The new Secrets of the Atlas expansion for Path of Exile has launched with a fresh seasonal league: Mercenaries of Trathus. Wraeclast has recently seen an increase in rogue Mercenaries, many of whom are armed with notorious gear. Defeating these Mercenaries in battle allows you to take their equipment for yourself.

More significantly, Mercenaries have introduced a companion system to Path of Exile, similar to the Mercenaries from Diablo 2. You can take these powerful NPCs with you through the campaign and endgame Atlas content to help counter your build’s weaknesses, provide additional aura buffs, or simply boost your loot gains. Below is a complete guide to the new Mercenary system in Path of Exile's Mercenaries of Trathus league.

What Are Mercenaries?

Mercenaries are optional boss encounters that appear throughout the Mercenaries of Trathus league. Almost every zone will feature a Mercenary NPC that you can challenge in a duel. If victorious, you can either take any item from the Mercenary or hire them as a permanent companion. Think of them as Rogue Exiles that can join you in battle.

These Mercenaries accompany you in all content, including endgame maps and high-tier boss fights. They function as an extension of your character, allowing you to compensate for gaps in your current build or simply serve as a source of extra loot—Mercenaries count as half a player for co-op scaling. Nearly every player will want to have a Mercenary by their side. Fight enough of them, and you may even gain status within their clans, unlocking new endgame content and rewards.

Encountering A Mercenary

From Act 1 onward, Mercenaries will appear as fixed encounters in nearly every zone. Look for a crossed swords icon on your minimap. Talking to the Mercenary pauses the game and displays all items they currently possess—equipped weapons, armor, skills, and currency. While viewing their setup, you’ll be presented with four choices:

1. Take an item: Select any item from their inventory. If you win the ensuing duel, they’ll drop it for you.
2. Hire for work: Challenge the Mercenary to a duel. If you win, they’ll become a permanent companion.
3. Exile: Challenge the Mercenary to a duel. If you win, that type of Mercenary won’t spawn for the next ten encounters.
4. Leave: Walk away without engaging. If the zone resets, you'll incur a renown penalty.

Unless you choose to walk away, you must duel the Mercenary to obtain a reward. You can pick any item from the Mercenary before combat begins. If you select their currency pouch, all of their currency drops instead. This can be helpful when farming specific gear upgrades during the campaign and early mapping phases.

Hiring a Mercenary makes them a permanent companion, acting like a Specter or summoned player character. Mercenaries fight alongside you until their HP hits zero, at which point they retreat to town. Injured Mercenaries can be healed for a small Gold cost. You may have up to three Mercenaries in your service at once, but only one can accompany you at any time. The other two remain available in your hideout, ready to be swapped in whenever needed.

If you keep encountering a Mercenary type that doesn't suit your build or playstyle, you can exile them instead. This will prevent that Mercenary archetype from appearing for the next ten zones. Archetypes refer to a Mercenary’s primary attribute(s), so you’re effectively filtering out certain builds. Only two archetypes can be blocked simultaneously.

Lastly, if you realize your character isn't strong enough to defeat a Mercenary, you can walk away from the encounter entirely. However, leaving and letting the instance expire will reduce your renown score, a new league mechanic affecting Mercenary strength.

Mercenary Renown

Defeating Mercenaries in combat offers more than just loot. Each victory increases your renown score. You can check your score by hovering over a Mercenary's archetype icon in the top left of their UI. The higher your renown, the stronger the Mercenaries you'll face. More powerful Mercenaries come equipped with better items, more modifiers, additional support gems linked to their skills, and a greater chance of being an Infamous Mercenary.

Infamous Mercenaries As your renown grows and you reach PoE's endgame mapping phase, you’ll start encountering Infamous Mercenaries. These are tougher versions of regular Mercenaries, fully geared for battle. Infamous Mercenaries always carry at least one Unique item, and their Rare items often have infamous modifiers. Currently, the only way to obtain these infamous affixes is by fighting Infamous Mercenaries.

When inspecting a Mercenary's name, its archetype will be shown in its build panel. If it has the "Infamous" prefix, it’s an Infamous Mercenary. Pay attention to their skill and support gems as well. Some Infamous Mercenaries use gilded gems that offer unique effects not found elsewhere.

Hired Mercenaries

Every Mercenary encountered in Wraeclast belongs to one of seven archetypes. A Mercenary's main attribute(s) determine its archetype. For example, the Strength archetype typically uses slam-based melee skills and warcries to dominate close-range combat. Overall, Mercenary archetypes reflect popular builds among the base classes.

After hiring a Mercenary, you can find them in your hideout or any hub town. Speaking to them lets you view their current gear and skills. If you’ve hired multiple Mercenaries, you can choose which one accompanies you. Your selected Mercenary stays with you until they reach critical HP or you switch to another.

Mercenary Death

If a Mercenary falls in battle, they return to town. Healing them costs a small amount of Gold. Mercenaries do not lose any items upon death.

While examining your Mercenaries, you can also modify their gear. You can replace any of their items with ones from your own inventory. Once given to a Mercenary, your item replaces their original one, which is lost. Note that you cannot reclaim items originally belonging to the Mercenary. Taking their gear is considered impolite.

It’s important to note that a Mercenary's skills, support gems, and level are fixed. If you're seeking better abilities or a higher level, you'll need to explore Wraeclast to find a superior Mercenary.

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