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 bows; your trusty crossbow is your key to obliterating hordes of enemies! 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 full release.
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Core Mercenary Strengths:
The Mercenary, while capable of wielding any weapon, excels with crossbows. These versatile weapons function as a blend of automatic rifles, shotguns, and grenade launchers. Maximize Dexterity for increased evasion, prioritizing it over armor. Movement speed is crucial for dodging attacks. Allocate Strength and Intelligence as needed based on equipment and skill requirements.
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Early Game Skill Choices:
- Fragmentation Rounds: A decent starting skill, but quickly outclassed. Consider Brutality and Leverage support gems, but prioritize saving gems for stronger skills later.
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- Permafrost Bolts: A much more reliable early-game option. Freezing and immobilizing enemies enhances your damage output with support gems like Frost Nexus and Leverage (for increased critical strike chance). Double Barrel adds more bolts per shot but increases reload time (mitigable with increased attack speed).
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Image: ensigame.com
- Explosive Grenade: Essential for crowd control. Scattershot allows for three grenades at once (despite reduced damage), and Second Wind provides added survivability. Remember grenade trajectory and physics when aiming.
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- Gas Grenade: A supplementary skill. Corrosion reduces enemy armor, replacing the need for Armour Piercing Rounds and High Velocity Rounds. Bursting Plague boosts damage. Detonating the gas cloud with fire skills (like Explosive Grenade later Explosive Shot) significantly increases damage.
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- Galvanic Shards (Act 2): Transforms your crossbow into a devastating automatic shotgun. Conduction and Lightning Infusion support gems maximize its potential.
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- Herald of Thunder: A powerful buff, especially when paired with Galvanic Shards and Conduction. Requires 30 spirit units (obtainable by defeating a first act boss).
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- Explosive Shot: Combines well with grenades, detonating them on impact. Fire Infusion support gem increases fire damage. Offers ranged crowd control and an alternative to Galvanic Shards.
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Image: ensigame.com
Passive Skill Tree Prioritization:
Focus on nodes increasing projectile damage:
- Remorseless: Increased projectile damage, stun buildup, and attribute bonuses.
- Ricochet: Increased projectile damage and chain chance.
- Blur: Movement speed, evasion, and dexterity.
- Heavy Ammunition: Increased projectile damage and stun buildup (despite reduced attack speed).
- Careful Aim: Increased projectile damage and accuracy at close range.
- Cluster Bombs: Increased grenade fuse duration and additional projectiles (good with 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
These skills and passive nodes provide a solid foundation. Experimentation is key to discovering optimal combinations and builds for your Mercenary!
