A high-skill melee survivor who uses invulnerability frames and the Expose debuff to weave in and out of combat. Mercenary's core loop is applying Expose with his 3rd Laser Sword strike, then consuming it with any skill to reduce ALL cooldowns by 1 second and deal +350% bonus damage. Mastering this chain transforms him from fragile to nearly untouchable.
Every skill in Mercenary's kit connects to the Expose loop. The 3rd Laser Sword hit Exposes. Hitting an Exposed enemy with anything gives -1s to all cooldowns and +350% bonus damage. Chain this consistently and Mercenary's cooldowns effectively cease to exist. All his skills have 1.0 proc coefficient.
Mercenary is unlocked by completing the True Respite challenge - obliterating yourself at the Obelisk in "A Moment, Fractured." The Celestial Portal that leads there appears reliably after completing the Stage 3 teleporter event on a loop (Stage 8 overall).
Complete a full run through the first 5 stages, then loop back to Stage 1. The difficulty increases but the game continues.
Progress through the looped run until you reach Stage 3 of the loop (Stage 8 overall) - Rallypoint Delta, Scorched Acres, or Sulfur Pools.
Complete the teleporter event. A Celestial Portal (blue glowing portal) appears nearby. Enter it.
Inside A Moment, Fractured, follow the blue-glowing rocks to the top of the last island to reach the Obelisk.
Interact with the Obelisk and select obliterate yourself from existence. Your run ends and Mercenary is permanently unlocked.
The Celestial Portal is not guaranteed on every run but appears reliably after completing Stage 3 of a loop. Play on Drizzle and rush teleporters to reach Stage 8 faster. Obliterating also grants 5 Lunar Coins, making this unlock useful for farming toward Artificer as well.
Demon of the Skies: stay airborne for 30 continuous seconds as Mercenary. Chain Whirlwind vertically with double jumps to stay airborne. A few Hopoo Feathers make this trivial.
Flash of Blades: use 20 abilities in 10 seconds as Mercenary. Fight a dense group of enemies and chain Laser Sword 3rd hits into Blinding Assault resets rapidly. Achievable with default loadout.
Ethereal: complete a Prismatic Trial without dropping below 100% HP. Barriers from Topaz Brooch do not invalidate it. Artifact of Glass and Artifact of Command are recommended to maximize damage and avoid getting hit.
Mercenary's item priorities center on cooldown reduction, on-hit healing, and melee damage amplifiers. Focus Crystal is a permanent passive bonus since he is always in range. Harvester's Scythe provides the sustain his kit lacks. Soldier's Syringe speeds up his swing cycle - but stop at 3-4 stacks to avoid tightening the M1 extension window.
Attack speed lowers the window between Laser Sword hits, increases Eviscerate hit count, and speeds up all skill animations. Note: too much attack speed tightens the M1 extension window and shortens Whirlwind/Rising Thunder dash distance. 3-4 stacks is a strong stopping point.
Adds an extra Blinding Assault or Focused Assault charge. Three dash charges from Hardlight Afterburner plus a Backup Magazine gives Mercenary exceptional repositioning and Expose application uptime.
16% bonus damage to enemies within 13m. Mercenary is always in melee range by design, meaning Focus Crystal is a permanent passive damage bonus. One of the highest-value single items per slot in his kit.
On-crit: heal for 8 HP. Mercenary's 1.0 proc coefficient on every skill means each Expose follow-up, each Eviscerate hit, and each Laser Sword strike can trigger Harvester's Scythe. Provides meaningful sustain in prolonged fights.
On-crit: +12% attack speed up to 3 stacks. Laser Sword's 1.0 proc coefficient and high hit rate generates crits frequently with decent crit chance. Stacks Predatory Instincts quickly for compounding attack speed.
18% chance per kill to reset all cooldowns. Mercenary's high kill rate from Laser Sword and Expose follow-ups triggers Bandolier frequently. Occasional full resets let you chain Blinding Assault and Eviscerate back-to-back.
30% bonus damage to bosses. Mercenary is one of the strongest boss killers in the game when airborne above them - Whirlwind chains and Eviscerate invincibility let him stay engaged indefinitely. Armor-Piercing Rounds multiplies this output.
Movement speed lets Mercenary reposition between enemies faster and chase targets more effectively. Also increases Whirlwind and Rising Thunder dash distance, which scales directly with move speed.
Mercenary's core combat loop: swing Laser Sword to the 3rd hit to apply Expose, immediately follow with Whirlwind or Blinding Assault to consume it, then continue swinging back to the 3rd strike. The Expose cooldown reduction chains keep your abilities available constantly. Use Eviscerate or Slicing Winds as a damage burst and to apply Expose for a free cooldown reduction on the next hit.
Secondary: Whirlwind for smoother combos and AoE, or Rising Thunder for higher single-target burst. Utility: Blinding Assault for the 3-dash chain and safety - Focused Assault with Hardlight Afterburner is competitive once you have that item. Special: Slicing Winds once unlocked - higher damage than Eviscerate base, and you can keep attacking during it. Keep Eviscerate for panic situations.
M1 Extension: Activate any skill during the 3rd Laser Sword strike animation. The 3rd hit's hitbox stays active through the next skill, enabling rapid combos and canceling the endlag. This is Mercenary's most important mechanical skill to learn.
Pre-loading the 3rd strike: Swing Laser Sword twice before reaching an enemy. The 3rd Expose hit fires the moment you arrive, front-loading Expose application without any setup delay in the fight. This matters most in early stages where your cooldowns are longer.
Airborne boss farming: Stay above large bosses by chaining Whirlwind up into double jumps. While airborne you are mostly out of boss melee range, can freely use Whirlwind vertically for extra height, and can drop into Eviscerate whenever needed. Mercenary can effectively stay airborne indefinitely this way.
Blinding Assault direction: Blinding Assault dashes in the exact direction you are aiming including straight up. Aim skyward to reach flying enemies. Chain all 3 dashes through a group for maximum Expose consumption and cooldown reduction.
Complete the True Respite challenge by obliterating yourself at the Obelisk in A Moment, Fractured. Loop through the first 5 stages, then reach Stage 3 of the loop (Stage 8 overall). Complete the teleporter event and enter the Celestial Portal that appears. Follow the blue rocks to the Obelisk and obliterate yourself.
Expose is a debuff applied by Mercenary's 3rd Laser Sword hit, Focused Assault, and Slicing Winds' final blade. When Mercenary hits an Exposed enemy with any attack, ALL skill cooldowns are reduced by 1 second and the hit deals an additional 350% base damage. Only Mercenary benefits from hitting Exposed enemies - teammates do not receive the bonus.
Slicing Winds is generally superior for damage - 800% per target with freedom to keep attacking during it, versus Eviscerate's 770% base (7x110%) with full invincibility but no other skill use. Eviscerate remains valuable as a panic button survival tool because of its guaranteed iframes. Most experienced Mercenary players run Slicing Winds once unlocked and use Eviscerate situationally if they have both accessible.
Focus Crystal for permanent melee damage bonus, Soldier's Syringe for attack speed (3-4 stacks max), Harvester's Scythe for on-hit healing sustain, Backup Magazine or Hardlight Afterburner for extra Blinding Assault charges, and Bandolier for cooldown resets on kill. Armor-Piercing Rounds is excellent specifically for boss killing.
Partly. Attack speed speeds up Laser Sword animations and increases Eviscerate hit count, but it also tightens the window for M1 extensions and shortens the distance of Whirlwind and Rising Thunder dashes. 3-4 Soldier's Syringes is considered the sweet spot - enough to benefit without losing combo flexibility.