Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred is bringing back the series-favorite mercenary system to cover the "soft spot" that Blizzard says exists in each and every class build

Diablo 4's new merc using his shield to help someone — (Image credit: Blizzard)

Diablo 4 is bringing back the RPG series' beloved mercenary system in Vessel of Hatred to help you "round out your build."

That comes from Diablo's general manager Rod Fergusson, who says the team opted to bring the system back – as opposed to Diablo 3's Auction House – as it's been part of the franchise in one way or another for the past 21 years "at least." That, and it was there to be done in a much more "robust way."

"The fact is that it's a companion system that helps you round out your build," he says to CGM. "One of the things that our game director of the expansion, Brent Gibson, likes to say is that each class has a soft spot."

Fergusson points to the Sorcerer as an example. The Diablo 4 class works well when played with a glass canon build that prizes damage over defense. So why not hire Raheir - a blacksmith with a big shield who can "come in and protect you while you're pushing enemies and putting in all that damage" - when Vessel of Hatred comes out?

"That's how it kind of works across the four different mercenaries," he adds. "You can find the Cursed Child, Aldkin, and he can use a skill tree into fire or shadow. So imagine you take them to the fire tree, and your Sorcerer's doing fire magic. Then, you can synergize off each other that way and do even more damage. There are many ways to layer that in. We wanted to bring the system back in a way that was richer like this."

As Rod alludes to, we've seen companions in varying iterations throughout several Diablo games. The more consistent point is that they fight alongside you to make flattening hordes of demons easier, though, over the years, we've seen improvements to make them more customizable.

We don't have long to wait to see what Diablo 4's Vessel of Hatred expansion does with them, either, as the DLC releases October 8.

As Blizzard warns Diablo 4's Vessel of Hatred PTR will be more "broken" than ever before, fans deliver with a method to get to level 60 in just 20 minutes.