Mercenary Mechanics
Last Updated:March 1, 2024|Change Log
Mercenaries, sometimes referred to as "Hirelings", are a great source of utility for every Character in Diablo 2 Resurrected. It is very important to know the Mercenary Mechanics to make good use of them, as they add immense Quality of Life, and strong boosts to your Character. The developers took the liberty to implement names and aliases from Blizzard employees, important members of the Diablo 2 fan community, and as rumor has it, their significant others.
Mechanics
- A Mercenary can only be hired from a special NPC in the Act it resides in.
- The special NPCs of each Act can revive any fallen Mercenary for up to 50,000 Gold, depending on its Level.
- The Stats of a Mercenary increase with each Level gained. Check out the individual Mercenaries below.
- When you get too far away from your Mercenary, it teleports to you without any visual animation.
- Using Teleport yourself teleports your Mercenary to the target location as well.
- Mercenaries can provide your Character with up to 2 Auras.
- Ethereal Items do not suffer from Durability loss when equipped on a Mercenary.
- Healing Potions, Rejuvenation Potions and Wells can heal a Mercenary.
- Hiring a new Mercenary while having one already causes items on the already existing Mercenary to disappear forever. Make sure to take off the items first before choosing a new Mercenary!
NPCs
The Mercenaries types can be hired at the special NPCs in their respective Acts. When you don't have a Mercenary when completing Quest 2 in Act 1, 3, or 5, the NPC gifts you their respective Mercenary base type. Any special NPC is capable of reviving any Mercenary type.
| NPC | Mercenary | Requirement | Quest Reward | |
| Act 1 | Kashya | Rogue Scout | Quest 2 is completed or Character Level 8 | Yes (Quest 2) |
| Act 2 | Greiz | Desert Mercenary | - | No |
| Act 3 | Ashaera | Ironwolves | - | Yes (Quest 2) |
| Act 4 | Tyrael | - | - | No |
| Act 5 | Qual-Kehk | Barbarian | Quest 2 is completed | Yes (Quest 2) |
Act 1 - Rogue Scout
This Mercenary can be hired at Kashya in the center of the Rogue Encampment, as a Cold or Fire variant. When completing Quest 2 in Act 1, Kashya gifts you a random Rogue Scout which fights by your side and hiring new ones becomes possible. If you don't complete this Quest, you can hire them starting at Character Level 8.
Equipment
- Bows / Amazon Bows
- Helmet
- Body Armor
Skills
The Cold version of the Rogue Scout uses cold arrow, freezing arrow, and inner sight.
Note: The Rogue Scout uses her Attack Rate for casting Inner Sight. It is NOT affected by Faster Cast Rate!
Setup
This Rogue uses Faith Matriarchal Bow to provide Physical Damage attack builds with fanaticism.
A Vampire Gaze and Shaftstop, both socketed with Um Runes provide much-needed Physical Damage Reduction and All Resistances.
Setup
This Rogue uses Harmony Matriarchal Bow to boost the Characters movement speed with vigor.
A Vampire Gaze and Shaftstop, both socketed with Um Runes provide much-needed Physical Damage Reduction and All Resistances.
Skills
The Fire version of the Rogue Scout uses fire arrow, exploding arrow, and inner sight.
Note: The Rogue Scout uses her Attack Rate for casting Inner Sight. It is NOT affected by Faster Cast Rate!
Setup
This Rogue uses Brand Matriarchal Bow to increase the damage output from Physical Damage builds through amplify damage. brand replaces her regular attacks with exploding arrow. This synergizes with her Skill Points in fire arrow.
A Vampire Gaze and Treachery, both socketed with Um Runes provide much-needed Physical Damage Reduction and All Resistances.
Breakpoints
Similar to Characters, Mercenaries have Breakpoints to improve their animation speed. The Rogue Scout only benefits from +% Increased Attack Speed and +% Faster Hit Recovery. She uses her Attack Rate to cast Inner Sight and doesn't block. Check out the D2planner for the Attack Speed Breakpoints, as they change depending on the Weapon used.
Hit Recovery Rate
The Hit Recovery Rate determines how fast the Rogue Scout can recover from a heavy hit.
| Faster Hit Recovery | 0 | 6 | 13 | 20 | 32 | 52 | 86 | 174 |
| Hit Recovery Frames | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
Names
The names of Mercenaries are randomly generated and are independent of the variant you choose. As the amount of Rogue Scouts that Kashya can offer you is limited, not every Name from this list will be available every time:
Available Names
Act 2 - Desert Mercenary
They can be hired From Greiz in the northern corner of Lut Gholein. All versions of the Desert Mercenary use jab as their main attack. In Normal difficulty you only have access to 3 of the Auras. In Nightmare and Hell, all 6 Auras are available for hire.
Normal
Prayer
Defiance
Blessed Aim
Nightmare / Hell
Thorns
Holy Freeze
Might
Equipment
- Spears, Polearms, and Javelins
- Helmet
- Body Armor
The Might Aura Mercenary is typically used for Physical Damage attack or summon builds. Single elemental damage builds use this Mercenary to add a secondary damage type, allowing them to deal with monsters that are immune to your primary damage type.
