Well here is copy-paste, a bit messy but most important stuff is there anyway.
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In LoD, hirelings hired in higher difficulties have less stats (life, def, etc.). In ES, the difficulty doesn't matter and hirelings of the same act always have the same stats.
In addition to that, the level cap of hirelings in Hell is raised to level 85, so you don't have to hesitate to change your hireling. You can test multiple hirelings as many times as you want, or you may like to change the hireling from time to time, which refreshes your play and costs only 50000 gold. (The only exceptions are Act 2 mercenaries in normal and NM. If you need one of their aura, changing hirelings isn't a good idea.)
In LoD, Act 2 mercenaries are much prefered. In ES, all hirelings are well balanced, so you are recommended to hire multiple mercs to see the difference for yourself. A full equipable hireling is strengthened wearing the 'Mercenary Set' combined with 'Waves of Ascension'.
Hireling Lvl HP HP
/Lvl Def Def
/Lvl Str Str
/Lvl Dex Dex
/Lvl AR AR
/Lvl Res Res
/Lvl Life
Regen
Rogue Scout 10-39 110 14 90 20 40 1.5 50 2.25 50 12 20 2 4
Rogue Scout 40-84 530 28 690 22 85 1.5 117 2.25 410 24 80 1.5
Rogue Scout 85 1790 42 1680 24 152 1.5 218 2.25 1490 36 147 1.25
Desert Mercenary 20-49 170 16 270 24 65 2 45 1.75 180 12 40 2 5
Desert Mercenary 50-84 650 32 990 26 125 2 97 1.75 540 24 100 1.5
Desert Mercenary 85 1770 48 1900 28 195 2 158 1.75 1380 36 152 1.25
Eastern Sorceror 25-54 230 14 180 18 50 1.75 40 2 120 12 45 2 6
Eastern Sorceror 55-84 650 28 720 20 102 1.75 100 2 480 24 105 1.5
Eastern Sorceror 85 1490 42 1320 22 154 1.75 160 2 1200 36 150 1.25
Barbarian 30-64 260 18 230 26 88 2.25 62 1.5 175 15 77 1.5 10
Barbarian 65-84 890 36 1140 28 167 2.25 115 1.5 700 30 130 1.25
Barbarian 85 1610 54 1700 30 212 2.25 145 1.5 1300 45 155 1.25
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Act 1 Rogue Scout †
Can't equip Amazon specific items.
+X To All Skill Levels works.
+X To Amazon Skills/Tabs does not work.
+X To Each Skill (Magic Arrow, etc.) works.
Oskill bonuses of their inherent skills are capped at +3 per character.
Their inherent skills work as a synergy for an aura item.
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Fire Rogue †
Uses Inner Sight, Magic Arrow, Slow Missiles, Exploding Arrow, Immolation Arrow, Poison Arrow and Strafe.
No aura or warcries, but Inner Sight now reduces monster's Defense by percent, and also reduces monster's Physical Resist (works on top of the curse Amplify Damage, etc.).
Slow Missile also helps a lot, especially in Act 5 and Andariel's Dressing Room.
Strafe is also good for triggering CtC Skills.
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Cold Rogue †
Uses Inner Sight, Magic Arrow, Slow Missiles, Ice Arrow, Freezing Arrow, Lightning Arrow and Legendary Arrow.
No aura or warcries, but Inner Sight now reduces monster's Defense by percent, and also reduces monster's Physical Resist (works on top of the curse Amplify Damage, etc.).
Slow Missile also helps a lot, especially in Act 5 and Andariel's Dressing Room.
Ice Arrow chills and Freezing Arrow freezes non CI monsters.
Once she got a good amount of Pierce, Lightning Arrow and Legendary Arrow exert an awesome effect.
Legendary Arrow with a good amount of Pierce is also good for triggering CtC Skills.
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Act 2 Desert Mercenary †
Can't equip Paladin specific items.
+X To All Skill Levels works.
+X To Paladin Skills/Tabs does not work.
+X To Each Skill (Might, etc.) works.
Oskill bonuses of their inherent skills are capped at +3 per character.
Their inherent skills work as a synergy for an aura item.
