Hi i'm planning on making a hammerdin for hell rushes and such.
I have pretty decent gear i think.
Gear :
Cta - 3bo
Hoto
Nigma
Spirit
Hoz
Arach
Soj
Bk ring
magefists
anni

anyways i'm just wondering what is the basic thing needed to be done to have a good hammerdin. I heard some ppl say get enough str to wear what you need to wear and put points into dex to get max block? then rest in vit. And i also heard that i could put str so i can wear my gear then 1 point into holy shield and max vit ? Or is there no correct way of doing it ? Or if there is please let me know. I don't wanna waste my time leveling up and then finding out that i messed up and need to star over.

- thanks appreciate it.

put what ever points in to holy shield then in hell add to dex for max block (after casting holy shield of course) and other than that str for gear witch should not be muck and the rest in vit

I have a question about Mercs.... i got a defensive normal merc and was doing baal runs with it on norm....but he's not getting any exp at all. He's at 25 and just stuck, xp not going any higher. Whys that? is there something i don't know? like normal mercs cap at 25 or something? Should i just wait for hell and buy a merc defensive there?

just mess with it a bit try a couple of tomb runs and see if that gits him started just like you your merc needs to fight monsters at the appropreit level to gain well maybe he is just a tad short for baal runs

What level are you? If youre 25, the merc won't go past 25. Also, a good choice is nm defensive merc, because they use holy freeze.

well i'm 80 NOw lol and my merc is still 25... NM merc huh? okay i'll throw my insight on a nm merc. And i guess i'll run some Nm baal and hopefully merc lvls up.

Now one question with merc.. when i give items to my merc, do the stats or res or even skill bonuses depending on the armors / wpns... do i get them too? like lets say, i give a piece of armor to my merc that has 1+ all skills and 20%fcr... will my paladin get that bonus too?

nope just your merc

Also, you could just take off all of the gear on the merc, and hire a new one closer to your own level.

Well if i did that, do they have the same auras? i want the defensive aura cause... that seems too good to give up.

The auras are based on the difficulty level that you buy the merc in, not the level of the merc.

Here are a few links to other threads that may be helpful for you:
http://www.blizzsector.net/mercenaries/32997-mercenary-guide-sunbearie-team.html
http://www.blizzsector.net/paladin-character-development/33044-zealer-smiter-hammerdin-guide-l4e.html
http://www.blizzsector.net/paladin-character-development/33690-important-things-know-paladin-before-you-start-building-him-guides.html

If you read these and still have some questions, feel free to ask them.