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• Predictions On POE 3.26 Release Date And The Upcoming Settlers Of Kalguur Event

  Hello Exiles, we are in the season of spoilers for Path of Exile 2 recently, and a lot of content about this new sequel has been revealed, but our topic today is related to POE 1, namely the possible release date of patch 3.26, the end time of the current POE 3.25 Settlers of Kalguur expansion, the recently announced new Settlers of Kalguur Event, and how we can prepare for it.

  To be honest, this event may not bring any exciting new content, but with POE 3.25 league cycle already more than halfway through, it may be an interesting new event to attract many players to return. Here, let’s take a closer look.

  Why POE 3.26 May Be Released Next Year?

  Let’s first take a look at the possible update time of POE 3.26. Before Grinding Gear Games pushed back the release date of Path of Exile 2 Early Access from November 15th to December 6th, many players had been speculating that patch 3.26 would not be released this year.

  The reason for this is simply because of its commercial reality. Because GGG wants to launch their biggest release ever in POE 2 Early Access, they don’t want to release a minor 4 weeks later to steal their limelight. With this factor in mind, it will be difficult for you to see the news that POE 3.26 will be released on December 13th if it follows the previous update cycle.

  And because of Christmas holiday, you will also most likely not see them release it around December 20th or 27th. So it is also expected by many people that Path of Exile 3.26 will be released next year. And GGG’s recent post has proved that this speculation is correct, but not just next year.

  But honestly, next year is late enough that even a decline in player interest in POE 3.26 is unlikely to be a factor in delaying it to next year. So we’re going to hazard a guess that they never planned to launch Path of Exile 3.26 this year.

  We think the developers originally planned to launch it in the 1st or 2nd week of January, but now it will be the 4th or 5th week of January instead. It’s worth noting that they haven’t locked in specific numbers yet. They hope to achieve it in late January, but this is by no means a firm promise. This means that POE 3.26 may also be delayed until February. And depending on the progress of Path of Exile 2 Early Access, maybe it will be brought forward to mid-January. We just know that it won’t be this year.

  New Settlers Of Kalguur Event

  In any case, this means that Settlers of Kalguur League will be extended until 2025. But one thing GGG knows is that once players get everything they want in this league, these people tend to stop playing, which is part of the reason why Standard League is not as popular as Temporary leagues. Of course, although not everyone who plays Settlers of Kalguur league gets everything they want, many people do.

  In Temporary leagues, it is more realistic for players to get the next upgrade, while in Standard, few people reach that point in Settlers of Kalguur, which makes them feel that the next upgrade is out of reach and they are just waiting for something new to do. So, in order to bridge the gap and give players a brand new experience, the developers also took the opportunity to launch the new Settlers of Kalguur Event.

  This is a fresh start with a twist, and it will bring some content that differs slightly from the base game. This Settlers of Kalguur Event will start soon. If you are in a similar time zone in United States, it will start on November 7th, but if you are in Australian time zone, it will start on November 8th.

  What Are The Features Of The New Event?

  This new-look event offers a brand new economy and ladder reset that functions very similarly to the base version of Settlers of Kalguur. On top of that, it also includes enemy modifiers for each zone, which was a key feature of the previous Necropolis league. However, unlike Necropolis, these modifiers only grant rewards, including bonuses to aspects such as POE Currency or item drop chance and enemy pack size.

  The addition of this Necropolis mechanic will be a positive change, and their main impact will be for more casual players, as they will make gear drops faster. Especially if you’re the type of player who still wants to get a lot of Chaos Orbs while advancing Atlas, running this event will definitely make you earn a lot of money.

  This new league event will run in parallel with the existing Settlers of Kalguur league, so you can continue to play with your current character if you wish. However, if you choose to participate in the new event league and reach level 50 on any character, you will receive a mandatory Settlers Mystery Box, which includes a random cosmetic selected from the new additions in POE 3.25. If you already own all of them, you will receive two Polaris Mystery Boxes instead.

  As for the available game modes for this event, when it was originally announced, there were only two versions, namely Softcore Trade and Solo Self-Found Hardcore modes. But later, GGG changed the announcement and added Hardcore and Solo Self-Found versions.

