Grenade Mercenary Leveling Guide – Witchhunter and Gemling Legionnaire
There's no doubt that the best way to experience Path of Exile 2's terrifying, monster-filled world is through a screen of EXPLOSIONS! A Grenadier Mercenary Witchhunter offers the most explosion-per-button of any class or build — or your money back guaranteed! Here is the beginner's guide to leveling a Grenade Mercenary build! Note: This leveling guide also covers Gemling Legionnaire Grenade leveling, for players that wish to play that class at endgame.
Flash Grenades blind and stun everything that could threaten you while clusters of Explosive Grenades are prepared with Oil and Gas fields to enhance an immensely satisfying BOOM! Explode packs and embarrass bosses with plenty of area damage while protected by constant Stun and Electrocute effects. Simple to gear with self-found loot — the Mercenary Grenadier is a perfect beginner's leveling build and this guide has everything you need to know. Follow along for skills, passive tree, gearing and gameplay tips for the campaign.
Path of Exile 2 is currently in early access, this means rapid development including frequent changes to builds as there are balance fixes and we learn more. Pin this page to be notified of any updates.
This guide covers how to level a Mercenary Witchhunter or Gemling Legionnaire through the campaign and into early endgame maps. Grenades are a powerful and fun choice for the campaign and you can continue as a Grenadier in endgame. You can also use this guide to reach endgame and then respec into another endgame Mercenary build — even non-grenade setups!
Skill Progression Guide
Act 1 Skills
Starting Out Smoothly
You begin with Fragmentation Rounds, get close to enemies to increase damage. In town are given your first Uncut Skill Gem, use it to choose Permafrost Bolts. Use Permafrost to freeze enemies and Fragmentation Rounds to detonate them for explosions to clear packs of enemies. Proceed from town into Clearfell and explore the area to find the Mysterious Campsite, which contains a chest with another Uncut Skill Gem. Use this to obtain Explosive Grenade. Use Explosive Grenades against large packs of enemies or frozen bosses and Permafrost Bolts followed by Fragmentation Rounds against everything else.
In the Mud Burrow after the Devourer fight you return to town and obtain your first Uncut Support Gem. Use this to obtain the Pierce support and socket it into Permafrost. This allows it to pierce and freeze multiple monsters at once, which makes Fragmentation Rounds much more effective. It's reasonable to default to using Permafrost Bolt most of the time. Swap to Fragmentation Rounds only when multiple monsters are near a frozen enemy.
Duplicate supports indicate alternative skill options.
Be sure to uncheck the option for "Show Recommended Gems" when cutting Support Gems or you won't see options like Scattershot for Flash Grenade by default. There are many good supports that are not in the recommended list. Similarly when cutting Skill Gems you can select "All Skill Gems" to see options from other archetypes such as Mark Skills from Bows (which work with Crossbows) or Curses from Elemental skills, which work with any build.
Flash Grenade: Your Best Offense and Defense
Engrave Flash Grenade as soon as you obtain your first level 3 Uncut Skill Gem and combine it with Scattershot as soon as possible. This setup, along with Overpower later, is extremely effective for stunning monster packs and staggering bosses. This is thanks to getting effectively 600% Stun multiplier on each explosion, each of which can hit the same enemy. Use Flash Grenade to engage packs, escape being surrounded and on cooldown to stagger bosses.
Flash Grenade is extremely powerful both offensively and defensively. However, it has a drawback! Flash Grenade can blind yourself and allies. In solo play this is not a big problem — the accuracy loss has no impact and the evasion loss is tolerable as blinded enemies lose accuracy anyway. Use it much more carefully in party play though, your friends may not enjoy being blinded all the time!
What to Do With Your First Spirit Gem
When you obtain your first Uncut Spirit Gem from Freythorn's King in the Mists fight you have a choice of several Spirit gems. For the best long term results pick:
- Wind Dancer: A defensive skill that gives a large passive Evasion increase and knocks back enemies that attack you in melee. Note that this skill is more effective when you have more Evasion from your gear.
Don't forget to activate the Spirit Skill by right clicking the icon in the Skill Menu!
You must meet the attribute requirements for the skills you use and the gear that you find as you progress. This may include temporarily allocating Intelligence to equip a good pair of Evasion/Energy Shield gloves. There's no "one-size-fits-all" strategy for Attributes:
- Use the flexible Attribute nodes on the passive tree to allocate what you need, when you need it.
