Efficient PoE 2 Mercenary Mastery Guide

Time: 2024-12-27 by mmojugg Game: Path of Exile 2 Guide

Mercenary class in Path of Exile 2 is not just about brute force; it's about strategy, timing, and explosive power. Here's how to make your Mercenary journey through the campaign's three acts of brutal difficulty a breeze, focusing on gameplay that's both tanky and highly damaging.

Getting Started: Skills and early progression

Starting Skills:

Scattershot: Your first skill, this acts like a melee shotgun. Use it until you get Explosive Shot.

Permafrost Bolts: Picked up in the encampment to synergize with Fragmentation Rounds for massive damage against frozen enemies.

First support gem:

Double Barrel: Increases the number of bolts but reduces the reload speed, perfect for Fragmentation Rounds.

Early gameplay loop:

Grenade and Roll: Drop explosive grenades, roll through them to trigger explosions, and follow up with fragmentation rounds. This aggressive play style uses grenades for both damage and crowd control.

Mid-Game Enhancements

Grenades and Support:

Explosive grenades: Your primary source of damage. Use Fast Forward to reduce the fuse time for instant explosions.

Flash Grenades: For stunning, supported by Overpower for enhanced stun effects.

Gas Grenades: Causes armour breach with Corrosion support, creating poison clouds for area damage and control.

Skill upgrades:

Explosive Shot: At level 7, this replaces Fragmentation Rounds and allows you to detonate grenades instantly. Supported by Double Barrel and Marshall Tempo for reduced reload and clank.

Ascendancy and Passive Skill Tree

Ascendancy Selection:

Witch Hunter:

Zealous Inquisition for enemy explosions.

Witchbane and No Mercy for reducing enemy ability cooldowns and increasing your damage.

Passive tree progression:

Projectile damage: Stack this early to increase the effectiveness of your grenades.

Area of Effect & Cooldown Recovery: For more overlapping grenade explosions and faster skill reuse.

Attributes: Focus on Strength for Health, but balance with Agility.

Grenade-specific nodes: Look for nodes that increase grenade damage, area of effect, and additional projectiles.

Gear choices

For those who want to start off with the right tools, consider our POE 2 Mercenary Starter Set for an optimised experience right from the start.

Crossbows:

Bombardment crossbow: For an extra projectile with grenades.

Dyad crossbow: For an extra bolt with Explosive Shot. Look out for physical or fire damage boosts.

Armour:

Armour/Evasion mix: Until the end game, this mix will help manage the diminishing returns on both stats.

Essential Mods:

Physical Attack Leech for Mana and Health: Crucial for sustain.

High physical/fire damage: Directly increases your damage output.

Endgame Preparation

Support gems:

Payload: For a chance to activate grenades twice, increasing your damage output.

Disorientate: Adds Dazzle to your Flash Grenades for extra crowd control.

Elemental Focus: Focuses your main damage skills on elemental damage.

Spirit Gems:

Herald of Ash: For overkill explosions.

Overwhelming Presence: Reduces enemy thresholds for afflictions and stuns.

Clarity & Vitality: For mana and health regeneration in the third act of Cruelty.

Optimisation and Performance

Gear Scaling: Towards the end of the game, shift more towards dodging for better efficiency.

Graphics Settings: Use FSR or DLSS on performance mode to handle the graphical load of grenade explosions and ensure smooth gameplay.

Thanks for Reading

This mercenary build in POE 2 is designed for players who enjoy aggressive, explosive gameplay with minimal downtime or combat. With this guide, you'll master the art of grenade spamming, crowd control, and boss melting, making your journey through the campaign both fun and effective.