Followers

**Followers** are NPCs that follow the character around and assist the player by attacking enemies. They will draw enemy fire, and their attacks are more powerful than those of Pets. Followers will die and stop following once they run out of HP.

Unlike the player, Followers do not have invincibility frames, such that they can take damage from many enemy projectiles simultaneously.

Followers fall in the following three separate categories.

## Temporary followers

This type of follower can only exist for a short amount of time or in the current floor. The following methods can summon Followers:

* Using weapons that have summon feature (for more details, visit the corresponding weapon page):
	+ Cannibal Plant - Summons a Titan Arum in every third attacks.
	+ Grave Guard's Hatchet - Summons 2 scarabs when the weapon is fully charged for the third time.
	+ Portable Bomber - Spawn a walking bomber for every 3 seconds.
	+ Scepter of Majesty - Summons a random robot knight in Chiseltown.
	+ Snowman Eagle - Summons tiny snowmen that last for 3 seconds upon critical hits.
	+ Staff of Anubis - Summons numerous mummy allies after the weapon absorbed enough souls.
	+ Staff of Illusion - Summons a copy of the character (two with Elemental Staff Buff).
	+ Staff of Skeleton - Summons skeleton soldier(sword and bow variants), summons giant skeleton if Elemental Staff Buff is present.
	+ Super Monster Card - Summons one of the 5 unique monsters to this weapon.
	+ Whisper of Dark - Has a 20% chance to spawn a skeleton soldier which can either wield a sword or a bow.
* Using certain skills & passive buffs (the  condition has no effect over them):
	+ Doppelganger (Assassin) - Summons a clone of Assassin.
	+ Gun Turret & Interceptor (Engineer) - Summons a gun turret or laser turret.
	+ Guardian Elf (Elf) - Summons elves to fight alongside.
	+ Frostfire Wolves, Venom Vines, Fuzzy Bear (Druid) - Summons wolves, vines and bear respectively.
	+ Nightmare, Omen Stone & Souls Resurrect (Necromancer) - Summons ghost hand, plague spider, and resurrects enemy.
	+ Fiery Imp (Demonmancer) - Summons an Imp after defeated an enemy.
	+ Master's Trick (Trap Master) - Summons a doll for distraction.
	+ Transform! Slime King! (Costume Prince) - Summons Slime when the mount got hit.
	+ Great Owl (The Beheaded) - Summon the Great Owl.
* Interacting with certain characters in NPC form:
	+ Rogue, Assassin, Elf & Berserker - Follows the player with their starter weapon equipped.
	+ Druid & Demonmancer - Summons 1 Wolf or Fiery Imp to assist the player.
* Other:
	+ Using a skill after worshipping Statue of the Knight - Summons a small knight with a sword.
	+ Using the Air Reinforcement Buff - Summons 3 mercenaries for a short period.
	+ Drillmaster - Doesn't have weapons and is invincible. Follows in Advanced Training only.

## Mercenaries

As of now, there are 13 different mercenaries:

### Hiring

* In most cases, they can be found in special rooms in most levels. Note that these rooms cannot spawn with a Mercenary already present for the current floor.
	+ The room in which they appear will be indicated by a big yellow exclamation mark  in the mini map.
	+ The room they are in will have corresponding decorations.
* Most Mercenaries can be hired at a cost of gold, which scales up with the level progression (15-30).
	+ This is affected by the Sale Buff and the  condition.
	+ The cost does not increase in The Origin.
* Some mercenaries can also be rescued from a cage. If this happens, they are free to hire. In this case, they will be unarmed for the current floor; they will wield their default weapon upon entering the next floor. The only case where a Mercenary may be armed is the Mad Scientist, who will be hostile when interacted with.
* The player can only hire one mercenary at a time. If the current mercenary has been killed, future potential mercenaries don't spawn until the next level.
	+ However, it is possible to bring more than one mercenaries by rescuing more from cages. All surviving ones will follow through levels.
	+ It is possible to hire more than one mercenary in The Origin (Legacy), if the Summoner summons one mercenary after the other.
	+ Some mercenaries can have multiple assist NPCs, which will also follow the player until death. They do not take other weapons, but can be upgraded with the Drillmaster.

