[3.26] The dirty Scorpion-Tail|Herald of Agony| Chaos-Cyclone-Necro|The Arachnophobia Allstars 270M

1.) Frosthand, Int, and Infamous Frosthand, Int: Frostshield, Chillings, Freezes, Purity of Ice, as Hybrid: + Discipline for most easy mana-management, 1-hand, to gear shield Victarious Chasttity for frenzy charges-HoA and Dark seer Malediction debuff





2.) Krale, the Depraved, Winter Deacon, Str+Int, Frostshield, Chillings / Arctic Armour, Freezes, Purity of Ice, as Hybrid + Discipline, 2-Hand Dying Breath


3.) Poison / Chaos DD`s, take high spell- / crit- / attack- / cast-speed / additional damage-mods on their weapons: Withertouchs / Cruel Mistresses / Toxicologists / Bladecasters / Bladebitters: Withering step, Wither Totems, Malevolence, Despair, Temporal Chains, Aspect of the Spider, Clarity etc.

4.) Vysera, the Cyaxan, Reanimator: Enfeeble, Bone Offering also for Allies, and perhaps also Feeding Frenzy + Meat Shield, combinate her minions with severed in sleep for withers

5.) Kryssa, the Unrivalled, Sniper: Haste, Frenzy Charges, Poacher's Mark, movementspeed, slowings of enemies

6.) Zarnok, the Detainer, Striker: Endurance Charges, Determination, Vitality for 190 es-reg with Zealot's Oath, Decoy Totems, rare with Gilded Fortification




All Mercenary-types:
https://poedb.tw/us/Mercenaries#Builds


Best granted auras and buffs

Conservative in tankystyle I try to do not place Grace and Determination on the Merc, because at some juiced content the Merc will die and we ourself close following because of the downsides of our keystones Ghost Dance and Divine Shield. I keep these decisive auras up on myself.

As Hybrid

Discipline can be placed as Hybrid on the Merc.


With mageblood variations:

With a mageblood the flexible placements of all auras on the Merc instead on yourself turn very interesting.

Determination can be switched to the mercenary too - when you geared a mageblood and a granite flask. Then Purity of Fire on the Merc with a Rubin flask fix your 90% resis beyond, the shield the Svalinn or a CIP unholy might implicit or trigger weapon are beared instead aegis aurora.

Also the same way with a mageblood and a Jade-flask Grace can be located over to the merc.
Also purity of lightning on a Merc and a topaz flask are useable.


Ranking most wanted buffs, skills and gear of Mercenaries:

Purity of Ice
As Hybrid Life+Es: Discipline
With mageblood: Determination+ Purity of Fire + Rubin flask
Endurance charges ("enduring" for the permanent charges-buff)
Vitality (as Hybrid, Guardian or Jugg, as CI only with zealot oath or as hybrid life+es, good with Watcher's eye vitality-mod beyond)
Frenzy Charges (the permament Merc-buff or by geared shield Victario`s Chastity)
Bone Offering also for Allies
Endurance / War Cries (taunts)
Stone Golem (taunts)
Frost Shield
Haste
Malevolence
Aspect of the spider
Clarity
Skitterbots
Precision


Other Mercenaries:

Purity of Lightning / of Fire for ele-resis
Sigil of Power for flat dr

https://www.poewiki.net/wiki/Mercenary


Most wanted Mercenaries' supportgems

culling strikes
phantasms support + feeding frenzy + meat shield (tauntings)
withering touchs
second wind
increased area of effect
more duration
knockback support
maim support
blind support
stun support

So we will have much less socket-pressure and a much more easy auras-skilling.

Mercenarie's gear:


Shield:

Because the Herald of Agony scales his damage extreme nice both with frenzy and for HoA-crits also simultan with power charges, the best item of all slots for our mercs is probably the Victarios Charity shield.


