The Mercenary class in Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2) specializes in crossbows, grenades, and elemental ammo. Learn more about the Mercenary's class mechanics, skills, and ascendancies.
List of Contents
- Class Mechanics
- Skills
- Ascendancies
- Related Guides
Mercenary Class Mechanics
Crossbow Specialist
The Mercenary specializes in using Crossbows and their different firing modes, such as Rapid Shot (rapid fire), Burst Shot (shotgun), Power Shot (Sniper), and grenade launcher attachments. These firing modes, combined with different ammo skills, make it possible for the Mercenary to adapt to any type of damage for any given situation.
Jack-Of-All-Trades
The Mercenary can compete with other classes in terms of situational needs. If an enemy has high armor, the Mercenary can use a Rapid Shot Crossbow to chip the armor away and then swap to a secondary Crossbow with a different firing mode to deal damage.
The Mercenary can also use elemental ammunition (skills) to build up different status ailments, or crowd-control enemies to fight them in favorable conditions.
Confirmed Skills
The Crossbow has a total of 22 skills that Mercenaries can use. Listed below are skills that were mentioned and showcased in the Mercenary Gameplay Walkthrough:
- Armor Piercing Rounds
- Inciendary Rounds
- Permafrost Rounds
- Explosive Grenade
- Flash Grenade
- Oil Grenade
Armor Piercing Rounds
| Firing Mode Interaction | |
|---|---|
| Rapid Shot | Slowly erodes a monster's armor, making them more vulnerable against attacks. |
| Burst Shot | Pierces through enemies, great for dealing with enemy hordes. |
| Power Shot | Disregards a target's armor, great for dealing against tough enemies. If an enemy already has a broken armor, the Power Shot will hit a weak spot and deal huge amounts of single-target damage. |
Armor Piercing Rounds focus on removing or disregarding enemy armor fast. This ammo skill for the Burst Shot crossbow allows Mercenaries to pierce through enemies, making it great against enemy hordes.
Incendiary Rounds
| Firing Mode Interaction | |
|---|---|
| Rapid Shot | Heats up over time as you shoot with incendiary rounds, dealing more damage as you continue shooting. The heated Crossbow will also increase the damage of any grenade you launch. |
| Burst Shot | Best for dealing against single targets, the more projectile hits an enemy, the faster they'll ignite. |
| Power Shot | Acts like a rocket launcher that creates an explosion where it lands. |
Incendiary Rounds can set enemies on fire or create explosions. For the Rapid Shot crossbow, this ammo skill creates a special interaction that increases your damage as you continue shooting.
Permafrost Rounds
| Firing Mode Interaction | |
|---|---|
| Rapid Shot | Shooting the ground creates ice crystals that can explode, chilling monsters. |
| Burst Shot | Can chill enemy hordes and potentially freeze them in place. |
| Power Shot | Creates a wall of ice that can block enemies, great for controlling combat areas and isolating targets. |
Permafrost Rounds focus on crowd control, allowing you to chill or freeze enemies in place. The Power Shot interaction of this ammo skill allows you to isolate targets, giving you more control of combat areas.
Explosive Grenade
Explosive grenades deal direct damage to enemies after a short time. This is best used with Permafrost rounds to slow enemies down and keep them in the grenade's blast radius.
Flash Grenade
Flash grenades do barely any damage but can deal huge amounts of stun. This is a great opener for any combat situation, as you'll have more time to set up your biggest damage combos.
Oil Grenade
Oil grenades cover the ground and enemies in oil, slowing down their approach. Enemies and areas covered in oil can also be set on fire.
This grenade attachment is best used with a Rapid Shot Crossbow with Incendiary Rounds, as it can instantly catch fire when launched.
Mercenary Ascendancies
The Mercenary will have two available Ascendancy classes for the Early Access, with another Ascendancy coming soon. Below is a list of the confirmed ascendancy classes for the Mercenary:
| Witchhunter | Gemling Legionnaire |
Witchhunter
Witchhunters can increase their defense against magic in exchange for lesser defense against physical attacks. They can also disrupt spell casters, slowing the cast interval of enemies for their survivability.
Witchhunters can have a chance to make their enemies explode, the chance percentage for this doubles against demons and undead enemies. They also have a chance to deal up to 30% of an enemy's total health as damage with their initial attack.
Witchhunter Ascendancy Overview and Skills
Gemling Legionnaire
Gemling Legionnaires can enhance their abilities by embedding gems in their flesh. Gemling Legionnaires can gain extra skill slots, increase elemental resistances, and use any gem without meeting the attribute requirement.
Gemling Legionnaire Ascendancy and Skills
Diablo 4 Related Guides
List of Classes
List of Early Access Classes
| Class | Ascendancy Classes |
|---|---|
| Mercenary | ・Witchhunter ・Gemling Legionnaire |
| Monk | ・Invoker ・Acolyte of Chayula |
| Ranger | ・Deadeye ・Pathfinder |
| Sorceress | ・Stormweaver ・Chronomancer |
| Warrior | ・Warbringer ・Titan |
| Witch | ・Infernalist ・Blood Mage |
List of Upcoming Classes
| Druid | Huntress |
| Templar | Shadow |
| Duelist | Marauder |
