Path of Exile 2: Beginner's Mercenary Leveling Tips

If you're diving into ***Path of Exile 2*** and have chosen the Mercenary class, you're in luck because leveling a Mercenary is one of the easiest paths to take. Unlike some classes that might struggle with managing hordes or being confined to melee range, Mercenaries come equipped with a versatile set of tools that can handle nearly any combat scenario. However, mastering a Mercenary build requires understanding the best strategies and setups, which is where this Mercenary leveling guide for *Path of Exile 2* comes into play. It will walk you through the recommended skills and support gems to use, the items and modifiers to seek out, and the key Passive Skill Tree nodes to focus on as you level up your Mercenary character.

Best Mercenary Leveling Skills & Support Gems

When leveling a Mercenary, players of *Path of Exile 2* might find that the class takes a bit of time to become effective. This is often because many players mistakenly rely solely on Crossbow bolts and ammo types without transitioning to a Grenade-based playstyle. Crossbows inherently have a reload time, but once you unlock Grenades, you can fill this downtime, making your Mercenary feel significantly more powerful.

In the early stages, before you access the more potent skills like Explosive Grenade, Gas Grenade, and Explosive Shot, you can depend on **Fragmentation Shot** and **Permafrost Shot**. **Fragmentation Shot** is excellent for close-range combat against both single and multiple targets, especially when enhanced with Support Gems that boost its Stun damage. **Permafrost Shot** can quickly freeze enemies, enhancing the effectiveness of Fragmentation Shots as they shatter frozen foes.

As you progress and unlock your most powerful Grenades and the Explosive Shot ability, your playstyle will evolve dramatically.

Core Mercenary Leveling Skills
Skill Gem	Useful Support Gems
Explosive Shot	Ignition, Magnified Effect, Pierce
Gas Grenade	Scattershot, Fire Penetration, Inspiration
Ripwire Ballista	Ruthless
Explosive Grenade	Fire Infusion, Primal Armament, Magnified Effect
Oil Grenade	Ignition, Magnified Effect
Flash Grenade	Overpower
Galvanic Shards	Lightning Infusion, Pierce
Glacial Bolt	Fortress
Herald of Ash	Clarity, Vitality

**Gas Grenade** will poison enemies across a large area and can be manually detonated with a Detonation skill. **Explosive Grenades** will detonate after a delay or upon being hit with a Detonator skill. **Explosive Shot** synergizes with both Grenades, causing massive area damage and excelling in both area clearing and single-target scenarios. **Ripwire Ballista** can distract enemies, while **Glacial Bolt** helps manage overwhelming hordes. **Oil Grenade** is handy for dealing with groups but is generally outclassed by **Gas Grenade**. For bosses, consider swapping **Glacial Bolt** for **Oil Grenade**. **Galvanic Shards** is excellent for clearing weaker enemies without the need for extensive Grenade setups. Replace **Fragmentation Shot** with this skill. **Herald of Ash** causes enemies to ignite nearby foes upon death, dealing damage based on the overkill damage.

The listed Support Gems are accessible at Level 1 or 2, obtainable before reaching deep into Act 3. The synergy between the base skills and these Support Gems forms the backbone of a powerful Mercenary leveling build. Use whatever Support Gems you have until you can acquire these recommendations. Employ a Lesser Jeweller's Orb to add a Support Gem socket to your Explosive Grenade, Explosive Shot, and Gas Grenade skills to fully utilize the recommended Support Gems.

Best Mercenary Passive Skills For Leveling

As you navigate the Mercenary Passive Skill Tree, focus on three crucial skills: **Cluster Bombs**, **Repeating Explosives**, and **Iron Reflexes**. **Cluster Bombs** increases the time it takes for Grenades to explode but adds an extra Projectile, ensuring at least two Grenades per skill use. **Repeating Explosives** provides a chance for your Grenades to explode twice, which becomes more frequent as you gain additional Projectiles. **Iron Reflexes** converts all Evasion into Armor, countering the effects of the powerful **Sorcery Ward** Ascendancy skill found in the Witchhunter Ascendancy tree, the best choice for leveling Mercenaries.

**Sorcery Ward** offers a significant barrier against non-Physical damage but halves Armor and Evasion. By converting Evasion to Armor with **Iron Reflexes**, you mitigate this downside and bolster your defense against Physical attacks. While **Iron Reflexes** isn't a priority from the start, consider picking it up when you're near the edge of the Mercenary Passive Skill Tree, just to the left of an Attribute node.

Other skills to prioritize while leveling include **Cooldown Reduction**, **Projectile & Grenade Damage**, and **Area of Effect** to enhance your Grenade capabilities. **Crossbow Reload Time**, **Crossbow Damage**, and the **Armor & Evasion** duo nodes are also beneficial but can be picked up as needed. If your Grenades are performing well, you can delay investing in Crossbow-related Passive skills until necessary. Similarly, if you're not dying frequently, you can hold off on **Armor & Evasion** until they're essential.

Recommended Items & Mercenary Stat Priority

As you level your Mercenary, continually upgrade your equipment, focusing on gear with strong modifiers that justify replacing current items. Not every piece of gear is an upgrade, so be selective. The **Crossbow**, your primary weapon, is crucial as it enables access to Mercenary Skill Gems. Prioritize upgrading your lowest-level gear, but a significant Crossbow upgrade will markedly enhance your character's power.

Mercenaries require both **Dexterity** and **Strength** in near-equal measures, along with a blend of **Armor** and **Evasion** for gear. Seek out items that boost these stats to establish a robust defensive foundation and meet Attribute requirements for powerful Skills and Weapons. Additionally, watch for modifiers like **Physical and Elemental Damage**, **Mana on Hit**, and **Resistances**, which become vital as you progress into more challenging areas. **Rarity of Items**, **Movement Speed**, and **Attack Speed** can enhance your leveling experience but aren't mandatory for reaching *PoE 2* endgame as a Mercenary.

• 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

To simplify Mercenary leveling in *Path of Exile 2*, consider using a **Bombard Crossbow**. This base type adds an additional Grenade projectile to your Grenade Skills, increasing your minimum from two to three projectiles per skill, not counting enhancements from Skill Gems like Scattershot. Collect every Bombard Crossbow you find to potentially craft something powerful using the various upgrade currencies available in *PoE 2*.