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All Mercenaries †
Uses Jab, Lightning Strike, Vengeance and an Aura.
Vengence and Lightning Strike can kill some PIs and still can leech if the target isn't PI.
Have less life regeneration than Barbarian hirelings. To make up for this, they need better equipment (more Max Life, Life Leech and DR%).
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Auras †
Sometimes it takes some minutes that they activate the Aura.
I'm not saying that Act 2 Mercenaries are weak, but their aura level is generally nerfed in ES. This is because the aura made them better than the other hirelings in LoD. Auras are not so strong when they are naked, but you can boost the aura level with +Skill items.
Might and Fanaticism are good for physical attacking characters.
Conviction is of course the best aura for the casters. Offensive Barbarian is another good option for casters, especially when you can use Conviction by an item.
Normal – Combat: Defiance
Normal – Defense: Prayer
Normal – Offense: Holy Fire
Nightmare – Combat: Might
Nightmare – Defense: Meditation
Nightmare – Offense: Thorns
Hell – Combat: Conviction
Hell – Defense: Concentration
Hell – Offense: Fanaticism
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Act 3 Eastern Sorcerer †
Can't equip Sorceress specific items.
+X To All Skill Levels works.
+X To Sorceress Skills/Tabs does not work.
+X To Each Skill (Fire Ball, etc.) works.
Oskill bonuses of their inherent skills are capped at +3 per character.
Their inherent skills work as a synergy for an aura item.
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Fire Sorcerer †
Uses Protection From Fire, Shock Wave, Fire Ball, Fissure, Immolation and Creeping Doom.
Shock Wave and Creeping Doom stuns monsters.
Perhaps the least characteristic one, but deals the largest damage of the three.
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Cold Sorcerer †
Uses Protection From Cold, Tornado, Glacial Spike, Ice Nova, Winter Fury and Frozen Orb.
Ice Nova, Winter Fury and Frozen Orb chills and Glacial Spike freezes non CI monsters.
Cannot Be Frozen from Protection From Cold incredibly benefits summoners, even if some corpses are destroyed by Cold Spells.
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Lightning Sorcerer †
Uses Protection From Lightning, Static Field, Lightning, Chain Lightning, Lightning Hydra, Bone Spirit and Time Stop.
Protection From Lightning is the most popular protection aura because of the nasty Black Souls.
They cast Time Stop only from time to time, but it reduces the threat of monsters like Holy Freeze.
They don't cast Static Field frequently either, but it's nice gravy.
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Act 5 Barbarian †
Can equip Barbarian specific items.
+X To All Skill Levels works.
+X To Barbarian Skills/Tabs does not work.
+X To Each Skill (Shout, etc.) works.
Oskill bonuses of their inherent skills are capped at +3 per character.
Their inherent skills work as a synergy for an aura item.
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Defensive Barbarian †
Uses Stun, Concentrate, Battle Orders, Shout and Battle Command
Battle Orders and Shout combo is useful for all classes, especially melee characters.
Not only BO and Shout but also Stun and Concentrate make them the toughest hirelings in the game. They can stay alive with relatively cheap gears.
Battle Command gives not a single but a few skill boosts. This makes them also good for casters.
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Offensive Barbarian †
Uses Bash, Concentrate, Waycry, Ancient's Call and Battle Command
Has no life boost or def boost, but Warcry effectively stuns nearby monsters to attack safely.
Ancient's Call works like a curse, but it amazingly reduces all kinds of resistance, including Poison and Magic.
Bash has the highest damage bonus in the game.
Battle Command gives not a single but a few skill boosts. This makes them also good for casters.