- You can change allocated Attribute passives without refunding the entire node at the respec NPC later in Act 1.
- A piece of Jewelry with extra Attributes can also go a long way in the early game!
Becoming a Grenadier
As you progress through Act 1 obtain the remaining Support Gems for Explosive Grenade and add Gas Grenade to your arsenal towards the end of the Act. With the three grenades Permafrost Bolt is only used occasionally. It and Fragmentation can be removed from your setup shortly after.
Final Act 1 Grenade Skill Strategy
- Engage with Flash Grenades.
- Throw several Gas Grenades.
- Follow up with Explosive Grenades.
- Continue using Flash Grenades while the explosions detonate.
Act 2 Skills
The biggest change in Act 2 is the addition of Explosive Shot when you get your first level 7 Uncut Skill Gem. This skill allows you to detonate any grenades nearly instantly by simply shooting them. Supported by Pierce and Martial Tempo it is very fast and easy to use. Whenever enemies threaten to move away from your pile of grenades, simply use Explosive Shot to detonate. You can also use it to finish off stragglers on low health.
Voltaic Grenade: Shock and Electrocute
After you have Explosive Shot, obtain Voltaic Grenade and support it with Lightning Infusion and Conduction. This creates a grenade that is effective at both pinning enemies in place and Shocking them to increase damage taken. Use it before beginning your Gas and Explosive Grenade combination and occasionally throughout boss fights to build Electrocute and maintain Shock.
Oil Grenades: Lowering Fire Resistance
From a level 9 Uncut Skill gem towards the end of Act 2 obtain Oil Grenade. This allows you to more easily apply burning damage, slow and lower the Fire Resistance of enemies. Using both Voltaic and Oil Grenades to boost damage before Poison and Explosive Grenades is often more than you can typically fit into a damage opportunity. Both Voltaic and Oil Grenades are effective damage-boosting options, so using either is fine. On some long boss Staggers you can fit in both for a large damage boost.
Final Act 2 Grenade Skill Strategy - Rares and Bosses
- Engage with Flash Grenades until target is staggered.
- Throw several Voltaic Grenades.
- Throw a Gas Grenade.
- Throw an Explosive Grenade.
- Throw an Oil Grenade.
- Detonate with Explosive Shot.
- Continue using Flash Grenades while the explosions detonate.
The entire setup is excessive in most scenarios. Cut either Explosive or Gas Grenade out of the mix and alternate between Flash and Voltaic Grenades for different stun and electrocute.
This leveling guide is designed with the goal of giving an effective setup while still giving you room to experiment! Aim to find out which Grenades you enjoy most to help inform your endgame focus and transition once you complete leveling. Gas and Explosive Grenade somewhat overlap in roles, as do Voltaic and Oil Grenades. Using them all together in the early game gives you a feel for each while still remaining effective!
Act 3 Skills
In Act 3 you gain access to level 2 Supports and Lesser Jeweller's Orbs, which expands your skill customization options greatly.
New Spirit Skills: Customizable Buffs
In Act 3 as a Mercenary Grenadier you get the option to take a new Spirit Skill:
- Time of Need: Heals and removes ailments making for very comfortable and beginner-friendly gameplay.
- Overwhelming Presence: The more powerful, but more challenging option. This allows you to debuff enemies with Stuns and other Ailments more easily. If you decide to Focus Voltaic Grenades then Overwhelming Presence is even more effective.
When you obtain this next level of Spirit Skills you also move from 30 base Spirit to 60 base Spirit. This allows you a few very good options depending on your gear and preferences. Check out this article if you want to know where all of the campaign permanent stats come from.
- Combine two Spirit Skills: Wind Dancer / Time of Need / Overwhelming Presence - (Note: Wind Dancer is only effective if you have primarily Evasion gear.)
- Use any one of the above Spirit Skills with Clarity and Vitality Support gems to create a your own "custom buff".
The combination of Time of Need with Clarity and Vitality creates the most comfortable, beginner-friendly playstyle with lots of healing and easier Mana sustain.
When it comes to explosions both Gas Grenade AND Explosive Grenade are valid choices. You can use the same fire damage supports on either skill and make it your primary damage dealer. Try both and get a feel for the differences. Gas clouds need detonating with Explosive Shot but with Explosive Grenade's long fuse it does too.
