Path of Exile 2: Master Leveling for Mercenaries

This Path of Exile 2 Mercenary leveling guide details optimal skills, gems, passive skills, and items to ensure a smooth progression to the endgame. Mercenaries, while straightforward, require strategic build choices to maximize their potential.

Early Game Strategy:

Initially, Mercenaries may feel less powerful due to crossbow reload times. However, this weakness is easily mitigated by focusing on grenade skills once unlocked. Before unlocking high-tier grenades like Explosive and Gas Grenades, rely on Fragmentation Shot (effective close-range, multi-target damage, especially with stun support gems) and Permafrost Shot (rapid freezing for increased Fragmentation Shot damage).

Late Game Progression and Core Skills:

The core gameplay shifts dramatically upon unlocking powerful grenades and Explosive Shot.

• Gas Grenade: Large-area poison, detonatable with a Detonation skill.
• Explosive Grenades: Explode after a delay or on detonation.
• Explosive Shot: Detonates Gas and Explosive Grenades for massive AoE damage.
• Ripwire Ballista: Distracts enemies.
• Glacial Bolt: Crowd control. (Replace Permafrost Shot)
• Oil Grenade: Useful for AoE, but generally outperformed by Gas Grenade. Consider swapping for Glacial Bolt against bosses.
• Galvanic Shards: Excellent for low-risk horde clearing. (Replaces Fragmentation Shot)
• Herald of Ash: Ignites nearby enemies on overkill damage.

Use Lesser Jeweller's Orbs to add support gem sockets to your key grenade skills (Explosive Grenade, Explosive Shot, Gas Grenade). Prioritize available support gems until you acquire the recommended ones.

Essential Passive Skills:

Focus on these passive skills on the Mercenary tree:

• Cluster Bombs: Increases grenade projectiles.
• Repeating Explosives: Chance for double grenade explosions.
• Iron Reflexes: Converts evasion to armor, crucial for mitigating the drawbacks of the Sorcery Ward Ascendancy skill (highly recommended).

Other valuable passive skills include Cooldown Reduction, Projectile/Grenade Damage, and Area of Effect. Prioritize Crossbow Reload Time, Crossbow Damage, Armor, and Evasion only if necessary; grenade damage should be your primary focus.

Itemization and Stat Priorities:

Prioritize upgrading your lowest-level gear, with the crossbow being the most impactful upgrade. Focus on these stats:

• Dexterity
• Strength
• Armor
• Evasion
• All Elemental Resistances (except Chaos)
• Increased Physical Damage
• Increased Elemental OR Fire Damage
• Attack Speed
• Mana On Kill OR Hit
• Life on Kill OR Hit
• Rarity of Items Found
• Movement Speed

A Bombard Crossbow significantly enhances grenade damage by adding another projectile. Actively seek these out for crafting opportunities.