Merc tier vs. experience

Discussion in 'The Newbie Zone' started by LadyM, Jul 12, 2019.

  1. LadyM Journeyman

    I'm trying to figure out what i want to do w/ my mercs. I have a healer and a tank that i've been using for quite a while(tank since about lvl15, healer since lvl 50 or 60). Question is whether i want/need to trade them in.

    The game says the mercs gain experience as i do. So does that mean they would be about the same as anything new i could hire? I think they started @ tier 2.
    I'm @Lvl83, so would getting new mercs of Journeyman Tier 5 make much of difference for me?

    p.s. don't laugh too hard if it seems obvious:p
  2. code-zero Augur

    Mercs experience comes in the form of AA that you can spend in the AA tab. If you can you should definitely switch up to the J5's ASAP
    Xianzu_Monk_Tunare likes this.
  3. LadyM Journeyman

    For getting a new Tank, anyone have suggestions for what race might work best and why.
    I'm a ranger if that makes any difference.
    I know i want to stick w/ dark elf for healer.
  4. code-zero Augur

    Get the smallest one, no merc gets any racial advantage so something that doesn't interfere with your vision or movement is important
  5. Marc TheAdversary New Member

    FYI you can shrink mercs so assuming you have the ability to cast shrink via spell AA or clicky, then you can get any merc and shrink them up. kind of fun to have a teeny tiny ogre tank.
  6. CatsPaws No response to your post cause your on ignore

    Well at level 83 you have to do the J5 merc quest the hard way (that one starts at level 75). But if you wait till 85 you can do the easy version in Feerrot. At least that is how a wise monk showed me when I was around that level too and trying to get people to go with me to do the hard version. I waited and it worked much better. Also keep in mind that J5 are only for paid accounts.

    I seldom change out mercs - have had my healer merc on ranger for many many levels and she levels right along with me and even changes her shield and sword as we level! My other boxes have had their mercs since Gloomingdeep and they are in the 100's now. I just leave them the apprentice or whatever they are when I bought them because as soon as my character is 85 they get the J5.

    I tend to like frogs for caster type stuff - and Vah Shir for tanks. But that is purely the players preference since they are just skins and do not affect how the merc reacts.
  7. LadyM Journeyman

    Thanx
    I just went on and saw they only have Ap 1-5 and J1. Did i miss something? I do have sub, so that's not a restriction.

    CatsPaws, what is the J5 merc quest? I can use a temporary upgrade to Ap5 until i can do that.
  8. code-zero Augur

    If you're 85~ you should do the upgrade quest in Feerrott: The Dream to get J5 mercenary access.

    Oh, J1 is considerably better than A5 so do not do A5 (I tested it once, not pretty)
  9. LadyM Journeyman

    Thanx for the advice. I got my J1's ready to go for working up to LvL 85.
    ;)
  10. LadyM Journeyman

    Marc, i'm curious about the shrinking the merc. Can you choose how much to shrink them? Also, is it permanent, or do you need to redo each time they un-suspend?
  11. Scorrpio Augur

    1. In 75-84 range, merc tiers J2-5 can be unlocked by doing Seeds of Destruction progression. A lot of work. At lvl 85, one can go to Feerott:the Dream and do a mega easy quest in about 20 min to open all tiers.
    2. Once you do that quest (No heroism without fear), you need to dismiss your current merc(s) and rehire new ones. They will NOT become J5 automatically.
    3. When you level up, merc remains old level. (Dark blue con to you). You need to suspend and then unsuspend. Camping and coming back also works.
    4. Race? For tank, the only acceptable choice is a female Dark Elf. :)
    For healer... gotta be the Jann, but that means buying Collector's TBL. Ok, merc race is 100% an aesthetic choice.
    5. Merc XP. The merc AA gained belongs to the player. Any AA enhancements you buy stay with you and will carry over to new merc if you dismiss/rehire..
    Petalonyx likes this.
  12. CazRaX Elder

    FTFY
  13. Enigmbacon New Member

    For 3. You can also just zone out and back in, which is usually faster than suspending/unsuspending or camping and coming back.
  14. Marc TheAdversary New Member

    It's not permanent. in my experience you can shrink the mercs 2x and they get pretty tiny!
  15. Shanarias Augur

    Maybe I am wrong, but it seems to me that Merc AAs just stay on whichever merc you hire. It seems to me that that is how I have seen it so far.
  16. gnomeboss Augur

    wasn't there an issue at some point with merc gear not applying the archetype benefits to the merc? so the soother gear wasn't actually giving any additional heal power to the merc. and everyone was just using the tank merc gear cause it was beefy. or did i make all this up? if i didn't make it up, is that fixed now? is use the typical archetype gear of any added value?
  17. CatsPaws No response to your post cause your on ignore

    Nope you didn't make it up - they corrected it so merc armor works right now.
    gnomeboss likes this.
  18. LadyM Journeyman

    Hmm... i'm confused.
    I thought the mercs automatically added things as they progressed.
    That you didn't need to do anything.
  19. CatsPaws No response to your post cause your on ignore

    They automatically add weapons and shields as you and they level together. But starting at level 75 the rings, necklace, pauldrons and belts are purchasable in Tainted Karana. There were some given with expansions too. I think they are more like augs for the armor they already wear but that is just my outlook.
  20. BlueberryWerewolf Augur

    Dumb question but where does Merc gear even come from? I don't think I've ever seen it drop or anything like that.

    Not that I have spent a whole lot of time playing on Live since I came back. I probably just missed something obvious.