There are a few companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 that almost no one ever takes with them. Most of you probably don’t even know their names. We are talking about hirelings, who are actually quite useful – with a catch.
These are the characters in question:
- Hirelings are mercenaries that you can hire from Lazarus for 100 gold, the undead character where you also change your class and talents.
- A hireling replaces one of your companions in your group. So, you can hire up to 3 of them at the same time.
- In total, there are 12 hirelings, one for each class in the game, all with their own backstory. You can even customize their appearance.
This is how unpopular hirelings are: Baldur’s Gate 3 rewards you with an achievement when you hire a hireling. The “Freelancers” achievement indicates that you were nice to one of these characters or “used them as cannon fodder”.
In global comparison, however, only 16.2% of all players on Steam have ever unlocked this achievement. A whole 19.9% have completed the game.
These are quite clear numbers, as you can recruit a hireling much earlier than after the approximately 100 hours it takes to complete a run. In fact, it is enough to just hire a hireling; you don’t even have to play with them or interact with them. But why are hirelings so terribly unpopular?
Lazarus provides you with hirelings, but also with the option to reskill:
Hirelings are practical but have a major drawback
The idea behind hirelings is that they replace characters missing from your group – or simply fill in when you really have no one else. Because hirelings will never leave you.
Nevertheless, the mercenaries miss something important: a story. While each of them has a story explaining how they died and are therefore available in Lazarus’ arsenal, they lack companion quests.
Unlike all other companions in Baldur’s Gate 3, you cannot form relationships with them or explore their background through quest lines. This is something that many players love about the game and do not want to miss.
However, hirelings are not weaker in gameplay compared to other characters. Especially in an evil run, you might even need them because many companions truly disappear or don’t appear at all.
However, you really have to be a huge jerk to lose so many companions that your group is not full. In this case, hirelings are your best (and only) choice. Also, you should be careful about whom you allow into your group. The developers have built a nasty trap: Players warn: If you can recruit one of the most popular characters in Baldur’s Gate 3, something bad is about to happen.
