His blade in Path of Exile 2 is at your service: How to make a Mercenary build

Conquer Path of Exile 2 as a Mercenary: A Beginner's Guide

Tired of fantasy tropes in Path of Exile 2? The Mercenary class offers a unique, action-packed experience reminiscent of a top-down Doom game. Ditch the swords and magic; embrace the crossbow and unleash explosive mayhem! This guide focuses on building an effective Mercenary in PoE2's early access version (0.1.0f). Note that GGG may implement changes affecting this guide's accuracy in the final release.

Image: ensigame.com

Key Mercenary Attributes:

Prioritize Dexterity for damage and evasion. Evasion is superior to armor in this build. Movement speed is crucial for dodging attacks. Allocate Strength and Intelligence as needed for equipment and skill requirements.

Image: ensigame.com

Early Game Skills:

• Fragmentation Rounds: A decent starting skill, but quickly outclassed. Consider Brutality and Leverage support gems, but prioritize gem allocation for later skills.

Image: ensigame.com

• Permafrost Bolts: A strong early-game choice. Freeze and immobilize enemies for increased critical strike chance with Leverage support. Frost Nexus enhances area-of-effect freezing. Double Barrel adds a second bolt at the cost of reload speed (mitigable with increased attack speed).

Image: ensigame.com Image: ensigame.com

• Explosive Grenade: Essential for crowd control. Scattershot support gem triples grenade throws (at a damage reduction). Second Wind provides additional survivability. Utilize grenade trajectory effectively, accounting for obstacles and enemy positioning.

Image: ensigame.com

• Gas Grenade: Provides poison damage over time. Corrosion support gem significantly reduces enemy armor against poison. Bursting Plague increases damage. Detonate the gas clouds with fire skills (like Explosive Grenade or later, Explosive Shot) for massive damage boosts.

Image: ensigame.com

• Galvanic Shards (Act 2): Transforms your crossbow into a lightning shotgun. Conduction and Lightning Infusion support gems drastically increase damage. High attack speed turns it into a powerful automatic weapon.

Image: ensigame.com

• Herald of Thunder: A powerful buff, especially with Galvanic Shards and Conduction. Requires 30 spirit units (obtainable from an Act 1 boss). Provides near 100% shock chance, maximizing the Herald's effectiveness.

Image: ensigame.com

• Explosive Shot: Pairs well with grenades; explosions detonate nearby grenades. Fire Infusion support gem increases fire damage. Offers ranged AoE clearing and an alternative damage type for fire-weak enemies.

Image: ensigame.com

Image: ensigame.com

Passive Skill Tree:

Focus on nodes increasing projectile damage:

• Remorseless: Increased projectile damage, stun buildup, and attribute boosts.
• Ricochet: Increased projectile damage and chain chance.
• Blur: Increased movement speed and evasion.
• Heavy Ammunition: Increased projectile damage and stun buildup (despite attack speed reduction).
• Careful Aim: Increased projectile damage and accuracy at close range.
• Cluster Bombs: Increased grenade fuse duration and additional projectile. (Use if not using Explosive Shot)
• Adrenaline Rush: Increased movement and attack speed after kills.
• Doomsayer: Increased Herald skill area of effect and damage.
• Instant Reload: Significantly increased crossbow reload speed.
• Volatile Grenades: Reduced grenade fuse duration (only if not using Explosive Shot).

Image: ensigame.com Image: ensigame.com Image: ensigame.com Image: ensigame.com

Experiment and discover your optimal build! This guide provides a solid foundation for early-game success. Remember to adapt and refine your strategy as you progress.