Dmitry "blackelvisu" Kirnosov You've heard a lot of good things about the video game Path of Exile 2 and want to try it, but you're not a fan of fantasy with all those swords, bows, and magic? Then we have a class especially for you! The Mercenary in Path of Exile 2 transforms the game into a top-down Doom — simply grab a trusty shotgun (more precisely, a crossbow) and charge into the hordes of fresh meat!
Features of the Mercenary in Path of Exile 2
With proper leveling, the Mercenary class becomes a deadly machine for processing monsters into fertilizer. This applies not only to regular mobs but also to bosses. For example, the final boss of the first act, which poses significant challenges for the Witch, can be easily defeated by a well-built Mercenary on the first or second attempt.
Let's delve into how to create an effective Mercenary build in the early access version of PoE2. And since we mentioned it, it's worth noting that all information is relevant for game version 0.1.0f. It's possible that GGG (Grinding Gear Games) will implement changes in the release version that may render some parts of this guide outdated.
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Like all characters in PoE2, the Mercenary can wield any weapon without restrictions. However, when playing this class, you're unlikely to want to engage nasty demons in melee combat. It's much better to keep your hands clean and use a crossbow, which is actually a versatile hybrid of an automatic rifle, shotgun, and grenade launcher.
The Mercenary also has skills for bows, but we'll leave that weapon type for the Ranger and focus on the crossbow — your best friend. Paraphrasing the movie Full Metal Jacket: Without me, my crossbow is useless. Without my crossbow, I am useless.
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Main Characteristics of the Mercenary
Naturally, the most important parameter for the Mercenary is Dexterity. Strive to accumulate as much Dexterity as possible from items and select this stat on the passive skill tree. Also, remember that Evasion is more important than Armour, so prioritize the former over the latter. Movement speed will help you maneuver between enemies and avoid their attacks. Choose Strength and Intelligence as needed, depending on equipment or skill requirements.
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Useful Skills in Early Game Stages
Fragmentation Rounds
At the very beginning of the game as a Mercenary, the Fragmentation Rounds skill will be useful, but don't rely on it too heavily — you'll soon forget about it. For this ability, you can use the support skills Brutality (increases physical damage by 35%) and Leverage (increases crit chance against immobilized enemies by 50%). However, it might not be worth spending gems on a weak skill and better save them for the future.
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Permafrost Bolts
This is already a solid skill to start the game with. By shooting enemies with frost projectiles, you can freeze and immobilize them, keeping them at bay. You can take the support skill Frost Nexus (increases the chance to freeze the ground around an ice-bound enemy) and Leverage, as mentioned above.
Thus, you'll be freezing enemies and shooting them with increased crit chance. Another good option is the support skill Double Barrel. With it, you'll load two bolts instead of one, but the reload time will increase by 30% (though this can be reduced, which we'll discuss shortly).
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By the way, regarding the number of bolts in the crossbow. Different skills allow you to load different numbers of bolts into the crossbow. Don't forget that pressing the quick key again allows you to refresh the charge. So, if after defeating a pack of enemies you have 3 bolts out of 12 left, simply reload the crossbow before moving on.
Remember safety techniques! It's also quite important to know that attack speed affects reload speed, so don't neglect this parameter.
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Explosive Grenade
Grenades are another type of projectile that will be hard to do without. Let the clustered shots from the crossbow deal AoE damage, but the most effective way to clear huge crowds of enemies is with grenades. And remember — be sure to enhance your skill with the Scattershot support gem to throw three grenades instead of one. Yes, the damage from explosions will decrease by 20%, but it's worth it, believe me! The second support skill that fits well is Second Wind.
Remember that grenades have quite a large range and will fly to where your cursor is, even to the very edge of the screen. Grenades obey the laws of physics, so when trying to catch a crowd of monsters by surprise, pay close attention to ensure there are no obstacles between you and the target that could deflect the projectiles.
Before throwing grenades into a door or corridor, get close to the doorway; otherwise, only one grenade out of three will go inside, and the others will bounce off the wall. If enemies are already running towards you from all directions, throw grenades in their direction and confidently perform a couple of rolls towards them. You will most likely avoid the hits, but the monsters will slow down and get caught in the explosions.
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Gas Grenade
This type of grenade releases a small cloud of poisonous green gas, which gradually covers a larger area, poisoning enemies. Not the strongest ability, but it can be improved with the support skill Corrosion — it reduces victims' armor by 80% from poison damage. This support gem is beneficial because it replaces your Armour Piercing Rounds and High Velocity Rounds skills, which also reduce target armor but take up extra slots in your active skills list. To increase damage, also insert the Bursting Plague gem.
