Path of Exile Mercenaries of Trarthus Guide
What Are Mercenaries of Trarthus?
The Mercenaries of Trarthus are a group of NPCs (Non-Player Characters) that players can recruit to fight alongside them. These mercenaries originate from Trarthus, a mysterious and dangerous land that has been featured in lore as a region plagued by conflict and war. The mercenaries have been trained for combat in this unforgiving environment, making them excellent allies for players venturing through the more difficult content in Path of Exile.
Mercenaries are similar to the game's other companions (like the player's own minions) but differ in that they are fully customizable in terms of their gear and skills. They can be used for a variety of roles, such as dealing damage, providing utility, or tanking damage. Unlike typical minions, they have a larger pool of abilities and more dynamic interactions with the player's chosen build.
How to Recruit Mercenaries of Trarthus
Recruiting mercenaries in Path of Exile is a straightforward process, but you need to meet certain requirements before you can enlist them. Here's how to recruit your very own mercenary from Trarthus:
Progress Through the Campaign
You need to progress through the game's main storyline and reach a specific point where you are introduced to the Mercenaries of Trarthus. This typically happens once you reach the endgame areas, such as Act 10 or Map Tier 1, depending on the league or expansion you're playing.
Unlock the Mercenary Vendor
After progressing to a specific stage in the campaign, you will unlock a vendor NPC who is responsible for recruiting and outfitting the mercenaries. This NPC can be found in one of the key towns of the game, such as Oriath or The Nexus.
Choose Your Mercenary
When you interact with the mercenary vendor, you will have the option to select your mercenary from a pool of available units. You need Path of exile currency to get them. Each mercenary comes with a unique background, abilities, and combat style. Some mercenaries may specialize in offense, while others may be defensive or support-oriented.
Outfitting Your Mercenary
Similar to your own character, you can equip your mercenary with weapons, armor, and accessories. The equipment they wear will have a direct impact on their effectiveness in battle, so make sure to outfit them with gear that complements your build.
Mercenary Roles and Classes
Mercenaries of Trarthus are designed to fit into different roles based on the needs of the player. The five primary roles for mercenaries are:
Offensive Mercenaries (Damage Dealers)
Offensive mercenaries are built to deal high damage and help take down enemies quickly. These mercenaries often specialize in one of the game's core damage types-physical, fire, cold, lightning, or chaos-and can be outfitted with skills and equipment that enhance their output.
Abilities: These mercenaries tend to use ranged or melee abilities that deal direct damage to enemies. They may have elemental attacks, poison capabilities, or other unique features, like summoning elemental creatures or laying traps.
Best for: Players who need a consistent damage source alongside their own attacks.
Defensive Mercenaries (Tanks)
Defensive mercenaries serve as the shield between the player and incoming damage. These mercenaries are built to withstand huge amounts of damage and often have high health, armor, and resistances. They are especially useful for protecting fragile characters or when dealing with enemies that deal significant damage.
Abilities: Defensive mercenaries often have crowd control abilities, such as taunts, stuns, and debuffs, which force enemies to focus on them. They may also possess skills that grant defensive buffs or healing to themselves and the player.
Best for: Players who want to keep enemies focused on the mercenary while they deal damage or set up attacks.
Support Mercenaries
Support mercenaries don't necessarily deal significant damage but are invaluable for their utility. They can heal, buff, or debuff enemies to improve the player's chances of success.
Abilities: Support mercenaries have a wide range of abilities, from healing auras to curses that weaken enemies. They can also use summoning abilities, creating totems or elemental creatures to fight alongside the player.
Best for: Builds that rely on support or defensive strategies and for players who want a mercenary that can help in crowd control or healing.
Crowd Control Mercenaries
Crowd control mercenaries specialize in controlling large groups of enemies, slowing, freezing, or incapacitating them. Their focus is on locking down enemies and allowing the player to deal with them at their own pace.
Abilities: These mercenaries use area-of-effect (AoE) abilities, such as frost spells, stuns, and fear effects. They are often outfitted with weapons or items that enhance their ability to control large crowds of enemies.
Best for: Builds that focus on clearing multiple enemies at once and controlling the battlefield.
Hybrid Mercenaries
Hybrid mercenaries balance offense, defense, and support abilities. These mercenaries are versatile, allowing players to mix and match them with various builds depending on the situation.
Abilities: They often have a combination of offensive and defensive abilities, such as a healing aura while also dealing high elemental damage or summoning creatures to fight alongside the player.
Best for: Players who want a flexible mercenary that can adapt to different situations, whether that's tanking, healing, or dealing damage.
Best Synergies for Mercenaries
When selecting a mercenary, you should always think about how they can synergize with your build. Here are a few examples of synergies that work well with different types of mercenaries:
Offensive Build + Defensive Mercenary
If you're running an offensive build with a focus on high damage output, having a defensive mercenary can help keep enemies distracted while you unload your attacks. The defensive mercenary will draw the attention of enemies with taunts or crowd control, allowing you to deal damage from a safe distance.
Summoner Build + Support Mercenary
Summoner builds often focus on raising undead or summoning creatures. A support mercenary can amplify your minions' effectiveness by providing buffs, healing them, or even summoning additional creatures. This synergy can lead to overwhelming enemy forces with massive numbers of minions.
Elemental Damage Build + Crowd Control Mercenary
If your build focuses on elemental damage, a crowd control mercenary can help by freezing or stunning enemies while you deal significant damage. This gives you more time to apply debuffs or use your elemental attacks on weakened or stunned targets.
Tank Build + Offensive Mercenary
A tank-focused build will thrive with an offensive mercenary by their side. As the tank takes the brunt of the damage, the offensive mercenary can continuously deal high damage to the enemy, providing a balanced and effective team.
Best Gear for Mercenaries
Just like your character, mercenaries benefit from quality gear. While the equipment you give them won't impact their skills or AI directly, it will certainly affect their effectiveness in combat. Here are some tips for outfitting your mercenary:
Weapons
The right weapon will increase your mercenary's damage output significantly. Focus on high-damage weapons for offensive mercenaries, or prioritize shields and defensive items for tank mercenaries. Hybrid mercenaries may benefit from versatile weapons like staves or two-handed swords.
Armor
Defensive mercenaries should always be equipped with the best armor available. Consider providing them with armor that has high resistances, health, and armor ratings to ensure they can withstand the damage. Offensive and support mercenaries may benefit from lighter armor, focusing on improving their mobility.
Accessories
Consider adding accessories like rings, amulets, and belts that provide buffs or useful resistances. Accessories that boost stats like strength, intelligence, or dexterity can also make a big difference in your mercenary's overall performance.
Flasks and Potions
Don't forget that mercenaries can also benefit from flasks and potions. Provide them with healing or utility flasks that can give them a boost during difficult encounters. You can buy POE currency to get them.
Conclusion
The Mercenaries of Trarthus add a new layer of complexity to Path of Exile, providing players with powerful allies to assist in their adventures. With their diverse roles, abilities, and customization options, mercenaries offer players more strategic depth, whether you're focusing on offense, defense, or support.
Mastering the mercenary system is key to succeeding in Path of Exile's more difficult content, so experiment with different mercenaries, synergize them with your build, and watch your battlefield strategies evolve!