### Arming

* A mercenary comes with a default weapon, except Jim Smiley, who starts empty handed.
* Each mercenary has suitable weapon type(s), except Jim Smiley, who takes all standard weapons.
* By default mercenaries can only equip **Rare** or lower rarity, except Pharaoh, who only use **Legendary** weapons, and Jim Smiley, who ignores this rule for the level the player recruits him.
* They can use higher rarity weapons, up to **Legendary** after they are trained by the Drillmaster, or if the player has the Pet Buff.
* Even after trained, none of the mercenaries can use **Mythical** or these following weapons:
	+ Happy New Year
	+ Christmas Gift
	+ Scratch Card
	+ Super Monster Card
	+ Portable Bomber
	+ Strength Potion
	+ Captain's Medal
* All mercenaries can equip all Misc weapons (if it is a suitable rarity) except the 7 aforementioned weapons.
	+ This does not necessarily mean that they can use them properly, however. Examples include Nirvana Cross, Extra Crown, and One Punch (Legendary Version).
* To change their weapon, bring them to the weapon desired. If it is suitable, they will comment on the new weapon and equip it 2 seconds later. They will also drop their previous weapon.

### Behavior

* The mercenaries tend to attack for a fixed period and then take a rest. This may result in many charging weapon unable to fire at full charge.
* Entering a new level will restore all mercenaries to maximum health.
* Mercenaries are affected by the Pet Buff, such that it increases their base HP by 35 and allows them to carry any applicable weapon of any rarity. This stacks with upgrades.
* Each Drillmaster upgrade increases all mercenaries' health by 15, and allow them to equip high rarity weapons.
* If the mercenary dies, the weapon they carried is lost (cannot be picked up by the player).
	+ If they were observing a weapon when they die, they will still equip said weapon after 2 seconds, thus dropping their current weapon and making the other irretrievable.

## Royal Knight

### Note

Has 1 defense

* He looks like a common Elite Knight, but with blue decorations and a small blue shield.
* He appears in a training yard with another two knights in training,
* His basic health is 70.
	+ He also has 1 Defense, making him take 1 less damage from all attacks. This does not apply to other knights following him.
* His and his assist NPCs' default weapon is the Royal Knight's Short Sword.
* He can equip melee weapons that are either swords and spears.
	+ Ironically, he can equip laser swords, despite disliking future tech.
	+ His support NPCs can also use other eligible weapons.

* Quotes
	+ Interaction: *"Need help?"*
	+ Favor: *"Yes, master"*
	+ Insufficient Money: *"God bless you"*
	+ Rescue: *"Too many monsters. I got separated from my master."*
	+ Suitable Weapon: *"Hah, a fine weapon"*
	+ Random Talking: *"Don't feel comfy with hi-tech"*
	+ Clearing Room: *"I will protect you"*
	+ Death: *"...."*

## Headgear Hero

### Note

Has special interaction with Staff of Relic Flames.

* He appears in front of a bus with the word "hero" on it.
* His basic health is 50, the lowest of all mercenaries.
* His default weapon is Headgear Hero's Machine Gun.
* He can equip other Pistols and Rifles.

* Quotes
	+ Interaction: *"=v="*
	+ Favor: *"=3="*
	+ Insufficient Money: *"TAT"* (*YAY*)
	+ Rescue: *"|>\_<|"*
	+ Suitable Weapon: *"=w="*
	+ Random Talking: *"=o="*
	+ Clearing Room: *"=o="*
	+ Death: *"TAT"*
	+ when using Staff of Relic Flames: *"Bros, watch this!"*
	+ Death with Staff of Relic Flames: *"TAT" "Dangerous move..." "Do... not... imitate..."*

## Mercenary Intern

### Usable

Shotguns, Launchers

* He wears a dark, horned helmet and armor with a purple visor, similar to the boss room icon.
* He appears in a room with two other soldiers (armed with Headgear Hero's Machine Gun), and some dead aliens as well as one dead soldier.
	+ These soldiers look similar to him, but with a different helmet and a green visor.
* His basic health is 60.
* His default weapon is the Mercenary Intern's Shotgun.
* He can equip other shotguns and Launchers.
	+ His assist NPCs can follow to subsequent floors if they survive, but will not take other weapons.

