Share your Merc tips & tricks

This is the build I'm currently using: https://mobalytics.gg/poe-2/profile/eb89047a-8940-498f-9ad0-f4384b88783f/builds/66548c7f-792e-42d4-9345-38a13711f07d

I don't know how good it is and it definitely isn't "broken" but my clear speed has been good so far (currently in T7 maps). I think people are sleeping on the weapon swap mechanic being used for boss damage, you can do a crazy amount of damage to rares/bosses without needing the boss damage tree by using a weapon swap.

Currently running Glacial Bolt + Frag Rounds + Herald of Ice in cruel act 1 and it's very satisfying and quite strong. Using corrosive Gas Grenade and Hailstorm Rounds for extra boss damage. I'm actually not sure if I'm scaling Herald of Ice damage with anything but it still feels better than all the other auras I've tried.

+% on gas grenade makes for a poison cloud

poison cloud is good at shredding armor with poison, that can be consumed with a flash grenade or high velocity rounds


still that damage is so bad compared to rangers, just reroll Q_Q

I'm a level 84 Gemling, and since I got the skill I have basically only used Galvanic Shards with an eye toward buffing it at every opportunity. Currently I'm finishing up the T13 map quest, and can run a few 15's, but I need to refine some stuff to really round the build out. I'm also only at 4 ascendancy points and I don't really care to try for the other 4 after my first few tries. Crystalline Potential and Adaptive Capability are great either way.

All of my skill gems only have 3 support sockets, I've never seen a greater jeweler's drop, and am just waiting to buy a few now that my maps are starting to drop some currency.

The setup is very straight forward:

Galv shards with Tempo, Ammo conserve, Close combat.
Emergency Reload for scary packs with premeditation, persistence(I dont know if this works tbh), and Ingenuity.
Herald of Thunder with Magnified effect, Innervate, and Conduction (conduction is kinda a throwaway right now, I don't need more shock on packs)

I round out my spirit stuff with Overwhelming presence, Wind Dancer, and Herald of ash, all to buff galv shards and mid range combat feel.

Def layers are armor + evasion and the small blind wheel near the bottom of the passive tree(this is surprisingly effective). I'm looking to take more evasion to round out the build as I level up a bit more. Capped ele res and 45% chaos res right now

Damage passives I've taken a LOT of shock magnify from near the ranger side and the bottom of the crossbow area, shock duration, elemental and projectile damage etc. Attack speed, reload speed, whatever else all just ramp your pack clearing ability. I even took Falcon Dive for the extra chunk of attack speed.

Once herald of thunder starts rolling after the first kills you can walk around screen clearing no matter what pack size without slowing down or doing anything other than using galvanic shards and occasional emergency reload.

For bosses/single target I use basic crossbow shot with Envenom, corrosion, and whatever other random stuff I feel like trying. The flat DPS is fine and can kill most bosses easily enough in under a minute. This isn't a boss melting build for sure yet. I'm looking to get a weapon swap to bow and use weapon passives for a bleed bow setup for the single target portion but I've been lazy in setting that up.

For packs you basically just delete screens, for harder rares you might have to kite a little, and swap to crossbow shot to finish off tougher single enemies since you do much less damage to 1-2 enemies without herald of thunder rolling.

Actually following wudijo guide on maxroll and going so good

WitchHunter in act 2 cruel right now.
Zealous Inquisition is bait, I don't recommend it.
Judge, Jury, and Executioner patch is way better - Culling strike 30% life on white mobs is great for clear.

For Clear -
Galvanic shards;

Bosses for now -
Stormblast + explosive grenade combo;



I was focusing purely on critical damage in the tree because I was using Beacon of Azis Solar Amulet which ignores elemental resistance, but for lvling in acts it's terrible.

I switched to Lightning Rod - lucky damage with non critical hits - in the tree, removed all critical damage and focused on shock chance with Herald of thunder to proc as much lightning bolt as possible.

Other important nodes in the tree -
Lightning penetration;
Shock chance;
Reload speed;
Armor and evasion nodes - bis: General's Bindings;
Attack speed and skill speed if have points left.


For maps bosses, the idea is to switch to emergency reload to get +30% damage and use Plasma Bolt.

Galvanic shards are fine for clearing packs, some more tanky mobs I'm using in frag rounds with armor break.

Tip: Idle Hands Sectioned Bracers is an excellent merc glove because it gives 25% attack speed with 90%+ mana which is very easy to maintain.