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This may be a minority viewpoint, but I hate playing with: companions, mercenaries, followers, minions, totems, rhoa mounts, etc. The news post recently that talked about eventually bringing Mercenaries core bothered me a lot and I'm scared they will come to POE2.
Why? Primarily because I prefer my fantasy / gameplay to be about my character's direct control and power instead of others.
But I also think companions or mercenaries introduce a problem: they become a requirement instead of being an archetype.
Example: Rhoa Mount and Tame Beast are universally recommended as additional power for any class / character. Every class or build now tries to find a way to integrate Tame Beast for additional power. To me, that's stupid and bad design.
What about minions and totems? These work as they are separate archetypes that generally require a divestment of your own character's power towards them. I may not like these archetypes (and thus don't play them), but there isn't a universal agreement that builds recommend throwing in a random minion for an extra aura.
Mercenaries and companions introduce additional power that will ultimately become "required". They aren't an archetype.
Why is perceived requirement bad? Because like it or not it shapes the way the game is played. It impacts the economy, build diversity, and community discussions. It changes the way people experience the game in a way that I find unfun and negatively impacts my experience.
So ya, don't bring Mercenaries to POE2. And while you are at it, please delete Rhoa Mount and Tame Beast. Thanks. :)
/rant
Agree 100% , fkin hated totems to melee in PoE1, hate the companions, hate the mount, tame beast
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Posted byUnboundAvatar#2172on Oct 18, 2025, 8:15:27 AM
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Are mercenaries one of those things that if you like it you can use it and if not your don't have to?
Yup, not sure why people assume it's stuck with you, people should remember Diablo 2.
Tech guy
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Posted byWarrax#2850on Oct 18, 2025, 8:18:59 AM
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Are mercenaries one of those things that if you like it you can use it and if not your don't have to?
Yup, not sure why people assume it's stuck with you, people should remember Diablo 2.
It's not quite the case though. Kinda like movement speed or + to gem on gear, they're mandatory because of how strong they are. You can play without them, but there's no world you can justify doing that from a optimal build perspective, even for a casual player
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Posted byiHiems#0168on Oct 18, 2025, 8:26:14 AM
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I am playing minions in 0.3 and I would love to have companion build. Only companion I can have right now is a beast, I feel like fantasy of mercenary is to have other humanoids beside him. I tried to spectre the corrupted Exiles we encounter in map, but no luck. Ofc I didn't expect it to work.
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Posted byBrutusCzX#7043on Oct 18, 2025, 9:31:19 AM
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I'd vastly prefer that if mercenaries became core they'd be an optional tradeoff rather than mandatory.
I like my character being the one that does stuff. I prefer not to use totems/minions/companions and I'd hate for it to feel like something I *have* to do.
But more importantly, visual clarity is low enough already. I don't want a mercenary using abilities making it even harder to see puddles of degen death.
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Posted bySirbeaverous#2893on Oct 18, 2025, 10:48:29 AM
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Instead of Mercenaries, bring us fighting pet skills...
+1000
Animals are better than humans and if GGG make them gearable and levelable it would take them to another level. Common GGG, where is your fantasy?
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Posted byteobibu#1278on Oct 18, 2025, 6:02:11 PM
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I didn't even know Tame Beast was a thing. Time to add it to my build.
Edit: They require spirit to use so it's trash for something that will be out of range half the time.
Last edited by SaiyanZ#3112 on Oct 19, 2025, 3:14:19 AM
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Posted bySaiyanZ#3112on Oct 19, 2025, 2:49:28 AM
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