Risk of Rain Returns Mercenary: Unlock, Abilities, Items

Veterans of the series are no strangers to Mercenary in Risk of Rain Returns. His playstyle is focused on movement and dodges more than dealing damage. He is not available to play from the start, which is why you might want to know how to unlock him, what his abilities do, and what items suit him the best. 

Who Is Mercenary In Risk of Rain Returns?

The Mercenary is a survivor with a focus on mobility and movement. 

He has a fast-paced playstyle, utilizing his katana to make quick work of his enemies. He can deal with small hordes of enemies with his abilities. But the department where he shines the most is his mobility. He can steer clear of powerful attacks by utilizing his invincibility, and learning how to time his skills properly is essential if you want to use this character. 

How To Unlock Mercenary

You cannot play as the Mercenary right from the get-go, and in fact, it might even take you a lot of time to unlock him in Risk of Rain Returns. On the surface, the condition to unlock seems fairly straightforward. As you can see from the image attached above, his character slot says “Beat the game 5 times“.

Mercenary’s Abilities

Firstly, here are the Mercenary’s Stats in the game:

The following are the abilities that Mercenary can access:

Laser Sword

• This is the Mercenary’s primary attack.
• Mercenary uses his sword to attack the enemy, causing 130% base damage.
• This ability allows you to attack up to three foes at once.
• It has a cooldown of 0 seconds.
• It is the only ability in the Mercenary’s arsenal that does not have an alternate version. 

Whirlwind

• This is the Mercenary’s secondary attack in Risk of Rain Returns.
• With the use of this ability, Mercenary rotates twice and cuts the nearby enemies, dealing 2*80% damage.
• Utilizing the low downtime of this ability is crucial if you want to get out of harm’s way.
• It has a cooldown of 2 seconds.
• An alternate version can be unlocked by clearing the Providence Trial “Don’t Think, Feel.”, or by completing 25 stages using Mercenary. 

Blinding Assault

• This is the Mercenary’s tertiary attack.
• It is the keystone behind the Mercenary’s impressive mobility.
• Upon use, Mercenary dashes forwards and stuns the enemies in his way for 120% damage.
• This ability can be reused immediately if you hit an enemy, and you can dash again up to 3 times. 
• During this dash, the Mercenary is invincible and takes no damage, so time it correctly in order to dodge powerful attacks. 
• It has a cooldown of 6 seconds.
• An alternate version can be unlocked by clearing the Providence Trial “Assassination Contract”, or by collecting 300 items as the Mercenary. 

Eviscerate

• This is the Mercenary’s Ultimate ability.
• In addition to Blinding Assault, Eviscerate is crucial for Mercenary’s fast-paced playstyle.
• When you activate this ability, the Mercenary attacks the nearest enemy and deals 6*110% damage.
• Just like before, the Mercenary is invincible during the activation of this ability, so keep in mind to use it both offensively and defensively. 
• It has a cooldown of 6 seconds.
• An alternate version can be unlocked by clearing the Providence Trial “Shadows of the Past” or by defeating 3000 enemies as the Mercenary. 

Best Items For Mercenary

Items that reduce cooldowns synergize really well with Mercenary. This allows him to spam his dashes and ultimate, not giving the enemies a single chance to hit him.

Here are some of the best items for Mercenary in Risk of Rain Returns:

• Alien Head
• Tesla Coil
• Wicked Ring
• Brilliant Behemoth
• Toxic Worm

My Thoughts On Mercenary In Risk Of Rain Returns

Mercenary is definitely one of those characters that takes some time to get used to. His playstyle demands that you learn the attack patterns of your enemies, especially of bosses. This allows you to time Blinding Assault and Eviscerate perfectly well in order to avoid powerful attacks.

Once you learn how to use Mercenary at his full potential, you’ll never want to go back to any other survivor. His impressive mobility does not end with avoiding attacks. He can also parry fall damage and magma at Risk of Rain Returns. Characters like Acrid or Bandit cannot form this feat, so it’s really handy. 

While you’re at it, consider reading the guide on Chef. He is also one of those characters with difficult unlock conditions but it is pretty rewarding to play as him. Check this out if you wanna learn how to unlock the Artifact of Command.