Mercenary Guide

Guide for mercenary

Introduction to Mercenary

Mercenary was my favorite character to play in Risk of Rain.

He has a melee ranged basic attack and his ability kit makes him the one of the hardest characters to master in the game. His kit is well balanced which makes the game challenging at all levels, but it this elevates your overall gaming experience since you have to be aware of everything going on.

His ability to deal huge amounts of damage while dodging incoming attacks, makes him one of the best scaling characters to play with. He scales really well, but his early game is weak compared to other characters.

Once you get your essential items, you will be able to survive till you get bored.

Essential Items

Your target is to reduce your skill cool downs and increase your overall damage.


Item Name: Wicked Ring
Rarity: Rare
This item will help you to utilize your critical hits. Since it reduces your cooldowns by one second everytime you get a critical hit. Stacking 4 or 5 of this item will help you to spam your skills. This item and Lens Maker's Glasses is extremely useful together. Once you get 3 of Wicked Ring, you can be invincible since your third and fourth ability can be used to stay invincible.

Item Name: The Hit List
Rarity: Rare
This item helps you to boost your overall damage. From the Rare items, this is a good secon option since you will be needing damage when the game progresses to the later stages. You can stack this item once you finished your initial set of marked targets.

Item Name: Leeching Seed
Rarity: Uncommon
After the Infusion get 8 or 9 of this item maybe even more depending on your health. Your hits will increase your health. Basically you will become immortal. Kinda,


Item Name: Infusion
Rarity: Uncommon
You will become invincible in the late game, but getting one of this item might be a good second chance incase you make a mistake.


Item Name: Shattered Mirror
Rarity: Usable Item
You can go for a more safe option for your usable item but this item will help you to land more critical hits in the early game. Since you won't have %100 critical chance in the early game, you will suffer to both deal damage and dodge damage. Using this will help you to accomplish both in the early stages. Replace this for a more safe usable item, when you have %100 critical chance.


Item Name: Lens Maker's Glasses
Rarity: Common
This is the most important item of your build, you have to get 14 of this in order to achieve %100 critical chance. Since you will have Wicked Ring, critical hits is the key for your build. Once you get 14 of this, every hit of yours will be a crit, and it will reduce your cooldowns by 1 second. Now you can spam your skills.


Item Name: Paul's Goat Hoof
Rarity: Common
This is the second most important common item. Getting 10 of this will be more than enough. This item will help you to become more mobile.

Abilities

Laser Sword : Basic melee attack. I don't really use this skill. Just in the first couple levels.
After than that it's basically useless. Since it doesn't make you immune there is a really high chance that you will get hit while you are using this skill and probably die.


Whirlwind :My favourite skill in the game. With it's low cooldown it has a great potential. With the cooldown reduction items you will fly like helicopter. Just spam this skill when you have enough items. It provides mobility and gives you one extra jump. You can dodge attacks of enemies such as Lemurians by jumping over them.

Blinding Assault : You have to learn how to use this skill. Don't use your dashes all at once. After first dash wait for the stun to expire after that use your second dash. I usually use my dashes for dodging damage since it makes you immune for less than a second.


Eviscerate : Your combo relies on this skill. When you have Lens Maker's Glasses and Wicked Ring it's probable that you will crit while using this skill. Thus use this skill when you need cooldown reduction. In early game, try to use this skill on bosses.

Playstyle

Combos

Early Game Combo
+

+ wait one second

+ wait one second

+ wait one second

10/10



Mid Game Combo
Even though, you have Shatered Mirror and Wicked Ring this ones is a bit of luck depending on your crit chance.
+

+

+

+

+

+

+


Late Game Combo
With a ton of cool down reduction and crit chance you will be able to spam your second skill.
+

+

+

+ continue this as much as you can


Safe Skill 3 Spam Combo
Spamming your third ability won't do much damage however in dangerous situations you can spam it to dodge damages for quite a while.







Early game playstyle
Dont take risks. Your squishy and even though you play perfect, a crucial mistake will probaly cost your life. Use your immune abilities (third and forth skills) to dodge damage as much as you can.
Jump over small targets such as Lemurians by using your second ability. Dealing with the most of bosses is not that hard. Facing Magma Worm will be a little harder than the others.

Item Build from my last run.(First Level)











Mid game playstyle
Youre strong now. Just don't get too cocky and you will be fine.
Item Build from my last run.(Third Level)











Late game playstyle
With cooldown reduction you will be immune to any kinds of damage but you have to have enemies nearby since your immune abilities only works when you have enemies nearby. The taken screenshot is from a game which I performed poorly. I was trying to get a screenshot for the guide and aiming to make progress as fast as I can, that costed me my life.
Item Build from my last run.(The level I died in)











My Latest Run
Some of the items for trolling, for example 20xMyhtosis, and if you would like me to release a guide for Use Item Madness let me know!

Dealing With Bosses

Magma Worm : Magma Worm is the worst you can get in early game. But I have a tactic which will help you to kill it easier. Don't use your third and fourth enemy together in the same combo. Wait for it to come up use your second and fourth skill. Than wait for it till it comes back again. When it comes back use your second(low cd) and third skill since you haven't used it last time it will be up for you to use it. This way you have fair amount of immunity against Magma Worm.








Cremator : Second worst. When it spawns you have to find it asap. Your skills provide immunity when youre in combat. So without an enemy youre open to it's attacks. Find time your skill. You can use same skill wait tactic on this boss aswell. But I am hoping that you have enough cooldown reduction so it won't be necessary.











Vandering Vagrant : Rest of the bosses are pretty easy. Use your immune abilities (third and fourth) when Vagrant sends it ball looking things'.

[Terror Byrd]

Don't worry, put it if you think it's useful. Youre absolutely right though, in order for the combo to be useful in combat against a crowd you would need to have a tesla coil, a brilliant behemoth, the ukelele, and the hapiest mask, all that is rather hard to obtain. I guess to someone with less offensive items it might be a way to capitalize on the effect of the sprouting egg, if they have enough of them.

[Jozkeh]

I think that is not satisfying since you can only deal damage to really small groups with Eviscerate. Also, Blinding Assault does so little damage. Your combo might be good at some point in the game but it will definitely slow your gameplay. On the other hand, your combo may not be the main damage source but its hella OP when you're in a sticky situation and need immunity asap. Had to mention this is all my opinion and I am thankful for your contribution. I can add your combo to the guide if you'd like me to add it since it might be useful.

[Terror Byrd]

here is something i found out:
once you have the 14 glasses, the wicked ring, and an alien head, you can spam Blinding Assault use its three charges then spam Eviscerate, which will recharge your Blinding Assault, rinse and repeat.
that basicaly makes you like the loader, where its near impossible to hist you so long as you hit your targets

[Jozkeh]

I should add sychte to the guide. I use it after I got some lens makers. I probably forgot to include that.

[Quack]

cool, I just thought if you have commando, with soldier syringe, lens maker glasses, and primal instinct, then the harvesters scythe that heals on crits, I know it heals more than leeching seed if it has crits, and tough times w/ huntress's scarf fares well

[Quack]

can't say I know how to play mercenary (Since I like playing with HAN-D, Sniper, and Endineer) but this guide is pretty sufficient on how I would think about using mercenary, never thought that the wicked ring reduces your cooldown by one though.

[Todyscau]

thanks for the guide, i've always been bad with the mercenary, you helped me survive 110 minutes. I love it

[jmf]

I find the Ancient Sceptre + Crowbars also makes for fun

[SpectreDragnar]

finally a guide that will help me play with that damn thing XD