Henchman

Henchmen are computer-controlled characters that you may elect to enlist in your party once you've left Pre-Searing Ascalon. Their skills and attributes grow with their levels as you progress through the game (some of the skills filled in from this article).


 * Henchmen count as party members, and as such claim their share of the party's experience and loot. It does not cost anything up front to add them to your party.
 * Henchmen will generally attack whatever the party leader is targeting. This is both positive and negative. Single enemies may go down quickly, but its often a strategic advantage to engage more than one (equally dangerous) enemy.
 * The AI controlling the henchmen is often unpredictable/illogical, causing such frustrating behaviour as healers rushing heedlessly into a melee and getting cut down, or warriors standing impotently while an enemy is right next to them.
 * Henchmen all have either a Resurrection Signet or Restore Life. They will use them in different situations, sometimes impressively (like reviving a monk in the heat of battle to tip the scale to the party's favor) and at other times quite incompetently (like the sole monk letting a party member die because she is busy resurrecting another).
 * Henchmen will only use their Resurrection Signet if none of the surviving party members have multi-use spells for resurrection. The order of preference in spending their signet is: 1. any human player with a resurrection spell; 2. any henchman with a resurrection spell; 3. any human player; 4. any henchman.

The Henchmen
The initial four that are available
 * Stefan - Sword Warrior
 * Alesia - Healer Monk
 * Orion - Fire Elementalist
 * Reyna - Ranger

These three are added to the available group starting in the Northern Shiverpeaks
 * Claude - Blood Necromancer
 * Little Thom - Axe Warrior
 * Dunham - Hexing Mesmer

Available starting in the Crystal Desert
 * Lina - Protector Monk

The following five replace the listed Henchmen in the latter parts of the game.
 * Devona - Hammer Warrior (replaces Stefan)
 * Mhenlo - Healer Monk (replaces Alesia)
 * Cynn - Fire Elementalist (replaces Orion)
 * Aidan - Ranger (replaces Reyna)
 * Eve - Blood Necromancer (replaces Claude)

The next four are available in the Battle Isles PVP areas, as well as in the Tomb of the Primeval Kings (Location) PVE zone:
 * Zaishen Healer
 * Zaishen Fighter
 * Zaishen Archer
 * Zaishen Mage

The following were temporarily available during special events/periods.
 * Mad King's Guard: Four henchmen temporarily available in Lion's Arch during the Halloween 2005 Update.
 * Enchanted Snowman: Four henchmen temporarily available in Ascalon City, Lion's Arch, and Droknar's Forge during the Wintersday 2005 Update.

Henchmen Availability
1 Except for the Temple of the Ages where the party size is 8. 2 Except for the Dragon's Lair and the Tomb of the Primeval Kings where the party size is 8. 3 Aidan, Cynn, Devona, Eve, and Mhenlo are available in Deldrimor War Camp, Marhan's Grotto and Thunderhead Keep while Claude, Stefan, Alesia, Orion, and Reyna are not.

Henchmen Progression
The level of a henchman depends on the area. For instance, all henchmen in Sardelac Sanitarium are always level 3, and those in Piken Square are always level 6. This is true even though each henchman is present in multiple places; Stefan the Warrior appears in both Piken and the Sanitarium, at whichever level is appropriate to the place.

It is important to note that henchmen levels are reset each time the player enters town. If the level 6 Stefan is hired in Piken, and the player then travels back to the Sanitarium, Stefan will suddenly revert to level 3-- just as if he were originally hired at that level.

What follows is an outline of henchman level progression through the game.


 * Level 3: Ascalon City, Sardelac Sanitarium, The Great Northern Wall
 * Level 6: Fort Ranik, Frontier Gate, Piken Square, Ruins of Surmia, Serenity Temple
 * Level 8: Nolani Academy, Grendich Courthouse, Yak's Bend, Borlis Pass, The Frost Gate, Ice Tooth Cave
 * Level 10: Beacon's Perch, Gates of Kryta, Lion's Arch, D'Alessio Seaboard
 * Level 12: Bergen Hot Springs, Beetletun, Divinity Coast, Druid's Overlook, The Wilds
 * Level 15: Quarrel Falls, Bloodstone Fen, Ventari's Refuge, Aurora Glade, Maguuma Stade, Henge of Denravi, Riverside Province, Sanctum Cay, Fisherman's Haven, Temple of the Ages
 * Level 17: All Crystal Desert Locations
 * Level 20: The Dragon's Lair and on, through the Southern Shiverpeaks and the Ring of Fire Islands.
 * Infused: The latter Southern Shiverpeaks - Thunderhead Keep, Marhan's Grotto - and the Ring of Fire Islands.