  It is worth noting that it does not look like there will be any support for Ruthless mode. Of course, there will not be much demand from the player community for this, so this is unlikely to change, and it looks like there will only be four different versions running.

  How To Prepare For The New Event?

  If you plan to participate in Softcore Trade version of the event, then here are some tips that may help you.

  You can try to play with your partners as a cooperative group, use the guild warehouse to trade resources between each other, and try to prepare each other to pass milestone encounters to obtain a large amount of wealth. At the end of a period after the group has run a few times, maybe 10 days, or maybe the end of the second weekend, you can go your separate ways and split the loot at that time. However, you have a lot of things to do to make this happen, because making it as fair as possible is key.

  Anyway, that’s all we know about the possible release date of POE 3.26 and the upcoming Settlers of Kalguur Event. If you’re interested in being a part of the event, then grab your chance and prepare early!

• How The Evasion Changes In Path Of Exile 2 Affect Build Defense Mechanics?

  I’m sure you all know that Path of Exile 2 Early Access is coming out on December 6th! While we wait, let’s take a look at the changes in mechanics between Path of Exile and its sequel so that you’re ready on the day of Early Access launch.

  In this guide, we’re going to talk about Evasion mechanic in POE 2. We’ll discuss how it works and how it differs from the same mechanic in POE 1. Whether you’re a new player interested in Path of Exile 2 or a veteran who’s played multiple Challenge Leagues, you’ll be able to get some useful information from this. Without further ado, let’s jump right in!

  How Does Evasion Mechanic Work?

  Evasion Rating is a core defense stat in Path of Exile that calculates the chance of a character evading incoming attacks. This is done using a formula that weighs a character’s Evasion Rating with a monster’s Accuracy Rating to determine its Chance to Evade. Note that a character’s Chance to Evade is capped at 95%.

  Evasion is not a purely chance-based system, however, as there is a secondary mechanic called Entropy that affects it. Entropy is a system designed to ensure that no long hits or accidental evades occur when an attack is launched, and that the attack is the first attack in at least 100 server ticks, or about 3.33 seconds.

  This Entropy value is randomly rolled between 0 and 99, and the attacker’s chance to hit is added to this value. If Entropy value is over 100 after adding the attacker’s chance to hit, the attack will hit, and 100 will be subtracted from Entropy value. If Entropy value is still below 100 after adding the attacker’s chance to hit, the attack will evade, and Entropy value will remain the same.

  Importantly, since Entropy is a character stat, all monsters attacking the character share the same Entropy value. This system ensures that Evasion is no longer a random defense mechanism, but a more reliable way to evade incoming attacks over a long period of time.

  What Are The Changes At Evasion?

  But the types of attacks that characters can evade are changing in Path of Exile 2. This is because monsters will no longer distinguish between using attacks and spells when it comes to a character’s defense.

  By default, characters will be able to evade any incoming projectile or strike in Path of Exile 2, whether that projectile is an arrow fired by a monster attacking or a fireball fired by a monster casting a spell. As long as the hit is a projectile or strike, you will be able to evade that hit, such as a monster swinging a sword at you in melee range.

  However, by default, characters will not be able to evade Area of ​​Effect hits, such as the larger slam skills used by bosses. Therefore, investing in POE 2 Currency to stack better gear for your build may be a better choice to improve your survivability.

  Accuracy Rating May Become A Key Defensive Stat

  This change now means that any hits from monsters that a character can evade will use the monster’s Accuracy Rating to calculate their chance to hit the character. So, monster skills that were spells in Path of Exile 1 (such as Fireball) will use the monster’s Accuracy Rating to determine their chance to hit.

  This is important because another change in POE 2 makes Accuracy less effective at long distances. The farther an entity is from its target, the higher the penalty for its Accuracy Rating, making it harder to hit a target when it’s far away.

  This means that not only will characters be able to evade all types of projectiles, but their position and distance from the monster targeting them is an important consideration from a gameplay perspective. This will make evade a more powerful defensive stat against ranged monsters, especially for ranged characters who already naturally keep their distance.

  Also Read: What Do You Think Of The Path Of Exile 2's Early Access Release Delay?

  Can Acrobatics Keystone Evade All Hits?

  Now, even though Area of ​​Effect hits can’t be dodged by default you don’t need to worry, because there is a keystone in POE 2 that will change that.