However, the coolest feature of Gas Grenade is that you can detonate the gas with fire, dramatically increasing damage to enemies! To do this, use active skills with the keyword Detonate — in the early stages, this is Explosive Grenade, and later — Explosive Shot.
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Galvanic Shards
This skill becomes available approximately in the second act of the campaign, and from that moment on, everything changes. Galvanic Shards will become your favorite skill for clearing locations of small monsters, as it turns your crossbow into an automatic shotgun with 5 charges, firing lightning!
Enchant it with support gems Conduction and Lightning Infusion to increase the already staggering damage. With increased reload speed, instead of the electro-shotgun, you'll have an electro-automatic rifle capable of mowing down waves of approaching enemies in seconds.
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Herald of Thunder
This is the best buff you can choose in the early stages of playing as a Mercenary if you followed our recommendations above and took Galvanic Shards with the support gem Conduction. Your chance to shock monsters will increase to 100%, ensuring the Herald of Thunder buff activates. If you do everything correctly, while shooting at enemies from above, striking lightning will rain down on them! Note — activating this aura requires 30 spirit units, which you can obtain by defeating one of the bosses of the first act.
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Explosive Shot
Feel like a real Doomguy! This skill is best used together with grenades, as the explosion from a bolt hit causes grenades on the floor to detonate. Add the support gem Fire Infusion to increase fire damage and get a good AoE clearing method for labyrinths. Perhaps the combination of grenades and shooting will seem more complicated to you (yes, it is!), but Explosive Shot has a couple of advantages over Galvanic Shards.
First, Galvanic Shards is used at close range, while Explosive Shot allows you to keep enemies at a distance. Second, it's always useful to have an alternative way to deal with monsters and bosses that are weak to fire.
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To start, these skills are enough to quickly and effectively level the Mercenary in PoE2 to level 20-25 and understand the class mechanics. Try to acquire as many of the abilities listed above as possible, because in more difficult locations, you'll need to use different elemental damage types to effectively combat a variety of enemies. Now, let's move on to recommendations for developing the passive skill tree.
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Passive Skills of the Mercenary
Try to activate any passive skill nodes that include the phrase increased projectile damage. Here are the ones you should focus on:
⚔️ Remorseless — 15% increased projectile damage, 30% increased stun buildup against enemies within two meters, +5 strength and dexterity. This is a great buff to start the game with.
⚔️ Ricochet — 15% increased projectile damage, projectiles have a 10% chance to chain an additional time. A nice damage increase.
⚔️ Blur — 4% increased movement speed, 20% increased evasion rating, +10 dexterity. Adds a bit of survivability and allows you to level up main attributes along the way.
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⚔️ Heavy Ammunition — 8% reduced attack speed, 40% increased projectile damage, 40% increased projectile stun buildup. If you decide to go for Blur, we also recommend spending points on this skill — it provides a very respectable damage bonus.
⚔️ Careful Aim — 16% increased Projectile Damage, 40% increased Accuracy Rating at Close Range. Sooner or later, you'll need to consider Accuracy Rating, so why not invest resources in it in advance?
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⚔️ Cluster Bombs — 50% increased grenade fuse duration, grenade skills fire an additional projectile. This skill is worth taking if you play with Explosive Shot. The grenade detonation time won't worry you since they explode due to the shot, but the additional projectile will be very useful!
⚔️ Adrenaline Rush — 4% increased Movement Speed if you've Killed Recently, 8% increased Attack Speed if you've Killed Recently. You'll activate this skill anyway on the way to Instant Reload (discussed below).
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⚔️ Doomsayer — Herald Skills have 30% increased Area of Effect, Herald Skills have 30% increased Damage. A very effective way to level Herald of Thunder, if you're using it.
⚔️ Instant Reload — 40% increased Crossbow Reload Speed. A very cool passive skill, on the path to which you'll receive an additional 30% bonus to reload speed — totaling 70%. Also, on the way to this node, you'll unlock the first Jewel Socket!
⚔️ Volatile Grenades — 25% reduced Grenade fuse duration. Take it only if you don't use Explosive Shot in combat.
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This is sufficient for starters, as obtaining these passive skills will require about 30-35 skill points. While acquiring them, you'll have ample time to understand how the Mercenary works in PoE2. Don't forget to experiment, as the main pleasure of playing a Mercenary in PoE2 comes from discovering your own combinations and builds!
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