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Hireling Skills †
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Rogue (Fire) 10-39 110 Normal Attack -- --
10 Inner Sight 3 0.3125
55 Magic Arrow 3 0.3125
5 Slow Missiles 3 0.1875
70 Exploding Arrow 3 0.4375
40-84 60 Normal Attack -- --
10 Inner Sight 12 0.3125
45 Magic Arrow 12 0.3125
5 Slow Missiles 8 0.1875
80 Immolation Arrow 16 0.4375
25 Poison Arrow 16 0.4375
25 Strafe 16 0.4375
85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
10 Inner Sight 25 0.3125
35 Magic Arrow 25 0.3125
5 Slow Missiles 16 0.1875
90 Immolation Arrow 35 0.4375
50 Poison Arrow 35 0.4375
50 Strafe 35 0.4375
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Rogue (Cold) 10-39 110 Normal Attack -- --
10 Inner Sight 3 0.3125
55 Magic Arrow 3 0.3125
5 Slow Missiles 3 0.1875
70 Cold Arrow 3 0.25
40-84 60 Normal Attack -- --
10 Inner Sight 12 0.3125
45 Magic Arrow 12 0.3125
5 Slow Missiles 8 0.1875
80 Freezing Arrow 10 0.25
25 Lightning Arrow 11 0.3125
25 Legendary Arrow 10 0.25
85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
10 Inner Sight 25 0.3125
35 Magic Arrow 25 0.3125
5 Slow Missiles 16 0.1875
90 Freezing Arrow 21 0.25
50 Lightning Arrow 25 0.3125
50 Legendary Arrow 21 0.25
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Desert Mercenary (Normal - Combat) 20-49 85 Normal Attack -- --
50 Jab 8 0.3125
20 Defiance 8 0.3125
25 Lightning Strike 3 0.1875
25 Vengeance 5 0.3125
50-84 50 Normal Attack -- --
40 Jab 17 0.3125
20 Defiance 17 0.3125
50 Lightning Strike 8 0.1875
50 Vengeance 14 0.3125
85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
30 Jab 27 0.3125
20 Defiance 27 0.3125
75 Lightning Strike 14 0.1875
75 Vengeance 24 0.3125
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Desert Mercenary (Normal - Defense) 20-49 85 Normal Attack -- --
50 Jab 8 0.3125
20 Prayer 8 0.3125
25 Lightning Strike 3 0.1875
25 Vengeance 5 0.3125
50-84 50 Normal Attack -- --
40 Jab 17 0.3125
20 Prayer 17 0.3125
50 Lightning Strike 8 0.1875
50 Vengeance 14 0.3125
85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
30 Jab 27 0.3125
20 Prayer 27 0.3125
75 Lightning Strike 14 0.1875
75 Vengeance 24 0.3125
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Desert Mercenary (Normal - Offense) 20-49 85 Normal Attack -- --
50 Jab 8 0.3125
20 Holy Fire 8 0.3125
25 Lightning Strike 3 0.1875
25 Vengeance 5 0.3125
50-84 50 Normal Attack -- --
40 Jab 17 0.3125
20 Holy Fire 17 0.3125
50 Lightning Strike 8 0.1875
50 Vengeance 14 0.3125
85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
30 Jab 27 0.3125
20 Holy Fire 27 0.3125
75 Lightning Strike 14 0.1875
75 Vengeance 24 0.3125
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Desert Mercenary (Nightmare - Combat) 50-84 50 Normal Attack -- --
40 Jab 17 0.3125
20 Might 4 0.1875
50 Lightning Strike 8 0.1875
50 Vengeance 14 0.3125
85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
30 Jab 27 0.3125
20 Might 10 0.1875
75 Lightning Strike 14 0.1875
75 Vengeance 24 0.3125
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Desert Mercenary (Nightmare - Defense) 50-84 50 Normal Attack -- --
40 Jab 17 0.3125
20 Meditation 17 0.3125
50 Lightning Strike 8 0.1875
50 Vengeance 14 0.3125
85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
30 Jab 27 0.3125
20 Meditation 27 0.3125
75 Lightning Strike 14 0.1875
75 Vengeance 24 0.3125
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Desert Mercenary (Nightmare - Offense) 50-84 50 Normal Attack -- --
40 Jab 17 0.3125
20 Thorns 17 0.3125
50 Lightning Strike 8 0.1875
50 Vengeance 14 0.3125
