Path of Exile 2 features a variety of classes, each with distinct playstyles and abilities. Among these, the Mercenary stands out as a crossbow-wielding freelancer who is ready to take on any challenge for the right price.
What sets the Mercenary apart is the unique ability to switch between multiple types of ammunition, providing a versatile approach to different combat scenarios. In this overview, we’ll delve into the Mercenary class, highlighting its gameplay mechanics, skills, and Ascendancy Classes.
Mercenary Class Overview
The Mercenary is a hybrid class combining Strength and Dexterity, utilizing a crossbow to maintain distance from adversaries. With a diverse range of ammunition options, the Mercenary can quickly adapt to various enemies and situations. Compared to other long-range users, the Mercenary’s unique ammo system makes it a compelling choice.
In addition to crossbow skills, the Mercenary can deploy grenades with different effects—Explosive Grenades inflict fire damage, Flash Grenades disorient foes, Voltaic Grenades unleash lightning damage, and more.
If you want a class that offers mobility, versatility, and excels at ranged damage, the Mercenary is a solid pick.
Mercenary Ascendancy Classes
The Mercenary has two unique Ascendancy Classes: Witch Hunter and Gemling Legionnaire. Each offers a distinctive playstyle that can significantly alter how you approach combat.
Witch Hunter
The Witch Hunter focuses on a mix of offensive, defensive, and utility skills, turning the Mercenary into a formidable combatant. Key abilities include:
- Culling Strike: Instantly kills enemies once they drop to a specific health threshold—30% for normal enemies, 20% for magical ones, and 5% for rare and unique foes.
- Decimating Strike: Unleashes powerful attacks against enemies at full health, removing up to 30% of their life with each hit.
- Concentration: This mechanic diminishes an enemy’s Cooldown Recovery Rate based on their current health, rendering bosses less formidable during fights.
The Sorcery Ward provides a defending barrier against elemental damage while sacrificing 50% of the Mercenary’s Armor and Evasion. It’s a strategic trade-off that requires you to enhance your defensive stats to maximize the effectiveness of this ability.
With skills like Zealous Inquisition, there’s a chance for enemies to explode upon death, causing substantial damage to others nearby—useful for clearing mobs quickly.
In summary, the Witch Hunter enhances the Mercenary’s toolkit without demanding extensive game knowledge, allowing for effective damage boosts and stronger survivability.
Gemling Legionnaire
The Gemling Legionnaire takes a more strategic approach, focusing on optimizing Skill Gems. Some noteworthy features include:
- Adaptive Capability: This Notable allows you to meet the Attribute Requirements of your Gems based on your highest Attribute, enabling you to specialize in one instead of spreading points across multiple stats.
- Enhanced Effectiveness: This doubles the benefits gained from your Attributes, making it crucial to focus on maximizing them.
- Gem Studded: Allows the use of two copies of the same Support Gem across various Skills, giving you flexibility in your build.
While the Gemling Legionnaire can provide impressive boosts to skills, it demands a deeper understanding of the game’s mechanics and how to leverage those teachable moments effectively.
Conclusion
Ultimately, both Ascendancy Classes provide unique avenues to explore with the Mercenary. The Witch Hunter is ideal for players seeking straightforward offensive power with built-in defensive measures, while the Gemling Legionnaire rewards knowledgeable players with depth and flexibility in build crafting. Choose wisely based on your preferred playstyle!
