View source for Guide:MA Bowazon SP v1.09, by JohnnyBravo

=Mercenaries=

Act 1 Rogues: Ranged. You will need a tank so these will be no good.

Act 3 Ironwolves: Also Ranged.

Act 5 Barbarians: Never used. Don’t know much about them so it is a possible choice as a tank.

Act 2 Desert Mercenaries: This, I think, would be your best bet and what I decided to use, but which to use? I’ll say a few about each.

Combat:
Normal/Hell: Prayer
Nightmare: Thorns

Defense:
Norma/Hell: Defiance
Nightmare: Holy Freeze

Offense:
Normal/Hell: Blessed Aim
Nightmare: Might

Let’s start off with the ones I don’t think would work (I haven’t tried them all).

'''Prayer'''

I tried him thinking that if he got hit he would be able to heal himself. It seemed that they hit too fast for him to heal. After he died a few times I gave up thinking it would take too much to keep him alive until he got to a decent level.

'''Thorns'''

I’ve never tried, but could possibly work. There are however a few problems. Ranged attacks do not activate the thorns aura so no damage returned. Also PI in late NM and Hell would reflect the damage, but it being physical it would not take damage.

'''Blessed Aim'''

This might sound good and look good on paper, but you’ll AR should be in the high 80’s or low 90’s until NM. Also if it ever falls below that a few points into penetrate will fix this.

'''Might'''

This is another I have not tried, but definitely has possibilities. The Might aura will transfer to you giving you enhanced damage. He will also be able to kill quicker.

'''Defiance'''

I haven’t tried yet, but I am thinking this would be the best until you get the one you want to keep. More on that later. The thinking here would be if he can’t get hit he won’t take damage. His aura also applies to you so you’ll have better defense. This will help because you need to keep with light armor so your run/walk speed is not affected.

'''Holy Freeze'''

This is the ideal mercenary for your purposes. He is the one I tried. This one has several benefits to him. First, all monsters within the radius will be chilled. Second, a chilled monster has a certain percentage to shatter which will help facing shaman, Radament, etc. Third, all monsters in the radius will receive cold damage every second from his aura. Lastly, cold damage is added to his attack. This will help greatly when facing PI’s.

'''Notes on mercenaries'''

I made it to NM to get the Holy Freeze mercenary with out a mercenary. I was playing SC and of course died a couple of times. If you decide to play HC I suggest getting a mercenary to hold you over until the Holy Freeze mercenary is available.