Mercenary Class in Path of Exile 2: Building a Ranged Powerhouse

The Mercenary class in Path of Exile 2 is built for high-speed, devastating ranged combat, allowing players to mow down enemies with a variety of specialized abilities. Armed with a Crossbow, the Mercenary can utilize a broad range of skills that deal explosive damage, apply elemental effects, and clear entire hordes of enemies. To maximize the potential of this class, the right combination of Skill Gems, Support Gems, and passive skill tree nodes is essential.

In this guide, we will explore the best Skill Gems for Mercenary builds, top Support Gems to amplify their damage, and how to complement your Mercenary’s abilities with the right passive skills.

The Best Skill Gems for Mercenary Builds

The Mercenary’s Skill Gems are designed to deal devastating ranged damage with a variety of elemental and physical effects. Here are the standout Skill Gems that synergize perfectly with the Mercenary class:

  1. Shrapnel Shot
    • Effect: Fires bolts that explode into a cone-shaped spread, dealing area-of-effect (AoE) damage.
    • Why It’s Great: Shrapnel Shot is fantastic for clearing large packs of enemies. Its explosion radius can be amplified with AoE-focused Support Gems, allowing you to wipe out mobs quickly.
  2. Explosive Grenade
    • Effect: Launches a grenade that deals fire damage over a wide area.
    • Why It’s Great: Ideal for crowd control and consistent burn damage over time. When combined with elemental Support Gems, Explosive Grenade can deal huge burst damage, especially in tight quarters.
  3. Piercing Bolt
    • Effect: Fires a single projectile that pierces through multiple enemies.
    • Why It’s Great: Perfect for linear or clustered enemies, as it hits through multiple foes in a line. By using Support Gems like Increased Projectile Damage or Greater Multiple Projectiles, you can enhance its power and effectiveness in clearing crowds.
  4. Frost Bolt Volley
    • Effect: Fires multiple frost projectiles that deal cold damage and slow enemies.
    • Why It’s Great: The slow effect from Frost Bolt Volley makes it a great defensive tool, as it can help you kite enemies while dealing consistent cold damage. Pair it with cold damage multipliers and Hypothermia to increase both the damage and the effectiveness of the slowdown.
  5. Elemental Barrage
    • Effect: Fires bolts imbued with elemental properties (fire, cold, or lightning) in rapid succession.
    • Why It’s Great: Elemental Barrage is a flexible skill that can adapt to the type of elemental ammo you’re using. With support skills like Elemental Focus and Faster Attacks, you can make Elemental Barrage a high-speed, high-damage skill that rapidly clears enemies.

Best Support Gems to Maximize Mercenary Skills

Support Gems allow you to enhance your Skill Gems, boosting damage, attack speed, or adding additional effects. Here are the best Support Gems for Mercenary builds:

  1. Greater Multiple Projectiles
    • Effect: Increases the number of projectiles fired.
    • Why It’s Great: This is perfect for skills like Shrapnel Shot and Frost Bolt Volley, increasing the number of projectiles and thereby the AoE and overall damage output. More projectiles mean more targets hit, and this is key for effective crowd control.
  2. Elemental Focus
    • Effect: Increases elemental damage while preventing the application of elemental status effects (such as burning or freezing).
    • Why It’s Great: If you’re focusing on elemental ammo, Elemental Focus significantly boosts elemental damage, making skills like Elemental Barrage and Explosive Grenade even more powerful.
  3. Increased Critical Strikes
    • Effect: Increases your critical strike chance.
    • Why It’s Great: Mercenaries benefit greatly from critical strikes, especially for single-target skills like Piercing Bolt. Pairing this Support Gem with Critical Strike Multiplier passive nodes can turn your Mercenary into a crit machine, dealing devastating damage.
  4. Faster Attacks
    • Effect: Reduces the attack time, allowing you to fire more quickly.
    • Why It’s Great: For builds focusing on rapid fire, Faster Attacks is essential. This will significantly increase the number of projectiles or grenades you fire, maximizing your damage output and speed.
  5. Added Fire/Cold/Lightning Damage
    • Effect: Adds a flat amount of elemental damage to your attacks.
    • Why It’s Great: If you’re focusing on elemental ammo, adding fire, cold, or lightning damage can drastically improve your DPS. These Support Gems scale well with Elemental Barrage or Explosive Grenade, especially if you’re using elemental-based gear and passive skills.

Passive Skills to Complement Mercenary Builds

To get the most out of your Mercenary’s skillset, it’s important to focus on key passive nodes that enhance damage, attack speed, and projectiles. Here are some essential nodes to prioritize:

  1. Projectile Damage
    • Effect: Increases the overall damage output of all projectile-based attacks.
    • Why It’s Great: This is vital for skills like Piercing Bolt and Shrapnel Shot, which rely on projectiles to deal damage. Boosting projectile damage will significantly raise your DPS.
  2. Elemental Damage
    • Effect: Increases elemental damage across all elemental-based attacks.
    • Why It’s Great: If you’re using Explosive Grenade or Elemental Barrage, increasing elemental damage multipliers is key to boosting their damage potential. Look for passive nodes that enhance fire, cold, or lightning damage, depending on your ammo setup.
  3. Attack Speed
    • Effect: Increases the speed at which you fire your weapons.
    • Why It’s Great: Faster attacks mean higher DPS, and the Mercenary class benefits greatly from this. Increasing your attack speed will allow you to fire more projectiles and grenades, speeding up clear speed and increasing overall effectiveness.
  4. Critical Strike Multiplier
    • Effect: Increases the damage of critical strikes.
    • Why It’s Great: If you’re focusing on critical strikes, this node is essential. It boosts the damage output of critical hits, and combining this with Increased Critical Strikes can make your Piercing Bolt or Frost Bolt Volley much deadlier.

Conclusion

The Mercenary class in Path of Exile 2 offers a dynamic and exhilarating ranged combat playstyle. By selecting the right Skill Gems, optimizing your Support Gems, and focusing on the appropriate passive skill tree nodes, you can create a highly efficient and powerful Mercenary build that excels at both crowd control and single-target damage.

Leveraging buy poe 2 currency will also help elevate your build by allowing you to craft superior gear, trade for rare items, and fine-tune your setup for maximum damage and survivability. Whether you’re raining down destruction with Shrapnel Shot or freezing enemies with Frost Bolt Volley, mastering the Mercenary class will make you a true force to be reckoned with in Path of Exile 2. Happy hunting, mercenary!If you’re looking to maximize your poe 2 currency and upgrade your gear, consider visiting U4GM, a trusted platform for buying Path of Exile 2 Currency, items, and gear. U4GM provides reliable services that can help you get the best items for your build, letting you focus more on enjoying the game rather than spending countless hours grinding.

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