  In Path of Exile 2, Acrobatics keystone will make all hits evadable, including hits that were previously unevadable, such as Area of ​​Effect abilities, but at the cost of the character’s Evasion Rating reduced by 50%.

  The wording of this one might be a bit incorrect, though, because through translation we’re not sure if Evasion Rating is 50% reduced or 50% less. Of course, this keystone and almost everything else are subject to change, but the idea of ​​this keystone is that you need to invest more to get quite a bit of Evasion Rating, and in exchange, Evasion becomes more reliable as a primary defensive tool.

  In short, with the changes we know about Evasion mechanics in POE 2 so far, it will provide better protection for ranged builds as a defensive stat. But as we said before, nothing is known until the official release. So, let’s wait and see!

• How To Play Huntress Class In Path Of Exile 2? - Skills & Mechanics

  Exiles, I’m sure you all know the news that Path of Exile 2 Early Access has been delayed until December 6th. But don’t be discouraged, this also means that we have more time to prepare for it. Here, we speculate on the classes that will be playable in the upcoming POE 2 Early Access. It is speculated that 6 to 8 classes out of a total of 12 classes will be available in Early Access.

  In this guide, we will take a look at Huntress in Path of Exile 2. If you are interested in an agility and precision playstyle, as well as a mix of ranged and melee skills, then this class may be the one for you. Stay tuned to see how Huntress brings unparalleled speed and strategic control to the battlefield in POE 2. Without further ado, here is the first look at Huntress class.

  Skill Breakdown

  As we said before, 6 to 8 of these classes will be available in Early Access, and one potential choice is Huntress, a master of agility, ranged attacks, and nature-based skills. Today, we’re going to take a deep dive into what makes Huntress unique, her playstyle, and how to use her abilities to your advantage.

  Huntress class is built for players who enjoy agility, precision, and controlling the battlefield from a distance, and here’s a breakdown of some of her key skills.

  Whirling Slash

  Whirling Slash is the go-to skill for Huntress to deal quick sweeping damage. This allows her to decapitate enemies at close range, making it an effective way to escape or clear out groups of monsters when surrounded.

  Spearfield

  With Spearfield skill, Huntress can fire a deadly field of spears onto the battlefield. It’s great for zoning out enemies and setting up a controlled area of ​​damage that’s hard for enemies to safely approach.

  Puncture

  Puncture is a high-precision skill that deals bleeding damage over time. Perfect for focusing on more powerful enemies, Puncture lets you watch your enemies take damage over time while mapping them.

  Rapid Assault

  Rapid Assault is a burst attack that lets Huntress unleash a series of quick strikes, perfect for taking out weakened enemies at close range or dealing damage quickly.

  Using these skills, Huntress is able to combine strategic positioning with powerful debuffs, allowing her to control both single-target enemies and larger groups from a safe distance. You can kill enemies effortlessly and reap a large amount of POE 2 Currency.

  Unlike some ARPGs that encourage rapid progression to the endgame, POE 2 emphasizes a rich campaign experience with over 100 unique bosses and an ever-changing environment. This also means that players need to master their class’s abilities in order to adapt to difficult map environments. And the unique tactics and synergy of Huntress’s skills make her a sound choice for navigating Path of Exile 2’s complex maps.

  Compared to the brute force of Warrior class or the elemental power of Sorceress, Huntress stands out for her agility and precision. She is a versatile high-skill cap option that will appeal to players who want to control every action on the battlefield.

  Additionally, Huntress in POE 2 offers a fast-paced, skill-intensive playstyle that’s perfect for those who enjoy strategic positioning and calculated strikes. If you’re excited about Early Accesses, this might be the class for you.

  Huntress vs Ranger

  Now let’s talk about a few notes about Huntress class. Huntress is a Dexterity build like Ranger, while Huntress is a master of the spear. This means that Huntress has an “inside-outside” playstyle. You can mix melee and ranged skills to suit your situation and benefit from both styles.

  As for the passive skill tree, Huntress and Ranger have the same starting point for their skill trees in Path of Exile 2. The area is near the nodes with abilities like Evasion, Spell Suppression, Cold Damage, Flask Effect, and more.

