In Diablo II: Resurrected, the right mercenary can turn your Warlock build into a powerful one. This guide breaks down the best mercenary for different Warlock builds in D2R, with the best merc gear and auras.

Best Mercenary for Warlock in D2R RotW & Season 13

Mercenaries are hired from NPCs in Acts I–V (Act IV only offers resurrection). Each merc type has unique abilities, gear restrictions, and strengths. For Warlocks, the most useful mercenaries come from Act II (Desert Warriors), Act I (Rogues), and occasionally Act III (Iron Wolves) or Act V (Barbarians)—depending on your build’s needs. Let’s dive into each Warlock build and its perfect mercenary match.

1. Best Mercenary for Echoing Strike Warlock - Act II Desert Warrior

The Echoing Strike Warlock is a pseudo-melee/caster hybrid that relies on the Echoing Strike skill for high physical damage. It’s one of the most popular Warlock builds, especially for budget players, and it excels at clearing packs and bosses. The key to this build is boosting physical damage and maintaining mana—making the right mercenary critical for speed and survivability.

The Act II Desert Warrior mercenary in Nightmare has the Might aura, which boosts the physical attack damage of you and your allies (including your bound demons). For Echoing Strike Warlocks, this is game-changing: Echoing Strike deals physical damage, so the Might aura directly increases your skill’s damage output. Players often report a 50%+ damage boost (e.g., from 16k to 24k screen damage) when using a Might merc—this drastically improves clear speed, even on Player 8 difficulty.

Additionally, Act II mercenaries use the Jab skill (a quick triple attack), which lets them deal consistent damage and proc life leech to stay alive. Unlike other mercs (like Act V Barbarians), they can use polearms—weapons that support powerful runewords (e.g., Insight, Obedience) that further boost your build.

Echoing Strike Warlock Best Merc Gear 

Echoing Strike Warlocks often use budget gear, so your merc’s gear should be affordable but effective. Prioritize damage, life leech, and survivability—mercs die easily in Hell if not properly geared. Here’s the best gear for different budget levels:

Early-Game/Budget

• Weapon: Insight (Runeword: Ral + Tir + Tal + Sol) in a polearm (e.g., Partisan, Voulge). Insight is cheap to make and grants the Meditation aura, which restores your mana—critical for spamming Echoing Strike. Bonus: Echoing Strike does not use weapon durability, so you can use an ethereal Insight for extra damage.

• Helmet: Bulwark or Tal Rasha’s Horadric Crest. Bulwark gives life leech and physical damage reduction (PDR) for survivability; Tal Rasha’s adds all resistances and life.

• Armor: Stealth (Runeword: Tal + Eth) or Treachery (Runeword: Shael + Thul + Lem). Stealth is cheap and grants faster cast rate (FCR) and movement speed; Treachery procs Fade (for resistances) and Increased Attack Speed (IAS) for more Jab attacks.

Mid-Game

• Weapon: Obedience (Runeword: Hel + Ko + Thul + Eth + Fal) in an ethereal polearm. Obedience deals high damage and has 40% Crushing Blow (great for bosses).

• Helmet: Vampire Gaze (Grim Helm) or Guillaume’s Face. Vampire Gaze gives life leech, PDR, and all resistances; Guillaume’s Face adds Critical Strike and Crushing Blow.

• Armor: Shaftstop or Duriel’s Shell. Both boost defense and resistances—Shaftstop has high PDR, while Duriel’s Shell grants Cannot Be Frozen (CBF) and cold resistance.

End-Game

• Weapon: Pride (Runeword: Cham + Sur + Io + Lo) in an ethereal Cryptic Axe. Pride grants the Concentration aura, which stacks with Might for even more physical damage. It’s expensive but worth it for end-game clearing.

• Helmet: Andariel’s Visage (socketed with a Ral Rune) or Vampire Gaze. Andariel’s Visage gives high damage, life leech, and IAS; the Ral Rune boosts fire resistance.

• Armor: Bramble (Runeword: Ral + Ohm + Sur + Eth) or Fortitude (Runeword: El + Sol + Dol + Lo). Bramble procs Thorns (returns damage to attackers, helping your merc stay alive); Fortitude boosts defense, damage, and resistances.

Extra Tips

• Keep your merc alive by feeding them potions (hold Shift + press a belt hotkey) or using rejuvenation potions. They die often in budget gear, but their Might aura is worth the effort.

• Avoid Act I or Act III mercs for this build—they don’t offer the physical damage boost you need. Act V Barbarians are tanky but lack auras to boost your damage.

2. Best Mercenary for Summoner Warlock - Act II Desert Warrior

The Summoner Warlock focuses on summoning Goatmen, Defilers, and a powerful bound demon (e.g., Lister the Tormentor) to do all the fighting. This build is AFK-friendly and can solo endgame content (like Colossal Ancients) with the right mercenary. The goal is to maximize your minions’ physical damage and survivability.

Summoner Warlocks rely entirely on their minions for damage—so the Might aura is non-negotiable. The Act II Might merc boosts the physical damage of all your minions (Goatmen, Defiler, bound demon) by a large margin. When paired with a bound demon that has Fanaticism (e.g., Cursed Lister), the damage stacking is enormous—even Prime Evil bosses are shredded quickly.

Act II mercenaries also use polearms, which support end-game runewords like Pride (Concentration aura) and Obedience (high damage + Crushing Blow). These runewords further boost your minions’ damage and make the merc a viable damage dealer on their own.

Summoner Warlock Best Merc Gear

Summoner Warlocks reach end-game with high-level gear, so your merc should match that power level. Prioritize aura stacking, damage, and survivability:

• Weapon: Pride (Runeword) in an ethereal Cryptic Axe. Concentration aura stacks with Might to give your minions maximum physical damage.

