New Mercenary Details Revealed - Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred

wowhead.com:

Recent gameplay footage of the new Spiritborn class coming with Vessel of Hatred has also revealed some interesting details about the upcoming Mercenary system, which will return with the upcoming Diablo 4 expansion.

Mercenaries in Diablo have a long-standing tradition, beginning with Diablo 2's inception of the concept. While changes were made in Diablo 3 to modernize the system, many players disliked the relative simplicity of Diablo 3's Mercenaries compared to Diablo 2, and Blizzard may have taken that to heart with this implementation in Diablo 4.

A special thank you to Rob2628, who shared the Mercenary currency information within this article with us. You can find his video on the Spiritborn below!

Rob2628 on Twitch Rob2628 on YouTube

Here is what we currently know (and don't know) about the Mercenary system based on Rob's gameplay footage:

• In the Currency tab, a new currency called Pale Marks can be found. Showcasing the usual placeholder icon, this currency seems to be used to interact with the Mercenary system.
• The first tooltip mentions that Pale Marks are used to purchase Trade Agreements. We assume that these are some sort of character-bound items used to buy Mercenary equipment.
• The tooltip also mentions that Pale Marks can be used to Barter for items, which could mean that there will be multiple ways to acquire Mercenary equipment, by either buying from or bartering with merchants, for example.
• There will be a Mercenary Den, which sounds like a dedicated NPC instance, where Trade Agreements will be purchasable, and Bartering with Pale Marks will be possible.
• It looks like Pale Marks will be earned by completing activities together with a Mercenary or by increasing your Rapport.
• Receiving Pale Marks will only be possible once you've unlocked Bartering, which will happen after reaching Rank 5 «Rapport.»
• Rapport appears like some sort of personal reputation or loyalty system based on the relationship and activities completed with your active