With Diablo IV’s expansion, Vessel of Hatred, comes a new array of features, among them the new NPC buddy system, the Mercenary. Starting with Raheir, who you meet early on in your adventure into Nahantu, you’ll be able to travel with CPU-controlled allies, each with skill trees of their own. They’re here to help you through the dangers of Sanctuary! Here’s everything you need to know about Mercenaries.
How To Obtain Mercenaries
Blacksmith Raheir, the leader of the Pale Hand, joins you automatically, a few missions into the new content. After him, you’ll need to complete the first branches of the ‘Deeds Of A Champion’ quest to find the others. ‘Deeds’ can be found once you reach the hub, which also happens early in the story. Inspect the various stations around the hideout to pick up the ‘A Nameless Mystery,’ ‘Slayer’s Retribution,’ and ‘A Feather On The Scale’ quests.
- ‘A Nameless Mystery’ unlocks Aldkin
- ‘A Feather On The Scale’ unlocks Subo
- ‘Slayer’s Retribution’ unlocks Varyana
How To Use Mercenaries
You can use two Mercenaries at a time, one Hired and one for Reinforcement (I’ll explain shortly), but you’ll need to have them unlocked first. Once you have access to at least one Mercenary, and the Den (the main Mercenary hub), speak to them and you’ll have two options.
‘Hire Mercenary’ means they’ll be with you at all times, helping you consistently in combat and lending you the full might of their aid.
‘Enlist Reinforcement’ is less intrusive, and less powerful. Instead of having the mercenary with you at all times, they will use one of their unlocked abilities when certain conditions are met. You get to set these conditions, and you have a few options.
First, pick the ability you want them to use (from the list of possible abilities you’ve unlocked with Rapport), then you’ll need to choose when you want your merc to use it. You can tie it to a specific skill you have (come in, guns blazing, when I cast ‘Scourge,’ for example), you can have them use it when you use any skill, or when you are injured, or when you lose control of your character. The choice is yours.
What Is Rapport?
Rapport is the reputation system for your Mercenaries. Travel with a ‘Hired Mercenary’ and they’ll gain Rapport as you kill enemies together. Once they gain enough Rapport, they’ll gain Ranks, which gives you another Skill point you can use in their Talent Tree (found in the fourth tab of your Character Sheet).
If you have ‘Enlisted Reinforcement,’ on the other hand, they’ll gain half as much Rapport as your Hired Mercenary.
Vessel of Hatred’s Mercenaries
Raheir (Unlocked Automatically During DLC Story Missions)
Raheir uses a shield, making him a great Mercenary for survivability. His first ability, Valiance, will come to your aid when you take more than 15 percent damage at once, knocking down nearby enemies and giving you Unstoppable for a few seconds.
Raheir is the most focused of the mercenaries; both sides of his talent tree have him taunting enemies (great if you are playing a class with low defense), and he can also slow enemies, keeping them near you. The main difference is if you need healing or not. If you could use some extra healing to keep you topped off, take the right side of the tree. If you could use more crowd-control help, take the left path.
He’s a straightforward addition to your team, and if you are using him, it’s best if you Hire him, to best take advantage of the additional survivability he offers to flimsier classes.
A Nameless Mystery – Aldkin
Aldkin can be unlocked by completing the ‘A Nameless Mystery’ quest, which takes place in several locations around Nahantu, starting due east of Kurast Bazaar. After clearing a few dungeons, he’ll join you.
Aldkin transforms into beasts of fire or shadow, each having their own benefits. I went with the Shadow-based skills, which are great for making enemies Vulnerable (something that synergized perfectly with my Centipede Spiritborn build). He also chains enemies together, afflicts them with ‘Languishing’ (a debuff unique to him), and kills Languishing enemies. Very cool.
The Fire-based abilities spread fire all around the battlefield, with a wall of fire even destroying incoming projectiles. If you want damage, this is the one.
A Feather On The Scale – Subo
Subo is an archer assassin who loves setting traps. To unlock him, you’ll need to complete a short series of quests, ‘A Feather On The Scale.’
The left side of his talent tree gives skills like Cover Fire to slow enemies, and mines that knock them down. He can also inflict Vulnerable (which is great if you have a character class or build that leans into that) and can grant extra movement speed while fighting Elite enemies, making him the choice if you want to run circles around your enemies.
The right side of his talent tree gives you additional Lucky Hit chances, extra healing potions, and powerful shots that knock enemies back. If you want to have Subo deal extra damage and help you with a little healing, this is the one to pick.
Slayer’s Retribution – Varyana
Varyana is unlocked by completing the ‘Slayer’s Retribution’ quest chain. She focuses on straight murder. Her base ability increases your movement speed based on how many enemies you have killed in the last seven seconds.
From there, you can expand her abilities along the left path of the skill tree to gain attack speed increases, or follow the right side to give her crowd-control abilities, with bonuses to damage against crowd-control done by you or her.
Which Mercenaries Should You Choose?
The best way to choose which Mercenaries to use is to look at your character class and build. If you need help surviving, take Raheir with you for his shields, heals, and taunts. Hire him to be your main helper, then choose your Reinforcing mercenary based on who has the skill you find most useful to you.
If you are sturdy enough on your own, I recommend picking up a helper like Aldkin, who can help harry opponents and pin them down, giving you the freedom to lay into them with your most powerful abilities.
If you kill enemies very quickly, and are constantly on the move, take Varyana with you to get the movement speed bonus and have reinforcement from Subo, with his ranged abilities.
With these companions in tow, you should be set to better slaughter your way as you follow Neyrelle into Nahantu. For more tips, be sure to check out our list of six things we wish we knew before we started playing Diablo IV: Vessels of Hatred.
