Henchmen and Backup are NPCs that can be summoned by the player character via their Lair's Mainframe to support them in combat. Lair System access is necessary to use these trinkets, which are dispenser items.
Henchmen and Backup act in a similar manner to pets, staying with the player character for some time before disappearing. They can summoned again when their cooldown ends.
Normal and Elite[]
Normal Back-Up and Henchmen are of epic rarity while elite ones are of artifact rarity. Elite Back-Up or Henchmen deal substantially more damage and have additional effects beyond damage; they also do not require anything unlocked in the mainframe to function, and are unaffected by its upgrades (e.g. it does not give them the ability to fly if they do not fly by default), although Back-Up/Henchmen I in the mainframe is required to re-obtain their trinkets in the dispenser.
Normal Back-Up or Henchmen are summoned for 50 seconds and the cooldown is 180 seconds. Elite Back-Up or Henchmen are summoned for 90 seconds and the cooldown is 240 seconds. The cooldown starts at the moment they are summoned. The cooldown is shared between all versions of the trinkets - including both normal and elite; the cooldown applied is the same for both and it depends on which one was used (e.g. if elite was used, the cooldown is 240 seconds for both types of trinkets).
Appearance and Upgrades[]
Henchmen and Backup can be upgraded via the Mainframe, with each upgrade allowing the NPC to be more effective in supporting the player in combat.
| Level | Actions |
| Level 1 | Two Back-Up reinforcements to attack enemies |
| Level 2 | Two Back-Up reinforcements to attack enemies |
| Level 3 | Three flying Back-Up reinforcements with massive attack followed by standard attacks |
| Lair Type | Title | Abilities | Image |
| Ancient | Lvl 2 Cracked Stone Sentinel Lvl 3 Stone Sentinel |
One-Handed | 
|
| Brainiac | Lvl 3 Brainiac Henchman | Hand Blast | 
|
| Bunker | Lvl 1 Assistant Operative | One-Handed | 
|
| Cave | Lvl 2 Enhanced Sentry Lvl 3 Specialist Sentry Lvl 4 Elite Sentry |
Hand Blasters | 
|
| Deco | Lvl 1 Junior Bodyguard Lvl 2 Trained Bodyguard Lvl 3 Skilled Bodyguard Lvl 4 Elite Bodyguard |
| |
| Eastern | Lvl 2 Martial Adept Lvl 4 Martial Master |
Martial Arts, Staff | 
|
| Gothic | Lvl 2 Assistant Security Lvl 4 Lead Security |
Brawling | 
|
| House of Legends | Lvl 3 House of Legends Defense Robot | 
| |
| Industrial | Lvl 1 Alpha Prototype Lvl 2 Beta Prototype |
| |
| Modern
(Hideout) |
Lvl 1 Junior Bodyguard Lvl 2 Trained Bodyguard Lvl 3 Skilled Bodyguard Lvl 4 Elite Bodyguard |
Rifle | 
|
| Penthouse | Lvl 1 Junior Bodyguard Lvl 2 Trained Bodyguard Lvl 3 Skilled Bodyguard Lvl 4 Elite Bodyguard |
Dual Pistols | 
|
| Tech | Lvl 4 Lead Researcher | Dual Pistols | 
|
| Sewer | Lvl 2 Biohazard Assistant | Rifle | 
|
| Space Base Hideout | Lvl 3 Space Cadet | Dual Pistols, Dual Wield, Rifle | 
|
| Volcano Hideout | Lvl 3 LexCorp Heavy Trooper, LexCorp Officer | Hand Blast, Rifle | 
|
Episodes and Events[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Base Amenity: Sparring Target takes on the appearance of the Henchmen/Backup associated with the lair it is positioned within.
- Prior to game update 47 there were 5 possible levels for your Backup/Henchmen. Levels 1 and 2 are unchanged, but previously level 3 only summoned a 3rd reinforcement. Level 4 added the ability for the reinforcements to fly and level 5 was the same as level 3, today.
- Originally there had been a clear distinction between Backup for heroes and Henchmen for villains. With the advent of loot drops and vendor items of this kind, now most are in the Henchmen category only.
- As of late 2024 the best henchmen are Henchmen Uplink Device: LexCorp Security Robots according to DCUO: Henchmen: Parademons Preview.