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Path of Exile 2 best Mercenary buildHere’s a guide on how to cause major grenade damage as the Mercenary
Here’s a guide on how to cause major grenade damage as the Mercenary
Image credit:Grinding Gear Games
Image credit:Grinding Gear Games
Looking for the best Mercenary build in Path of Exile 2?The Mercenary is a new class inPath of Exile 2that shares some initial similarities with the Ranger in that they both use ranged weapons. But while the Ranger relies on bow strikes, the Mercenary is all about rapidfire tactics with his crossbow, which can shoot a speedy seven bolts prior to reloading as well as some really big explosives.
The Mercenary requires you to position yourself well and deal with the obstacle of reloading. If you can master this, though, the class is a lot of fun, and a wee bit better when it comes to ranged chaos than the Ranger in my book. In this guide we’ll give an explanation ofthe best Mercenary build for Path of Exile 2’s Early Access,with an eye towards loading grenades and using them to deal brain-shattering damage to all mobs and bosses in your path.
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Best Mercenary build in Path of Exile 2
The best Mercenary build in Path of Exile 2 is the followingGrenadebuild, which emphasises all of the explosive capabilities that this class possesses. For anyone who likes injecting a little artillery into your dark fantasy game, the skills presented here are a joy to run, and you can expect impressive AoE damage and superb crowd control with this build. The tradeoff is mobility, as you’ll need to constantly zig-zag in order to ensure that the trajectory of your shots hits true. The Mercenary relies upon Dexterity and Strength, so do your best to equip gear that bumps up those two stats to make the most of your ranged shots and to soak up any stray hits that come your way as you’re wiggling into position. See our guide to Path of Exile 2’sAttributesandcraftingsystem if you’re having any trouble wrapping your head around how to best outfit the Mercenary.
The Witch Hunter’s an easier Ascendancy unless you’re in the endgame or used to fiddling with gems. Plus, he looks like Van Helsing. |Image credit:Grinding Gear Games
When it comes to your Ascendancy as the Mercenary, both Witch Hunter and Gemling Legionnaire can work well with this build, though Witch Hunter is probably better for newbies, especially if you take the Zealous Inquisition skill, which amps AoE effects on enemies. The Gemling Ascendancy is superior for Path of Exile 2’s endgame, as it’ll let you cut more gems to improve your build in the long run.
Mercenary build: Best skills
The following skills offer the most literal bang for your buck as you pepper the arena with explosive effects of all types. There’s some room for experimentation the more you get familiar with the Mercenary’s skillset, but I found these six the most useful:
Explosive Shot
Explosive Shot loads your crossbow with flaming bolts that go boom on impact. This is a good starter skill that will feed into many of the others here, as the explosions it creates will also cause grenades in the area of effect to detonate as well.
Oil Grenade
Oil Grenade doesn’t do much damage on its own, but it does drench everything around you in oil, increasing susceptibility to ignition. Combine this skill with Explosive Shot and Explosive Grenade to take advantage of the lowered resistances your enemies will have to fire attacks when they’re oiled up.
Flash Grenade
Flash Grenade lets loose a bouncing projectile that ends in a blinding explosion, and it’s a very useful skill for staggering bosses and smaller mobs. The Mercenary is the closest thing that Path of Exile 2 has to what I like to call a ‘tricky bastard’ class, and Flash Grenade equates to playing dirty in the best way. Once you get used to stunning enemies, it’s hard to go back - just be aware that this skill stuns allies in multiplayer matches as well.
Explosive Grenade
This is the bigger cousin of Explosive Shot, and a no brainer once you get access to it later in Act 1 of the campaign. You’ll utilise Explosive Grenade for more powerful blasts, for igniting oil, and for taking bosses down a notch after you’ve staggered them with Flash Grenade.
Gas Grenade
Similar to Oil Grenade, Gas Grenade is for slapping your foes with a status effect - in this case, poison damage thanks to the cloud left behind after the gas fuse expires. Explosive Shot and Explosive Grenade can both be used to detonate the poison cloud for additional damage.
Cluster Grenade
You have a few more grenade options available in Path of Exile 2’s later game, most notably Voltaic Grenade (think lightning grenades) and Cluster Grenade, which is my preferred choice. Cluster Grenade fires out a grenade that explodes into an additional nova of miniature grenades, which fits in very well with our mission to fill the arena with lots of grandiose pyrotechnics. Use this one to give you an advantage against bosses and to clear tight rooms packed with enemies.
Grenade build: Best support gems
Martial Tempo
Martial Tempo’s a good, simple support gem that grants 25% more attack speed. Insert it into Explosive Shot to ensure that your bolts fly faster and never let up.
Pierce
Pierce is another useful support for Explosive Shot, making your projectiles pierce an enemy. Damage will be reduced somewhat, but the idea here is to make your regular attacks as effective as possible, hence the need for piercing.
Nimble Reload
Firepower comes with a price, and reloading is the bane of the Mercenary. The more you play with this class the more you’ll get used to reloading, but if you want to take some of the stress off your back, invest in the Nimble Reload support gem, which offers up to 60% crossbow reload speed.
Persistence
Strip Away
Any skill which applies exposure to enemies will have 30% increased effect when you equip Strip Away. This is another good support gem to combo with Oil Grenade, which applies fire exposure to any foes who get stuck in your oil streaks.
Encumbrance
For Oil Grenade to become even more effective, stick Encumbrance on there. This gem assists any sills that inflict slow, guaranteeing that your opponents will be wandering around in circles like slugs while you pick them off from afar.
Corrosion
Corrosion goes hand-in-hand with poison, breaking armour equal to 80% of poison damage dealt. As you might expect, this is a great support gem to work alongside your Gas Grenade.
Scattershot
Scattershot is a very reliable support gem that I often find myself prioritising for the majority of my ranged and spellcasting builds no matter the class. In this case, you can use it with Flash Grenade to create additional blinding projectiles that will barricade across the screen, ensuring that at least someone in your way gets staggered.
Overpower
Overpower supports any skill that hits enemies, causing 50% more stun buildup. This is a great gem in general, but it’s going to become even better when we arrange it with Flash Grenade. Expect this to make a nice difference when you’re up against bosses.
Fire Infusion
Fire Infusion’s a fine supplement to all of your flame-based attacks, giving them 25% extra fire damage. The tradeoff is 50% less cold and lightning damage, but this build thankfully doesn’t rely on either!
That’s a wrap when it comes to blowing stuff up as the Mercenary! For more on the mechanics that power Grinding Gear Games' epic ARPG, see our guides to thePassive Skill Tree,Attributes, andcrafting. We’ve also got a look at thebest character class for beginners, as well as a list ofwhat to do firstif you’re just getting started with Path of Exile 2’s early game. And if you’d like to learn how to take your class to greater heights, see our guide on how to Ascend via theTrial of the Sekhemas.