Level 2 Support Gems: A New Level of Grenade Damage
The most important level 2 Support Gems to take for either Gas Grenade explosions OR Explosive Grenade are:
- Primal Armament
- Fire Penetration is also available for the highly Fire Resistant bosses towards the end of Act 3. If you get some Fire Penetration on Jewels, this support is not necessary (Oil Grenade also lowers Fire Resistance and penetration cannot take monsters below 0%).
And for Oil Grenade take Strip Away.
Fun Gas Grenade Armour Break Explosions
Armour Explosion paired with the level 1 Support Gem Corrosion creates a skill that strips armour and explodes packs of weaker enemies. Try it out!
The Scattershot Support gem remains one of the most powerful options, it can remain linked to Flash Grenade or you can experiment with using it on a damage dealing Grenade like Explosive Grenade for devastating area damage!
Adding More Support Sockets: Lesser Jeweller's Orbs
Any Lesser Jeweller's Orbs should be used on your preferred damage dealer (either Gas Grenade or Explosive Grenade), Flash Grenade or Oil Grenade. One Lesser Jeweller's Orb is guaranteed from Orok Campfire in the Sandwept Marsh at the beginning of the Act — any additional are random drops by this point.
Final Act 3 Grenade Skill Strategy
- Use Flash Grenade liberally to engage enemies, clear weaker monsters, and to stagger more powerful ones.
- Oil Grenade is used to prime enemies for explosions.
- Deal damage with Explosive Grenade OR Gas Grenade
- Use Explosive Shot to detonate.
Fire Resistant Enemies
Late in Act 3 some bosses have large amounts of fire resistance. Oil Grenade is generally enough to counteract this, especially if you also have any additional sources of Fire Penetration, such as Jewels.
The alternative strategy is to swap skills for these fights, such as focusing on using Voltaic Grenade with Scattershot, but this is rarely necessary.
Cruel Difficulty and Refining Your Build
As you near the end of Act 3 and move into Cruel Difficulty you need to start refining your skills further. This means focusing on a core damage dealer. Gas Grenade, Explosive Grenade, and Voltaic Grenade are all suitable choices at this point. The skill you choose is where you spend your Jeweller's Orb and it gets your best damage Support Gems. Cluster Grenade also becomes available, which can supplement both clearing packs of monsters and potentially enhance single target in tightly confined environments.
Tailor your gearing, Jewels and passives to the damage type you choose where possible: Fire Damage for Explosive Grenades and Gas Grenade's explosions, or Lightning Damage for Voltaic Grenade. High Physical Damage Crossbows are suitable for any playstyle, though added damage (such as from socketed Runes like Desert Rune) should be matched to the skill.
Cruel Skills
Act 1 Cruel
In Cruel Difficulty Act 1 you start to refine your build. The cleanest setup is to focus on Flash Grenade for Stun and Oil + Explosive Grenades for damage. Gas Grenade detonations start to detract from your ability to put out damage and start to serve a supportive role with Corrosion and Armour Explosion supports. Using Gas Grenade at all is optional at this point and can be ignored for the most part.
The Skill Loadout in Act 1 Cruel is:
- Flash Grenade: Scattershot + Overpower + Devastate
- Explosive Grenade: Fire Infusion + Primal Armament + Concentrated Effect
- Oil Grenade: Strip Away + Encumbrance Persistence
- Explosive Shot: Pierce + Martial Tempo
- Time of Need OR Overwhelming Presence: Clarity + Vitality
- Gas Grenade: Corrosion + Armour Explosion + Break Posture
This guide focuses on using Explosive Grenade as the primary damage dealer with Gas Grenade taking a secondary, supportive role. Gas Grenade is a viable option for primary damage dealer and can be swapped with Explosive Grenade if you prefer. Simply use damage Support Gems on Gas Grenade instead, such as: Fire Infusion, Payload, Primal Armament or Concentrated Effect. The major drawback of this decision is that you cannot then use Gas Grenade for supporting effects such as Armour Break through Corrosion.
Act 2 Cruel
Level 3 Support Gems
From the Halani Gates fight with Lim the Impaler at the Forward Command Tents encounter you find your first Uncut Support Gem Level 3. This is a significant milestone as it unlocks some of the most powerful Support Gems in the game. Here is the most impactful changes you will make as you start using Level 3 Uncut Support Gems:
- Swap Concentrated Effect for Payload on Explosive Grenade. This removes the area of effect penalty and gives a 50% chance for double explosions at the cost of cooldown. With the other Grenades at your disposal the cooldown is rarely an issue.
