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PoE 2 Build

Mercenary Leveling Guide

0.2 DotH

Mercenary

Starter

Verified

FearlessDumb0

By FearlessDumbo

Updated on Apr 10, 2025

Apr 10, 2025

Build Overview

A step by step guide to leveling any Mercenary ascendency, be it Tactician, Witch Hunter, or Gemling Legionnaire to fully clear the campaign and get into maps.

Build Variants

Acts 1-2

Act 3

Cruel Act 1-2

Cruel Act 3

Acts 1 and 2 you'll want to focus on continuous gear upgrades by searching vendors and occasionally gambling for Crossbows. Make sure after killing The King in the Mists that you acquire 30 spirit and enable Herald of Thunder

Equipment

Acts 1-2

Act 3

Cruel Act 1-2

Cruel Act 3

Set 1

Set 2

Equipment Priority

Gear Priority

Crossbows will almost always be your primary upgrade. Spend gold on merchants for these before anything else as more damage will infinitely improve your campaign experience. After that pick up Evasion and/or ES bases as you find them. Eventually this will be a hybrid Evasion/Energy Shield character though during Acts 1 and 2 the gear with the highest resistances will be your main first concern as better bases won't be available until later in campaign.

Crossbow

Stat priorities are, in this order:

Flat Physical or Flat Lightning Damage
Any other Flat Damage (Fire/Cold)
%Increased Physical Damage
%Attack Speed
%Increased Elemental Damage to Attacks

Gear Affixes

Cold Resistance will be important for the Act 1 boss, Geonor. Grab a Freeze Charm as well before walking into the fight. Life and Resistances will be your best defense, followed by Evasion and Energy Shield.

Flat Damage on Rings / Gloves

If you see Flat Damage of any type (Physical/Lightning/Cold/Fire) on Rings or Gloves, or Attack Speed on gloves, those will be an automatic purchase. Flat damage is very rare, particularly in early campaign and it has an oversized impact on how well your campaign run will go.

Runes

In your weapons, use whatever flat damage or Iron Runes you are able to find. As with most campaign builds, your DPS will greatly impact how smooth the campaign feels. In your gear prioritize Resistances as you need them.

Skill Gems

Acts 1-2

Act 3

Cruel Act 1-2

Cruel Act 3

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 10

Dex 20

Int 5

Expand all

High Velocity Rounds

Flash Grenade

Galvanic Shards

Explosive Grenade

Flame Wall

Herald of Thunder

Gem Priority

Level 2

Fragmentation Rounds + Martial Tempo
Explosive Grenade
Flame Wall

The early parts of leveling are fairly straight forward, you pick up Fragmentation Rounds off the ground on the beach and go from there. If you have an extra minute, it's worth creating a throw-away second character to get a second Level 1 Skill Gem to acquire Flame Wall. This skill adds Flat Fire Damage to projectiles that pass through it, dramatically smoothing your progression through the first few Acts.

Try to kite mobs around your Explosive Grenade while waiting on the fuse to blow and simultaneously shotgunning with Fragmentation Rounds and/or Crossbow Shot if you are low on Mana.

Level 6

High Velocity Rounds + Scattershot + Double Barrel
Flash Grenade + Overpower
Flame Wall + Persistence

High Velocity Rounds will become your single-target preference once you get your first Level 3 Uncut Skill gem. Make sure you drop Flame Wall and continue to shoot through them for single target scenarios.

Flash Grenade will become an important part of the early campaign rotation as it provides crowd control and will temporarily stun enemies, giving you an opportunity to burn them down.

Level 14

Galvanic Shards + Lightning Infusion + Pierce
High Velocity Rounds + Scattershot + Double Barrel
Flash Grenade + Overpower
Flame Wall + Persistence
Herald of Thunder - kill King in the Mists for this

Galvanic Shards will become your clear skill from here on out. It is exceptional at delivering screen-wide lightning damage to packs of mobs and when paired with Herald of Thunder pushes your early campaign clear. Galvanic Shards also benefits from Flame Wall and can continue to provide additional clear and single-target damage with Flash Grenade on deck for crowd control and priming single-target enemies.