85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
30 Jab 27 0.3125
20 Thorns 27 0.3125
75 Lightning Strike 14 0.1875
75 Vengeance 24 0.3125
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Desert Mercenary (Hell - Combat) 85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
30 Jab 27 0.3125
20 Conviction 3 0.1875
75 Lightning Strike 14 0.1875
75 Vengeance 24 0.3125
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Desert Mercenary (Hell - Defense) 85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
30 Jab 27 0.3125
20 Concentration 7 0.1875
75 Lightning Strike 14 0.1875
75 Vengeance 24 0.3125
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Desert Mercenary (Hell - Offense) 85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
30 Jab 27 0.3125
20 Fanaticism 4 0.1875
75 Lightning Strike 14 0.1875
75 Vengeance 24 0.3125
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Eastern Sorcerer (Fire) 25-54 10 Normal Attack -- --
10 Protection From Fire 4 0.1875
70 Shock Wave 6 0.375
120 Fire Ball 10 0.375
40 Fissure 6 0.375
55-84 10 Normal Attack -- --
10 Protection From Fire 9 0.1875
30 Shock Wave 17 0.375
80 Fire Ball 21 0.375
40 Fissure 17 0.375
40 Immolation 19 0.4375
40 Creeping Doom 19 0.4375
85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
10 Protection From Fire 14 0.1875
30 Shock Wave 28 0.375
50 Fire Ball 32 0.375
50 Fissure 28 0.375
50 Immolation 32 0.4375
50 Creeping Doom 32 0.4375
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Eastern Sorcerer (Cold) 25-54 10 Normal Attack -- --
10 Protection From Cold 4 0.1875
100 Tornado 14 0.4375
100 Glacial Spike 10 0.25
30 Ice Nova 2 0.375
55-84 10 Normal Attack -- --
10 Protection From Cold 9 0.1875
75 Tornado 27 0.4375
75 Glacial Spike 17 0.25
35 Ice Nova 13 0.375
10 Winter Fury 6 0.1875
35 Frozen Orb 11 0.3125
85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
10 Protection From Cold 14 0.1875
50 Tornado 40 0.4375
50 Glacial Spike 24 0.25
60 Ice Nova 24 0.375
10 Winter Fury 11 0.1875
60 Frozen Orb 20 0.3125
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Eastern Sorcerer (Lightning) 25-54 10 Normal Attack -- --
10 Protection From Lightning 4 0.1875
30 Static Field 6 0.25
200 Lightning 13 0.4375
30 Lightning Hydra 6 0.4375
55-84 10 Normal Attack -- --
10 Protection From Lightning 9 0.1875
40 Static Field 13 0.25
90 Chain Lightning 21 0.375
30 Lightning Hydra 19 0.4375
40 Bone Spirit 23 0.4375
30 Time Stop 10 0.25
85- 10 Normal Attack -- --
10 Protection From Lightning 14 0.1875
50 Static Field 20 0.25
60 Chain Lightning 32 0.375
30 Lightning Hydra 32 0.4375
50 Bone Spirit 36 0.4375
40 Time Stop 17 0.25
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Barbarian (Defense) 30-64 140 Normal Attack -- --
25 Stun 8 0.4375
25 Concentrate 4 0.3125
20 Battle Orders 1 0.1875
20 Shout 1 0.1875
20 Battle Command 1 0.1875
65-84 105 Normal Attack -- --
50 Stun 21 0.4375
50 Concentrate 13 0.3125
15 Battle Orders 7 0.1875
15 Shout 7 0.1875
15 Battle Command 7 0.1875
85- 70 Normal Attack -- --
75 Stun 29 0.4375
75 Concentrate 19 0.3125
10 Battle Orders 10 0.1875
10 Shout 10 0.1875
10 Battle Command 10 0.1875
Hirelings Level Freq Skills Slvl Slvl
/Lvl
Barbarian (Offense) 30-64 130 Normal Attack -- --
25 Bash 8 0.4375
25 Concentrate 4 0.3125
25 Ancient's Call 8 0.25
25 War Cry 8 0.25
20 Battle Command 1 0.1875
65-84 80 Normal Attack -- --
50 Bash 21 0.4375
50 Concentrate 13 0.3125
25 Ancient's Call 15 0.25
25 War Cry 15 0.25
15 Battle Command 7 0.1875
85- 30 Normal Attack -- --
75 Bash 29 0.4375
75 Concentrate 19 0.3125
25 Ancient's Call 20 0.25
25 War Cry 20 0.25
10 Battle Command 10 0.1875