- Swap Devastate for Heft on Flash Grenade. Do this only if you use Gas Grenade + Corrosion to break enemy Armour. This scales the damage of Flash Grenade dramatically, giving more Stun power.
- Immolate for Cluster Grenade, which will be added to the skill selection soon.
- Nimble Reload for Explosive Shot to increase mobility and fluidity.
Cluster Grenades
In Act 2 Cruels's Mastodon Badlands you can get a guaranteed Level 13 Uncut Skill Gem from the Shrine of Bones. This allows you to create the final Grenade skill Cluster Grenade. It has a long cooldown but throws a large amount of explosions across a huge area, making it an effective supplement to area of effect clearing. Use it against large groups of monsters, or when Explosive Grenade is on cooldown. It can also be used to boost damage against Rares and Bosses when in tightly confined environments as walls can force the cluster explosions to overlap more.
With Cluster Grenade use the following supports:
- Immolate: Added fire damage against ignited targets, ensure you use Oil Grenades first to ignite.
- Longshot: This deals more damage at longer ranges. This works well with the large Area of Effect and the intended use against large groups.
- Magnified Effect: Even more Area of Effect to clear rooms and make Longshot more effective.
Act 3 Cruel and Into Endgame
By Act 3 Cruel you have access to all your possible Skill and Support gems. Your skill progression priorities in Act 3 are to:
- Level your Skills with higher level Uncut Gems (up to level 14 by endgame).
- Use Lesser Jeweller's Orbs to add a third Support Gem socket to each skill.
- You can gain a guaranteed Lesser Jeweller's Orb in Act 3 Cruel from Orok Campfire in the Sandswept Marsh.
- Add any missing Support Gems to your skills, especially the new Level 3 Supports.
Where to Use Gemcutter's Prisms
If you find a Gemcutter's Prism use it to add quality to Flash Grenade or Explosive Grenade for cooldown recovery. If you use Overwhelming Presence you can apply the Gemcutter's Prism to it for additional Stun power.
Duplicate supports indicate alternative skill options.
Grenade Skill Rotations
Moment to moment tactical decisions are important but here are the basic strategies for using your skills in most scenarios. These are based around Act 3 and onwards where you start to refine your skill choices. Where Explosive Grenade is used you can replace with Gas or Voltaic if they are your chosen primary damage dealers.
Main Damage Dealing - Bosses
With your main damage rotation you aim to keep the boss stunned while you prime them with Oil and dump all the Explosive Grenades you can manage. Use Explosive Shot to detonate when you use all charges or if the boss threatens you. Continue Flash Grenade spam in between and while dodging until you can get another damage opportunity. Optionally incorporate Gas Grenade for Armour Break and Daze to Enhance Stun.
Pack Clearing Strategy
When you clear packs of monsters play your strategy must remain dynamic and, ideally, fast. The following rotations show the standard "safe and quick kill" strategy and the optional incorporation of Cluster Grenade for particularly large groups of monsters. This will deal with most Rare monsters, but for tougher enemies use Oil Grenade to lower their resistances after you Flash Grenade them. Some weaker enemies can simply be dealt with by a single Explosive Grenade + Explosive Shot for a near-instant takedown.
Passives
Click the arrows to open the full tree in a new tab.
The Mercenary start for Grenades on the Passive Skill Tree is very simple and powerful with no respecs needed.
- Beeline to Grenadier via Volatile Catalyst and Cluster Bombs for huge Grenade power, even in Act 1.
- Grab a mixture of Strength and Dexterity as you path through Attribute nodes (a small amount of Intelligence may be needed temporarily if you need to use Energy Shield gear or for Support Gems).
- Once you get Polymathy, Attribute requirements are no longer likely to be an issue.
- Repeating Explosives is one of the more fun Passives, causing chain explosions from your grenades.
- Adrenaline Rush's combat movement speed feels very good and increases your clear speed and survivability.
- Volatile Grenades is very good early on before you get Explosive Shot but afterwards it can be considered optional.
- Giantslayer and Cull the Hordes in the bottom right is a good option moving forward to increase damage against Bosses and Rare monsters.
- Perfect Opportunity is right next to a Jewel slot and gives stun buildup for Flash Grenade and a huge damage boost to heavy stunned enemies. Crossbows have a wide damage range and Lucky damage averages your damage upwards significantly by "rolling" the damage twice and picking the better result. This is especially good with Heft.