* Quotes
	+ Interaction: *"What?"*
	+ Favor: *"Don't get in my way."*
	+ Insufficient Money: *"No money? Get out!"*
	+ Rescue: *"Damn! I was trapped."*
	+ Suitable weapon: *"This weapon suits me"*
	+ Random Talking: *"I like this gun"*
	+ Clearing Room: *"I like this gun"*
	+ Death: *"...."*

## Legendary Apprentice

### Usable

Bows, Spears, Staves

* He resembles a Goblin Shaman in the Forest, but with a mask of different color and a different staff.
	+ This may explain that most of his quotes are "hmm"'s.
	+ Also, he appears in front of a tepee in the woods, with a totem beside it.
* His basic health is 55.
* His default weapon is the Legendary Apprentice's Magic Staff.
* He can equip bows, spears and staves.

* Quotes
	+ Interaction: *"Hmm"*
	+ Favor: *"Hmm~"*
	+ Insifficient Money: *"Hmm..."*
	+ Rescue: *"Hmm? Hmmmm!"*
	+ Suitable weapon: *"Hmm!"*
	+ Random Talking: *"Hmmmm"*
	+ Clearing Room: *"Hmmmm"*
	+ Death: *"."*

## BarbarQ

### Usable

Axes, Swords, Hammers

* He may appear from a stone portal in a lone room by interacting with it.
* His basic health is 65.
* His default weapon is the Raw Axe.
* He can equip some melee weapons like axes, swords, and hammers.

* Quotes
	+ Interaction: *"Got some mushrooms?"*
	+ Favor: *"Food time"*
	+ Insufficient Money: *"I'm starving"*
	+ Rescue: *"FINALLY! I am starving!"*
	+ Suitable Weapon: *"Hah, a fine weapon"*
	+ Random Talking: *"Hah, giant monster"*
	+ Clearing Room: *"Monster meat for diner"* (Currently with a typo)
		- If set to Chinese language, he will comment on another character from the same game instead.
	+ Death: *"...."*

## Soot Soot

### Usable

Throwing weapons, Railguns

* He has the appearance of a humanoid purple monster, with an apron and a chef hat.
* He may appear from a stone portal in a lone room by interacting with it.
* His basic health is 55.
* His default weapon is the Monster Cuisine.
* He can equip throwing weapons and railguns.
	+ However, with throwing weapons that have a melee function, he can only use the melee attack.

* Quotes
	+ Interaction: *"Do you like Monster Cuisine?"*
	+ Favor: *"You are now my master!"*
	+ Insufficient Money: *"Can't even afford this?"*
	+ Rescue: *"You saw my bowl?"*
	+ Suitable Weapon: *"Is this edible?"*
	+ Random Talking: *"New ingredients to cook with!"*
	+ Clearing Room: *"What shall we cook today?"*
	+ Death: *"...."*

## Mad Scientist

### Usable

Laser Guns

* He looks like a typical crazy scientist from the movies: a long blouse, messy hair and a weird-looking face with rotating eyes.
* He appears beside a crashed desk which seems to be a time machine.
* His basic health is 55.
* His default weapon is the Crowbar.
* He can equip most Laser weapons, but not railguns.
* This is the only Follower that costs 0 gold to hire.
	+ There is a random chance that he is hostile, such that trying to hire him will reveal the fact and he starts to attack.
		- If this happens, he becomes a 55-health enemy that can deal 4 damage, and will always drop 4 gold, 4 energy orbs and his Crowbar when killed. He takes damage from both players and enemies alike.
			* Oddly, if an enemy kills him, he will still drop 4 energy and 4 gold, putting him in a weird limbo state of being damaged by both players and enemies.
		- If rescued from a cage, he is friendly if unarmed, but hostile if armed.
* His quotes are full of symbols and gibberish.

