With the release of Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.3, many Exiles are looking for strong and reliable builds to push through the campaign with ease. The Mercenary, equipped with Galvanic Shards and powerful grenade skills, stands out as one of the most efficient leveling options. Spud The King shared this build on his YouTube channel, breaking down the skills, support gems, and passive tree paths you need to master. If you want to gear up faster, check out MmoGah’s PoE 2 Items page, where you can find safe and fast items to boost your journey in Path of Exile 2.
Why Mercenary?
The Mercenary is:
- Tanky – Can absorb slams and heavy hits.
- Flexible – Works on Tactician, Witchhunter, or Gemling classes.
- Beginner-Friendly – Simple rotation, forgiving defenses.
- Boss-Melting – Once targets are shocked, they disappear in seconds.
Core Playstyle
The Mercenary excels at freezing, shocking, and detonating enemies with a combination of projectile and grenade skills. The key idea is：
- Freeze enemies first (Permafrost Bolts).
- Shatter them with Fragmentation Rounds for big burst damage.
- Use grenades (Gas + Explosive) for AoE nukes.
- Transition into Galvanic Shards for insane screen-clearing potential.
This style allows you to melt enemies quickly while staying close and tanky enough to shrug off heavy hits.
Early Skills & Gem Setup
Permafrost Bolts – Your starter skill, converts physical damage to cold and freezes enemies.
Gem Supports: Double Barrel (extra projectiles), Cold Attunement (more freeze/damage).
Fragmentation Rounds – Consumes freeze for bonus damage, shotgun-style cone attack.
Gem Supports: Cold Attunement, Rapid Attacks.
Gas Grenade + Explosive Grenade – AoE combo: gas sets up the field, and explosive detonates it.
Gem Supports: Multishot, Corrosion, Fire Attunement.
This setup will comfortably carry you through early campaign bosses and trash mobs.
Transition to Galvanic Shards
Once unlocked, Galvanic Shards becomes your bread-and-butter skill. Despite community complaints about nerfs, testing shows this crossbow skill is incredibly strong.
- Fires multiple fragments in a cone, with beams that chain between enemies.
- Best used at close range to maximize fragment hits and shocks.
- Main damage comes from beam chains, not raw projectile impact.
Support Gems for Galvanic Shards:
- Lightning Attunement – extra lightning damage, helps inflict shock.
- Elemental Armament – more elemental scaling.
- Nimble Reload – huge QoL, +60% reload speed.
- Fork – allows projectiles to chain for massive DPS boosts.
At this point, you’ll clear entire screens with one button.
Bossing Setup
Shock application is critical for boss fights. Two main options:
1. Stormcaller Arrow (Bow swap) – Consistently inflicts shock from a safe distance.
2. Plasma Blast (Crossbow skill) – Slower but hits extremely hard and guarantees shock when it lands.
Plasma Blast Support Gems:
- Overcharge – increases shock magnitude.
- Lightning Exposure – lowers enemy resistance.
- Shock Chance – higher shock consistency.
Once the boss is shocked, switch to Shockburst Rounds or Galvanic Shards to melt them in seconds.
Passive Skill Tree Progression
Act 1:
- Take Two-Handed Weapon Damage (crossbows count as 2H).
- Early projectile damage nodes.
Act 2:
Head right for more projectile damage and stun buildup (even bosses can be stunned occasionally).
Mid Campaign:
- Crossbow Tree: Pick up Reload Speed and Reusable Ammunition (chance not to consume bolts).
- Take the nodes like Adrenaline Rush to add Attack Speed and Movement Speed for smoother clears.
- Take Lightning Damage / Shock Chance clusters for better consistency.
Defensive Options:
- Take the Backup Plan node - Armor + Evasion nodes for mitigation.
- You can also take the nodes that can add more attack speed and movement speed to run maps faster.
- Mercenary is naturally tanky, but these nodes make campaign progression nearly foolproof.
Heralds & Utility Skills
- Herald of Thunder – Synergizes with shock playstyle, clears screens passively.
- War Banner – Optional, boosts overall DPS.
- Overwhelming Presence – Increases chance to inflict shock.
- Cannibalism (Life on Kill) – Great sustain during mapping.
Final Notes
Even with budget gear, this build is extremely powerful. Proper use of grenades, freezing/shattering combos, and Galvanic Shards’ chaining beams make campaign leveling smooth and satisfying. Have fun, exiles!