Victarios Charity for HoA-Frenzy and Power Charges
Replica Victario's Charity for Endurance charges


Amulet:

Often the best amulet-implicit is "Increased effect of Discipline" or "You can apply an additional curse"

Shaper's Seed for 80% mana-reg and life-reg / 4% life-, with Zealot's Oath 4% es-reg
The Felbog Fang (if using Ylfeban's Trickery)
Perquil's Toe for HoA's lucky hits equal to 5% more HoA-dps
The Eternal Struggle for 10% + flat dr with eater's dominance

Anoint

Influence (Increased Aura effects for Purity of Ice, with Dying Breath +1% max-resis)
Worship the Blightheart (reduced chaos-resis of enemies with consecrated ground)
Steeped into the Profane (Increased Curse effects)
Corruption (Increased Withering effects)
Whispers of Doom (+1 curse)
Glacial Cage (a bit damage with chilling mercenaries)
Cleaving (Intimidations with melee hits)
Dazzling Strikes (Blindings)

Rings:

Best implicit is increased aura/discipline-effect

Blackflame, best never ending withers when the merc deals some firedamage, or also for chaos-conversions of ignites with a fire-mercenary, you can eg combinate it for the frost-mercs with the ring The Pyre for the mandatory needed fire-damage-component
curse on hit ring
Anathema Moonstone for 3-4 curses limit
Against bosses: Fated End, high increased curse effects, not effective in maps
Call of the Void, some damagereduction with chilling mercenary
Replica Malachai's Artifice, some low sap and brittle
Doedres Damning, +1 curse, resis


Belt:

Best belt-implicit increased aura/discipline-effect

Kaom's Binding, convert 25% enemy physical damage to fire, somewhat equal to 20% phys-dr in lategame, very effective because of the armour-formula
Belt of the Deceiver for Intimidations
String of Servitude with increased aura-effects

Bodyarmour:

Best implicit elemental resis etc.

Garb of the Ephemeral, Int: freeze / chill / petrify / slow -immunities, 100%crit-immuninites (attr requir are okay, can be used by merc)
Sporeguard, 10% damage + anointment
Saqawal's Nest: only b.i.s. when Mercenary is able to use aspect of avian: HoA 48% chance to deal Double Damage and Movementspeed for all of us /

Weapon:

Best implicit: increased area of effect

The Dark Seer, Int: for Blindings and Malediction-debuff (10% flat dr, 10% more damage) and +some merc-tankyness
Dying Breath, increased aura- and curse-effects
Death`s Hand sceptre (some withers, best with crit-implicit)
Obliteration (some aoe)
Kingmaker for fortify & culling strikes & 50% increased HoA-crit-damage-multiplier (but often better geared in on Animate Guardian)
Replica Insbury edge, Iron Mass or for Merc-Summoners with minions Severed in Sleep for withers (not often fitting for int-mercs)
Sign of the Sin Eater, ailments redirected to merc
For chaos-dd's Cane of Kulemak

Helmet:

Best helmet-implicit is Malediction nearby, increased auras- or curse-effects


Any helmet corrupted for Nearby Enemies have Malediction
Ylfeban`s Trickery, hexes and shockings, best in combination with the amulet Felbog Fang
Crown of the Tyrant 10% more HoA-damage (expensive)
Blood Price, equal to +8% damage
Any rare with "Nearby Enemies have -#% Chaos Resistance" hunter suffix
Leer Cast (damage buff aura)

Gloves:

Best gloves-implicits are curses on hit and intimidations or extanguishations

Asenaths Gentle Touch or Vixen's for curses, Int
Rare eldritch hunter-gloves for the intimidations-implicit
best implicits are temporal chains / enfeeble / despair on hit
Hand of Heresy, Str: half of a CI-keystone for hybrids, for less chaos damage of enemies after melee hit - interesting synergizing also with the timeless keystone Corrupted Soul of a Glorious Vanity jewel, turn chaos-dd-bosses trivial also as hybrid
Oskarm for triggered Assassin's mark lvl 10 on bosses
Abhorrent Interrogations for withers
Ceaseless Feast for lowered evasion of enemies
Breathstealers for a few random auras and anoint

Boots:

Best implicit life-reg (?)