* Quotes
	+ Interaction: *"!@#$&^%×-/+{|"*
	+ Hostile: *"^%,\.]/×#@@?:|{</!!!!"*
	+ Favor: *"(λ)"*
	+ Rescue: *"0x5330756C4B6E316768744E6F31......"*
	+ Suitable Weapon: *"!#@$%?"*
	+ Random Talking: *"^%,\.]/×#@@?:|{</!!!!"*
	+ Clearing Room: *":)&^$#@×&#"*
	+ Death: *"0x5330756C4B6E316768744E6F31......"*

## Don Quixote

### Usable

Spears, Swords, Bows

* He looks like a minor knight in level 2-x but with different helmet décor. He also appears to be wearing a horse outfit on his torso.
	+ If he is killed, the horse outfit's eye will be crossed out.
* He appears in front of a circus tent.
* He has an extremely high movement speed.
* His default weapon is the Retro Spear.
* He can equip spears, swords and bows.

* Quotes
	+ Interaction: *"To surrender dreams - this may be madness."*
	+ Favor: *"Diligence is the mother of good fortune."*
	+ Insufficient Money: *"Perhaps to be too practical is madness."*
	+ Suitable Weapon: *"Who knows where madness lies?"*
	+ Random Talking: *"The wounds received in battle bestow honor."*
	+ Death: *"Until death it's all life."*

## Muscleman

### Usable

Launchers

* He looks like a soldier in green clothes and has golden hair.
* He appears below some palm trees.
* His default weapon is the Worn Bazooka.
* He can equip launchers.

* Quotes
	+ Interaction: *"Live for nothing, or die for something."*
	+ Favor: *"Come with me if you want to live."*
	+ Insufficient Money: *"If you work for a living, why do you kill yourself working?"*
	+ Suitable Weapon: *"I was in charge of million-dollar equipment!"*
	+ Random Talking: *"I am here to chew bubble gum and kickass."* (currently with a typo, should be "kick ass" instead)
	+ Death: *"I will be back."*

## Shared Robot

### Weapon

* Ion Railgun
* Laser
* Laser Therapy
* Meteo Laser Gun

### Usable

*none*

* It looks like a one-wheeled black robot.
* It appears in a shared robot station, placed at the third slot. There is also a wrecked robot at the fourth slot.
	+ As the payment prompt displays when approaching the robot, simply interacting it will cause the player to hire the robot.
* Hiring this mercenary always costs half of the player's current gold, rounded down. Its weapon scales with the actual gold used, giving it a better weapon depending on how much the player spends.
	+ The gold used will determine the rank it becomes. This is shown in the favor text before the "protocol" word.
	+ With the Sale Buff alone, the price is reduced to one quarter of current gold while the  condition means that hiring this mercenary depletes the player's gold reserves. These will affect the rank.
	+ It is impossible to hire this mercenary if the player has less than 2 gold.
	+ The rank does not affect the health value of it.
* According to the rank of hiring, it may equip adjusted versions of these weapons with modified firing sprites.
	+ It will not take other weapons.

Ion Railgun (trial)Laser (VIP)Laser Therapy (VVIP)Meteo Laser Gun (VVVIP)
* Quotes
	+ Interaction: *[Welcome to the shared mercenary station. Please insert [price] coins to hire one.]*
	+ Favor: *[Hire succeeded! Initiate the [rank] protocol.]*
	+ Insufficient Money: *[Payment failed!]*
	+ Random Talking: *[Beep Beep Beep. Enemies spotted.]*
	+ Death: *[Thank you for using our service. The debris will be decomposed in 886 years.]*

## Healing Knight

### Usable

Staves

* He looks like a cleric in heavy plate armor, while carrying a  giant cross.
* He appears in which seems to be a first aid camp, with three knights (wielding Staff of Light) assisting in saving some Royal Knights.
	+ Once hired, these NPC knights will follow the player until killed.
* His default weapon is the Hope.
	+ As with all NPCs, the Healing Knight only uses his weapon during combat, which means that he will not top up the player's health in between fights.
* He can equip staves.

