Mercenary Mastery: Unleash Your Blade in Path of Exile 2

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

Tired of fantasy tropes in Path of Exile 2? Embrace the Mercenary class and transform the game into a top-down shooter experience! This guide focuses on a crossbow-centric build, maximizing damage and survivability in the early game (version 0.1.0f). Note that Grinding Gear Games (GGG) may adjust the game mechanics before the full release.

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The Mercenary's Arsenal: Crossbows Reign Supreme

While the Mercenary can wield any weapon, crossbows are the optimal choice. They function as a hybrid of automatic rifles, shotguns, and grenade launchers, providing versatile damage output at range. Forget close-quarters combat – let your crossbow do the talking!

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Key Attributes and Playstyle

Dexterity is paramount for the Mercenary, boosting both damage and evasion. Prioritize evasion over armor. Movement speed is crucial for dodging attacks. Strength and Intelligence should be allocated as needed by your gear and skill choices.

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Early Game Skill Selection: A Powerful Starting Lineup

• Fragmentation Rounds: A decent starting skill, but quickly outclassed by other options. Consider Brutality and Leverage support gems for increased damage and critical strike chance against immobilized enemies.

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• Permafrost Bolts: A strong early-game choice. Freezing enemies increases critical strike chance with the Leverage support gem. Consider Frost Nexus and Double Barrel support gems for area-of-effect freezing and increased projectile count.

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• Explosive Grenade: Essential for crowd control. The Scattershot support gem allows for three grenades at once, while Second Wind provides survivability.

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• Gas Grenade: Provides poison damage over time, enhanced by the Corrosion support gem (reduces armor). Detonating the gas cloud with fire skills (like Explosive Grenade or later, Explosive Shot) significantly increases damage. Use Bursting Plague for added damage.

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• Galvanic Shards (Act 2): Transforms your crossbow into a lightning shotgun. Conduction and Lightning Infusion support gems amplify its damage.

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

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• Explosive Shot: Combines well with grenades; fire damage is boosted by Fire Infusion. Offers ranged crowd control.

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Passive Skill Tree Allocation: Prioritize Projectile Damage

Focus on passive skill nodes that increase projectile damage. Key nodes include: Remorseless, Ricochet, Blur, Heavy Ammunition, Careful Aim, Cluster Bombs (with Explosive Shot), Adrenaline Rush, Doomsayer, Instant Reload, and Volatile Grenades (if not using Explosive Shot).

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Experimentation is key! This guide provides a solid foundation; adapt and refine your build based on your playstyle and discovered synergies. Enjoy the explosive action of the Mercenary in Path of Exile 2!