- Distracting Presence, Cull the Hordes and Giantslayer make boss fights easier and faster.
Ascendancy Choices
Learn how to complete the Trial of the Sekhemas and Trial of Chaos to unlock your Ascendancy class and earn Ascendancy Passives with our Ascension Guide!
Witch Hunter is the Ascendancy Class of choice for beginner Grenadier Mercenaries. It has a flexible and powerful set of damage increasing powers, area of effect scaling, and defensive options if needed. And most importantly: Explosions!
In Act 2 take Zealous Inquisition. This provides area of effect on the way and huge explosions on killing packs of monsters. These explosions amplify pack clear massively — not to mention they are supremely satisfying.
In Act 3 take Pitiless Killer, which gives Culling Strike. This kills bosses instantly when you hit them at 5% or below Life. It's even more effective against Rares (10%), Magic (20%) and Normal (30%) enemies. Those last moments of boss fights are often the hardest.
If you are a beginner player looking for the best leveling experience choose Witchhunter. The added explosions assist in your progression dramatically and the Culling Strike helps close out tough boss fights. Take Gemling Legionnaire only if you are following an endgame build guide that uses it, such as Havoc's Gas Grenade Endgame Build Guide.
Gemling Legionnaire is a weaker choice for beginner players in the campaign leveling. However, it has strong endgame potential with it's Skill and Support Gem-scaling powers. As you cannot currently change your Ascendancy class in Path of Exile 2 you must choose carefully based on the endgame goals of your character. This option is presented here for players that wish to follow a Gemling Legionnaire endgame build guide after leveling, such as Havoc's Endgame Gas Grenade Guide.
In Act 2 take Crystalline Potential. This gives a bonus of 12% Quality to Skill Gems. The benefits of this varies for each Skill Gem (hold Alt on a Skill Gem to see it's Quality bonuses) — for grenade skills it's often Area of Effect or Cooldown reduction. A reasonably decent, but not outstanding first Ascendancy power.
In Act 3 take Implanted Gems. This gives +1 Level to all Skill Gems as well as some extra Quality. Extra levels give damage to Skills and sometimes other bonuses like extra base Area of Effect — this is a fairly powerful boost while leveling.
Gem Studded and Thaumaturgical Infusion are the most powerful aspects of the Gemling Legionnaire class — unfortunately they are only effective towards the end of Cruel and into endgame. Consider respeccing Ascendancy passives once you have access to the level 3 support gems in Cruel, such as Payload. That allows you to take advantage of multiple copies of your powerful high level supports.
Gearing
Act 1, 2 and 3
The equipment example is my gear at the end of Act 3, crafted and found without any trading. The above average pieces of gear are the Helmet, which was purchased from an Act 3 vendor and Corrupted to have an extra socket, as well as the Body Armour, which was found as a drop without the Life and then Exalted. Note that if you are willing to trade you can likely find great leveling items for very cheap. There's a lot of room for flexibility in gearing and few specific requirements but this set serves as a good example for reference.
Most Important Items & Affixes
- Damage on Crossbow: X% Increased Physical Damage, Adds X-X Physical/Fire/Cold/Lightning Damage. Any damage is acceptable while leveling, the more the better. Combined physical damage modifiers is most effective.
- Runes: Ensure you use Iron Runes on any Crossbow with flat added X-X physical damage, as it scales that total flat physical damage. Otherwise use Glacial Runes early on for Cold Damage and Freeze and later Desert Runes to synergize with Fire Damage passive skills.
- Bombard Crossbow: This Bombard Crossbow base type is available in Act 3. It outperforms higher level bases for some time due to the extra Grenade it fires. In Cruel Act 3 make it a priority to get an Advanced Bombard Crossbow.
- Adds X to X Damage to Attacks: On Rings, Gloves and Amulets.
- Added Cold Damage: Is excellent in Act 1 for Permafrost Bolt.
- +Skill Levels: Increasing skill levels through modifiers on Weapons and Amulets boosts damage but it also boosts mana costs! If you have mana issues with a weapon with +skill levels then consider swapping to one with more raw damage instead.
- Mana Gain Per Enemy Killed: A single source of Mana on Kill helps sustain mana outside of boss fights. Rings or Weapons are good places to get this, though don't sacrifice damage on a crossbow to get it.
- Added Max Mana and Mana Regeneration: More mana and mana regeneration give you passive recovery between packs and, most importantly, the ability to sustain better in boss fights.