* Quotes
	+ Interaction: *"I hope you are surviving."*
	+ Favor: *"It seems that your situation is more urgent."*
	+ Insufficient Money: *"Can't go. I am on call."*
	+ Suitable weapon: *"It has my name on it."*
	+ Random Talking: *"I have your back."*
	+ Death: *"May there be no pain in heaven."*

## Pharaoh

### Usable

Legendary Weapons

* When found, he takes the form of a bone pile lying in the middle of a ritual circle. Once hired, he becomes a zombie with pharaoh decorations, and the candles in the circle will turn purple.
	+ After death, he will collapse into a bone pile again.
* When hired, the hero's Max HP is subtracted by 1-2, or 4 under the "Store price +100%" condition.
* The Sale Buff has no effect on his hiring cost unless the base value exceeds one.
	+ He cannot be hired if the player's max HP is too low or equal their max HP.
* His default weapon is the Pharaoh's Blade.
* He can only equip Legendary weapons. (Cannot equip the Strength Potion despite its rarity)

* Quotes
	+ Interaction: *"The mummified body is longing for fresh blood..."*
	+ Favor: *"Well done for rewaking me!*"
	+ Suitable Weapon: *"This is the king's weapon."*
	+ Random Talking: *"I command you to lead the way."*
	+ Encountering Anubis: *"A king never hands over his fate to anyone."*
	+ Death: *"The power runs out."*

## Jim Smiley

### Usable

Most weapons

* He looks like an old guy in a frog outfit.
* He may appear when the player uses Magic Well and Wishing Well, but the chance is low. Thus, technically he does not require a static amount of gold to hire.
* He can equip any weapon (except the above 7 misc weapons mentioned in Arming section.

* All his quotes are generally relevant to frog speech.
	+ Favor: *"Ribbit~*"
	+ Suitable Weapon: *"Ribbit, Ribbit!"*
	+ Random Talking: *"Ribbit!"*
	+ Clearing Room: *"Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit!"*
	+ Death: *"Back to the pond..."*

## Trivia

* All NPC followers that are also playable Heroes, spawned by summoning weapons/skills will not persist to the next floor.
* Royal Knight is the only mercenary with a defense value.
	+ For some reason, Royal Knight's assist NPCs only last for the current level, unlike other mercenaries with assist NPCs.
* Prior to Pharaoh and Jim Smiley's addition, no mercenaries can use weapons beyond purple Rarity without Drillmaster or Pet Buff's benefits.
* The Pharaoh is the only mercenary who carries a Legendary weapon.
	+ He is also the first mercenary to have a special quote at a specified condition. In this case, this is when encountering Anubis, the guardian of pharaoh.
* The Shared Robot is the only mercenary whose weapon and hiring costs are not fixed, as they scale on the amount of the player's funds, which in turn is dictated by a separate modifier.
	+ Technically, Jim Smiley costs are also not fixed, as he randomly appears from the Wishing Well and the Magic Well, the former costing gold to use while the latter is free.
* Due to an unknown glitch, followers spawned by staves don't attack or target the Training Dummy.
* All of Headgear Hero Follower regular quotes are kaomojis.

### Update Trivia

* Update 1.5.0 added BarbarQ.
* Update 1.7.5 added Legendary Apprentice and .
* Update 2.0.0 added Mad Scientist.
* Update 2.7.0 added Don Quixote, Muscleman, Shared Robot, Pharaoh, Healing Knight, and Jim Smiley.
* Before Update 1.5.0, mercenaries couldn't equip other weapons found during a run. As of then, the player's buffs would also apply to their weapons.
* Before Update 1.7.6, the Royal Knight and Headgear Hero were able to pick up the Boomerang, a throwing weapon.
* Before Update 2.1.0, if the follower Mad Scientist betrayed the player, he would not drop his Crowbar upon death.
* In Update 2.7.0 the existing mercenaries got minor changes and had some environmental objects added to their rooms.
	+ The stone portal added in Update 2.7.0 may be a device reserved for crossover characters (BarbarQ & Soot Soot).
* In Update 2.7.0, there is a glitch that the helping knights of Healing Knight may change weapons on their own.
	+ These knights use the same quotes as Mercenary Intern.
* After Update 3.0.0, the followers' health value is now shown above their heads.
* Royal Knight wielded the Carrot instead of his starter weapon during the 2018 Easter Update.
* Prior to an unknown version, if there happens to be multiple mercenaries (not accounting assist NPCs with certain mercenaries) alive at any given moment, only the latest hired one will remain after passing through a portal.

