The Mercenary in Path of Exile 2 is a dual-wielding crossbow specialist, relying on Strength and Dexterity to maximize their combat effectiveness. This class offers versatile builds focused on either area-of-effect or single-target damage through unique crossbow combinations. A wide array of crowd control abilities allows Mercenaries to maintain distance and eliminate enemies before they can close in.
This Path of Exile 2 Mercenary guide will detail its pros and cons, crossbow specializations, skill gems, and ascendancy options for beginners.
Pros and Cons
Like any class, the Mercenary has strengths and weaknesses carefully balanced by the developers. Comparing these advantages and disadvantages can help you determine if this playstyle suits you. While future updates may bring balance changes, here's a look at the Mercenary's current pros and cons.
Pros
- High Versatility: Offers diverse build options and playstyles.
- Extensive Crowd Control: Has a lot of abilities to control enemies’ movements and actions.
- Reasonable Survivability: Can take a decent amount of damage.
Cons
- Mana Reliant: Requires you to pay attention to your mana pool
- Positioning Matters: The better your positioning, the more effective you will be
- High Skill Ceiling: Requires a lot of practice to fully utilize your potential
The Mercenary is a tricky class to master. It has many combos for different fights, and you need to know exactly which crossbow to use when. There are three types, and each one changes how your skills work.
Mercenary Crossbows
PoE2 introduces many new weapon types, including crossbows used by the Mercenary. This class can dual-wield crossbows, each affecting your skills and overall playstyle. This versatility makes the Mercenary effective in both close and long-range combat.
Crossbow selection plays a key role in influencing the range and effects of their skills. While possessing decent base survivability, the Mercenary's true potential is unlocked by prioritizing damage output. The Mercenary's crossbows mostly do fire and frost elemental damage. However, their arsenal also includes skills that fire standard bolts and armor-piercing rounds, providing non-elemental damage options. This versatility allows Mercenaries to avoid specializing in a single damage type, enabling them to choose the most effective skills for any given situation.
The combination of crossbows you choose determines your combos. Your playstyle and the specific situation will dictate the best setup. You'll have access to Armor Piercing, Incendiary, and Permafrost Ammunition, each with unique effects depending on the crossbow being used.
Power Shot Crossbow
- Armor Piercing: Does a lot of damage to enemies with low armor and might stun them.
- Incendiary Ammo: Shoots grenades that explode when they hit the ground.
- Permafrost Ammo: Creates an ice wall which can block enemies. When the wall breaks, it explodes and does a little extra damage.
Rapid Shot Crossbow
- Armor Piercing: Shoots very fast to break down enemy armor. Works well with the Burst Shot Crossbow for extra damage.
- Incendiary Ammo: Gets stronger the longer you use it and explodes like a grenade.
- Permafrost Ammo: Shoots at the ground to make ice. If enemies walk on it, they explode and freeze.
Burst Shot Crossbow
- Armor Piercing: Fires a spread of shots that can hit through multiple enemies at once and ignore some of their armor.
- Incendiary Ammo: Shoots a fiery projectile that gets stronger when it hits something.
- Permafrost Ammo: Has a chance to freeze enemies and apply chill.
This wide range of effects lets you handle almost any fight. Whether you need to damage many enemies at once or control them, this class has the tools. You just need to learn when and how to use them effectively.
Mercenary Skill Gems
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Armor Piercing Rounds: Your crossbow fires a barrage of bolts that are great at destroying enemy armor. Using the skill again instantly reloads, so you can keep firing.
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Fragmentation Rounds: Your crossbow fires fast bursts of piercing bolts. If these hit a frozen enemy or an ice crystal, they break it and cause a big explosion of sharp pieces that damage everything nearby.
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Permafrost Bolts: This attack does a small amount of damage to an area and greatly slows down enemies in front of you. It can completely freeze enemies that are weak to ice.
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High-Velocity Rounds: Fires piercing bolts that do a lot of damage to enemies without armor.
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Incendiary Shot: Like Permafrost Bolts, this attack hits enemies in front of you, but it sets them on fire instead of slowing them down.
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Ice Shards: Works like Rapid Shot, but it fires ice bolts instead of fire bolts.
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Rapid Shot: Fires a series of special bolts that do fire damage. The damage increases based on how much "Heat" you've built up before using the skill.
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Glacial Bolt: Fires icy bolts that create two walls of ice crystals when they hit enemies.
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Explosive Shot: Deals a lot of damage to a wide area with explosive bolts.
In most cases, you will be using Rapid Shot Crossbow and Power Shot Crossbow. The majority of skills are more powerful with these types of weapons.
Mercenary Attachments
In addition to the Mercenary's skills in Path of Exile 2, there are three attachments that can be combined with your abilities. These are equipped in a separate slot and function similarly to skill gems.
Attachment |
Description |
Flash Grenade Launcher
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Doesn't do much damage, but it can stun a group of enemies for a good amount of time. Use it before a fight to make it easier to use your other skills. |
Explosive Grenade Launcher
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Launches up to three grenades that explode after a short period of time. |
Oil Grenade Launcher
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Fires a grenade that covers the ground and nearby enemies in oil. This slows them down, making it easier to control them. You can also set the oil on fire for extra damage to enemies and the ground. |
Mercenary Ascendancies
Path of Exile 2's Mercenary Ascendancies offer further customization. While each class will eventually have three Ascendancy options, two are currently available for the Mercenary: Witch Hunter and Gemling Legionnaire. Each offers a distinct playstyle and unique benefits, allowing you to tailor your Mercenary to your preferred approach.
Witch Hunter
This is a blend of deadly offense, defense, and utility. If you enjoy precise strikes and gameplay that is heavy on utility, this Ascendancy will work for you.
Notable Skills: Weapon Master, Pitiless Killer, Witchbane.
Gemling Legionnaire
This Ascendancy is very different. It's all about making your Skill Gems as powerful as possible, making it one of the most unique Ascendancies. If you enjoy creating and perfecting builds and getting the most out of your skills, this is the Ascendancy for you.
Notable Skills: Crystalline Potential, Implanted Gems, Advanced Thaumaturgy.
► Key Mercenary Tips:
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Keep Your Gear Updated: As you level, enemies get stronger, so regularly upgrade your weapons and armor. Even a small improvement to resistances or life can make a big difference.
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Stick to a Simple Skill Setup: Focus on one or two main skills early on and use support gems to enhance them. Don't try to use every gem you find; this will make leveling smoother and more efficient.
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Prioritize Defense: While damage is important, survivability is key, especially in later areas. Invest in life, energy shield, resistances, and defensive flasks to stay alive and level faster.
Conclusion
You're now equipped to face any challenge and defeat the toughest bosses. The Mercenary is a well-balanced and, in some cases, very strong class, which has a lot of versatility and will let you experiment and play around with a lot of different styles. Good luck, and we'll see you in Wraeclast!
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