- Mana Flask: Keeping your Mana Flaks up to date (highest level possible) with "Increased Amount Recovered" and "Gains X charges per second" solves most mana problems.
- Mana Leech: Ineffective early on but towards the end of the Campaign this can allow Flash Grenade to restore Mana.
- Recover 2% of Mana on Kill Cobalt Jewels: Blue Jewels can have this affix and it's worth a Jewel slot by itself. That mana recovery covers most mana needs while clearing, especially once you get a larger Mana pool.
- Damage Makes Mana More Efficient: The more damage you get the more damage you put out per mana cost. Enough damage and you kill enemies before you run out.
- Movement Speed on Boots: Movement Speed is your most important defensive affix on gear due to the law of "Don't Get Hit". Use Orb of Transmutations and Orb of Augmentations on every pair of Boots you find. Check the NPC Gold Vendors and purchase any you can craft to try as well. Use gold on unidentified boots at gambling merchants, such as Finn in Act 1. Do this until you obtain a pair of 10% increased Movement Speed boots in Act 1. Repeat the process in Act 3 for a pair of of 20% increased Movement Speed. This speed is an important boost to your survivability and overall performance. Consult the Crafting Guide to learn more about making your own gear.
- Life and Resistances: Life or Strength and Resists are important for your survival on any build. It can be worth sacrificing some damage to get large amounts of these (such as trading off an Iron Ring with Adds 1 to 4 damage to Attacks for a Ruby Ring that gives Fire Resistance).
- Life Gain on Hit: Any amount is very effective at topping up your life in combat due to the high number of hits Grenade builds cause.
- Strength is Life: Don't forget that each point of Strength is +2 Life!
- Evasion and Armour: Lowest of the priority list but still impactful is the actual defensive stats of gear. Armour, while a bit ineffective at endgame currently, is very strong in the campaign and Evasion pairs well with Movement Speed and Recovery like Life Gain on hit to keep you alive. Don't pick a Chest Armour with high Armour over one with life and resistances but it is a good bonus. Don't be afraid to use a piece of gear with Energy Shield if it has the Life and Resistances you need — as long as you have the Intelligence to wear it.
Specific Guidelines per Item Slot
MUST HAVE:
- Bombard Crossbow / Advanced Bombard Crossbow Base Type (unless you obtain a significantly higher damage crossbow on another base).
- Added Flat Physical Damage
- % Increased Physical Damage
NICE TO HAVE:
- Attack Speed
- + Skill Levels
- Life Gain on Hit
- Mana Leech
MUST HAVE:
- Added Flat Physical Damage (Or Added Flat Elemental Damage)
- One of: Mana Gained on Kill or Life Gain on Hit
NICE TO HAVE:
- Attack Speed
- Life Gain on Hit / Life Gained on Kill
- Mana Leech / Mana Gained on kill
- Life and Resistances
- Strength / Dexterity
MUST HAVE:
- High Life
- Resistances
NICE TO HAVE:
- More Resistances
- Armour / Evasion
- Strength / Dexterity / Intelligence
MUST HAVE:
- Spirit
- Life
- Resistances
NICE TO HAVE:
- Armour / Evasion
- Strength / Dexterity
MUST HAVE:
- Movement Speed (highest possible)
NICE TO HAVE:
- Life
- Resistances
- Attributes
- Reduced Freeze Duration
MUST HAVE:
- At least one of: Added Flat Physical Damage (or Added Flat Elemental Damage) or Resistances or Life.
- At least one of: Mana Gained on Kill, Mana Leech or Mana Regeneration Rate.
NICE TO HAVE:
- Life
- Resistances
- Mana Regeneration
- Mana Leech
- Life / Mana Gained on Kill
- Attributes
- Life Regeneration
- Increased Fire Damage
MUST HAVE:
- Spirit
- Some mix of the Nice to Haves.
NICE TO HAVE:
- Life
- Resistances
- + Level of Projectile Skills
- Attributes
- Damage Taken Recouped as Life
- Max Mana / Mana Regeneration Rate
MUST HAVE:
- Life
- Resistances
NICE TO HAVE:
- Strength
- Charm Slots
- Increased Flask Charges Gained / Reduced Flask Charges Used
- Armour
MUST HAVE:
- Fire Penetration (up to around 40% total, due to Oil Grenade also lowering Fire Resistance)
- 1-2% Mana Gained on Kill Sapphire Jewel (at least one)
NICE TO HAVE:
- Increased Damage with Crossbows / Attack Damage / Projectile Damage / Fire Damage / Elemental Damage or other applicable damage type. Note that Increased Physical Damage is less effective, but will boost Flash Grenade!