  Overall, Huntress doesn’t seem to be a tanky class, so melee combat may be more dangerous. If Ranger is better at ranged combat, we’ll have to look forward to how the melee part of Huntress makes her unique and powerful.

  Outro

  However, please note that since we have not received confirmation on which classes will be available in Early Access on December 6th, everything we do about Huntress at this point is just speculation. And because of the delays in Early Access, you now know that even the livestream has been delayed.

  Since Early Access still has 32 days left, it is likely that we will get the livestream a week before December 6th. Hopefully, all the information provided in the livestream will answer a lot of questions that we have at the moment, such as how much Early Access actually costs, what the whole process is like, which classes will be playable, how many acts there are, etc. Hopefully, the answers to all these questions will be answered in the livestream.

  In any case, hopefully this guide will give you the information you need about Huntress so that you can decide what class to play when POE 2 Early Access is released on December 6th. The battle never stops, so let’s always be ready for it!

• Path Of Exile 2 Keystones Leaked Could Be A Game Changer

  During the recent Tokyo Games Show, a number of players discovered that some of the Keystones in POE 2 may have been leaked through press interviews with developers. Some of these Keystones are returning from POE 1, but have been changed considerably, while many are brand new Keystones. Here, we will talk about these potential new and returning Keystones based on this interesting information. Let’s get straight into it!

  Acrobatics

  Currently, Acrobatics in Path of Exile 1 are Keystones that convert your Spell Suppression into Spell Dodge. But Spell Suppression will be completely gone in POE 2 because they no longer distinguish between the types of damage dealt by monsters, which means that this Keystone will either disappear completely or become something else. However, it looks like the developers will keep it and turn it into something completely different.

  A recent leak indicates that Acrobatics in Path of Exile 2 can evade all hits, and the evasion rating is reduced by 50%. But we’re not sure if the translation here is accurate, is it 50% reduced evasion rating or 50% less, which is a very important distinction.

  Currently in Path of Exile 1, being able to offset 50% reduced is pretty trivial, because it’s added to any increase you have. But if it’s 50% less evasion rating, then it will be very bad as a disadvantage, and much harder to overcome.

  So what does it mean when it was mentioned earlier that all hits can be evaded? Since in POE 2, the distinction between monster spells and monster attacks will be completely removed from the game, and there will only be monster hits, any monster hit that is considered a projectile or a blow can be evaded or blocked. So this will make it easier for players to visually see what they can or can’t block or evade when they are actually playing the game. This means you can react in advance and avoid unnecessary waste of POE 2 Currency.

  If it’s a huge AOE falling on top of your character or rising from the ground below you, you may not dodge or block the ability, but this Keystone will do the trick. This will allow you to dodge all hits, including those AOE skills that you couldn’t dodge before. This is actually a pretty powerful keystone, but as mentioned before, it depends on whether the translation is correct.

  Of course, we don’t know at this time how easy it will actually be to increase evasion rating in POE 2. In the case of Path of Exile 1, if the evasion rating is reduced like the translation says, then it’s a lot easier to calculate this disadvantage, and if it’s less, then it’s a completely different story. But it’s still an interesting keystone, and being able to dodge all hits is a cool idea.

  Mind Over Matter

  Next up we have Mind Over Matter. The current Mind Over Matter in POE 1 will make 40% of damage affected by mana before life. In POE 2, it looks like it will make 100% of damage affected by mana before life, and it will also reduce the Mana Regeneration rate by 50%.

  Now, everyone is excited about this changed keystone in POE 2. This is because right now in Path of Exile 1, it’s basically impossible to 100% take all damage from mana before life without legacy items, while there are ways to scale different types of damage to 100%. For example, you can make lightning damage taken 100% from mana before life, but no matter what you do with non-legacy items in the current game, you can’t make all types of damage 100% from mana before life.

  A lot of players are excited about this new Keystone in Path of Exile 2 in conjunction with Chaos Inoculation. Chaos Inoculation makes you immune to chaos damage and you have only one life. If you use up all your energy shield, you will only have one life. Of course, all damage is redirected to mana, so you can use these two Keystones together.

  If this combination of mechanics existed in POE 1, it would be very powerful because you could do a lot of ridiculous scaling. For example, you could get a lot of extra energy shield from stacking mana, which is very powerful.

