A '''Follower''' is [[Diablo III]]'s answer to {{iw|Mercenary Mercenaries}}. Followers can be equipped with a small amount of [[item| gear]], and [[spells]] and [[skills]] can be chosen for the follower by the player. There are three basic classes: the [[Enchantress]]named Eirena, a ranged [[magic]] caster, the [[Templar]]named Kormac, a melee [[tank]] similar to the [[Paladin]], and the [[Scoundrel]]Lyndon, who is a ranged [[crossbow]] user.

As the ===Follower system has yet to be revealed by Blizzard in any official capacity[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/new-follower-video/], there are many unknown details.For example, the recruitment method of the followers is largely unknown. As they are no longer called "mercenaries", it may not be good speculation to assume that they are hired. In addition, there would be little dignity or honor in hiring a Templar, and the logic of such is rather off.However, much can be gained by viewing the tidbits that have been revealed.Death===

To see more about Followers do not die in Diablo III. They are simply incapacitated.Part of the reason for this is the general amount of frustration of having to go back to town and pay a gold fee to resurrect a mercenary, and the lack of logic that follows from that. The other reason being that the individual followersare not mercs, they are [[NPC]]s with their own story that is relevant to the overall plot of the game. When a follower is incapacitated, visit:they will revive after a short time on their own, or the player can revive them by standing above them and waking them up. The process of waking them up leaves the player vulnerable to attack, so it will be best to revive them when there aren't any enemies in the vicinity. While the follower is incapacitated, the player will not receive any bonuses that originate from them.  ===Beyond Normal Mode===

* The From what [[EnchantressBashiok]] entrydescribes, the followers won't have much use beyond normal mode[http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=27808220764&pageNo=1&sid=3000#11]:

* The [[Scoundrel]] entry<blue>Well, followers are essentially a flavor bonus to those playing through normal the first time by themselves. It provides some story elements, but more importantly it gets the idea in their head of playing with another person. You come across each of them pretty quickly in Act 1, and then they help you throughout the rest of the game if you'd like. They aren't required to beat the game on Normal, even if you're playing by yourself. Feel free to leave them behind if you like. But they are pretty awesome.

* The [[Templar]] entryThey're also tuned so that they become very weak starting in Nightmare, and then are completely unusable in Hell.Even if you're playing alone, you will probably not be using Followers past Normal - - you can try but they're going to just be one-shot back to back. They're there as a bit of flavor, to help get people into the mindset of co-op if they're a bit reluctant, and... that's about it. They won't be usable at end-game, and they'll never replace the abilities and power that another player can bring.</blue>

The player is able to equip the follower with two [[ring]]s, an [[amulet]], a main-hand [[weapon]], and an off-hand item when applicable, which includes [[shield]]s and possibly [[orb]]s. The followers also have one extra locked box in the inventory pane will be an item slot that is unique to that follower, which is unlocked unlockable at level 25. This holds a special The unlockable item of some kind, which provides buffs or bonuses to will be gained through completing the follower's questline, and possibly the player as well. The Templar's only one special item is a known at the moment: [[tomeKormac]], but it is not yet known what the other two followers have[[Templar]] can unlock a holy book to equip that will aid him in battle.

It was said by the D3 development team for ages that they "weren't ready" to reveal mercenaries in Diablo III, or otherwise they "didn't know" what they would do with them. In April of 2011, the follower system was indeed revealed, but to the chargrin of Blizzard, it was leaked by the Korean Blizzard official website on accident. Diablo fans quickly picked this up[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/new-follower-video/] and accepted it as real due to the superb quality of the presentation of the video.The day after, Blizzard unveiled the followers in an official capacity[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/followers-artwork-and-interface-shots/] in a deluge of interviews, information, and new screenshots.