The developers of Path of Exile have announced their new season after eleven months of waiting and now show how new companions will change a lot.
What have the developers announced?
On June 13, 2025 at 10:00 p.m., the new season of Path of Exile (1) will start. Now the developers have revealed the new features and shown the season mechanics in their livestream.
Each season of Path of Exile brings a new mechanic to the game, this time it’s the new mercenaries who could change the ARPG more than almost anything else before.
Mercenaries as friend and foe
What’s the deal with the mercenaries?
Mercenaries are coming to Path of Exile as a new mechanic. They will be found as random encounters in the maps and will initially talk to the player as NPCs. In the conversation, you can then see the equipment, the role and the skills of the character.
There are three ways to interact with the mercenary:
- Hiring: You pay the mercenary gold for his services and he becomes a constant companion from now on. You can also give the mercenary items for this and improve him with them. If a mercenary dies, you can revive him for gold.
- Dueling: If you want to have the good items that the mercenary is carrying for yourself, you can challenge him to a duel. If you win, you get some of the mercenary’s items as a reward.
- Exile: If you often encounter the same useless mercenary, you can also reject him. To do this, another duel must be won.
How good are the mercenaries?
The mercenaries are serious companions or opponents who really have it all. They use improved skills, carry unique items and the rest of their equipment also has good bonuses that suit the character.
They can carry unique items that are not available anywhere else and can only be obtained by the player if they emerge victorious in dueling. Due to their good equipment, improved skills and better movement patterns, they can play at a better level than the player character is at the moment.
As companions, they can change and add to entire builds with their appearance. Here, for example, the developers suggest to players to choose a strong tank as a partner for an archer who doesn’t let the enemies approach in the first place (via YouTube).
With the mercenaries, Path of Exile brings a lot of potential for strong builds and combinations between the characters into the game. How well the system really works will only become apparent when it is released on Friday, June 13th. For fans of Path of Exile 2, on the other hand, the next season will not be released until August, but after that it shouldn’t be too long. Buy POE Currency to prepare your characters for the coming challenges and new mechanics.
Leave a Reply