Str Lev
50 45 Griswold's Heart (3) !!
40 15 4 sock arm 4 pa
25 49 Lionheart Dusk Shroud
25 41 Lionheart Mage Plate
10 16 Twitchthroe
15 35 Spirit Forge
15 41 Duriel's Shell
30 15 3 sock helm 3 pa
20 15 2 Sock helm 2 pa
15 28 Naj's Circlet
15 34 Guillaume's Face
20 59 Natalya's Totem

Leviathan, lvl 65, 40-50 STR!!!
Spirit forge also has 2 sockets, so it can get to 35STR

Nucjet

[Wil]

----
Dex Lev
6 20 Stealth
10 12 Greyform
10 16 Twitchthroe
15 49 Lionheart Dusk Shroud
15 41 Lionheart Mage Plate
15 37 Crow Caw
40 15 4 sock arm 4 pe
30 45 Griswold's Heart (3) !!
----

It appears that you've got a level 15 requirement for perfect gems. I
believe this should be 18. Other than that, looks quite useful!