Hiring Mercenaries in the Allflame League opens a second way to play Path of Exile, where you stop being the one dealing damage and start feeding buffs to a fighter who does it for you. This customization is tied to the Luminary Ascendancy for Scion, and the way your Mercenary spawns decides whether you lean into damage yourself or drop into a pure support role. If you want the Merc to clear packs and bosses while you stay behind the front line, you build a linked aurabot.
Quick answer: Play a Luminary aurabot, cast Flame Link on your Mercenary for Fire damage equal to 5% of your Maximum Life, run Haste plus one damage aura that matches the Merc’s element, and take the Legendary Arms notable for extra scaling.
Set up a Luminary aurabot before hiring your Mercenary
Customizing Mercenaries is only available through the Luminary Ascendancy for Scion. Once you finish the Trial, you can start hiring Mercs across the campaign and the endgame. From there, decide early whether you want to be the damage dealer or the support, because the Mercenary that spawns pushes you toward one style.
For the support build, every choice you make should improve the Merc’s survivability or damage before it improves your own. That means stacking Maximum Life to survive the endgame, then converting that life pool into buffs your Mercenary can use.
Flame Link turns your life pool into Mercenary Fire damage
Flame Link is the strongest single tool for raising your Merc’s damage. The skill grants the linked Mercenary additional Fire damage equal to 5% of your Maximum Life. Because a support already stacks as much life as possible, that percentage scales into a large flat damage bonus with no extra investment.
Note: before you pick up the Oath of Fealty notable, the link is a two-way risk. If the linked Mercenary dies, you go down with it no matter how much health you have left. Take Oath of Fealty to remove that death penalty.
Auras that raise Mercenary damage and speed
Haste is the baseline aura for this build. It gives Movement, Attack, and Cast Speed to all your allies, including the Mercenary, and faster attacks translate directly into more damage output. On top of Haste, add one damage aura that matches the element your Merc actually uses, since running every aura at once is difficult.
| Aura | What it gives your Mercenary |
|---|---|
| Haste | Movement, Attack, and Cast Speed to nearby allies |
| Anger | Added Fire damage |
| Hatred | Added Cold damage |
| Envy | Added Chaos damage |
Pick the aura that pairs with your Merc’s damage type rather than trying to reserve all of them. A Fire-focused Mercenary wants Anger next to Haste, a Cold build wants Hatred, and so on.
Use curses to strip enemy resistances
Buffing the Merc is not the only path to higher damage. While your Mercenary is busy fighting, you can spam curses to weaken enemies and strip their resistances. Lowering resistances makes every hit the Merc lands count for more, which is especially useful against tanky rare and boss targets.
Passive tree: Legendary Arms and Oath of Fealty
The Legendary Arms notable increases your Mercenary’s damage by 8% for each Unique item it has equipped. You cannot grab every passive while running both Legendary Arms and Oath of Fealty, but three Uniques on the Merc still hand you 24% additional damage, which is a strong return for two notables.
Oath of Fealty earns its slot twice over here, since it also removes the death link from Flame Link. Take both notables together so you get the scaling and the safety at the same time.
Uniques and minions that buff your Mercenary
The Uniques you wear feed straight into the Merc’s damage. Leer Cast grants 50% additional damage to allies, and Crown of the Tyrant adds various damage types based on its socket color, so you can tune it to the element your Mercenary already uses.
| Source | Buff to allies |
|---|---|
| Leer Cast (Unique) | 50% additional damage to allies |
| Crown of the Tyrant (Unique) | Adds damage types based on socket color |
| Forest Warrior (Raise Spectre) | Permanent Onslaught to nearby allies |
| Perfect Guardian Turtle | Casts Determination aura for extra armor |
Minions round out the support kit with both offense and defense. A Forest Warrior summoned through Raise Spectre grants permanent Onslaught to nearby allies, while a Perfect Guardian Turtle casts Determination for added armor. Layering these with Flame Link, Haste, a matching damage aura, curses, and Legendary Arms gives your Mercenary enough firepower to carry a League start while you focus on staying alive and looting.
