S-Tier: The Unparalleled Champions
These mercenaries are game-changers, offering incredible power and utility that can elevate almost any build to new heights. If you encounter one of these, hiring them is a top priority.
| Mercenary Archetype | Primary Attribute(s) | Key Skills & Synergies |
|---|---|---|
| Kineticist | Dexterity / Intelligence | The Kineticist is the undisputed king of mercenary support. Their ability to generate and share Power Charges with Power Siphon, coupled with powerful offensive auras like Haste and Wrath, provides a massive boost to both your clear speed and single-target damage. They are particularly effective for attack-based builds that can capitalize on the extra projectiles from Kinetic Blast. |
Why they are S-Tier: The sheer offensive power a well-geared Kineticist provides is unmatched. The combination of charge generation and powerful auras can free up mana reservation for players and provide a damage multiplier that is hard to find elsewhere. Their ranged nature also means they are less likely to die in dangerous situations.
A-Tier: The Elite Guard
A-Tier mercenaries are incredibly strong and can be the backbone of many successful builds. They might lack the universal applicability of the S-Tier but excel in their specific roles.
| Mercenary Archetype | Primary Attribute(s) | Key Skills & Synergies |
|---|---|---|
| Eruptor | Strength | The Eruptor is a melee powerhouse that offers both significant area-of-effect damage and a crucial defensive aura. Their Volcanic Fissure of Snaking seeks out enemies, making them excellent at clearing packs, while the Determination aura provides a substantial armor boost to you and your other minions. |
| Flaming Charlatan | Intelligence | This spellcasting mercenary excels at providing both offensive and defensive fire-based support. Flame Wall adds a significant amount of flat fire damage to your projectiles that pass through it, and the Flammability curse lowers enemy fire resistance. The Fire Golem provides a further damage boost. |
| Fallen Reverend | Strength / Intelligence | The Fallen Reverend is a premier defensive and utility support. Their ability to run multiple defensive auras like Vitality, Clarity, and Purity of Elements can make your character significantly more resilient. This frees up your own aura slots for more offensive options. |
Why they are A-Tier: These mercenaries provide a fantastic blend of offense and defense. The Eruptor's ability to clear and provide a key defensive aura is invaluable. The Flaming Charlatan is a must-have for many fire-based builds, offering a damage amplification that is hard to ignore. The Fallen Reverend is the ultimate defensive guardian, making them a top choice for hardcore players or builds that are struggling with survivability.
B-Tier: The Solid Contributors
B-Tier mercenaries are reliable and effective, offering good value and fitting well into specific build archetypes. They might not be as universally powerful as the higher tiers, but they are far from being a bad choice.
| Mercenary Archetype | Primary Attribute(s) | Key Skills & Synergies |
|---|---|---|
| Cruel Mistress | Intelligence / Dexterity | For chaos-based builds, the Cruel Mistress is a fantastic addition. The Despair curse lowers chaos resistance and increases damage over time taken, directly boosting the effectiveness of popular skills like Essence Drain and Contagion. The Chaos Golem provides additional physical damage reduction. |
| Bladecaster | Dexterity | A more niche but potentially powerful choice, the Bladecaster can create a temporary army of animated weapons using Animate Weapon and Bladefall. This can be particularly effective in dense maps, adding a significant amount of single-target damage to your setup. |
| Manyshot | Dexterity | A solid choice for cold-based attack builds. The Manyshot mercenary can provide a consistent source of chill and freeze with Ice Shot and Barrage, offering both crowd control and defensive utility. The Hatred aura is a significant boost to your cold damage. |
Why they are B-Tier: These mercenaries are more specialized than their A and S-tier counterparts. While a Cruel Mistress is a must for chaos builds, her utility diminishes for other archetypes. The Bladecaster's power is inconsistent, and the Manyshot, while good, often faces stiff competition from the more offensively potent Kineticist.
C-Tier: The Situational Specialists
C-Tier mercenaries can be useful in specific situations or for niche builds, but they generally lack the raw power or broad utility of the higher tiers.
| Mercenary Archetype | Primary Attribute(s) | Key Skills & Synergies |
|---|---|---|
| Guardian | Strength | The Guardian is a tanky melee mercenary that can provide some defensive utility through Enduring Cry and the Vitality aura. However, their damage output is generally low, and the buffs they provide can often be obtained through other, more efficient means. |
| Stormcaller | Intelligence | While the Stormcaller can provide the powerful Wrath aura, their own damage output with skills like Arc and Ball Lightning is often lackluster compared to other options. Their skills don't always translate to effective clearing in high-tier content. |
Why they are C-Tier: The mercenaries in this tier are not inherently bad, but they are often outclassed. The defensive buffs from a Guardian can be valuable for certain builds, but their low damage makes them a passive supporter. The Stormcaller's potential is held back by the lower base damage of their skills when used by a mercenary.
D-Tier: The Benchwarmers
D-Tier mercenaries are generally not recommended. Their skillsets are either too weak, too clunky, or simply outshined by almost every other available option.
| Mercenary Archetype | Primary Attribute(s) | Key Skills & Synergies |
|---|---|---|
| Generic Melee | Strength / Dexterity | Mercenaries that spawn with a very basic set of melee skills like Cleave, Heavy Strike, and other basic attacks without any powerful supporting auras or utility are generally not worth hiring. Their damage output is negligible in endgame content, and they offer little to no support for your character. |
Why they are D-Tier: In the fast-paced and dangerous world of endgame Path of Exile, a mercenary needs to contribute significantly to be worthwhile. These generic melee fighters simply don't bring enough to the table to justify their slot. Their low damage and lack of meaningful buffs make them a liability more than an asset.
Final Thoughts on Choosing Your Mercenary
Ultimately, the "best" mercenary for you will depend on your specific build and playstyle. Don't be afraid to experiment with different archetypes and gear setups to find the perfect companion. The introduction of mercenaries in Path of Exile 3.26 has added a new and exciting layer of customization and strategy to the game. Choose wisely, and your new ally can help you conquer the toughest challenges Wraeclast has to offer.