Mercenary mode

Mercenary Mode is a challenging permadeath mode added with the Moon Temple DLC.

After reaching level 20 with a class in the main game, a Mercenary version of that class can be created at the character creation screen.

Differences from normal Characters

Mercenaries start at level 20 with 25,000 gold. This gold is separate from your town's gold. Each Mercenary has their own personal NG progression. They also start with a Mercenary-specific Companion.

Mercenary characters have the same base stats and scaling as non-mercenary characters, however they only have access to the primary attack of that class and this can't be changed.

They can use the resources of your town, but with some limitations. Some aspects are limited by Mercenaries rank, with more being made available as you rank up, and other aspects are not available to mercenaries (such as statues).

Mercenaries can only play Multiplayer with other Mercenaries.

Prestige

Prestige is earned by Mercenaries as they adventure, beat bosses, and complete campaigns. While the mercenary is alive, Prestige is the value that decides their current Class Level according to the table below. On death it is transferred over to the Legacy Points total of the town. These Legacy Points can be spent at the Legacy shop for special cosmetics usable by all heroes.

Prestige is worked out according to the formula:

=INT(Floors Visited)+INT(Bosses Killed*10)+INT(POW(Tower NGP,2)*75)+INT(POW(Pyramid of Propecy NGP,2)*175)+INT(POW(Moon Temple NGP,2)*200)+INT(POW(Arena Level/4,2)*25)

Your Prestige Rank determines which Town facilities you can use, along with giving your Mercenary a bonus to Gold and XP gain.

Rank	Prestige	Bonus to Gold and XP
Private	0	+15%
Corporal	50	+30%
Sergeant	200	+45%
Lieutenant	500	+60%
Captain	1000	+75%
Major	2500	+90%
Colonel	5000	+105%
General	10000	+120%

Unlocks

Rank	Prestige Total	Master At Arms	Blacksmith		Apothecary		Magic Shop		Tavern	Chapel	General Store		Anvil		Gold/XP Bonus
PRIVATE	0	3	Armor	4	Potion Charges	2			Common Drinks		Common	3
			Weapon	4	Healing Draught	2					Uncommon	2
			Critical Chance	2	Mana Draught	2
			Boots	2	Invigorating Spices	1
					Mana Extractor	1
CORPORAL	50	6	Armor	6	Potion Charges	Max	Resistance	2	Common Drinks	Tier 1	Common	3	Common Items		+30%
			Weapon	6	Healing Draught	3	Skill Damage	2	Uncommon Drinks		Uncommon	2
			Critical Chance	3	Mana Draught	3	Skill Crit Chance	1
			Critical Damage	1	Invigorating Spices	2
			Boots	3	Mana Extractor	2
SERGEANT	200	9	Armor	8	Potion Charges	Max	Resistance	4	Common Drinks	Tier 1	Common	3	Common Items		+45%
			Weapon	8	Healing Draught	4	Skill Damage	4	Uncommon Drinks		Uncommon	2	Uncommon Items
			Critical Chance	4	Mana Draught	4	Skill Crit Chance	2	Rare Drinks		Rare	1
			Critical Damage	2	Invigorating Spices	3	Skill Crit Damage	1
			Boots	4	Mana Extractor	3
LIEUTENANT	500	12	Armor	10	Potion Charges	Max	Resistance	6	Common Drinks	Tier 1	Common	3	Common Items		+60%
			Weapon	10	Healing Draught	Max	Skill Damage	6	Uncommon Drinks	Tier 2	Uncommon	2	Uncommon Items
			Critical Chance	Max	Mana Draught	Max	Skill Crit Chance	Max	Rare Drinks		Rare	1	Rare Items
			Critical Damage	Max	Invigorating Spices	Max	Skill Crit Damage	2
			Boots	5	Mana Extractor	Max
CAPTAIN	1000	15	Armor	Max	Potion Charges	Max	Resistance	Max	Common Drinks	Tier 1	Common	3	Common		+75%
			Weapon	Max	Healing Draught	Max	Skill Damage	Max	Uncommon Drinks	Tier 2	Uncommon	2	Uncommon
			Critical Chance	Max	Mana Draught	Max	Skill Crit Chance	Max	Rare Drinks		Rare	1	Rare
			Critical Damage	Max	Invigorating Spices	Max	Skill Crit Damage	Max
			Boots	Max	Mana Extractor	Max
MAJOR	2500	18	Armor	Max	Potion Charges	Max	Resistance	Max	Common Drinks	Tier 1	Common	3	Common		+90%
			Weapon	Max	Healing Draught	Max	Skill Damage	Max	Uncommon Drinks	Tier 2	Uncommon	2	Uncommon
			Critical Chance	Max	Mana Draught	Max	Skill Crit Chance	Max	Rare Drinks	Tier 3	Rare	1	Rare
			Critical Damage	Max	Invigorating Spices	Max	Skill Crit Damage	Max
			Boots	Max	Mana Extractor	Max
COLONEL	5000	21	Armor	Max	Potion Charges	Max	Resistance	Max	Common Drinks	Tier 1	Common	3	Common		+105%
			Weapon	Max	Healing Draught	Max	Skill Damage	Max	Uncommon Drinks	Tier 2	Uncommon	2	Uncommon
			Critical Chance	Max	Mana Draught	Max	Skill Crit Chance	Max	Rare Drinks	Tier 3	Rare	1	Rare
			Critical Damage	Max	Invigorating Spices	Max	Skill Crit Damage	Max
			Boots	Max	Mana Extractor	Max
GENERAL	10000	24	Armor	Max	Potion Charges	Max	Resistance	Max	Common Drinks	Tier 1	Common	3	Common		+120%
			Weapon	Max	Healing Draught	Max	Skill Damage	Max	Uncommon Drinks	Tier 2	Uncommon	2	Uncommon
			Critical Chance	Max	Mana Draught	Max	Skill Crit Chance	Max	Rare Drinks	Tier 3	Rare	1	Rare
			Critical Damage	Max	Invigorating Spices	Max	Skill Crit Damage	Max		Tier 4
			Boots	Max	Mana Extractor	Max

