Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred: How to unlock Bartering

Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred introduced a new mechanic called “Bartering”, done exclusively through the Mercenary system. Players who spend enough time in this system can start unlocking Pale Marks, which can, in turn, be traded to the mercenaries of the Pale Hand for a wide assortment of rewards. The deeper you go, and the higher your reputation with the various mercenaries, the better those loot drops can be.

Before you start bartering, you’ll have to at least play enough of Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred’s main campaign to unlock the Mercenary system. Even after that, it’ll take a bit of a grind, but it’s worth the investment. Here’s what you need to know about D4’s Bartering system.

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When can you begin Bartering in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred?

Once you've grinded enough reputation, you can begin Bartering (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

When you get a Mercenary’s Rapport to Rank 5 in Diablo 4, only then can you begin using the Bartering system. This takes a lot of grinding and gameplay. Simply having a Mercenary and Reinforcement with you in fights will give you Rapport—think of it as any other Reputation grind in Diablo or World of Warcraft. In this case, you just need to fight enemies in the world. No matter what activity you’re doing, you should see regular increases.

During our review process, we hit Rank 5 with at least one Mercenary post main story, but your experiences may vary. It’s worth leveling all the Mercenaries to at least 5 to unlock upgrades and make Bartering a more enjoyable experience. You also earn Pale Marks by leveling up your mercenaries, so it’s worth playing with them all.

I’ve found that it’s best to do activities jam-packed with enemies, such as the Kurast Undercity and Helltides. The more effort you put in and the more Bartering upgrades you receive, the better your odds of seeing better Legendary gear or even item caches. Completing Main Story Quests is also an amazing source of Rapport.

You can see your Rapport level with the Mercenaries by selecting them, and clicking the Rapport tab. The first four levels are always skill points for that mercenary, and then beyond that, it’s Bartering, Pale Marks, and other rewards.

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How Bartering works in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred

Sometimes, you'll get really lucky. Others, not so much (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

When you’ve got access to Bartering in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred, you’ll see an NPC you can speak to in the center of The Den - the Pale Hand’s HQ. You will see a few items here, ranging in rarity. Each one has a Pale Marks cost, which you can see on-screen.

If you aren’t happy with the item choices, you can Restock - the first time is free. Beyond that, it will run you 50 Pale Marks to do it again. Bartering is excellent when you’re trying to target farm-specific things; in particular, Legendary Aspects. As you can see in the image above, one of my first caches featured Resource Aspects.

With time and enough Pale Marks, you can pick up exactly what Legendary Aspects or equipment you’re after in Diablo 4. At the end of the day, it’s still based on RNG, so you aren’t guaranteed everything you want, but it’s an outlet to make the grind for specific types of items easier.

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Check out our other Diablo 4 guides and features

• Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred review
• Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred Tenets of Depravity guide
• How to farm Runewords in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred