Assassin Guide: Mercenaries

Mercenaries are very nice for backup. Simply hire one, and they will fight for you until they die (then you resurrect them), or they are replaced. There are 4 different types of Mercs, one for each act (excluding Act 4). Here are some stats and my thoughts about each type of merc.

General Notes:

If you ever come across an Ethereal item (item that can't be repaired), try to give it to your Merc. Stuff that a Merc wears doesn't get damaged, so ethereal items are ideal for them.

"% chance to cast Nova/Frost Nova when struck" is a very nice attribute to have on a Merc's armor, too. If you have an Guard or Barbarian, this is especially important, as it will give you a wide-area attack skill in the heat of battle that can help turn the tide (ie: frost nova is cast from your merc, and all the enemies take damage and are chilled, allowing you to take them out faster and easier).

	Rogue	Act 1	EVula's Notes: The Rogue is, by far, the best merc for the Assassin. The Assassin is an up-close fighter, and the Rogue is a far-away fighter. With her, you can rip and tear through enemies, while she sits back and takes them out without putting herself in much danger. Inner Sight can be combined with Cloak of Shadows to dramtically drop a monster's defense. Combined with a Shadow, you will have a 3-man (well, woman in this case) army. My Assassin still has her very first merc from Normal Act 1. Suggested Armament: Heavy armor and helm, obviously, but for a bow, go for a bow that has the opposite element type of your Rogue. If she uses Fire Arrow, don't give her a bow that does Fire damage; if you come across a fire-resistant monster, she won't be much good. Poison and Cold (unless she uses Cold) damage are always good modifiers for her, as cold will slow enemies while attacking you, and poison will drain their hit points before you can kill them.
	Skills: Ice Arrow/Inner Sight -or- Fire Arrow/Inner Sight
	Level Up Stats: +1 Strength +2 To Dexterity +6.5 Defense +8 Life +2 All Resistances
	Can Use: Armor, Helms, Bows
	Can't Use: Amazon-only Bows, Crossbows

	Guard	Act 2	EVula's Notes: These are great party-mercs. Their auras work just the same as a Paladin's, meaning that everyone within a small radius of the Guard will get the benefits of it. If you don't go with a Rogue as your Merc, definetly get a Guard for its auras; Thorns can be very dangerous, especially since an Assassin deals mostly with melee combat. Suggested Armament: Any armor that gives a % chance to cast Nova or Frost Nova is a great help to the Guard. Basically, you just wanna give him heavy armor and heavy-hitting weapons. Life leeching weapons are especially helpful.
	Skills: Combat - Jab/Prayer/Thorns -or- Defense - Jab/Defiance/Holy Freeze -or- Offense - Jab/Blessed Aim/Might
	Level Up Stats: +1.5 Strength +1.5 To Dexterity +9.5 Defense +10 Life +2 All Resistances
	Can Use: Armor, Helms, Spears, Polearms
	Can't Use: Swords, Ranged Weapons

	Iron Wolf	Act 3	EVula's Notes: These guys are probably the second-best mercenary for the Assassin. They can do some pretty badass damage with their elemental attacks. The cold merc is especially devestating, shattering many enemies when he first meets them. If you decide to ditch your Rogue, do it as soon as you can get/afford a new Merc, so that he can start leveling up with you and get higher resistances. I also find it wierd that they are willing to fight for you. I mean, c'mon, you're an Assassin, you're the kind of person that would be killing them if they went bad. *shrug* Maybe its just me... Suggested Armament: These guys don't use their swords (pansies), so don't think that giving him a monster sword will help much. Instead, concentrate on getting him a heavy-duty shield, one that has "cast -whatever- when struck" on it for good measure.
	Skills: Charged Bolt/Lightning -or- Glacial Spike/Ice Blast/ Frozen Armor -or- Inferno/Fireball
	Level Up Stats: +1.5 Strength +1.5 To Dexterity Defense +4.5 +6 Life +2 All Resistances
	Can Use: Armor, Helms, Shields and Swords
	Can't Use: Ranged Weapons, Polearms

	Barbarian	Act 5	EVula's Notes: Well, for the Assassin, this is probably the worst mercenary to get. He does massive amounts of damage, but so do you, and you're probably better at it than he is. All in all, I don't care what amount of damage he does, he probably won't help you out that much; if you've got a Shadow, that means there will be 2 melee fighters other than yourself, and you don't *need* 3 different fighters. Diversify, dammit! Suggested Armament: Well, pretty obvious here: give him a barb-only helm, some heavy armor, and the biggest, baddest sword you can find. Pretty simple, eh?
	Skills: Bash -or- Stun
	Level Up Stats: +2 Strength +1.5 To Dexterity +7.5 Defense +12 Life +2 All Resistances
	Can Use: Armor, Helms, Barbarian Helms, Sword (1)
	Can't Use: Shields (I guess, I may be wrong), Polearms, Ranged Weapons, Dual Weapons