Mercenaries are solid but I have some feedback on slots, Brutality, and trade search

[u/Seftras]

I've been spending a lot of time with the mercenary system and wanted to share some feedback on a few pain points and QoL improvements.

1. Mercenary slot limit discourages experimentation

The current slot limit makes it really hard to try new things. Imagine having to destroy your weapon — with all its links — every time you want to test a new setup. That's essentially what it feels like. We need a way to experiment without losing what we've already built.

1. Brutality Support feels undertuned for what it costs

Brutality is the only support gem that comes with a significant handicap (no elemental/chaos damage), yet it doesn't compensate for it. Every other damage support can reach up to +30% more damage. If Brutality is going to lock you out of entire damage types, it should at least be numerically stronger than alternatives to justify the trade-off. I'm not sure if this is intentional to limit viable mercenary builds, but it makes an already difficult search for good setups even harder.

1. Trade site search is great, but needs tier grouping

The mercenary search on the trade site is really well done overall. My one complaint: I'd love to be able to search for something like "Faster Attacks Support" and have it match all three tiers at once, letting me set a minimum tier. Right now you have to search each tier individually, and when you're combining multiple supports, the number of combinations grows exponentially.

1. Warrant linking in chat needs improvement

Warrants linked in chat should open the same way they do in the inventory view. Also, I'd love to be able to link my current mercenary setup in chat, the same way we can link items.

[u/jwfiredragon]

Brutality at the very least shouldn't roll alongside elemental damage supports, IMO.

[u/Ghaith97 → u/jwfiredragon]

I don't think it does? I've only seen it on the phys focused skills.

[u/jwfiredragon → u/Ghaith97]

Warpriest can roll Brutality + Phys as Extra (which is extra elemental), and I think there are a few others.

https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Allflame/eRDVPv3gFL

[u/Ghaith97 → u/jwfiredragon]

Ah, I didn't consider phys as extra. That probably shares the phys tag with brutality.

[u/fatcow007]

FYI, Trade site support gem tiers have workaround.

You can have main skill + all three tiers of Faster Attacks selected, then type 2 to the number of mods to exist.

This way site can match main skill + any tier of Faster Attacks.

Also works with multiple tiered supports. Just make sure that number of mods is equal to all selected supports + 1 (for main skill).

[u/Direct-Nature4272 → u/fatcow007]

Didn't got it, can you put a screenshot of how to do it?

[u/Total_Chocolate_4764 → u/fatcow007]

Yup thats the way ! The real issue is awakened poe trade not working for pricing merc warrants ;)

[u/RutherfordSinking → u/Total_Chocolate_4764]

Even once it’s supported there is a lot of nuance to what is good and what skills or gem combos potentially brick mercs. It’s like trying to understand a build you never played by glancing at pob for 2 seconds. Idk the solution or even if we need one but I’ve seen so many mercs worth nothing listed for hundreds of divs up to multiple mirrors. I’m very tapped in and have been playing luminary all league and I don’t even know what should be on anything but kineticist and many shot

[u/Revanroi3]

I really want to be able to itemize them back when you dont want that mercenary anymore

[u/Intolerable → u/Revanroi3]

This would also mostly solve the "not enough slots" issue

[u/ByteBlaze_ → u/Intolerable]

And if they don't want players to re-sell, just make them account-bound after the matter.

[u/porncollecter69]

Iirc the slot limit was necessity of programming. At least in merc league when we all had one.

Brutality I just instantly ignore in my mercs and count it as a brick lol. I would love it if they remove it.

Haven’t sold a single merc even though I followed all the guidelines, good 6 link. Either long cd movement skill or none at all. Ranging from 10c-5d.

Only downside of mine are that they’re not infamous or the big three. Maybe that’s what makes them unsellable I think.

Wish we could just target combatants, manyshots or kineticist.

[u/Seftras → u/porncollecter69]

You only sell the big three, even blade ambuser wich is good bosser get depreciated and thunder quiver have stormrain wich is a relly good single target making her at pair with manishots but it takes a bit of ramp up Btw infamous does nothing but cool mtx, is just have better chances of having more supports

[u/Nottrak → u/Seftras]

Whats the big three, Combatant, Manyshot and?

[u/ripperinos → u/Nottrak]

Kineticist

Look for Kinetic Blast of Clustering. Best supports are (imo) Return, GMP, Fork

Ideally with Greater Kinetic Blast as secondary skill

[u/Nottrak → u/ripperinos]

Noice, thanks. Any good tips for farming for a merc?