### Reference Trivia

* The Follower Mercenary Intern is likely to be inspired by the video game *Doom*.
	+ Intern's head looks like boss room icon.
	+ Ironically, Interns do not get money for their job, so in Mercenary Intern should realistically not charge the player.

* Soot Soot comes from another game called *Monster Chef*.
	+ His quote of encounter was only added in Update 1.8.2.
	+ His rescue quote was "You **see** my bowl?" (grammatically incorrect) before it was fixed in Update 2.6.5.
	+ His quote "You are now my master!" is a reference to Fate series.

* BarbarQ comes from another game, BarbarQ.
	+ He can also be seen as a guest in a New Year Dinner. In this case, he holds the Meat.

* The Headgear Hero Follower is a reference to Batman.
	+ His interaction with Staff of Relic Flames is a reference of the "chew the lighter" meme.

* The mad scientist Follower is probably a reference to the game franchise Half-Life, indicated by its quote *"(λ)"* and the weapon being a crowbar, specifically referencing the protagonist: Gordon Freeman, a scientist at Black Mesa Research Facility. The translation in Chinese is a distorted version of his original name (咯噔弗里曼). The fact that he is an insane scientist who lurks in a room with destroyed machinery also seems to reference Doug Rattmann, the eponymous, schizophrenic scientist from Half-Life's sister-series Portal, as pictured here.
	+ The quote he says upon death and rescue can be translated from "0x5330756C4B6E316768744E6F31" to "S0ulKn1ghtNo1" in ASCII code, which reads "Soul Knight No.1."
	+ The wrecked machine he stands beside is a reference of the time-travelling machine in the *Doraemon* series. However, this was only added in Update 2.7.0.
	+ Sometimes, when killed, his sprite does not change and instead just remains there playing its regular animation. This may also happen to all other mercenaries, but only rarely.

* Don Quixote is a reference to *Don Quixote*, the titular protagonist of the eponymous book, who was also depicted as a man with chivalry ambitions and yet continually fails in his quests.
	+ He has the highest movement speed out of all mercenaries.
	+ His horse outfit is a reference to how the real Don Quixote character in the book does ride a horse.

* The Chinese name "吉烈队长" of Muscleman is a shoutout of w:c:streetfighter:Guile (古烈) in *Street Fighter* series.
	+ He appears below some trees which seem to be a reference of jungle stage (stage 1) of *Contra*.
	+ According to his quotes, he may also be a reference of *Rudol von Stroheim* in *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency*.
	+ His quote "I am here to chew bubble gum and kick ass" is also a reference to *Duke Nukem* the original quote is also "I am here to kick ass and chew bubble gum".
	+ His quote "I was in charge of million-dollar equipment!" is also a reference to Rambo in *First Blood*
	+ His death quote "I'll be back" is said by the first Cyberdyne Systems Series 800 Terminator robot featured in the eponymous film.

* Jim Smiley is a reference to the eponymous character in Mark Twain's story, *The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.* Smiley is a heavy gambler who trains pets (including the titular frog) for his own purposes, which is reflected in his frog suit and Wishing Well's luck-based feature.
	+ He was known as "Froggy" before he had an entry in the Cellar.
	+ He is so far the only mercenary who takes all weapons regardless of category and rarity, yet doesn't have a default to start with.
	+ Before an update, he could spawn from wells under the  condition. Currently, if the result of "let him spawn" is pulled, nothing will happen and the "toss more coins" prompt does not appear.

## Gallery

Royal KnightHeadgear HeroMercenary InternLegendary ApprenticeBarbarQSoot SootMad ScientistDon QuixoteMusclemanShared RobotPharaohHealing KnightJim Smiley
Old sprites

Old Royal KnightHeadgear HeroMercenary InternLegendary ApprenticeBarbarQSoot SootMad ScientistDon QuixoteMusclemanShared RobotPharaohHealing KnightJim Smiley