Rare eldritch boots with implicits for saped ground 6% flat dr, brittle ground 2% HoA-crit-base
Windscreams +1 curse

Bow:

Null's Inclination for triggering Minions skills possible?
The Crimson Storm for bleedings for ensnaring arrow skill?

Quiver:

Unuseable gear

○ The second companion, the new buffed Animate Guardian, not loosing it's gear on death, will be added for 8% more damage (crown of the tyrant), eg fortify & culling strikes & 50% increased HoA-crit-damage-multiplier (kingmaker), or instead as cursebot (18% increased effect of curses, temporal chains), perhaps socketed in a hungry loop (elemental army - empower - minion life - meat shield) too.

○ AG's gear will look like:



Weapon: Kingmaker for Fortification, Culling Strike, HoA -Crits
Helmet: Helmet corrupted for Nearby Enemies have Malediction, rare helmet for reduced chaos-resis of enemies nearby, or Crown of the Tyrant 10% more HoA-damage or Stitch of demon
Gloves: Rare Gloves with curse on hit, intimidations, etc., or Asenaths Gentle Touch or Vixen's for curses / or Abhorrent Interrogations for withers
Bodyarmour: Doppelganger Guise
Boots: Rare Boots with Brittle / Sapped Ground Eldritch-Implicit, or Windscreams +1 curse

[3.26] Secrets of the Atlas Example order of gear progression lvl 37 to red maps to pinnacles to ubers in [3.26]

In this spoiler the typical gear-progression is guided separated for each piece of gear, jewel, cluster, and mandatory ingame-stat.
It starts with cheapest levelling gear, progresses to still cheap low-rolled keygear and arrives in more expensive lategame b.i.s.-rolled-gear.
It`s my progression-diary in [3.26] Secrets as Hybrid-Scion.

When you fight a few mercenaries already in the campaign, loot some vaal side areas, sell by Faustus some stacked decks, and send out some ships you obtain very early vaal- and chaos orbs for a few levelling uniques.

Levelling Acts 1-10 and into maps

I began with explosive concoction.

>> Bought then the alternate skillgems tornadoes of elemental turbulences (2 chaos) and ball lightnings of orbiting (5 chaos) for best production of HoA-virulences around lvl 40



>> Got the cheap tanky ghastly theater shield (4 alchs), later switched to Aegis aurora granting implicited grace, got later a double-corruption on it too, and finalized with a b.i.s.-double corruption to socket Animate Guardian into the shield.



Progressed with cybil paw (1 chaos) for recovery on spellhit into red maps, updated it to CIP and then the tanky +2 dark seer in the journey, arrived with Maata's teaching in scaling HoA-crits above lvl 97 and 100M gear-lvl.



>> I used early the helmet maw of the conquest (1 chaos, + 90% mana-multiplier 15 chaos) to counter the suicide-downside of the jewel golden rule (1 alch) for maximal production of HoA-virulences. Progressed later to rare +2 minion-helmet and moved the stat unaffected by poison over on the boots.



>> Rainbow stride boots (1 chaos) with spell suppression implicit (for early reached 100% spell suppression, 15 chaos) followed. Upgraded them later to hybrid-elevated-hunter-boots "unaffected by poison" to counter golden rule's downside as non-CI as hybrid.



I stayed as Scion hybrid non-CI! (for chilly life-reg of guardian ascendancy and because Watcher's eyes were still expensive).

>> Began with chance to poison-supportgem (1 identify scroll). Integrated that into rare gloves chance to poison support (1 chaos), then outsourced poisonchances on passives in the tree (serpentine spellslinger permament, fatal toxins) and finally on poison on hit-tattoos (to regret fatal toxins).



Progressed later to high ward-gloves (3 chaos), then high es rare gloves (10 chaos), then 4 white socketed triad grips (5 div).



T-1 to T-5 maps

>> 2 x good circle of nostalgia (5 chaos, 20 chaos + chaos resis, + onslaught). Progressed later to better rolled rings with double-implicits and buffed them by 40x fertile catalysts.



