Imperial Knights party and mercenaries
Who joins on each route, who leaves, and who is worth hiring back.
Four slots. One of them is always Diana. The other three are a rotating cast of story women and guild mercenaries. Steam’s bullet is accurate: allies join temporarily, then you can hire them. This page is the table people actually want — who, which route, when they vanish — plus how the board works when the plot isolates you.
Rankings (S/A/B) live on the party tier list. This page is availability. Do not donate a unique spear to someone whose exit cutscene is two maps away.
Route 1 crew
| Name | Join | Leave | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lysithea | North Road rescue | After Protea catacombs (then hireable) | Water priest, Heal / Mina Heal / Dispel / Weapon Bless |
| Tear Lamley | Silved / Robust Fort night cycle | After Mud Poison report; returns for Svalt | Lightning Ether Knight |
| Lea | Protea cathedral clear | With Lysithea after catacombs | Flex attacker for that cluster |
Lysithea is the Route 1 run. Church of Proteus, saint-rescue subplot, the only reliable party-wide heal. If a Japanese chart says “Mina Heal through Mud Poison,” it means her. Hire her the second she hits the board. Steam screenshots of the blue-haired staff user in the plant-forest fight are this kit. Full kit and leave timing: her page.
Lea (レア) is easy to treat as a portrait and then lose her mithril. Unequip at the catacomb stairs.
Tear has her own page: Tear Lamley.
Guest / job-only faces on this route: Ariel (lighthouse hydra flags), Pan (tournament flags). They are not core four-slot residents.
Route 2 crew
Route 2 is the hideout-failure path. Expect Tania during slave-facility maps, including a stretch where you control Tania in stealth. Getting spotted three times is a flag, not only a wipe. Tear and Lea can still appear; they are not on Route 1’s timetable. Facility enemies (Bio Slug, Evil Eye, Bio Worm) care more about killing the worm before the delayed breath than about a perfect elemental trio — see combat.
Night theater work in Sera and Nugawa inn jobs are Route 2 gold, not Route 1 Silved tavern. Do not hunt those NPCs on the wrong file.
Route 3 crew
Ellis (エリス) is the name to remember: found stuck in a mine wall, then later hireable with a partner from Hertzots’ northwest manor. Lysithea can still show up as a quest-specific hire (sleeping prince / sahagin jobs). Route 3’s identity is mercenary logistics — mines, elf woods, casino, Fortress Eraser — more than a church party.
If you want Ellis and still want Mina Heal, that is what the board and New Game+ are for.
Male mercenaries and why they exist
Japanese materials count up to nineteen deployable names including Diana if you add every male hire. They exist to:
- Fill a hole the day Tear walks.
- Take hits without armor-break costumes.
- Give you a body that is not tied to a recollection flag you are trying to avoid.
They cost gold. Night jobs, guild ranks, and selling dungeon junk pay for them. A “I only use story heroines” file is a valid challenge run, not the default combat advice.
Board rules
- Unequip before story exits.
- Re-hire before the next named boss. Mud Poison, Cardinal, Sati, Bio Worm — do not enter those as a duo if the board has your healer.
- Cards stay on the person you equipped. They do not float back to Diana. This is how sleep-null disappears.
- NG+ puts the previous route’s crew on the board so Routes 2/3 can steal Route 1 tools. That is why those routes are designed as second campaigns.
- Four is a hard cap. You cannot bring the saint, Tear, Ellis, and a mercenary. Choose.
Suggested Route 1 default
Diana / Lysithea / Tear / flex (Lea while she exists, then a mercenary or a card-stacked Diana-heavy trio). After the ritual, Diana / Lysithea / Tear / whoever holds the next dungeon’s status-null card. That lines up with the tier list.
Suggested mindset on 2 and 3
Bring whoever the map just handed you, hire Lysithea if she is on the board, and read the local boss tell. Route 2 is a stealth-and-timer exam. Route 3 is a gear-and-casino exam. Neither is “copy the Route 1 screenshot.”
When a slot is empty and you are in a town, the answer is the guild, not a hidden fifth companion in a well. When a slot is empty in a dungeon, you already missed an unequip or a hire. Load the entrance save.
Cross-link: characters hub, Diana, Tear, routes, walkthrough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions Imperial Knights players ask first.
Who should I recruit first?
On Route 1, Lysithea from the North Road rescue. She is the healer for the entire file.
Can I hire story allies after they leave?
Yes. They register as mercenaries. Gold and an open slot are the only gates.
Why is Ellis not in my Route 1 guild?
Ellis is a Route 3 join. Route 1's extra jobs can still reference her for flags if she is in the party on that file.
Do male mercenaries use armor-break?
No. That is a reason to hire them for bosses that spam costume hits. See combat.