Path of Exile 2: Mercenary Leveling Guide

In Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2), mercenaries are powerful allies that can assist you in combat, providing both support and extra damage in your journey through Wraeclast. They offer a new layer of strategy to your gameplay by allowing you to customize their skills and abilities. Leveling up your mercenary is crucial to make sure they stay effective throughout the game, especially when facing tougher enemies and bosses. This guide will walk you through the best ways to level up your mercenary in Path of Exile 2, focusing on key strategies to maximize their effectiveness.

What Are Mercenaries in Path of Exile 2?

Mercenaries are AI-controlled allies that can fight alongside you, providing additional support in battle. They have their own set of skills and attributes, which can be customized as you progress through the game. Much like your character, mercenaries can level up, gain new abilities, and be outfitted with gear. They can be crucial in both PvE and PvP situations.

Steps to Level Up Your Mercenary in Path of Exile 2

1. Choosing the Right Mercenary

At the start of your journey, you will choose a mercenary to accompany you. Each mercenary has a distinct playstyle and role, such as damage dealer, tank, or support. Make sure to choose one that complements your build and playstyle. Here’s a brief overview:

Damage Dealer: Focuses on high DPS and dealing direct damage to enemies.
Tank: Specializes in absorbing damage, drawing enemy attention, and protecting your character.
Support: Offers buffs, heals, or debuffs to enemies, keeping your team alive longer or increasing overall damage.

Your mercenary’s role will influence how you approach leveling them and what gear or skills they should use.

2. Completing Quests to Unlock Mercenary Levels

In Path of Exile 2, mercenaries level up as you progress through the campaign and complete certain quests. As you complete main story missions, your mercenary’s level will increase gradually. Here’s how to ensure you are leveling them efficiently:

Main Quests: Completing the main storyline will automatically increase your mercenary’s level. Make sure to follow the main quest progression to unlock mercenary upgrades.
Side Quests: Some side quests and challenges will offer additional experience points to your mercenary. Keep an eye out for side missions that allow you to level them up faster.

3. Equip Your Mercenary with Gear

As your mercenary levels up, you’ll be able to equip them with better gear. Like your own character, mercenaries benefit from weapons, armor, and accessories that enhance their power. Here’s what you need to focus on:

Weapons: Mercenaries that deal damage require weapons that enhance their primary attributes. For example, a ranged mercenary should use a bow or crossbow, while a melee mercenary should use a sword or axe.
Armor: Choose armor based on the mercenary’s role. Tanks should wear heavy armor for added defense, while damage dealers or support mercenaries might benefit from lighter armor that boosts offensive stats.
Accessories: Rings, amulets, and belts can offer important stat boosts, such as increased damage, faster attack speed, or defensive modifiers like resistances or life.

You can either craft items for your mercenary or find gear that best suits their build. Be sure to upgrade their gear as they level up to maintain their effectiveness.

4. Leveling Up Skills

Mercenaries can use their own skills that can be enhanced as they level up. Here’s how to manage and improve their abilities:

Skill Gems: Mercenaries can equip Skill Gems that define what abilities they use. These can range from damage-dealing abilities (like fireball or cyclone) to defensive abilities (like shield block or healing auras).
Passive Skills: As they level up, mercenaries gain access to new Passive Skill Trees that can be customized. Look for passives that complement your mercenary’s role. For example, a tank mercenary could benefit from passives that increase life, armor, or damage mitigation, while a support mercenary may want to focus on passives that boost mana regeneration, aura effects, or debuff resistance.

Ensure that the skill gems and passive skills you choose synergize with your playstyle. A well-leveled mercenary will significantly improve your chances in difficult encounters.

5. Utilizing Mercenary-Specific Passive Skill Trees

In Path of Exile 2, each mercenary has a unique passive skill tree, which allows you to further customize their build. These trees are designed to enhance the mercenary’s role, and you can focus on one of the following:

Tank Mercenaries: Focus on defense, life, and resistances. The goal is to make the mercenary as resilient as possible, absorbing damage to protect you.
DPS Mercenaries: For mercenaries focused on dealing damage, you’ll want to invest in damage-boosting passives, such as critical hit chance, attack speed, or elemental damage.
Support Mercenaries: Focus on mana regeneration, aura strength, and healing effects. Support mercenaries should be designed to buff your character or debuff enemies, making them valuable in long encounters.

6. Use Mercenaries Strategically

Once your mercenary is leveled up and outfitted, the next step is to use them strategically in combat. Here’s how to get the most out of them:

Positioning: For tanks, position them in the frontline to absorb damage. DPS mercenaries should be placed behind you to deal damage from a safe distance. Support mercenaries should stay near you or your allies to maximize the effectiveness of their buffs.
Skill Timing: Pay attention to the cooldowns of your mercenary’s abilities and sync them with your actions. For instance, a tank mercenary can activate their defensive abilities when you engage tougher enemies, while a support mercenary can use their healing abilities at critical moments.

7. Mercenary Specializations (Ascendancies)

As your mercenary progresses, they will eventually unlock Ascendancy-like specializations that offer even further customization. These upgrades significantly improve your mercenary’s effectiveness, often granting them unique abilities or powerful synergies with your character’s build.

For example:

A tank mercenary might unlock an Ascendancy that makes them immune to certain debuffs, or that enhances their life leech or damage mitigation.
A DPS mercenary might gain an Ascendancy that dramatically increases their critical damage or attack speed.
A support mercenary might unlock an Ascendancy that enhances aura buffs, making them invaluable in group play.

These Ascendancies unlock after reaching certain levels or completing specific objectives within the game, so be sure to optimize your path of exile 2 orb for sale’s development for the most powerful results.

Conclusion

Leveling up your mercenary in Path of Exile 2 is an essential aspect of building a strong character and taking on tougher content. By choosing the right mercenary, equipping them with optimal gear, and customizing their skills, passive trees, and Ascendancies, you can maximize their effectiveness and ensure they stay useful throughout your journey.

Whether you’re looking for a tank to absorb damage, a DPS mercenary to deal heavy blows, or a support mercenary to buff your character, understanding how to level them up and utilize their abilities will give you a significant advantage in battle.

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If you want to know more, you can read this article: Path of Exile 2 Currency Guide