  But we haven’t seen Chaos Inoculation in POE 2 yet, so they may have changed this keystone a little or a lot. So it remains to be seen whether Chaos Inoculation will make it to POE 2 in its previous state.

  Also, let’s focus again on the downside, which is a 50% reduction in Mana Regeneration rate. This is actually a pretty significant downside. What’s more, in POE 2, standard non-flask-based recovery resources will have slightly lower recovery. And we don’t know yet how mana flasks will work, what kind of modifications you can make to them, and how easy they will be to obtain and maintain. So the downside of reducing the Mana Regeneration rate by 50% will actually be quite significant.

  Vaal Pact

  Next we have the Vaal Pact. This keystone in Path of Exile 2 will provide 100% Life Leech. This is instant, and can’t be used with life flasks, so again, back to the discussion about flasks.

  Flasks are going to be very important in POE 2, no doubt, but they were very different in POE 1. Since a lot of builds, even ones that don’t stack mana, will be using flasks to restore life or mana very regularly, this keystone banning life flasks is a big deal. But at the same time it grants 100% of Life Leech to be instant, which is going to be an extremely rare start, very powerful.

  Avatar Of Fire

  Finally, let’s talk about Avatar of Fire, which converts 75% of non-fire damage to fire damage, and does not deal non-fire damage.

  Damage Conversion in POE 2 is going to be a little different, they’re kind of going back to the original Path of Exile concept of damage conversion, where you can convert damage from one type to another, but the damage you deal only scales based on the damage type.

  For example, if you convert physical damage to fire damage in POE 1, you can scale that damage with any modifiers for physical damage or fire damage. But in POE 2, that damage will only scale with modifiers for fire damage, and since it’s no longer physical damage, the damage will no longer remember its source type.

  So this Keystone becomes really interesting, because it will allow you to convert any damage type you want to fire. Of course, you’ll have to be able to find the rest of the conversions somewhere else. But the idea of ​​being able to convert chaos damage to fire is really cool, since we can’t do that in POE 1 right now.

  Finally, we have to emphasize that this is just a quick reminder that everything is subject to change before POE 2 is officially released. Maybe now they may not be completely correct in terms of numbers, but it’s interesting to see the concept of these Keystones. What do you think of these leaked POE 2 Keystones? Looking forward to seeing you in the game!

• How Does This Ice Crash Of Cadence Slayer Perform In Path Of Exile 3.25?

  Exiles, POE 3.25 league progress has passed more than halfway. Which one do you think is your best build in Settlers of Kalguur? If you haven’t chosen yet, then don’t miss this guide. Here, we will bring you a build that is definitely worth trying for melee enthusiasts, Ice Crash of Cadence Slayer, which will definitely exceed your expectations!

  Build Overview

  Ice Crash of Cadence build in Path of Exile 3.25 offers a unique play style that utilizes dual-wielding weapons for powerful AOE melee attacks. This build utilizes the unique mechanics of Ice Crash of Cadence Slayer to maximize cold damage, AoE, and overall damage effects, making it very effective in both single-target and group encounters.

  By focusing on alternating slams with main-hand and off-hand weapons, players can deal significant damage and control large areas. Here we will talk about how to optimize Ice Crash of Cadence Slayer in POE 3.25 to ensure you maximize your damage output.

  Defense

  For this build, the defense not only looks good but also feels good, mainly because of the huge debuff caused by Chill, Frozen, and Maim, which reduces the enemy’s movement speed by 30%. Coupled with the fact that the bosses in Settlers of Kalguur league have low health and damage, they are still easy to deal with as long as you don’t roll some crazy or impossible map mods.

  As a melee character, getting close to the enemy is inevitable. Especially for this build, you have to get very close to the enemy to fully play the role of melee support. But don’t worry, except for the occasional death when fighting Tier 17 Boss and Uber Boss, most of the time you are very safe.

  This is all because this build has 23 Fortification, 7 Endurance Charges, and Spell Suppression. Although this build is not immortal, the defense is still very solid, and even if you make a few mistakes here and there, the punishment will not be that severe.

  As you can see, not only can this build take some big hits, but Life Leech, Life Regen, and Life Flasks are all great for quickly restoring our lives. But be careful, sometimes it’s hard to notice the ground effect because of the visual effects of Ice Crash. So move carefully and avoid death.

