It's not just the Summon Necromancer or the Beastmaster Druid that gets to play with a companion in Diablo 2: Resurrected. After completing the game, players will be given four mercenary selections to fight alongside them. They'll always be active and around, helpful even if all they do is follow the character around and fire off a couple of shots.
But if players have to cough up cash for a mercenary, they might as well make the most of them. Leaving extra damage, tanking, and support on the table in Diablo 2: Resurrected is a mistake that will often be revealed in boss fights and during harder difficulties. Don't make these mistakes, here's how to make the mercenary a true companion.
Updated on November 10th, 2021 by Hodey Johns: Players are still trying to beat the game on the hardest difficulty settings and many of them are just now finding out that mercenaries are critical toward success in this endeavor. Gamers who have had a perfectly geared character for years in the original Diablo 2 might take the position for granted, but as a first-timer taking on Diablo 2: Resurrected and going from the beginning, mercenaries are the difference between victory and defeat. This guide has been updated with sections about controlling mercenary movement as well as providing some ideas for equipment that many players see as the best available.
Keep Them Equipped
Mercenaries have weapons, body armor, and helmet slots. Take a gander at the extensive list of Runewords and give them the best gear available. Their damage can potentially be higher than the main character's if players equip them with elite gear.
There are some important principles to remember when it comes to mercenary equipment. First, they will not drop their equipment when they die. Second, use Ethereal equipment, which is 50% better and mercenary items do not reduce in durability. And third, hiring a new companion or dismissing a mercenary will delete any equipment they use forever, so be sure to unequip them before performing that action.
Best Weapons
- Infinity
- Insight
- The Reaper's Toll
Generally speaking, the choice for best weapon comes down to three choices: The Infinity, the Insight, and The Reaper's Toll. Infinity grants the Conviction Aura, lowering the elemental resistance of enemies. Insight grants a Meditation Aura to the player for increased mana regeneration. And The Reaper's Toll applies the Decrepify debuff to enemies that it hits, slowing enemies and reducing their damage and physical resistance.
Best Armor
- Fortitude
While it isn't exciting, Fortitude is considered the best mercenary armor for any build by most players, regardless of the build. It freezes enemies and the enhanced damage works perfectly for the hireling as a frontline combatant. There's enough tankiness on it that other options that try to blend offense and defense are strongly inferior.
Best Helm
- Andariel's Visage
- Anything with lifesteal
While it's good to master any pro techniques offered, it all starts with having a firm base. Lifesteal is the primary way the mercenary stays alive and the source of this comes from the helm. Statistically, the best of the helms is the Vandariel's Visage as far as mercenaries are concerned, but the most important thing is the lifesteal.
Passives Over Actives
Mercenaries are effective, but humanity hasn't reached a point where AI is greater than human intelligence quite yet. As a result, mercenaries can't effectively use active skills even if a piece of gear gives it to them. That doesn't mean that all skills are wasted, however.
Load them up with passive abilities that grant bonuses and auras to themselves and the player. Longer missions, like finding out how the Cairn Stones work, are made much quicker with a mercenary that boosts the team's abilities.
Play Through All Three Difficulties
Activating legacy mode is purely a matter of preference, but choosing difficulties to play on has more consequences than just making the game easier or harder. By playing through the game on all three difficulties, gamers get access to different variations of the same mercenary.
After enough runs through the game, players will notice distinct differences in the companions they hire besides just level. The Rogue has either fire or cold arrows, the Desert Mercenary has one of six auras (Prayer, Defiance, Blessed Aim, Thorns, Holy Freeze, and Might), and the Iron Wolf is either a fire, cold, or lightning battlemage. The Barbarian Warrior in Act 5 does not have different variations.
Best Mercenary?
While there is some room for opinion, it's generally accepted that most builds will make the best use of the Desert Mercenary thanks to their auras. The other three mercenaries seem to focus more on damage, but because of their item limitations, their damage should probably be secondary to the character's damage.
There are exceptions, of course, for players that play tanks, the additional damage from the Rogue or the Iron Wolf just barely edges out the Desert Mercenary. But, generally speaking, all S-tier guides utilize the Desert Mercenary and it's generally accepted as the best of the bunch.
Teleporting With Them
Whether selecting a Sorceress or using the Enigma Runeword, teleporting is probably part of the character's build. It's probably easier to name the builds that don't utilize some type of teleport function. Regardless, players should know what happens when they teleport with a mercenary follower.
The Mercenary will immediately disappear from where they are and appear at the center of the location the player teleported to. This can be useful in both saving their lives by teleporting away or changing their target by blinking toward one of the game's toughest bosses.
Heal Them With Potions
Mercenaries, like all summoned characters, can die. Aside from the Rogue, they'll generally be up close and personal with bosses and elites, meaning there is a good chance they'll be dying before the main character.
Their usefulness as a tank is already underrated, but remember that they support the player with auras and items, too. When they die, players will notice a dip in their overall output. By dragging a healing potion over the portrait in the top-left, players can keep their companion healed up.
Diablo 2: Resurrected was released on September 23rd, 2021, and is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.