Summary
Much like many other action RPGs before it, including theDiabloseries itself,Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion came with a new addition in the form of companions that players can take on their journey across Sanctuary. These NPCs are called Mercenaries, much like the ones fromDiablo 2andDiablo 2: Resurrected, and they follow in the footsteps of their previous iterations in several ways but also distance themselves from any others. For example,Diablo 4’s Mercenaries have unique personalities, stories, and quests associated with them and the process of unlocking them. Mercenaries have two different ways they can be used, meaning as companions for solo players or Reinforcements, but in both cases, they lack a crucialDiablo 2andDiablo 3feature.
Diablo 4’s version of Mercenaries is very good in terms of their own quests, introduction, voice acting, character models, and even where they can all be found once unlocked - The Den in Nahantu. On top of that, they also have their own skill trees to improve their abilities as players spend time with them, making them feel an integral part of the journey, because one can pick and choose who should accompany them, when, and for how long. Despite all the improvements, Mercenaries fall short in one key area: gear.
Diablo 4’s Mercenaries Are a Huge Upgrade in All But One Department
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred Mercenaries Explained
Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred Mercenariesare easily the most polished version in the series so far, which is great to see, especially sinceD2andD3both had these companions and provided different experiences with them. However, inDiablo 4, players can’t do something that past games allowed them to do: give Mercenaries gear. This limits the interactions with Mercenaries and players don’t get to see their inventory and improve them over time outside of the skill tree.
As much as the skill tree is a nice addition and a good way to make these characters progress, it provides a general direction for the characters to go in when it comes to their usefulness in battle, but giving them gear catered to specific skills and playstyles. This could have easily made them the best version of this system yet, but unfortunately, it’s not part of the game. The Mercenary and Reinforcement categories help make gameplay more varied, as playing alone means one can have a Mercenary out at all times, withDiablo 4’s Reinforcementcoming out to help every so often even in group play, using a skill of players' choice. This lets fans toy with the various options to have the best tools for their builds or specific pieces of content. However, the lack of gear slots for Mercenaries still stings.
Diablo 4’s Mercenaries Don’t Hold a Candle to Diablo 2 and Diablo 3’s in One Key Area
For example,Diablo 2’s Mercenariesare act-based in terms of when and where they can be hired, and hiring them costs Gold. They are not unique when it comes to personalities and models outside their category, which can be objective-locked. Still, players can give Mercenaries gear to make them stronger. Likewise,Diablo 3’s Followers have gear slots like the playing character and even give players bonuses based on the items they have equipped thanks to the Emanate system.
In Diablo 3, some Followers can grant players acheat death effect, which is particularly great for Hardcore, but it’s quite overpowered even in Standard. This is absent from Diablo 4.
Giving Mercenaries access togear inDiablo 4would have been a win-win scenario, both because it would have granted these followers increased utility and power over time and because each item drop in the game would have potentially been useful even if the player character didn’t need it. Yet, the fact that Mercenaries cannot be given gear in Vessel of Hatred doesn’t mean this will never be the case inDiablo 4, and as the base game shows, with over one year’s worth of improvements and quality-of-life features being added, Mercenaries could still be given loot at some point in the future.
Diablo 4
WHERE TO PLAY
Diablo® IV is the ultimate action RPG experience with endless evil to slaughter, countless abilities to master, nightmarish dungeons, and legendary loot. Embark on the campaign solo or with friends, meeting memorable characters through beautifully dark settings and a gripping story, or explore an expansive end game and shared world where players can meet in towns to trade, team up to battle world bosses, or descend into PVP zones to test their skills against other players – no lobbies necessary – with cross-play, cross-progression, and couch co-op on Xbox.This is only the beginning for Diablo® IV, with new events, stories, seasons, rewards, and more looming on the horizon.