  Why Choose Slayer Ascendancy?

  For Ascendancy, it is recommended that you choose Slayer because it provides more damage, AoE, and defense.

  This build is built around Ascendancy passive skill, Masterful Form, which allows your maximum Endurance Charges to be equal to your maximum Frenzy Charges. What you need to do is stack as many Frenzy Charges as possible, then equip Ralakesh’s Impatience, and after waiting for the bang, you will have the maximum Charges permanently. In this case, you can get 7 Frenzy Charges and 7 Endurance Charges.

  It is worth noting that Endurance Charges now also provide 4% elemental damage reduction on top of physical damage reduction, which is a tremendous boost for defense.

  If you don’t play Slayer, you can also choose Juggernaut. This is a well-rounded Ascendancy that also provides a ton of damage, AoE, and defense. On top of that, the quality of life you get from its Unstoppable passive skill is unmatched.

  And Juggernaut is especially good when you’re using Arn’s Anguish, as it can easily generate Endurance Charges, which are then converted into Brutal Charges, which have a 3% chance to deal triple damage each time. Therefore, if you’re playing Juggernaut, stacking Endurance Charges makes more sense.

  If you don’t mind sacrificing some tankiness for higher DPS, then Berserker is also a viable choice. And if you have a lower POE Currency budget, it may perform better than Slayer. Because Slayer tends to require you to equip some rare equipment to reach its maximum potential.

  Gear Choice

  As mentioned before, this build stacks Frenzy Charges, so attack speed is one of the top priorities for damage scaling.

  On top of that, you can also go for crit, with a crit multiplier of around 500%. Therefore, two One Hand Swords with good attack speed and crit are also important for this build.

  You can get a triple damage bonus by using Arn’s Anguish. And keeping your Brutal Charges at max while mapping is not a problem either, because Endurance Charge on Melee Stun Support is linked to Leap Slam, so that you can very easily refresh the duration of your Brutal Charges while jumping from pack to pack.

  However, when fighting bosses, you have to rely on Enduring Cry, because it provides 2 additional Brutal Charges each time. This can be a bit annoying though, because you have to press Enduring Cry every 5 seconds to refresh the duration.

  Note that this build does not use Admiral’s Arrogance, so its Rage needs some boost to reach max. And Admiral’s Arrogance is a new gauntlet that is great for keeping your Rage at max. But because we don’t use it, we will have to give up some spell suppression. So, this build is more suitable for farming strategies that don’t require you to stop. For example, Strongboxes, Legions and Harbingers.

  In addition, using explosions from Herald of Ice can give you a very satisfying clearing speed. And you can also get more AoE in Sand Stance, but if you feel that AoE is enough to clear, you can switch to Blood Stance for more DPS.

  In short, this Ice Crash of Cadence Slayer build in POE 3.25 provides a powerful and unique play style for melee enthusiasts who like to deal heavy AOE damage and freeze enemies. With the right equipment selection, passive skill tree planning, and strategic use of Ascendancy passive skill, players can effectively dominate single-target and group encounters. So, hurry up and try it out and crush all enemies with overwhelming force!

• New Class In Path Of Exile 2 Makes This Game More Like A Shooter! - Mercenary Overview

  Although Path of Exile 2, which has received a lot of attention in the past two days, has to postpone the release of the early access version because of some force majeure, this cannot prevent us from exploring some new content in the existing POE 2 trailer, especially the exploration of the new class.

  Among the 6 new classes, there is one that is very abrupt in this MMO game, that is Mercenary. It has a new weapon type Crossbow in this game, and has a unique mobile attack combat mechanism, which makes POE 2 a game very much like a shooting game.

  So in this three-week wait, it is better to learn more about the new Mercenary Class and how to maximize its effectiveness. In this way, when you enter the early access version, you can quickly choose the best build for Mercenary according to this kind of build idea.

  Mercenary Overview

  As I just said, the main weapon of Mercenary is Crossbow. Unlike Ranger’s Bow, Crossbow can be fired immediately without having to pull back, so it will attack faster and with greater power than Bow. So you can equip several Crossbows designed to be very much like traditional guns in your Mercenary build, such as Sniper Rifles, Shotguns, and Assault Rifles.