- Attack Speed / Attack Speed with Crossbows
- Increased Area of Effect
- Debuffs Expire Faster on You
- Movement Speed
- Accuracy
- Life Regeneration Rate
- Skill Mana Costs Converted to Life Costs
- Increased Stun Buildup
- Mana Regeneration Rate
- Damage Taken Recouped as Life
MUST HAVE:
- Best Flask Base Type Available!
- Increased Total Recovery
- Gain X Charges per Second
NICE TO HAVE:
- Recovery Rate
- Chance to gain Charge on Kill
Cruel Act 1, 2 and 3
This second gear example set is the snap shot of my gear at level 65 just after defeating the final boss of the campaign in Path of Exile 2's Early Access.
In Act 3 you can start to obtain Advanced Bombard Crossbows. Search the NPC vendors for any and all of these Crossbow bases, including the hidden one in Act 3's Infested Barrens. Use Orb of Transmutation, Orb of Augmentation looking for physical damage modifier prefixes and attack speed or mana leech modifier suffixes. Use Regal Orbs on any good outcomes and Exalted Orb if the Crossbow is showing potential. Getting a good Advanced Bombard Crossbow is a high priority due to the extra grenade implicit, and if you obtain a good enough one it could carry you until you can obtain an Expert Bombard Crossbow in endgame.
Flasks are Important!
Life and Mana flasks are both very important. Always aim to have the highest level flask possible and check the vendors to upgrade. On Life Flasks aim for: X% of Recovery Applied Instantly and any modifiers that reduce charge use or help you gain more charges. For Mana Flasks aim for increased amount recovered and Gain X Charges per Second.
A Crossbow with 2 sockets can be more powerful than some Magic or Rare Crossbows without. You just need to socket 2 damage runes into it! Use Glacial Rune in Act 1 to assist in freezing enemies. Socket Runes into Armour pieces to bolster resistances. Salvage unwanted socketed gear at the Salvage Bench in town (unlocked late Act 1) to receive Artificer's Shards which turn into Artificer's Orbs, to use on good Crossbows.
Grenadier Leveling Uniques
If you have Currency already stashed from a previous character then obtaining some powerful leveling Unique will make the leveling process fun and fast. You can also use a couple Exalted Orbs to obtain one or two of these items as you go. Be sure to check out our full list of the best leveling Unique items in Path of Exile 2!
The unique Crossbow Mist Whisper is an extremely powerful weapon for Act 1 and early Act 2. It leans into this build's strategy of Freezing enemies in the early game and provide and excellent boost to clearing packs of monsters with Permafrost Bolts.
- Socket with 2x Glacial Runes for added Cold Damage and get extra Cold Damage on Jewellery or Gloves when you can.
- Pair with Grip of Winter at Level 11.
- Continue using Permafrost Bolts with this setup well into Act 2 and swap as you feel it begin to lose power.
- Use Herald of Ice with this strategy in Act 1 when you cut your first Spirit Skill gem.
Use any of the following Unique gear to level your Mercenary Grenadier and you will be more powerful, faster and less likely to die. Nothing fancy, just powerful gear.
- Surefooted Sigil: Your dodge rolls become extremely smooth this Amulet and it makes the Trial of the Sekhemas easier.
- Wanderlust: 20% Movespeed and unaffected by slows means nothing can catch you, especially combined with Surefooted Sigil.
- Crown of the Victor: Life and Mana on kill provide smooth zone clear and +1 level to your skills a chunk of extra damage. Common and cheap compared to more expensive options like Goldrim.
- Foxshade: Run fast and don't get hit! Good enough for you to use into endgame, or until you find a great Body Armour.
- Birthright Buckle: This belt gives some potent flask effects that'll make sustaining Mana and staying alive much easier. A similar option is Keelhaul, though you have to get one with well rolled affixes or it will be weak.
- Glowswarm: Another option to solve mana by making your mana flask very powerful. Ensure you keep your mana flask updated and crafted, or its potential is wasted.
The level 16 Helmet Radiant Grief enemies in a very large radius around you for a small amount of damage. This does two very nice things:
- It makes Gas Grenade detonate instantly, always.
- Lets you use the Immolate support without any extra effort.