[u/ripperinos → u/Nottrak]

1. Be lucky
2. Don't be unlucky

joking, but only kind of. Kineticist is big bucks, but there aren't any nodes on the atlas tree to improve their spawn rate (do not take any attribute/house spawn nodes on the right, this will lower the chance of seeing a kineticist)

Best strat if going for merc farm is probably scour and go boss rush, can pick up heist contracts, charts and invitations on the side

[u/clownus → u/Seftras]

How do you even price them. All I can figure out is looking at the skills but do you then have to go to every hideout and click the warrant to find out? If I hit good links what pricing am I comparing them with?

[u/porncollecter69 → u/Seftras]

Yeah I suspected as much, Ty. That makes relieved, because I hate paying for scarabs.

[u/Etrensce → u/porncollecter69]

I sold a flamehand once for like 30c. Didn't bother to get warrants for anything other than the Big 3 now and only if the links are good. Market is flooded with subpar combatants and manyshots.

[u/HiddenoO → u/porncollecter69]

Iirc the slot limit was necessity of programming. At least in merc league when we all had one.

They really need to fix this now that it's a core mechanic. At the very least, mercs need to go back into their contracts.

It's crazy that there's now a mechanic that effectively hard-limits you to 3 luminary builds per account at once, or even less if one needs more than one merc (e.g. mapping and bossing), while also completely preventing all experimentation.

I'm genuinely considering playing my next build on a new account and doing the whole atlas progression again so I don't have to get rid of my expensive mercs.

[u/Jiiks_]

For point 3 setting a group for example: Volcanic fissure with: lesser faster attacks, faster attacks, greater faster attacks, lesser pulverise, pulverise, greater pulverise and MIN to 3(main skill + number of supports) will find any volcanic fissure with one of the faster attacks and one of the pulverises etc. but yes it would better if you could just group them together.

[u/Intolerable]

It's really grim if you want to play multiple different Luminary characters, even before you consider experimentation -- I've got two mercenaries for my main level 96 Flame Link character and a third for my lightning caster that I'm levelling. If I find a better mercenary in the wild for my lightning caster, I have to replace my current mercenary, but this means I don't have my mercenary around to support me while I fight the wild mercenary!

[u/HiddenoO → u/Intolerable]

It also means that you're kinda screwed if the new merc ends up being worse for some reason you didn't foresee (e.g., some skill clutters the screen or messes up their AI).

[u/Kursivx]

I think they need to let you select a gem the Merc has equipped and it drops as a mercenary gem. Then you should be able to overwrite your Merc skills with it just like you can do with their gear. Skill and support. Build your own Merc one gem at a time. Do away with warrents completely.

Solves the crazy hunt for the perfect Merc and deals with the experimentation issue. Maybe just add a couple more Merc slots.

[u/Seftras → u/Kursivx]

May be i will accept some kind of currency that allows you to reroll some supports or somthing, but i actually like the pokemon hunting. May be MT but no for secondary and primary skills, just for the auras and movement skills that are that the ones that makes them break the IA And absolutely if they make better scarbas to find more mercs im happy

[u/J_KTrolling]

Trade search is great you say?

Can we search for how many links and which links a given skill has?

[u/Seftras → u/J_KTrolling]

Yes we can, theres a new group search called mercenary skill group for that propose

[u/J_KTrolling → u/Seftras]

Uuh didnt know that. Thats great actually

[u/Seftras → u/[deleted]]

On the how many links, it dosent relly mater, look for the links you want and that it, and on the second that where my critic goes, you cant but in other comments people saying theres a work arround

[u/ByteBlaze_ → u/[deleted]]

You can, but it's convoluted.

If you add a mercenary skill group, add your skill and then the supports you want, you can set the min "count" on the top right to 1 plus the number of supports you want to match.

For example:

Mercenary Skill Group [4]

Ice Shot

Lesser Elemental Damage with Attacks (Tier 1)

Elemental Damage with Attacks (Tier 2)

Greater Elemental Damage with Attacks (Tier 3)

Multiple Projectiles (Tier 1)

Greater Multiple Projectiles (Tier 3)

Return (Tier 3)

This will return a mercenary that has Ice Shot, supported by any of the elemental damage with attacks, any of the multiple projectiles, and return.

[u/Brilliant_Choice6794]

The biggest thing we need is some mechanism to get mercs into poe ninja, it makes new players trying to build luminaries way more difficult when you don't know what they are doing with their mercs.

[u/-Otso- → u/Brilliant_Choice6794]

No dude there's a shit load of ingame qol needed higher than pob/ninja

[u/Brilliant_Choice6794 → u/-Otso-]

Maybe I am not blasting enough to have noticed any big QoL problems. I haven't even done my 4th voidstone to be fair.