  Or you can switch back and forth between two Crossbows, so you can carry different types of ammunition and attachments to win the battle in the fastest and most comfortable way and pick up the final POE 2 Currency reward.

  And because Crossbow is a weapon type that focuses on causing huge damage and armor-piercing shooting damage, in many of the gameplay trailers of Mercenary, it looks like a player holding a gun and exploring the game world, which is why I said earlier that it is very much like a shooting game.

  About Crossbow

  Mercenary focuses on high-damage shooting, but has many crowd control skills and is equipped with two crossbows to set up and execute combos, which is an additional benefit. Each crossbow reacts depending on the ammunition you use, including armor-piercing, incendiary, and permafrost.

  Besides focusing on high-damage shooting, Mercenary also has a lot of crowd control skills. These skills, coupled with the shooting combination set by the two Crossbows, can make it easy for you to face some difficult groups of enemies, and most importantly, it will save you a lot of time exploring a place because your time to clear everything will become very short.

  What we know so far is that there will be 3 types of Crossbows in POE 2, and the effect of each Crossbow depends on the ammunition you choose for it, including Armor Piercing Ammo, Incendiary Ammo, and Permafrost Ammo. Here is how each ammunition performs in different types of Crossbows.

  Burst Shot Crossbow

  • Armor Piercing: It fires a barrage of armor-piercing rounds that penetrate multiple enemies.
  • Incendiary Ammo: It fires a projectile that ignites more powerfully when it hits a target.
  • Permafrost Ammo: It has a chance of freezing enemies with cold air.

  Rapid Shot Crossbow

  • Armor Piercing: It fires quickly to destroy armor quickly, best combined with the burst shot crossbow.
  • Incendiary Ammo: When charged and fired, the crossbow will deal more and more damage as it heats up, and the grenade will add extra firepower.
  • Permafrost Ammo: Shoot the ground to create ice crystals, then step back to attract monsters onto the crystals, which will explode and freeze enemies.

  Power Shot Crossbow

  • Armor Piercing: If an enemy’s armor is destroyed, it deals high damage to a single target weak spot and has a chance to stun the enemy.
  • Incendiary Ammo: A rocket launcher that can explode grenades on the ground.
  • Permafrost Ammo: Creates an ice wall that is effective for crowd control. When the wall is destroyed by a monster, the monster explodes, dealing a small amount of damage.

  About Attachments

  In Path of Exile 2, Attachments are new skill gems that are exclusive to Crossbow. These gems can be inserted into the off-hand slot, just like a bow character in other games can equip a quiver.

  While these Attachments don’t provide additional properties like a quiver does, they actually allow you to have an additional skill slot over the other classes. This is very useful for Mercenaries who want to fill out their arsenal with a variety of shooting skills and ammunition skills.

  Like the skill gems that other classes have, these Attachments can also be improved by supporting gems, allowing you to further enhance your shooting skills in Mercenary. Here are the types of Attachments we know about so far and their effects.

  • Explosive Grenade Launcher: Fires an explosive grenade.
  • Flash Grenade: It doesn’t do much damage, but it does cause a large stun.
  • Oil Grenade Launcher: It covers the ground with oil, slowing down enemy movement.

  Build Ideas

  Given that Mercenary can use two different Crossbows, you don’t have to worry too much about the choice of weapon, anyone will do. It is recommended that you choose Rapid Shot Crossbow and Power Shot Crossbow. The former has a large magazine capacity, and the latter has great damage potential.

  Then you can adjust the ammunition and attachments required in Crossbow to achieve some combinations that can cause a lot of damage. For example, use Armor Piercing to deal with frozen enemies, or use the super ability of Incendiary Ammo to clear some low-level enemies quickly in the early and mid-term, and then Permafrost Ammo can be used for retreat and crowd control.

  Then you can choose the appropriate attachments according to your current combat status and play style. Here I need to remind you that the proper use of skill combinations can make your Mercenary play the best effect.

  The above is an overview of the new Mercenary Class in Path of Exile 2 and some build ideas. I hope this guide can help you understand this brand new game better and look forward to the release of the early access version in December. Please believe that you will definitely have a perfect game by then. I wish you a happy game!