I load the patch and the next thing I know, my hireling is 10 levels lower and can't use any of her equipped items! WTF! I am right at the end of the game and now I have to go back and fart around getting her to level up again! You also cant make regen potions out of health/mana without a chipped gem now. I really wish I hadn't loaded it up at all. What possible benefits are there to it?

Well, its stops people from hacking so much, like in 09. Also, the stuff you were wearing was prolly bugged, which is why it disappeared. dont know about the merc, but hey, that happens, lol. :D

Oh, the items didn't disappear. They're all legit. The hireling just can't use them anymore because her level/strength/dexterity is no longer sufficient. Her experience points are the same as before the patch. It's just that the experience points make her a lower level than before. That reduces the stat points distributed between her srength and dexterity.

Ah, I see. Well, in that case, I posted in your other topic, that "hack" shouold take care of everything. ;)

Never heard of such thing, my 1.09 rogue mercernary is still the same albeit the life is much higher in 1.10.

I like the new patch, Now I can easily get uniques ( unique drops have been enchanced ) and now I can upgrade unique. Upgraded Shaftop, Upgraded Titan.... :D

I didn't have any patches installed yet. I had a straight CD installation. I do miss not being able to create full rejuv potions so easily as before. They are sooooo handy when fighting bosses. Now I have to run back to old levels to collect chipped gems. IMHO they should have added the chipped gem to the full rejuv recipe, not the rejuv recipe. Now I have potions up the wazoo with no use unless I find chipped gems.

3 rejuv pot = 1 full rejuv pot.

At least that's what I always do to create mine.

As a note of interest:

In one version of LoD and Diablo II regularrr, the item drop/magic find code had a bug where if your collective magic find percentage bonus fell within a certain range, you would always pick up magical items, but never, ever pick up a single rare or unique...That bug has since been fixed, the number did something in the game's math compilers which sorta tricked out the drop/find setup to do things it normally wouldn't...

Aren't Regeneration Potions almost the easiest thing in the game to find? I mean, I think I found like 9 of them clearing the Arcane Sanctuary alone.

Not really, it depend on your luck. Sometimes it never drops when you really need one.