Mercenary Build Guide: Wielding the Blade in Path of Exile 2

If you've been hearing buzz about Path of Exile 2 but are put off by traditional fantasy elements like swords, bows, and magic, the Mercenary class might just be your perfect entry point. This class transforms the game into a thrilling, top-down experience reminiscent of Doom. Instead of fantasy weapons, you'll be wielding a trusty crossbow—think of it as a shotgun—and diving headfirst into swarms of enemies, turning them into nothing more than fertilizer for your path of destruction.

When properly leveled, the Mercenary becomes an unstoppable force, effortlessly handling both regular mobs and formidable bosses. For instance, the final boss of the first act, which presents a significant challenge to the Witch, can be dispatched with relative ease by a well-optimized Mercenary on the first or second attempt. Let's explore how to build an effective Mercenary in the early access version of PoE2, keeping in mind that this guide is based on game version 0.1.0f. Note that Grinding Gear Games (GGG) may update the game, potentially making some parts of this guide obsolete.

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Like all characters in PoE2, the Mercenary can use any weapon, but you'll want to stick to the crossbow—a versatile tool that blends the functionalities of an automatic rifle, shotgun, and grenade launcher. While the Mercenary can use bows, these are better left to the Ranger. As the famous line from Full Metal Jacket goes, "Without me, my crossbow is useless. Without my crossbow, I am useless."

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Main Characteristics of the Mercenary

The Mercenary's most crucial attribute is Dexterity. Prioritize accumulating as much Dexterity as possible from items and the passive skill tree. Evasion should take precedence over Armour, and boosting your Movement Speed will help you weave through enemy attacks. Allocate points to Strength and Intelligence as necessary, depending on your gear and skill requirements.

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Useful Skills in Early Game Stages

Fragmentation Rounds

At the outset, Fragmentation Rounds can be useful, though you'll quickly move past it. Enhance it with Brutality (increases physical damage by 35%) and Leverage (increases crit chance against immobilized enemies by 50%). However, it's generally better to conserve your gems for more impactful skills later on.

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Permafrost Bolts

Permafrost Bolts is a strong starting skill, allowing you to freeze and immobilize enemies with frost projectiles. Enhance it with Frost Nexus (increases the chance to freeze the ground around an ice-bound enemy) and Leverage. Alternatively, use Double Barrel to load two bolts at once, though this increases reload time by 30%—a drawback you can mitigate with the right passive skills.

Remember, different skills allow you to load different numbers of bolts into your crossbow. You can refresh your charge by pressing the quick key again. Also, keep in mind that attack speed affects reload speed, so don't overlook this stat.

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Explosive Grenade

Grenades are indispensable for dealing with large groups of enemies. Enhance your Explosive Grenade with Scattershot to throw three grenades instead of one, though this reduces explosion damage by 20%. Second Wind is another beneficial support gem. Grenades have a wide range and follow physics, so be mindful of obstacles when targeting. Approach doorways closely to ensure all grenades enter, and use rolls to avoid damage while your grenades hit their mark.

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Gas Grenade

Gas Grenade releases a cloud of poisonous gas that expands and poisons enemies. Enhance it with Corrosion to reduce enemy armor by 80% and Bursting Plague to increase damage. A standout feature is its ability to be detonated by fire, significantly boosting damage. Use skills like Explosive Grenade or Explosive Shot with the Detonate keyword to achieve this.

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Galvanic Shards

Available from the second act, Galvanic Shards transforms your crossbow into an automatic shotgun, firing lightning with five charges. Enhance it with Conduction and Lightning Infusion to maximize its already impressive damage. With increased reload speed, it becomes an electro-automatic rifle, perfect for mowing down enemy waves.

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Herald of Thunder

If you've followed our advice and equipped Galvanic Shards with Conduction, Herald of Thunder becomes an excellent early-game buff. It ensures a 100% chance to shock enemies, triggering lightning strikes from above. Activating this aura requires 30 spirit units, obtainable by defeating a first-act boss.

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Explosive Shot

Embrace your inner Doomguy with Explosive Shot, which synergizes well with grenades. The explosion from a bolt hit detonates grenades on the ground. Enhance it with Fire Infusion to increase fire damage, offering a powerful area-of-effect method for clearing labyrinths. Though more complex, Explosive Shot allows you to keep enemies at a distance and provides an alternative damage type against fire-weak foes.

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These skills will help you level your Mercenary efficiently to around level 20-25, giving you a solid grasp of the class mechanics. Aim to acquire as many of these abilities as possible, as you'll need diverse elemental damage types to tackle tougher challenges.

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Passive Skills of the Mercenary

Focus on passive skill nodes that increase projectile damage. Here are key skills to prioritize:

**⚔️ Remorseless** — Boosts projectile damage by 15%, increases stun buildup against close enemies by 30%, and adds 5 strength and dexterity. An excellent starting buff.

**⚔️ Ricochet** — Increases projectile damage by 15% and gives projectiles a 10% chance to chain an additional time. A solid damage boost.

**⚔️ Blur** — Enhances movement speed by 4%, increases evasion rating by 20%, and adds 10 dexterity. It improves survivability and helps level up main attributes.

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**⚔️ Heavy Ammunition** — Reduces attack speed by 8% but increases projectile damage and stun buildup by 40%. A significant damage bonus if you're investing in Blur.

**⚔️ Careful Aim** — Boosts projectile damage by 16% and increases accuracy rating at close range by 40%. Essential for addressing accuracy needs.

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**⚔️ Cluster Bombs** — Increases grenade fuse duration by 50% and adds an additional projectile to grenade skills. Ideal if you're using Explosive Shot, as the grenades explode on impact.

**⚔️ Adrenaline Rush** — Boosts movement speed by 4% and attack speed by 8% if you've killed recently. You'll naturally activate this on your way to Instant Reload.

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**⚔️ Doomsayer** — Increases the area of effect and damage of Herald Skills by 30%. A potent way to enhance Herald of Thunder.

**⚔️ Instant Reload** — Boosts crossbow reload speed by 40%, with an additional 30% bonus on the way, totaling 70%. You'll also unlock the first Jewel Socket on this path.

**⚔️ Volatile Grenades** — Reduces grenade fuse duration by 25%. Only take this if you're not using Explosive Shot in combat.

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These passive skills should be enough to get you started, requiring around 30-35 skill points. As you acquire them, you'll better understand how the Mercenary operates in PoE2. Don't hesitate to experiment, as the real joy of playing a Mercenary comes from discovering your own unique combinations and builds!