Setup
The Desert Mercenary uses insight to provide your Character with a large amount of Mana Regeneration from meditation. Built in an Ethereal Elite Base like a thresher, or giant thresher allow him to deal massive Physical Damage.
An Andariel's Visage, socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor and Fortitude Sacred Armor make him tanky and self-sufficient.
Setup
The Desert Mercenary uses infinity to provide elemental damage builds with conviction, which can break immunities or simply lowers a monsters Resistances. Built in an Ethereal Elite Base like a thresher, giant thresher, or war pike allow him to deal massive Physical Damage.
An Andariel's Visage, socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor and Fortitude Sacred Armor make him tanky and self-sufficient.
Setup
The Desert Mercenary uses The Reaper's Toll, socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor. The Weapon allows him to apply decrepify on hits. This curse increases the output of Physical Damage builds by reducing monsters Physical Resistances, and sometimes breaking an Immune to Physical enemy.
An Andariel's Visage, socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor and Fortitude Sacred Armor make him tanky and self-sufficient.
Setup
The Desert Mercenary uses Pride to provide concentration in addition to might. This is great for Physical Damage Attack builds and Summon builds.
An Vampire Gaze, socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor and Fortitude Sacred Armor make him tanky and self-sufficient.
The Holy Freeze Aura Mercenary is used on non-Physical Damage builds that don't have issues with Immunities and want to get some extra Crowd Control.
Setup
The Desert Mercenary uses insight to provide your Character with a large amount of Mana Regeneration from meditation. Built in an Ethereal Elite Base like a thresher, or giant thresher allow him to deal decent Physical Damage.
An Andariel's Visage, socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor and Fortitude Sacred Armor make him tanky and self-sufficient.
Setup
The Desert Mercenary uses infinity to provide elemental damage builds with conviction, which can break immunities or simply lowers a monsters Resistances.. Built in an Ethereal Elite Base like a thresher, giant thresher, or war pike allow him to deal massive Physical Damage.
An Andariel's Visage, socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor and Fortitude Sacred Armor make him tanky and self-sufficient.
The Blessed Aim Aura Mercenary is used on attack builds that struggle to get their Attack Rating, and thus, Chance to Hit to a reasonable level.
Setup
The Desert Mercenary uses infinity to provide elemental damage builds with conviction, which reduces enemies Defense drastically, increasing your Chance to Hit. Built in an Ethereal Elite Base like a thresher, giant thresher, or war pike allow him to deal massive Physical Damage.
An Andariel's Visage, socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor and Fortitude Sacred Armor make him tanky and self-sufficient.
Breakpoints
Similar to Characters, Mercenaries have Breakpoints to improve their animations. The Desert Mercenary only benefits from +% Increased Attack Speed and +% Faster Hit Recovery. He doesn't cast any Skills and doesn't block. Check out the D2planner for the Attack Speed Breakpoints, as they change depending on the Weapon used.
Hit Recovery Rate
The Hit Recovery Rate determines how fast the Desert Mercenary can recover from a heavy hit.
| Faster Hit Recovery | 0 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 20 | 30 | 42 | 60 | 86 | 142 | 280 |
| Hit Recovery Frames | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
Names
The names of Mercenaries are randomly generated and are independent of the variant you choose. As the amount of Mercenaries that Greiz can offer you is limited, not every Name from this list will be available:
Available Names
Act 3 - Ironwolves
They can be hired from Ashaera in the northerwest corner of the Kurast Docks. Ironwolves can be hired as a Cold, Fire, or Lightning variant. Ashaera gifts you an Ironwolf if you have no other Mercenary in your employ when you complete Quest 2 in Act 3. Despite using a Shield, Ironwolves are not capable of blocking!
Equipment
- One-handed Swords
- Helmet
- Body Armor
- Shield
Setups
The Lightning Ironwolve uses Charged bolt, lightning, and static field. It is a great alternative to other Mercenaries, if their impact is not too significant.
Setup
The Iron Wolve Mercenary uses Crescent Moon and Griffon's Eye, socketed with a Rainbow Facet to increase the effectiveness of his Static Field
A Shaftstop provides much-needed Physical Damage Reduction, and when socketed with a Fal Rune, he can use an Ethereal Spirit Monarch for additional Faster Cast Rate.
The Fire Ironwolve uses Fire bolt, Fire Ball, and Enchant. Builds that fight the Ubers benefit massively from enchant, which grants a massive boost in Attack Rating.
Setup
The setup goal of this Iron Wolve is to get as much +x to Skills and +x% Fire Skill Damage as possible. It uses a Flickering Flame Diadem, Hexfire, and an Ormus' Robes with +3 to enchant. An Ethereal Spirit Monarch can be equipped after putting a Fal Rune into the Armor.
The Cold Ironwolve unfortunately doesn't get any use. He only provides some Crowd Control and almost no damage, making him a terrible Mercenary.