• Helmet: Vampire Gaze (Grim Helm) – mandatory for life leech, PDR, and resistances. It keeps your merc alive in high-player settings (e.g., Player 8).

• Armor: Bramble (Runeword) in an Archon Plate. Bramble procs Thorns, which returns damage to attackers—helping your minions and merc survive dense packs.

If you’re not ready for Pride, use Insight (Meditation aura) for mana and Obedience (high damage) for your merc’s weapon. Pair with Treachery armor (Fade) and Tal Rasha’s Helmet for resistances.

Extra Tips

• Use Death Mark to reposition your merc and minions—this helps them focus on tough enemies and avoids unnecessary damage.

• Cast Engorge regularly to heal your minions and boost their attack speed—this makes your merc’s damage even more effective.

3. Best Mercenary for Fire Warlock - Act I Cold Rogue 

The Fire Warlock is a great leveling build that uses fire skills (e.g., Fireball, Inferno) to clear packs quickly. It’s simple to play and requires minimal gear, making it perfect for new Warlock players. For this build, survivability and mana regeneration are more important than raw damage—since your fire skills already deal high damage.

Fire Warlocks often struggle with crowd control—fire skills are great for AoE, but enemies can get too close and kill you. The Act I Cold Rogue solves this by using Cold Arrow, which slows and freezes enemies. This gives you space to cast fire skills without being attacked.

Additionally, Act I Rogues are more durable than Act II mercenaries during leveling—they stay alive longer, so you don’t have to waste gold reviving them. They also use the Inner Sight ability, which lowers enemy defense—making your fire skills (and the rogue’s attacks) hit more often. For end-game Fire Warlocks, the Act I Rogue can also use an Insight Bow (Meditation aura) to keep your mana full—critical for spamming fire skills.

Fire Warlock Best Merc Gear

• Weapon: Insight (Runeword) in a fast bow (e.g., Long Bow, Composite Bow). Insight’s Meditation aura restores your mana, and the bow’s attack speed lets the rogue spam Cold Arrow.

• Helmet: Delirium (Runeword: Lem + Ist + Io) in a circlet or helmet. Delirium procs Confuse (crowd control) and Fear, which further keeps enemies away from you.

• Armor: Hysteria (Runeword) or Stealth. Hysteria boosts the rogue’s damage and survivability; Stealth grants movement speed and FCR.

If you prefer a more tanky merc, the Act II Holy Freeze merc slows enemies (like the Cold Rogue) and has higher defense. Use Insight for Meditation, and pair with Shaftstop armor and Vampire Gaze for survivability. This is a good choice if you’re playing on Hardcore.

4. Best Mercenary for Magic Warlock - Act II Desert Warrior

The Magic Warlock is a damage-over-time (DoT) caster that uses Chaos tree skills (e.g., Miasma Chain, Abyss) to apply magic DoT to packs. Magic damage is rare for enemies to be immune to, making this build versatile. For this build, the merc’s role is to slow enemies and provide utility—since your damage comes from spells, not physical attacks.

Magic Warlocks need time for their DoT skills to kill enemies—so slowing enemies is critical. The Act II Holy Freeze merc has an aura that slows enemy movement and attack speed, giving your Miasma Chain and Abyss DoT time to take effect. This also makes the merc more survivable, as enemies can’t attack as quickly.

Unlike the Might merc, Holy Freeze doesn’t boost physical damage—but that’s irrelevant for Magic Warlocks (your damage is magic, not physical). The merc’s Jab attack still deals consistent damage, and they can use runewords like Insight (Meditation) to keep your mana full for spamming DoT skills.

Magic Warlock Best Merc Gear

• Weapon: Ethereal Insight (Meditation aura) or The Reaper’s Toll (Decrepify proc). Insight is better for mana; Reaper’s Toll helps break physical immunities (useful for tough elites).

• Helmet: Andariel’s Visage (socketed with Ral Rune) or Kira’s Guardian. Andariel’s boosts damage and life leech; Kira’s gives high resistances.

• Armor: Ethereal Fortitude (Runeword: El + Sol + Dol + Lo). Fortitude boosts defense, damage, and resistances—critical for keeping the merc alive in Hell.

Other Mercenaries for Warlock

While Act II and Act I mercenaries are the best for most Warlock builds, there are a few niche options:

• Act III Cold Iron Wolf: Useful for Magic Warlocks or Fire Warlocks who need extra crowd control. Glacial Spike freezes enemies, but Iron Wolves are less durable than Act II mercs and lack auras.

• Act V Barbarian: Tanky and deals high damage, but lacks auras. Good for Echoing Strike Warlocks if you want a frontline tank, but less effective than the Might merc. Use Lawbringer (runeword) for Decrepify to break physical immunities.

Tips for All D2R Warlock Mercenaries

• Keep Them Alive: Mercenaries die easily in Hell—feed them potions (Shift + hotkey) and use rejuvenation potions for emergencies. Reviving them costs gold (capping at 50k), so gear them for survivability first.

• Ethereal Gear is Better: For Echoing Strike Warlocks, ethereal weapons don’t break (since the skill doesn’t use durability). For other builds, ethereal gear gives extra damage/defense—use it whenever possible.

• Match Merc Aura to Your Build: Use Might for physical damage builds (Echoing Strike, Summoner), Holy Freeze for DoT/caster builds (Magic, Fire), and Cold Rogue for leveling Fire Warlocks.

• Runewords Are Key: Insight (Meditation) is a must for most builds—cheap and provides critical mana. Pride, Obedience, and Treachery are great for end-game.