>> Started with a rare 5-link, some es, resis, attr, ar (1 chaos, drop), then 6-link bodyarmour (es+ar, 5 chaos), then geared skin of loyals (20 chaos), then skin of the lords (6 div), then at last a perfect coloured skin of the lords (10 div).
I use Divine Shield on SoL in maps and invested further 6 divs into a Magebane on SoL for a few free passives only against Ubers.



>> A 70% rolled darkness enthroned (6 chaos), upgraded it later to a 95++% belt.



>> Sniped a Replica Dragonfang amulet for 10 chaos. Anointed it with "practical application" for 1 chaos. Progressed later to Ashes of stars and anointed "charisma".



T-6 to T-12 maps

Farmed thumbed 100 chaos, many oils and good exp in a few dropped blight maps.

>> Shopped ghastly jewels for 100% bleeding immunities and minion chances to poison (bleeding-immunities were before on the levelling-shield Ghastly Theater located) (5 chaos).
Improved them later to b.i.s. ones including beside corrupted blood immunity, resis, attr, mana-reg and more ailment-avoidances (in my 3.26 scion-setup freezing-avoidances) (10 chaos to 3 div).
Double 2 in the belt darkness enthroned.





>> Got jewel corruped blood cannot be inflicted (5 chaos), upgraded it later to a better one (15 chaos), and later to a ghastly jewel (1 div).



>> Added a really bad rolled Rumi concoction flask (5 chaos), upgraded it later to a better rolled. Bought later a Vorana's Preparation (3 c) and Sin`s Rebirth (10 c) too and a well rolled 3 charges gained when hit + incr armour Sapphire-flask (80 c).



>> Bought 2 divine vessels to upgrade pantheon of abberath and brine king (1 chaos). Bought later 2 divine vessels more for brine king and 3 later for arakaali-pantheon.



>> Bought vaal discipline gem (1 chaos).



>> Got 2 x #7-passives voices (each 9 chaos). Progressed later to 3 x #5-passives-voices.



>> Got 6 x medium clusterbases (each 1 chaos) .
Crafted each with in average 20-35 alts to pure agony.

>> Got small clusters and clusterbases uncompromising, sublime form, self control (10 chaos, 2 chaos, 1 chaos, 1 chaos, and crafted myself with 3 x 20 alts).





Progressed them later to b.i.s. ones: +35% effects of small passives, t1 all resis, t1 resis, t1 all attributes

First Divines start to drop.


T-12 to T-16 maps

>> Got small cluster 1 chaos and crafted enduring composure for endurance charges (40 alts).
Sold it later for 1 div.
Progressed later to a megalomaniac medium cluster pure agony + enduring composure.

>> Sin's Rebirth flask (5 chaos)

>> Then aegis aurora with granted grace-implicit (40 chaos).

>> Added a CIP, unholy might implicit (1 chaos).

>> Bought the runegraft of the fortress (20 chaos) and of the soulwick (4 chaos) (: should have used much earlier runegraft of the soulwick for more uptime of vaal discipline!) and of warp.



>> Bought a well rolled Vorana`s Preparation flask (3 chaos)

>> Bought 3, later 5 poison-on-hit-tattoos.











Pinnacle Bosses and beyond

>> Bought HoA-gem lvl 21, quality 23% 1 div

>> Bought a megalomaniac unique medium cluster pure agony + enduring composure 50 chaos



>> Bought 20x exarch lesser eldritch embers to enchant the gloves with better implicits (5 chaos)



>> Bought Awakened Cast while Channeling against Stuns 45 chaos
>> Bought Awakened Minion Damage for +1 HoA-lvl, 80 chaos
>> Bought at last the more expensive Empower (first lvl 1, later lvl 4) and Awakened Void Manipulation for +1



>> Bought 2 x 5-passives voices 60 chaos

>> Because spell suppression was overcapped 114%, switched in +1 endurance charges on boots implicit 1 div and +1 on b.i.s. rolled ring circle of nostalgia 50 chaos



Reached already around 13M damage, 100% bleeding-immunities, 100% spell suppression, 110 unreserved mana, 90 mana-reg /sec, 5 endurance charges, 5k health-pool, 250k ehp and facetanked easy afk the first bosses.