Breakpoints
Similar to Characters, Mercenaries have Breakpoints to improve their animations. The Ironwolves only benefit from +% Faster Cast Rate and +% Faster Hit Recovery.
Cast Rate
| Faster Cast Rate | 0 | 8 | 15 | 26 | 39 | 58 | 86 | 138 |
| Cast Rate Frames | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
Hit Recovery Rate
The Hit Recovery Rate determines how fast the Ironwolf can recover from a heavy hit.
| Faster Hit Recovery | 0 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 24 | 32 | 46 | 63 | 86 | 133 | 232 |
| Hit Recovery Frames | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
Names
The names of Mercenaries are randomly generated and are independent of the variant you choose. As the amount of Mercenaries that the Ashaera can offer you is limited, not every Name from this list will be available:
Available Names
Act 5 - Barbarians
They can be hired From Qual-Kehk at the fountain in Harrogath. You have the option between a One- or Two-Weapon weilding Barbarian.
Equipment
- A Sword (Bash) or two 1-handed Swords (Frenzy
- Helmet
- Body Armor
The Frenzy Barbarian uses Frenzy, Taunt and the passive Skill iron skin.
Setup
The frenzy Barbarian uses 2x Plague Cryptic Sword. This acts as a budget Mercenary to break Elemental Immunities. It is also the best option for some Poison Damage builds.
A Fortitude Sacred Armor, and a Vampire Gaze make him tanky and self-sufficient.
Setup
The frenzy Barbarian uses 2x Lawbringer Cryptic Sword. This setup is used to proc Decrepify on monsters to remove their Immunity to Physical Damage or just reduce their Physical Resistances.
A Fortitude Sacred Armor, and a Vampire Gaze make him tanky and self-sufficient.
Setup
The frenzy Barbarian uses 2x Crescent Moon Cryptic Sword. This setup is used to proc static field on builds that don't get much benefit from other Mercenary setups.
A Fortitude Sacred Armor, and a Vampire Gaze make him tanky and self-sufficient.
Setup
The frenzy Barbarian uses Lawbringer Cryptic Sword and Death Phase Blade. This setup is used to proc Crushing Blow in combination with decrepify on builds that otherwhise struggle with Act Bosses.
A Fortitude Sacred Armor, and a Vampire Gaze make him tanky and self-sufficient.
The bash Barbarian uses Bash, Stun, and battle Cry.
Setup
The Bash Barbarian uses Lawbringer Cryptic Sword. This setup is used to proc Decrepify on monsters to remove their Immunity to Physical Damage or just reduce their Physical Resistances.
A Fortitude Sacred Armor, and a Vampire Gaze make him tanky and self-sufficient.
Setup
The bash Barbarian uses Crescent Moon Cryptic Sword. This setup is used to proc static field on builds that don't get much benefit from other Mercenary setups.
A Fortitude Sacred Armor, and a Vampire Gaze make him tanky and self-sufficient.
Breakpoints
Similar to Characters, Mercenaries have Breakpoints to improve their animations. The Barbarian only benefits from +% Increased Attack Speed and +% Faster Hit Recovery. He doesn't block. Check out the D2planner for the Attack Speed Breakpoints, as they change depending on the Weapon used.
Hit Recovery Rate
The Hit Recovery Rate determines how fast the Barbarian can recover from a heavy hit.
| Faster Hit Recovery | 0 | 7 | 15 | 27 | 48 | 86 | 200 |
| Hit Recovery Frames | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
Names
The names of Mercenaries are randomly generated and are independent of the variant you choose. As the amount of Barbarians that Qual-Kehk can offer you is limited, not every Name from this list will be available every time:
Available Names
Revival Costs
Your Mercenary can die in combat, or if your Character dies. Reviving your Mercenary requires Gold. The amount depends on the Level of the Mercenary (hlvl) and is capped at 50,000. The formula for this is simpler than it looks:
x Gold = min(int(hlvl * hlvl/ 2) * 15, 50,000)
Examples
hlvl = 57:
x Gold = min(int(57 * 57/ 2) * 15, 50,000)
x Gold = min(int(1,624.5) * 15, 50,000)
x Gold = min(1,624* 15, 50,000)
x Gold = min(24,360, 50,000)
x Gold = 24,360
hlvl = 92:
x Gold = min(int(92 * 92/ 2) * 15, 50,000)
x Gold = min(int(4,232) * 15, 50,000)
x Gold = min(4,232 * 15, 50,000)
x Gold = min(63,480, 50,000)
x Gold = 50,000
Summary
- The Act 2 Desert Mercenary is the most frequently used one because of their powerful Auras.
- Mercenaries can be revived. This has an increasing Gold cost, capped at 50,000 Gold.
- The Mercenary NPCs are Kashya (Act 1), Greiz (Act 2), Asheara (Act 3), Tyrael (Act 4), and Qual-Kehk (Act 5). They can all be used to revive Mercenaries. You can hire the respective Mercenary type from them (Except Tyrael - Act 4 has no Mercenary).
- They can provide up to 2 Auras. Stacking more Auras leads to the deactivation of one of them.
Credits
Written by Teo1904
Reviewed by MacroBioBoi