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 a storm of projectiles! 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 future updates.
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Key Mercenary Attributes
The Mercenary excels with high Dexterity, boosting evasion over armor. Prioritize Dexterity on your passive skill tree and through gear. Movement speed is crucial for dodging attacks. Allocate Strength and Intelligence as needed for equipment and skill requirements.
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Essential Early-Game Skills
- Fragmentation Rounds: A decent starting skill, but quickly outclassed. Consider Brutality and Leverage support gems for increased damage and critical strike chance against immobilized foes.
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- Permafrost Bolts: A strong early-game choice. Freeze and immobilize enemies with frost projectiles. Pair with Frost Nexus and Leverage support gems for enhanced freezing and critical strike chance. Double Barrel adds more bolts but increases reload time (mitigable with increased attack speed).
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Image: ensigame.com
- Explosive Grenade: Excellent for crowd control. Use Scattershot for three grenades at once (damage reduction is worth the AoE). Second Wind provides survivability. Remember grenade trajectory and physics!
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- Gas Grenade: Releases poisonous gas, improved with Corrosion (armor reduction) and Bursting Plague (damage boost). Detonate the gas with fire skills (like Explosive Grenade or later, Explosive Shot) for massive damage.
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- Galvanic Shards (Act 2): Transforms your crossbow into an automatic shotgun. Use Conduction and Lightning Infusion support gems for devastating lightning damage.
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- Herald of Thunder: A powerful buff, especially with Galvanic Shards and Conduction. Requires 30 spirit units.
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- Explosive Shot: Combines well with grenades; detonates them on impact. Fire Infusion increases fire damage. Offers ranged AoE and an alternative to Galvanic Shards.
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Image: ensigame.com
Recommended Passive Skill Tree Nodes
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: Reduced attack speed but significantly increased projectile damage and stun.
- Careful Aim: Increased projectile damage and accuracy at close range.
- Cluster Bombs: Increased grenade fuse duration and extra projectile. (Use with Explosive Shot)
- Adrenaline Rush: Increased movement and attack speed after kills.
- Doomsayer: Increased Herald skill area of effect and damage. (Use with Herald of Thunder)
- Instant Reload: Increased crossbow reload speed.
- Volatile Grenades: Reduced grenade fuse duration (use if not using Explosive Shot)
Image: ensigame.com
Image: ensigame.com
Image: ensigame.com
Image: ensigame.com
Experiment and find your optimal build! This guide provides a solid foundation for a powerful Mercenary in Path of Exile 2.
