His blade in Path of Exile 2 is at your service: How to make a Mercenary build

Conquer Path of Exile 2 as a Mercenary: A Beginner's Guide

Tired of fantasy tropes? Path of Exile 2's Mercenary class offers a unique, action-packed experience reminiscent of a top-down Doom game. Ditch the swords and magic; embrace the crossbow and unleash explosive mayhem upon hordes of enemies! This guide focuses on building an effective Mercenary in PoE2's early access version (0.1.0f). Note that Grinding Gear Games (GGG) may implement changes affecting this guide's accuracy in the final release.

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Key Mercenary Attributes

The Mercenary's primary attribute is Dexterity. Prioritize Dexterity on gear and the passive skill tree, focusing on Evasion over Armor. Movement speed is crucial for dodging attacks, while Strength and Intelligence are secondary, adjusted based on equipment and skill requirements.

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Essential Early-Game Skills

• Fragmentation Rounds: A decent starting skill, but quickly outclassed. Consider Brutality and Leverage support gems, but prioritize saving gems for stronger skills.

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• Permafrost Bolts: A solid early-game choice. Freeze and immobilize enemies for increased critical hit chance with Leverage support. Double Barrel adds more bolts but increases reload time (mitigable with increased attack speed).

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• Explosive Grenade: Excellent for crowd control. Scattershot support gem triples the grenades, albeit with reduced damage per grenade. Second Wind is another valuable support gem. Remember projectile physics and positioning for optimal effect.

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• Gas Grenade: Creates a poisonous cloud. Corrosion support reduces enemy armor, while Bursting Plague boosts damage. Detonate the gas with fire skills (like Explosive Grenade or later, Explosive Shot) for massive damage.

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• Galvanic Shards (Act 2): Transforms your crossbow into an automatic shotgun. Conduction and Lightning Infusion support gems significantly enhance damage.

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• Herald of Thunder: A powerful buff, especially with Galvanic Shards and Conduction. Requires 30 spirit units.

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• Explosive Shot: Combines well with grenades, detonating them on impact. Fire Infusion increases fire damage. Offers ranged AoE and an alternative to Galvanic Shards.

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Recommended Passive Skill Tree Nodes

Prioritize nodes increasing projectile damage:

• Remorseless: Increased projectile damage, stun buildup, and attribute bonuses.
• Ricochet: Increased projectile damage and chain chance.
• Blur: Increased movement speed and evasion.
• Heavy Ammunition: Reduced attack speed but significantly increased projectile damage and stun.
• Careful Aim: Increased projectile damage and accuracy at close range.
• Cluster Bombs: Increased grenade fuse duration and additional projectile. (Use if not using 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).

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Experiment and discover your optimal build! This guide provides a solid foundation for a powerful Mercenary in Path of Exile 2.