Abilities

Abilities are selected at the Mercenary Skills vendor located in the Path Of Sorrow area outside the Moon Temple. Abilities can be freely changed at any time in town.

The range of abilities available is limited to which classes are available to create as Mercenaries, if a class isn't available to create as a Mercenary, it's skills will be locked. Some skills are not available to Mercenaries.

name	class	cost
Crippling Net	gladiator	14	Throw a net that disarms and slows enemies by 80% for 3 seconds. Charging the net increases the range thrown. Enemies take 50% more damage when netted.
Pit Fighters	gladiator	25	Call upon three pit fighters to fight at your side for 15 seconds. The pit fighters have 600 Health 30 Armor and 30 Resistance. They attack with shortswords dealing 50 Physical damage.
Planned Attack	gladiator	14	Generates stacks of guaranteed critical hits for your Primary Attack. Stacks recharge over 1 second. Maximum 7 stacks.
Spinning Gladius	gladiator	18	Throws three gladius in a forward direction that starts spinning in place for 3 seconds on impact. Deals 128 Magical damage per second.
Company Ballista	Mercenary	18	Places a ballista at the ground that lasts for 12 seconds. Standing close to the ballista makes it fire at nearby enemies. It fires three bolts in a cone each bolt dealing 20 Physical damage that ignores 20% Armor.
Company Banner	Mercenary	18	Places a banner at the ground that lasts for 15 seconds. All allies close to the banner receives a buff that increases Attack and Skill speed by 25% as well as a Mana Regen by 50%. The banner has 200 Health.
Explosive Bomb	Mercenary	12	Drops a bomb at the ground that explodes after 1 second dealing 150 Hybrid damage.
First Aid	Mercenary	15	Restores 30 health. Removes all debuffs.
Charge	paladin	18	Dash forward. Enemies you collide with take 75 Physical damage and are stunned for 0.5 seconds.
Flames of Devotion	paladin	25	Each hit with Primary Attack adds 1 Magical damage to all skills. Stacks up to 12 times each stack lasts for 1 second.
Lay on Hands	paladin	18	Applies a buff to all allies in the area that lasts for 4.5 seconds. The buff restores 9 health + 2% of max health. The buff also applies a shield that has 25% chance to block 20 Magical damage.
Shield	paladin	17	Blocks most incoming projectiles within a 90-degree arc. The shield also has a 25% chance to block 5 Physical damage.
Stunning Blows	paladin	12	Primary Attack has a 20% chance to stun enemies for 2.5 seconds.
Whirlwind	paladin	22	A spinning attack that deals 50 Physical damage to all nearby enemies. Whirlwind lasts for 5 seconds.
Aura of Purification	priest	20	Activates an aura that slows and lowers the resistance of all nearby enemies by 40%. All allies in the area also take 30% less damage. The aura lasts for 8 seconds.
Celestial Orbs	priest	25	Three orbs rotate around the Player that fire small beams of holy light dealing 8 Magical damage. The orbs will automatically fire at the same target as Holy Light.
Consecrated Ground	priest	17	A field is placed on the ground that lasts for 5 seconds. Enemies in the area take 40 Magical damage per second. 25% of the damage dealt is returned to allies in the area as health.
Divine Protection	priest	17	The shield absorbs 30% of incoming damage for a cost of 1 mana per damage absorbed.
Holy Light	priest	12	Fires a beam of light that deals up to 52 Magical damage and will heal allies for 12 health + 2% of max health.
Remedy	priest	18	You regain health 200% more effectively from all sources.
Flurry of Arrows	ranger	15	You spin around and fire 48 arrows that deal 20 Physical damage.
Grasping Roots	ranger	12	Immobilize all enemies around the Player for 4 seconds. Enemies caught by the roots have their Armor reduced by 25%.
Marked Prey	ranger	14	Primary Attack has a 12.5% chance to crit and apply Mark to enemy for 2.5 seconds. Marked targets have a 5% chance to receive critical damage from all sources of damage.
On the Prowl	ranger	12	When casting a skill you receive a buff that lasts for 4.5 seconds. The buff increases movement speed by 25% and grants 15% evasion against all incoming damage.
Powershot	ranger	25	Charges up three arrows that deal up to 175 Magical damage. The arrows ignore 25% Resistance and are fully charged after 1 second. Charging increases damage range and projectile speed.
Twinned Arrows	ranger	25	Each hit with Primary Attack has a 35% chance to unleash an arrow at a new random target dealing 20 Physical damage.