With this simple setup you can choose Gas Grenade as your primary damage dealing Grenade (instead of Explosive Grenade) and have a very smooth and quick playstyle all the way into endgame!
If you have a large budget and want to really push your leveling speed with a Grenade Mercenary then you can also check out Havoc's Grenade Mercenary Speedrunning Guide.
Campaign Stat Buff Choices
There are four important permanent stat buffs you must make decisions on while leveling a Mercenary Grenade build in the campaign. Here are the ideal choices::
- ACT 2 - Valley of the Titans - "Ancient Vows" Quest: 15% Increased Mana Recovery from Flasks
- This one can be swapped freely and should be swapped to the Charms buff at endgame once mana problems are solved.
- ACT 3 - Venom Vial - "The Slithering Dead" Quest: 25% increased Mana Regeneration Rate
- This one cannot be swapped later.
- ACT 2 CRUEL - Valley of the Titans - "Ancient Vows" Quest: 15% increased Life Recovery from Flasks
- ACT 3 CRUEL - Venom Vial - "The Slithering Dead" Quest: 10% increased Chaos Resistance
Endgame Build Options
This is a versatile leveling build that can continue comfortably into early endgame maps or respec into many other Mercenary builds. You can continue as Explosive Grenade comfortably, expanding your passive skill tree into the Marauder start area and grabbing more fire damage clusters. Here are some other powerful options:
- ZiggyD's Voltaic Grenade Stun, Shock and Electrocute Grenadier Witchhunter: This beginner-friendly route gives excellent damage scaling through the Lightning Rod Passive's "Lightning Damage with Non-Critical Hits is Lucky" alongside Shock for increasing the damage enemies take. You also gain incredible crowd control thanks to the addition of Electrocute, which "freezes" enemies for 5 seconds. Tanking hits on Life-based characters is difficult right now but when everything is either dead, Electrocuted or Stunned you don't need to! A fully detailed guide for this may be available in the future, for now the build planner in progress is available.
- Havoc's Gas Grenade Gemling Legionnaire: Focusing on overlaying Gas Grenade and Explosive Grenade detonations with Gemling Legionnaire's support gem stacking gives a solid offensive package. You also get to take advantage of Gemling Legionnaire's defensive scaling options such as Maximum Resistances or boosting the effects of Strength to gain more traditional ability to take some damage — a solid all-rounder.
- Chronikz Explosive Shot Witchhunter: Drop the grenades and use the Crossbow as an actual Crossbow again with this run and gun playstyle. You get to enjoy the smooth playstyle Explosive Shot and Shockburst Rounds enabled by the Three Dragons Unique Helmet.
- Or, for something completely different you could turn your Mercenary into a Monk with Void's Tempest Flurry Pillar of the Caged God endgame build.
FAQ
When should I swap to Grenades?
When you have Flash Grenade with Scattershot, Explosive Grenade and the Passives Grenadier and Cluster Bombs. Keep Permafrost Bolts handy as a backup to use if all of your Grenades are on cooldown or if you need to finish off a leftover monster. You become a fully-fledged Grenadier in Act 2 when you get Explosive Shot.
I struggle with my attributes, what should I do?
I keep dying! Is there any way to solve my defense?
How do I solve Mana issues?
Do I need Accuracy on Grenade builds?
I'm Still Struggling in the Campaign, How Do I Get More Powerful?
VIDEO: Gameplay Guide
Summary
Leveling as a Mercenary Witch Hunter with Grenades is a great choice for Path of Exile 2 beginners. The explosive skills, easy Attributes and ranged playstyle is perfect to be the game's difficult campaign.
- Level in early Act 1 with Permafrost Bolts supported by Pierce combined with Fragmentation Rounds.
- Get and use Flash Grenade supported by Scattershot and Overpower to escape being surrounded, stun monsters and stagger bosses.
- Combine Gas Grenade and Explosive Grenade for huge explosions.
- Use Explosive Shot to detonate Grenades quickly.
- Rush Cluster Bombs and Grenadier on the passive skill tree to have effective Grenades early on.
- Polymathy notable passive ensures equipping gear is easy as well as providing more Life through Strength.
- Prioritize high damage Crossbows and Movement speed on boots. Life Gain on Hit and Mana on Kill improves your survivability and Sustain.
- For more help with leveling in the Campaign check out our Campaign Guide!
- Don't forget the Permanent Buffs hidden around the campaign.