Your crew
Mercenaries
Mercenaries are won by clearing dungeons. They stay at the Barracks in your Vault, wear gear you give them, and join you in fights.
Overview
How it works
- Win them. Some dungeon bosses leave a captive behind. Walk up to the captive after the boss dies and they join you for good. TESTING
- They live at your Barracks. The campfire yard inside your Vault. Everyone you have won stands there; walk up to one and their panel opens. TESTING
- Gear them. In the panel, pick an item from your bag and press Give. The panel shows what changes, and their old piece goes back to your bag. TESTING
- Take them out. Your lineup is the group that follows you out of the Vault. LIVE
Who you can win
The mercenaries so far
| Name | Class | Job | Skill | Won by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashren Kell | Sorcerer | Burns what he points at | ★★★ | Heroic Malphas' Hideout: Epic Archdemon Malphas |
| Maren Dusk | Priest | Keeps you standing | ★★☆ | Undead Lair: Septavius the Ghost God |
| Ysolde Vane | Priest | Wakes the dead's debts | ★★★ | Heroic Cavern of Septavius: Epic Septavius the Ghost God |
Heroic recruits are won only if you earned a share of the boss's loot.
TESTING Three mercenaries exist today. Planned: two starters (Wren the Knight and Tobin the Archer) and ten more, one for each early and mid dungeon, each with one job such as holding the boss or healing. PLANNED The best mercenaries are won in heroic dungeons.
How many
The lineup
Everyone you win lives at the Barracks, but only some come with you. The lineup grows as you do: one at the start, two at level 20, 3 after your first 8/8 character. Summon brings your lineup to you anywhere, Rest sends them home to the fire. TESTING
Staying alive
Down, not dead
- They go down instead of dying. At 0 HP a mercenary drops where they stand: no shooting, no moving, can't be hit. They get up on their own after 15 s at 33 % HP. TESTING
- Revive them faster. Stand within 1.5 tiles for 3 s and they are up at once. Walking away pauses it.
- A Priest in your lineup helps. "Second Wind": downed mercenaries get up in 8 s at 60 % HP, and your revive takes 2 s. Two Priests do not stack.
- Three downs in one dungeon and they rest. That mercenary sits out the rest of the run. TESTING
- Their gear is never lost. What you give them stays on them.
How they behave
- They back up when it hurts. A mercenary counts how many more hits it can take, not just its HP bar, and steps back behind you before a couple of hits would finish it. TESTING
- They leave instead of fighting on. If backing up is not working, they escape to the Nexus like a player would, heal, and rejoin you once you are out of the fight.
- They never solo a boss you are not fighting. A god or event boss is only their target while you are close to it or shooting it.
- Each plays a part. Tanks stand between the boss and you, healers stay behind you and heal whoever is lowest, damage dealers take their own lane. TESTING They rank up from dungeon clears and dodge a little better with each rank. TESTING
Commands
Orders
Type these in chat, or use the BACK OFF / WITH ME plate under the minimap if it is switched on: LIVE
| Type | They |
|---|---|
| bots come | come back to you and follow |
| bots stay | hold where they stand |
| bots back off | retreat behind you and hold fire; only a Priest keeps casting |
| bots hold fire | stop shooting; bots fire starts again |
| bots nexus | go to the Nexus |
| /party summon | bring your lineup to you |
Planned: four orders on one bar and four keys (Rally, Hold, Focus my target and Back off), with a symbol over each head to show they heard you. PLANNED Also planned: a three-row crew strip (face, health, state). PLANNED
Where you get your first one
Right now
The first mercenary you can win today is Maren, the Priest held in the Undead Lair after Septavius falls. Heroic clears give Ysolde and Ashren. The two starters who would meet you at the Vault on day one are not built yet, so until they are, the old recruiter post near the Nexus spawn still gives a new account its first companion.