Biting Chill	sorcerer	14	All skills slows enemies by 30% for 4 seconds. They also have a 7.5% chance to freeze enemies in place for 2 seconds.
Comet	sorcerer	12	Drops a comet that deals 240 Hybrid damage split among all enemies in the area of impact. Enemies hit are frozen in place for 2.25 seconds.
Frost Nova	sorcerer	17	Unleash 19 frost balls in all directions around you dealing 24 Hybrid damage.
Ice Barrier	sorcerer	16	When casting a skill a protective barrier is conjured that lasts for 2.5 seconds. Each barrier reduces the damage taken by one damage instance by 33%. Stacks up to 8 times.
Orb of Winter	sorcerer	25	Spawns a slow moving ice orb that moves forward for 6.5 seconds unleashing small ice shards in all directions that deals 20 Hybrid damage.
Shatter	sorcerer	20	Enemies killed have a 20% chance to explode dealing 80 Hybrid damage to nearby enemies.
Grappling Hook	thief	18	Fires a grappling hook and travels to the point of impact stunning enemies for 0.5 seconds. You have 100% evasion while traveling with the grappling hook.
Sidestep	thief	16	Grants 15% evasion against all incoming damage. Also guarantees evasion against one damage instance that is recharged over 5 seconds.
Slice and Dice	thief	18	Each hit with Primary Attack grants a 2% attack speed bonus that stacks up to 32 times. All stacks are lost after 2.5 seconds of not attacking.
Smoke Bomb	thief	25	Throws a smoke bomb that stuns all enemies in a large area for 3.5 seconds. The bomb also provides a smoke cloud that grants all allies 15% evasion in the area.
Throwing Knives	thief	14	Throw 10 knives in a 70-degree arc. Each knife deals 32 Physical damage and can pierce up to 10 enemies.
Vicious Cuts	thief	25	Each hit with Primary Attack have a 10% chance of lowering the targets current health by 5%.
Eye of the Storm	warlock	25	Generates an electrical storm that fires bolts of lightning at nearby enemies dealing 40 Magical damage. The storm lasts for 11 seconds. Can be linked with nearby gargoyles.
Lightning Bolt	warlock	12	Fires a bolt of lightning that strikes 10 targets upon impact dealing 35 Magical damage to each target.
Soul Cleaver	warlock	16	Enemies killed have a 25% chance to explode dealing 20 Magical damage to nearby enemies. You gain 10% health and 20% mana based on the damage dealt by Soul Cleaver.
Stormlash	warlock	22	All skills have a 30% chance to unleash a lightning bolt dealing 20 Magical damage.
Summon Gargoyle	warlock	18	Summon a gargoyle that fires bolts of lightning dealing 32 Magical damage. The gargoyle lasts for 5 seconds. Can be linked with nearby gargoyles to create a static link that deals 50% damage and stuns enemies. Max amount 5.
A Murder of Crows	witch_hunter	12	Unleashes 11 Crows when taking damage that defend the Player. 7 second cooldown.
Branding Ward	witch_hunter	16	Places a ward at the ground that triggers when enemies get close. Enemies hit by the ward take 100 Magical damage and are branded for 6 seconds. Branded enemies take 100% more damage. Max 10 wards placed at a time.
Fanatic Zeal	witch_hunter	17	Generates stacks of Fanatic Zeal when casting a skill. Grants a critical hit chance for all attacks and skills that increases by 2% for each stack. Maximum 10 stacks each stack lasts 5 seconds.
Flaming Hounds	witch_hunter	12	Unleash a Flaming Hound that bounces in a forward direction. Explodes when bouncing dealing 35 Magical damage which is increased by 50% with each bounce.
Searing Torch	witch_hunter	25	Throws a torch towards a random nearby enemy when casting a skill. The torch explodes on impact dealing 100 Magical damage and applying burning. 0.5 seconds cooldown.
Witch Pyre	witch_hunter	25	Places a pyre on the ground that lasts for 7.5 seconds. The pyre has 500 Health 25 Armor and Resistance. Enemies that hit the pyre ignite an explosion dealing 100 Magical damage. Enemies close to the pyre also start burning.
Blast Wave	wizard	16	Unleash a blast wave around you that deals 30 Magical damage. Enemies hit by the wave are confused and slowed by 60% for 4 seconds. The blast wave also destroys most projectiles.
Combustion	wizard	15	All skills inflict a burning over time dealing 20 Magical damage per second for 4 seconds.
Fire Breath	wizard	12	You breathe fire in a forward cone dealing 13 Magical damage per instance.
Flame Shield	wizard	14	Protects the Player by lowering the damage of one damage instance by 50%. When Flame Shield activates a Blast Wave is triggered. Recharges after 3 seconds.
Meteor Shower	wizard	25	Evokes 7 meteors to strike the ground around you dealing 320 Hybrid damage.