Now at 145 unreserved mana, could easy add in flesh and stone, but feeling already immortal in high juiced memory-map.s

I did as Hybrid-Scion lvl 80 to lvl 100 in ordinary poe-content when I remember correct with 7 deaths: in starter-gear in the lower level 80-92 3x against Dot/Pen/Shotgun-Mercs, and 1x killed by overjuiced T-16.5 wasteland-boss, then later lvl 92-99 better geared 1x by wisps 6000% buffed abyss-soul-eater in t16.5 ritual, 1x charged explosion of by wisps 5000% buffed maven-wittnessed lighthouse-boss, 1x against by altars fulljuiced Catharina in T-17 Ziggurat - and of course beyond the obligatory traditional deaths in 1000 suns of exarch and memory game of maven.

At lvl 100 further farming 1200% juiced Titanic Delirious Rogue Exiles one weird t-17 map-mod-combination, unique monsters buffed by random shrine buffs + 380% increased damage of all elements + some additional altar-mods were able to bust me: the Bow-Rogue Orra Greengate (grip of the xx) was able to chainstun/petrify me with legacy Vaal Rain of Arrows while other surrounding Rogues (grips of the xx) interrupted my channelings and skills.

>> Upgraded Maw of Conquest 90% --> 80% manamultiplier 100 chaos

>> Bought better small and medium clusters 20 chaos

Almost ready for melding of the flesh, miss still a few resis on ghastly jewels, clustertransfers and tattoos (or gloves/helmet).

>> Bought for Mercenary Gear Asenath Gloves, 10 chaos
>> Geared him also in Dying Breath for increased purity of ice aura-effect with dropped amulet Shaper`s seed anoint influence mana+life-reg to reach 89% max-resis and Kaom`s Binding belt equal to +23% phys-dr, and in dropped Ylfeban's Trickery and Windscreams. Improved later buying the relating implicits on merc-gear.



T 16.5 Memories

Easy added in flesh and stone.

Good drops in delve (4 curse-rings, around 25 - 30 div, depth 130)

>> Got an SoL Divine Shield, not perfect socketcolours, but okay, 6 div



>> Shopped a really bad rolled watcher's eye (27 es on hit discipline, 19% of damage taken recouped as mana clarity-mod, 16 div), improved later to 2 good mods and arrived for 22 divs in 3 useable very nice mods before getting the real b.i.s.-one.



>> Got good boots, unaffected by poison + resis, 5 div

Ready now for Melding of the Flesh 83% resis.



>> But will wait a bit longer with melding of flesh and use instead a taste of haste before, 5 chaos



>> Shopped a dark seer es+life 5 div.



>> Got a Green nightmare jewel for the Scion Area, and 2 cold-resi tattoos to add 12% additional resis to vonvert by it, to +27% spell suppression 3 div. Added later an implicit on it 4 div.



>> Shopped a really bad ghastly jewel 11% minion chance to poison + some freeze immunities + corrupted blood immunity 3 div



Full juiced T 16.5 Memory maps are already feeling totally trivial when build-disabling mods and one shots (instable cores etc.) are rerolled. Facetanked all t-16.5 bosses easy. Build is already almost immortal.


>> Pathed to "Ravenous Horde" for the "Unholy Might after kill" (25% more HoA-damage and some witherings in maps), used it only 1.5 level long.

>> Began with a bad affixed es+ar rare +2 minion-helmet 7 div



>> Bought a 29% ashes of the stars 3 div, anointed it cheap with clothes and chains 1 chaos



>> Traded a better coloured Skin of the Lords 3g, 2r, 1b for 10 div, sold my old Skin of Lords 2g, 2r, 2b with profit for 8 div.




