If you rolled mercenary and don't plan on using grenades, don't bother - do literally anything else

[L O F T Y]

ALL of the merc skills except for grenades are paper towel tier damage, but unlike a ranger you have to reload and fight at closer range so you'll get stuck more often on random geometry while every mob on the map aggros you since you're the lowest DPS class in the game without grenades.

There's 1 skill (high velocity something) that can be good damage at single-target only, it does pierce but it has no hitbox to the sides so it's not really useful as a clear skill.

Anyway, just a cautionary tale, don't waste your time for now.

[EmperorVolo]

Escrito originalmente por m99noble:

Escrito originalmente por FuFo Da HALOSHOCK:

What does that have to do with the Merc Crossbow tho?

OP is saying grenades are only option for meaningful merc damage. That is incorrect as I am playing a sorceress using crossbow skills and my highest damage skills are Ammo skills rather than Grenade skills. Do you understand now?

You're on a different tree this post is about merc not sorce. The irony of you telling him to read...

He's also talking about End Game and he's right.

[Jestunhi]

Escrito originalmente por L O F T Y:

Escrito originalmente por Bynn:

permafrost bolts (max freeze buildup) + fragmentation rounds

This is what I started btw. I know every interaction, and they all suck

I don't need interactions, I'm shredding everything with Galvanic Shards. Things die before the grenades would trigger if I bothered to use them.

[m99noble]

Escrito originalmente por L O F T Y:

Escrito originalmente por Bynn:

permafrost bolts (max freeze buildup) + fragmentation rounds

This is what I started btw. I know every interaction, and they all suck

shrug git gud, dunno what to tell ya im playing way unoptimized and its workin for me.

[Tachyon]

Escrito originalmente por Bynn:

Escrito originalmente por Tachyon:

I play my Merc as a kind of Boba Fett character. I still use the "Shotgun", but I don't bother with the grenades.

I like Bone Blast as a sort of "micro grenade" launcher. The rate of fire and the small blast radius fits the theme of if my Merc, to me. I picture him as a Boba Fett character, for a bit of fun. 😄

Other skills can also add a bit more fun too, if combined with another skill as well. I use Sparks on the Merc as if it was the Whistling Birds weapon in The Mandalorian. I sometimes use Wall of Fire (the circular version) when firing Sparks, since this adds fire damage, as if it is incendiary ammo. If I use Frag ammo on the crossbow I like to fire through Fire Wall with that, too. To me, it's my incendiary ammo. 😄

My favourite is using the Frost Bomb skill (29 to 44 damage) as a sort or mortar weapon. Great fun!

and this is how you do it <3

Thank you! I just now added the Ignition support skill to the Frost Bomb for the 100% ignition, making it a kind of incendiary mortar. Can't wait to try it.

[Desync]

U must be new, completely cleared everything only using fragmentation rounds. LOL skill issue

[Bynn]

grenades are good if you build around them, shots are good if you build around them, I don't really understand where the problem with both things being viable is

[EmperorVolo]

Escrito originalmente por Desync:

U must be new, completely cleared everything only using fragmentation rounds. LOL skill issue

That's often the go to back up since it and high velocity are the top of the lower end damages.

The difference between that and grenades is usually in the thousands of damage just to put it into perspective.

So is it viable to use the weaker stuff? Yeah but the question becomes why.

[Kanjejou]

If you told me Mercenary is clunky with lots of dead time because of switching ammo type and reload and high manan cost I would have said... YES!

But once you get the Grenade Nodes+AOE nodes (for grenade build) or Ailment chance nodes for ammunition combo style the Crossbow do work, or pure damages for mono spell stuff.

Personnaly i would tell you to go look for Attack speed/skill speed, so the gameplay get a bit smoother.

Also you can try to look for spell out of the crosbow that can combo with your style of play. like contagion/firewall ect...

[Kalergi's Top Guy]

Escrito originalmente por EmperorVolo:

Escrito originalmente por m99noble:

OP is saying grenades are only option for meaningful merc damage. That is incorrect as I am playing a sorceress using crossbow skills and my highest damage skills are Ammo skills rather than Grenade skills. Do you understand now?

You're on a different tree this post is about merc not sorce. The irony of you telling him to read...

He's also talking about End Game and he's right.

I'm new to PoE, but can't you use all weapons and their skills on all classes? Meaning you can basically be a mercenary as everyone else and the only differences are starting point of the passive tree and ascendancy or whatever its called.

[Bynn]

Escrito originalmente por Kanjejou:

If you told me Marcenary is clunky with lots of dead time because of switching ammo type and reload and high manan cost I would have said... YES!

But once you get the Grenade Nodes+AOE nodes (for grenade build) or Ailment chance nodes for ammunition combo style the Crossbow do work.

Personnaly i would tell you to go look for Attack speed/skill speed, so the gameplay get a bit smoother.

getting reload speed, weapon swap speed and weapon set points for grenades and for shots helped a lot with making the back and forth smoother and stronger, the mercenary is fun af

[Bynn]

Escrito originalmente por Kalergi's Top Guy:

Escrito originalmente por EmperorVolo:

You're on a different tree this post is about merc not sorce. The irony of you telling him to read...

He's also talking about End Game and he's right.

I'm new to PoE, but can't you use all weapons and their skills on all classes? Meaning you can basically be a mercenary as everyone else and the only differences are starting point of the passive tree and ascendancy or whatever its called.

your only limitations are meeting the stat requirements for the gear and gems and you being able to make it work

[Spookya]

LMFAO WRONG!

[Twistedbro]

I love me my grenade build but oh my does it suck in various situations.

[m99noble]

Escrito originalmente por EmperorVolo:

Escrito originalmente por m99noble:

OP is saying grenades are only option for meaningful merc damage. That is incorrect as I am playing a sorceress using crossbow skills and my highest damage skills are Ammo skills rather than Grenade skills. Do you understand now?

You're on a different tree this post is about merc not sorce. The irony of you telling him to read...

He's also talking about End Game and he's right.

Then explain to me how im doing meaningful damage as a sorceress using crossbow skills? It is not about the class, it is about how you build. Think about what the OP wrote (Nades only viable build Merc build), then think about how my sorc is able to poop all over things using crossbow skills and not built around nades. -_-

OP is wrong about Merc class is only viable using Nade builds.

Escrito originalmente por Kalergi's Top Guy:

I'm new to PoE, but can't you use all weapons and their skills on all classes? Meaning you can basically be a mercenary as everyone else and the only differences are starting point of the passive tree and ascendancy or whatever its called.

Yes you can use any weapon + skill on any class.
The only difference between the classes is where they start on the passive tree and the acendencies.

[Bynn]

how are you getting 30 seconds in your fuses?
memes asides take the shorter fuse notables and the less duration support gem