Classes

Mercenaries use the same base stats as the classes, here is a table for easy comparison

Attribute values by level
Attribute	Health	Mana	Health Regen	Mana Regen	Armor	Resistance
Paladin	75	50	0	0.4	10	0
Scaling per Level	+8	+6	+0.025	+0.05	+0.6	+0.2
Priest	30	70	0	1.9	0	3
Scaling per Level	+5	+11	+0.05	+0.1	+0.2	+0.5
Ranger	50	50	0	0.5	0	0
Scaling per Level	+6	+6	+0.025	+0.075	+0.5	+0.2
Sorcerer	40	75	0	1.5	0	2.0
Scaling per Level	+5	+16	+0.025	+0.1	+0.2	+0.5
Thief	40	40	0	0.5	0	0
Scaling per Level	+5	+8	+0.025	+0.1	+0.3	+0.3
Warlock	60	75	0	1.5	2	2
Scaling per Level	+6	+13	+0.025	+0.075	+0.3	+0.3
Wizard	35	75	0	1.5	0	2
Scaling per Level	+4	+15	+0.025	+0.1	+0.2	+0.5
Gladiator	65	50	0	0.5	2	0
Scaling per Level	+7	+7	+0.025	+0.05	+0.3	+0.3
Witch Hunter	45	60	0	0.75	1	3
Scaling per Level	+6	+7	+0.025	+0.075	+0.3	+0.5

Mercenary Graveyard

When a Mercenary dies, their progress will be detailed in the Company Ledger (viewable by pressing G, replaces the Guild Hall). Additionally, the top ten most prestigious mercenaries will also receive their own tombstones outside of camp.