The last mercenary that you hired which is unlocked to hire anywhere and is at least rank 5 grants you a persistent buff. The stats granted by the buff depend on the type of that mercenary. The buff is granted whether or not that mercenary is active or suspended.
- Healer or Mage mercenaries grant Fervor and Ability Mod
- Tank mercenaries grant Fervor and Max Health
- Archer and Melee mercenaries grant Fervor and Crit Bonus
- Support mercenaries grant Fervor and Ability Doublecast, as well as half the normal amount of Crit Bonus and Ability Mod
- Singing Steel mercenaries grant twice the normal amount of Fervor and Ability Doublecast, as well as normal amounts of Crit Bonus and Ability Mod (the sole Singing Steel mercenary is only available as a random item from Singing Steel Heritage Crate)
Four factors determine the amount of each stat that the buff provides.
The most important factor is the rank of the mercenary. A rank 20 mercenary buff is more than twice the amount of a rank 5 mercenary buff. In fact, a rank 20 Treasured mercenary will outperform a rank 5 Celestial mercenary.
The second most important factor is whether the mercenary is from Reign of Shadows, Blood of Luclin, or Shattered Lands. A Shattered Lands mercenary provides about half the stats of a Blood of Luclin mercenary A Blood of Luclin mercenary provides about a third of the stats of a Reign of Shadows mercenary.
The third factor is the rarity of the mercenary (Treasured, Legendary, Fabled, or Celestial). At the same rank, a Celestial mercenary buff is about 23% better than a Treasured mercenary buff.
The least important factor (5.8% gain) is your mercenaries' total contribution, which is based on the total number of mercenaries that you have unlocked that have reached a rank that is a multiple of 5 (5, 10, 15, 20, etc). The difference between having a single unlocked mercenary (contribution = 1) and a virtual army of unlocked mercenaries (contribution = 100) is a maximum gain of 5.8%. Contribution of each mercenary can be checked by hiring the Mercenary and right clicking on it to "Check Contribution". Overall contribution is capped at 100. The table below shows the contribution amount.
| Mercenary Rank | Rarity | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| 05 | Treasured | 01 |
| 10 | Treasured | 02 |
| 20 | Treasured | 04 |
| 25 (N/A yet) | Treasured | 07 |
| 05 | Legendary | 02 |
| 10 | Legendary | 04 |
| 20 | Legendary | 08 |
| 25 (N/A yet) | Legendary | 14 |
| 05 | Fabled | 03 |
| 10 | Fabled | 06 |
| 20 | Fabled | 12 |
| 25 (N/A yet) | Fabled | 21 |
| 05 | Celestial | 04 |
| 10 | Celestial | 08 |
| 20 | Celestial | 16 |
| 25 (N/A yet) | Celestial | 28 |
The maximum values (rank 20 mercenary with at least 20 battalion contribution) for Reign of Shadows and Blood of Luclin mercenaries are shown in the table below:
| Mercenary | Battalion Buff | Rarity | Maximum Buff | Obtain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Kalael Kel'Avar | Reign of Shadows (Healer) | Celestial | 84.9 fervor, 2,094,727.1 ability mod | Reign of Shadows weekly mission, broker |
| Chumba Spiritcaller | Reign of Shadows (Healer) | Fabled | 83 fervor, 2,047,366.9 ability mod | Reign of Shadows collector's edition, broker |
| Daharth Bisidia | Reign of Shadows (Tank) | Fabled | 83 fervor, 276.7% max health | Reign of Shadows weekly quest, broker |
| Doomhilda Painface | Reign of Shadows (Tank) | Legendary | 77.5 fervor, 258.3% max health | Reign of Shadows weekly quest, broker |
| Grolla Skullwielder | Blood of Luclin (Tank) | Treasured | 24.1 fervor, 72% max health | Blood of Luclin missions and overseer quests, broker |
| Horthis, the Vengeful | Blood of Luclin (Archer) | Fabled | 27.7 fervor, 444 CB | Blood of Luclin Premium Edition |
| Melban Pinderclasp | Blood of Luclin (Support) | Treasured | 24.1 fervor, 193 CB, 301,000 ability mod, 2.4 ability doublecast | Blood of Luclin missions and overseer quests, broker |
| Micrus Deathband | Blood of Luclin (Singing Steel Support) | Celestial | 59.3 fervor, 474 CB, 741,000 ability mod, 5.9 ability doublecast | randomly from Singing Steel Heritage Crate on marketplace, broker, or weekly overseer quest |
| Micrus Deathband after Reign of Shadows signature timelime completion buff | Blood of Luclin (Singing Steel Support) | Celestial | 85.9 fervor, 687.2 CB, 1,059,408.3 ability mod, 11.5 ability doublecast | randomly from Singing Steel Heritage Crate on marketplace, broker, or weekly overseer quest |
| Monila Lu'Cesi | Reign of Shadows (Healer) | Celestial (acts like Fabled for contribution points) | 84.9 fervor, 2,094,727.1 ability mod | Reign of Shadows premium edition |
| Nunian Wolfbane | Blood of Luclin (Tank) bug, should be Reign of Shadows (Tank) | Fabled | 36.0 fervor, 90.1% max health | Hirable after completing Dark Side of the Dark Side |
| Oor of Umbra | Blood of Luclin (Healer) | Fabled | 27.7 fervor, 692,000 ability mod | Blood of Luclin missions and overseer quests, broker |
| Rosa Dod | Blood of Luclin (Support) | Fabled | 27.7 fervor, 221 CB, 346,000 ability mod, 2.8 ability doublecast | Blood of Luclin missions and overseer quests, broker |
| Tarsil, the Pure | Blood of Luclin (Melee) | Fabled | 27.7 fervor, 444 CB | Blood of Luclin Collector's Edition, broker |
| Vylkorin, the Vile | Blood of Luclin (Healer) | Fabled | 27.7 fervor, 692,000 ability mod | Guide's Guide to Luclin, broker |
| Zel'Kriaz | Blood of Luclin (Healer) | Celestial | 29.6 fervor, 741,000 ability mod | Blood of Luclin weekly missions, broker |
| Koffi Zawadi | Reign of Shadows (Melee) | Fabled | 83.0 fervor, 1,328.9 CB | reward for completing Find Your Way Home (Luclin), the Vah Shir racial timeline in Reign of Shadows |
| Berq-Ajon | Reign of Shadows (Tank) | Celestial | 88.9 fervor, 296.3% max health | randomly as Celestial Akhessar Mercenary Choice Pack from Season Four Mercenaries on marketplace |
| Calis-Yotha | Reign of Shadows (Support) | Celestial | 88.9 fervor, 711.2 CB, 1,096,379.8 ability mod, 11.9 ability doublecast | randomly as Celestial Akhessar Mercenary Choice Pack from Season Four Mercenaries on marketplace |
| Illis-Kohn | Reign of Shadows (Healer) | Celestial | 88.9 fervor, 2,192,759.5 ability mod | randomly as Celestial Akhessar Mercenary Choice Pack from Season Four Mercenaries on marketplace |
| Rotha-Inear | Reign of Shadows (Archer) | Celestial | 88.9 fervor, 1,422.3 CB | randomly as Celestial Akhessar Mercenary Choice Pack from Season Four Mercenaries on marketplace |
See [[1]] for additional details. Credit to Lemilla for research summarized in this article.
This buff was added with the release of the Blood of Luclin expansion.