Path of Exile 2: Tactician Mercenary Deep Dive

A Solid Plan: Buffs on a Budget

Kicking off with A Solid Plan, this two-pointer gives 8% increased Spirit (nice bonus) and slashes persistent buff reservations by 50%. That's huge - Combat Frenzy drops from 30 to 15 Spirit, Wind Dancer and Heralds follow suit, and even big buffs like Cast on Crit (100 to 50 Spirit) get dirt cheap. With over 100 new support gems coming in, expect fresh persistent buffs like Vitality or Clarity to join the party at half price. It's a plug-and-play node - any build can grab it early and stack more buffs than a holiday buffet.

See How I Do It vs. Who Pays the Most: Party or Banners?

From there, you've got two flavours. Watch How I Do It adds 25% of your main weapon's damage as flat attack damage to allies - think ghosts or party members. It's meh for minions (gem levels are more important), but in group play, a powerful two-handed weapon could spice up your crew. Meanwhile, Whoever Pays Best allows you to place multiple banners. Banners are currently underwhelming in PoE 2 - hopefully the patch will improve them - otherwise this will be a skip for most. Party players might like the first one; soloers, not so much.

Suppressing fire: Pin 'Em Down

The Suppressing Fire branch is where things get nasty. The base node lets you pin enemies with projectile damage - think 4-second root. Pair it with Siege Cascade (50% more damage vs. immobilised) or Leverage Support (50% crit chance boost), and it's solid. Then Right Where We Want Them turns pinned enemies into statues - they can't move, attack, or cast. It's a pseudo freeze that's easier to proc than an actual freeze, shredding map packs and giving you breathing space against rares. Pin uptime is a no-brainer, and with a little passive tree investment, this is your jam.

Polish That Gear: Tankier Than Ever

Polish That Gear converts 100% of armor into stun threshold and 100% of evasion into ailment threshold. With 3,200 health, 5,000 armour doubles your stun resistance, and high-end gear (12-15k armour/evasion) makes you almost immune to stuns and ailments. In a patch where afflictions can hit harder, this is a defensive steal. Then Stay Light, Use Cover doubles your armour for damage reduction (capped at 50% phys) and reduces enemy accuracy by up to 90% at 12 metres. Pair this with Black Braid (armour vs elemental damage) and you've got a quirky tank setup - when armour gets buffed, this could shine.

Unleash Hell: Off-Screen Archers

Unleash Hell summons off-screen minions to rain down arrows based on your strength and agility. The reveal looked underwhelming, but the attribute stacking could surprise us. With no base damage numbers, it's a wildcard - perhaps a niche mapper or boss chipper. We'll see how it scales, but for now it's more cool concept than must-have.

Cannons Ready: Totem Burst Tricks

Cannons Ready gives totems 30% more skill speed, but they only fire when you fire an attack projectile. It's clunky for mapping - totems should work while you're dodging - but it's a boss beast. Switch weapons to dual two-handed with Giant's Blood, summon Shockwave or Ancestral totems, then switch back and trigger them for quick bursts. It's fiddly, but the single-target payoff could be massive.

Build potential: Bows, Buffs, and Beyond

The Tactician's a Swiss Army knife. Bow or crossbow builds (hello, siege cascade) will love the pin branch for control and damage. Buff-heavy builds - stacking Heralds, Frenzy, or Triggers - thrive with A Solid Plan. Party players can rely on flat damage support, while Totem Tricksters can switch weapons for boss melts. It's versatile early (cheap buffs) and scales late with gear and gem synergy. Expect it to shine in both solo and group metas!