Personal trials

A personal trial is a test that a fully grown mercenary takes with two companions. There are five stages. The First Breakthrough opens once your best floor passes 150, and the other four open one at a time on floors 300, 450, 700 and 850. Recruited regular mercenaries can take them just like named heroes.

Open "Personal Trials" on the Adventure tab, choose the challenger and assign two companions. A lost trial causes no injury, death or spending and does not advance the week, so you can change the party and gear and try again.

The Oath of Fellowship

A mercenary who clears the floor 700 trial swears the Oath of Fellowship. From then on their will no longer drops at year end, so they never retire on their own, and aging no longer costs them stats. If they had a retirement promise, that promise ends and a gap between deployments can no longer make them leave.

The oath does not prevent death in battle. It also cannot stop them leaving at zero morale or being released by you, so keep an eye on morale and injuries after the oath as well. See Will and retirement

What each stage changes

First Breakthrough, floor 150. The mercenary takes on the breakthrough look and gains one point of will. Stats stay the same.

Proof of Strength, floor 300. Health, attack and defense rise by 8%.

Unique Breakthrough, floor 450. That bonus becomes 18%, the potential cap rises to 118, and the path effect set by the class applies. Firepower Focus gives attack +12% and lets attack skills ignore 25% of enemy defense. Guard Focus gives max health +15% and 15% less damage taken. The path effect does not apply before this stage.

Oath of Fellowship, floor 700. Blocks automatic retirement. The bonus stays at 18%.

Oath Fulfilled, floor 850. The bonus becomes 30% and the potential cap rises to 125. Named mercenaries get 33%, and paid Named mercenaries and the Knights of Light get 36%.

The health, attack and defense bonus counts toward Power. It does not show in the five stat boxes on the member page, so check the higher Power after a stage.

What each stage asks

Floor 150. The challenger must be fully grown. All three must survive, and the challenger’s damage and healing plus half the damage they absorbed must reach 28% of the party total.

Floor 300. Win with the challenger alive. If a mercenary needs more growth first, the screen shows how many stats are left.

Floor 450. Win with all three alive.

Floor 700. Win with the challenger alive.

Floor 850. Win within the time limit with all three alive.

Injured mercenaries and those away on an expedition take their trial after they return.