Based on the original game which was launched in 2013, Path of Exile 2 introduces a brand new six-act campaign, a fresh skill system, 100 endgame maps along with other improvements such as the addition of a dodge roll.
In order to satisfy players to carry over their accounts, inventories and paid in-game items from the first game, PoE 2 early access, which was originally scheduled to be released on November 15, was delayed again by three weeks to December 6.
ARPG has embraced excellent achievements in the past few days, which can be witnessed by the full arrival of Last Epoch, Diablo 4 and its expansion Vessel of Hatred. And PoE 2 is bound to be the next big hit in this genre.
You may be depressed to hear it gets pushed back again, but a bunch of server-side infrastructure improvements and upgrades are necessary, all for a better experience for players.
In this highly anticipated game, 6 new classes are introduced. One of them is Mercenary. Along with the original 6 class, PoE 2 will definitely bring more content in the aspects of build diversity and character fantasy.
This article introduces the details of Mercenary and how it works. If you are confused about how to choose an apposite class, then consider Mercenary. By making full use of his weapon skills and pairing it with other items by spending some PoE 2 Gold, Mercenary will definitely become one of the best classes in the game. Keep reading and get a deep known about it.
Mercenary Overview
As a new class, Mercenary features STR/DEX attribute, making then begin at the same location as Duelist class, approaching to Strength and Dexterity portions of Passive Skill Tree.
Mercenary class is designed to own new moving while attacking combat mechanic and are equipped with a range of overwhelming skills. The features like this make it feel more like a shooter, rather than a ranger.
As to the way to make a promising Mercenary build, here comes the main weapon he excels in – Crossbow. You are available to equip a variety of of newly introduced Crossbows which bear similarity of classic guns, such as sniper rifles, shotguns, and assault rifles.
Depending on the actual battle context, players can also switch between the two Crossbows. Under the support of different ammo types and Attachments, you can cast fatal attacks through disparate combinations. Combining with other items which achieve great reaction with your Mercenary by spending some PoE 2 Currency helps complete even challengeable quests.
Path of Exile 2 also adds a new system named WASD movement to make Crossbows work better.
This new system supports players to move their character with WASD rather than clicking with the mouse. And it allows you to shoot enemies with your Crossbow in every direction. Of course, this new mechanism applies to all characters, but it is particularly suitable for Mercenary.
Crossbows Details
Crossbow gives much emphasis on large damage blows and armor piercing shots and is equipped with enormous impact.
In order to allow Mercenary to better focus on high damage shots and crowd control skills, it is recommended to equip two Crossbows to yield combination effects. Depending on the ammos equipped, which mainly involve armor piercing ammo, incendiary ammo, and permafrost ammo, the effect it yields is disparate.
Each Crossbow has different effects and focuses. Players need to adjust and switch ammo types based on the scenes to enhance the efficiency of farming bosses and the odds to drop PoE 2 Gold.
Here lies the rundown of Crossbows and ammos in the game:
- Rapid Shot Crossbow – With rapid firing skill that is akin to an assault rifle.
- Burst Shot Crossbow – With medium speed firing skill that is akin to a Shotgun.
- Power Shot Crossbow – With slower firing skill that is akin to a sniper rifle.
- Armour Piercing Ammo – Pierces enemies, enhancing the odds to efficiently hit mobs of enemies
- Incendiary Ammo – Ignites enemies and make interaction with other explosions
- Permafrost Ammo – Chills and Freezes enemies
When using two Crossbows for a combo fight, Mercenary can automatically switch weapons for seamless connection.
Mercenary Attachments
There are three Attachments that can be augmented with support gems to offer you additional benefits in the game. And they are:
- Explosive grenade launcher – Casts explosive grenades damage
- Flash grenade – Not much damage, but can cause a huge stun effect
- Oil grenade launcher – Covers the ground with oil to decrease the speed of enemies
What Is The Best Mercenary Build?
You may not be too picky about which Crossbows you choose, but you can achieve some deadly combo attacks by adjusting the ammo and attachments. For an instance, Armor Piercing can be used to explode frozen enemies, while Burst Shot Crossbow is available to slay enemies stuck behind the ice walls.
It is recommended to equip both Rapid Shot Crossbow and Power Shot Crossbow, the former with a large magazine size and the latter with high damage potential, respectively. Then equip both Crossbows with Incendiary ammo and ignite them, then switch to Power Shot Crossbow for unexpected fire damage.
If you want to add more firepower, it is recommended to ignite the oil grenade that can slow enemies down and leave the room to attack and release deadly combo skills.
That’s it for the new class in Path of Exile 2 – Mercenary, mainly involving weapons and attachments. Let us expect the adventure that will kick off next month! Thanks for reading.