Mercenary Tier List (Launch Week)

Ranked from community-reported boss clears and DPS logs, not theorycraft. The meta shifted twice around launch (Barbar nerf, position-2 anti-crit nerf), so older advice may be outdated.

#S-Tier — proven boss killers

#Loud Growl (bear, recruited at Fishpool)

The Black Horse's answer. Tank position 2 with a double-resistance scroll and spam the Protect tactic — multiple clears ended with only the bear alive. Works because surviving crits matters more than damage.

#Legendary Zerkers

Core of the proven Throatcrusher comp (3 zerkers + 2 Bigfoots). With beast-damage scrolls and Shawarma they deleted a 12,000 HP boss.

#A-Tier — strong with the right build

#Bigfoot (incl. Bigfoot Hauler)

Redirection-scroll tank in both proven boss comps. The Hauler variant still contributed 3,757 damage in boroboro's Black Horse clear while pulling the cart.

#Redzerker (incl. Redzerker Father)

Present in multiple winning comps. The "Bloodbath" skill's bleed-scaling damage has a reported calculation quirk (+3 damage per bleeding enemy may apply only once) — treat its tooltip with suspicion.

#Gimli-class tanks

One player reports Gimli in position 2 surviving around 9 shields under Protect orders against the Black Horse, finishing the fight nearly solo.

#Barbar

Pre-nerf, a level-10 Barbar with a beast-damage scroll hit around 600 damage per attack on godlike shawarma — the old S-tier. The developer confirmed the nerf (50% → 25% beast damage). Still usable, no longer the easy button.

#B-Tier — situationally excellent

#Chicken Archer squad

Community sleeper pick: one shield + three archers with poison honey and a bleeding target dummy, bleed-damage scrolls — reported to outperform an all-legendary party on trash mobs.

#White Horror / White Nightmare

10,201 damage in boroboro's logged Black Horse clear — strong, but the S-tier tanks do the irreplaceable job.

#Wolf

Solo-finished the Black Horse for one player. Cheap, flexible, underrated.

#C-Tier

#Fofan

2,617 damage in a full boss clear log. Present, fed, but not carrying.

#Mole

3,374 damage logged; also enables the underground-passage routes, which is real utility.

#Meta notes

• Food decides fights. Every logged clear ran Shawarma or better on all mercs.
• Cargo weight is a hidden difficulty slider. Boss comps assume a near-empty wagon.
• Leveling = scrolls. Recruit for base kit, level with scrolls.

#Sources

• Steam thread: Guide: How to kill the Horse (RU) — full DPS log
• Steam thread: The new Boss — bear Protect strategy
• Steam thread: ThroatCrusher Boss is impossible — zerker comp
• Steam thread: Some trick to defeat Throatcrusher — Barbar nerf confirmation
• Steam thread: Chicken archer squad is strong (CN)

Launch-week snapshot. Expect re-ranking after the first balance patch.