>> Got an Amanamu's Gaze with freeze avoidances, almost ailment-immune, so I switch from the Brine King into the Arakaali Major Pantheon 3 div). Used it only 1 level long, because I needed the slot instead for melding of the flesh soon.



>> Bought 4 W-Triad Grips 5 div



Reached my 3th large cluster, reached lvl 96, totally tanky and deathless since the additional aura flesh and stone was used.

>> Began with a large rare spellblock cluster (regretted Ravenous Horde), because better watcher`s eye is still missing for free passives for voices, 3 div

>> Anointed amulet `charisma`

>> Got the first perfect rolled 35%/t1/t1 small cluster 4 div


To T-17 and the Ubers

>> Total B.I.S. status is near .... with better small clusters (3 div, 4 div, 8 div, 9 div) and jewels (20 chaos to 1 div) I squeezed in melding of the flesh (72%, 6 div) and team it with a purity of ice-mercenary to tanky 87% all resis and progressed with Merc staff Dying Breath and amulet anoint Influence to +88% all elemental resis.







Next step is probably to build up the HoA-crits and to squeeze in jewels +2% cold-max-resis.

>> Bought an very, very good ghastly jewels 5 div, reached overcapped around 100%-123% resis (with merc 88% max-resis): ready to regret 1 passive Alira the bandit or 2 passives Survivalist on the tree.



>> Found a nice pure agony + 20% spell suppression and pure agony + 22% spell suppression megalomaniac 50 chaos + 150 chaos



>> Bought an empower support lvl 4, reached hoA-tipping-level 34, 6.4
div



>> Bought a nice helmet, reached overcapped around 100%-140% resis, 15 div



>> Collected some more almost b.i.s.-ghastly jewels (40 chaos, 100 chaos, 1 div, 2 div, 5 div)



>> Hunted a fine pure agony + endurance charges + spellblock megalo 2 div.



>>Better coloured SoL 7 div
Sold old one with 4 divs profit.



>> New boots (still overcapped 100-115%resis, 5 endurance charges, 5 div)



Arrived relaxed in lvl 99.3
Farming full delirium- and beyond 400-600% juiced harbingers, breaches, abyssals in T-16.5`s.
Did levels 80-99 with 7 deaths in ordinary poe-content.

>> Sniped a better new watcher's eye, es on hit + spell suppression 20 div
Sold my former watcher`s eye with 9 divs profit.
>> Graped beside a Watcher`s eye es on hit + vitality mod life on hit 20 div. Keep testing if I remain hybrid life + es with the vitality-watcher`s eye mod.




You find also optimized levelling items and tradelinks in the build in the spoilers "tipps for levelling" and "All poe-tradelinks".

+++++ Animate Guardian +++++

+ Weapon Kingmaker +

Nearby allies have +50% to Critical Strike Multiplier
Culling Strike
Fortify

+ Gloves Aseneath Gentle Touchs / Vixen`s +

Curse Enemies with Temporal Chains on Hit
You can apply an additional Curse

+ Crown of the Tyrant Helmet, white socket +

You and Nearby Allies have 47 to 61 added Chaos Damage
Nearby Enemies have -10% Chaos Resistance

+++++ Chaos Golem of the Maelstrom in 3.26 +++++

20% increased effect of Withered

+++++ Mercenaries of Trarthus +++++

+Haste+
--You and nearby allies gain 24% increased Attack speed

+ Eber's Unification Void Gaze Helmet +
Nearby Enemies have -20% to Chaos Resistance

+ Perqil`s Toe Amulet +
Nearby Allies' Damage with Hits is Lucky

+ Dark Seer Sceptre +
Enemies blinded by you have Malediction

+ Victario's Charity Shield +
5% chance to grant a Frenzy Charge to nearby Allies on Hit

+ Belt of the Deceiver or Gloves-implicit +
Nearby Enemies are intimidated

+ Average effect of Punishment +
You and nearby allies gain 15% more Damage


+++++ Runegraft of Fortress +++++

40% increased global defences