Path of Exile 2: Tactician Build Guide - Mercenary Ascendancy Class

The Tactician is an incredibly versatile and powerful Ascendancy class in Path of Exile 2, known for its damage output, survivability, and support capabilities. As a Mercenary, the Tactician excels in both solo play and team-based support, making it one of the most dynamic choices for any player. Here's a comprehensive guide on building and playing the Tactician in Dawn of the Hunt League.

Tactician Build Overview

The Tactician is a hybrid class, offering excellent damage output, high utility, and support capabilities. Whether you want to play as a damage dealer or a support, the Tactician provides an effective skillset that caters to both solo and cooperative play.

Strengths

High Damage Output: Capable of dealing immense elemental and physical damage.

Utility: Provides powerful support abilities that can buff teammates, increase survivability, and debuff enemies.

Survivability: With the right skills and positioning, Tactician can be resilient in tough encounters, though the class is somewhat squishy and requires dodging boss attacks to avoid death.

Weaknesses

Squishiness: Without proper evasion or defense, the Mercenary can die quickly when hit by heavy boss attacks.

Requires Mobility: To avoid taking damage, the Tactician needs strong movement speed and positioning.

Tactician Leveling Guide

The Tactician's early game focuses on building up Dexterity (the primary stat) and maximizing damage early on, while also gaining defensive tools.

Step 1: Early Leveling

In the first few levels, prioritize the following passive skills:

Remorseless: Boosts physical and elemental damage.

Ricochet: Increases projectile effectiveness and damage.

Grenadier: Enhances grenade usage for AoE and more damage.

Adrenaline Rush: Provides a speed and damage boost, vital for boss fights and moving through maps.

Step 2: Mid-Game Transition

Around mid-game, prioritize unlocking skills that improve both survivability and damage. Key nodes to aim for:

Lightning Rod: Improves lightning damage and grants added effectiveness to abilities like Herald of Thunder.

Flash Storm: Increases the effectiveness of Galvanic Shards and Herald of Thunder, boosting your overall elemental damage.

Giantslayer: Significant boost to damage, especially for larger bosses or mobs.

Escape Velocity and Freedom of Movement: Vital for improving your Evasion Rating and Movement Speed, which help with dodging incoming damage.

Step 3: Endgame Build

For the endgame, you'll want to focus on maximizing your damage output while also making sure your build has access to sufficient defenses and mobility. Key to the endgame:

Gas Grenade: Creates a cloud of gas that will ignite on impact and damage enemies.

Explosive Grenade: Powerful AoE grenade that also applies additional debuffs to enemies.

Explosive Shot: A great direct damage skill for both single-target and AoE scenarios.

Herald of Thunder: Adds lightning damage to your attacks and spells.

Ripwire Ballista: A trap that pins enemies in place, opening them up for more damage from you and your allies.

Key Skills for Endgame Tactician Build

Gas Grenade: Deals massive damage over time and ignites enemies when used with other grenades.

Explosive Grenade: Primary AoE skill for clearing mobs and adding buffs to your grenades.

Explosive Shot: High single-target damage, crucial for bosses.

Herald of Thunder: Lightning support skill for adding lightning damage to all your attacks.

Oil Grenade: Used for spreading and igniting fire damage, making it essential in multi-target fights.

Ripwire Ballista: Deploys a ballista that pins enemies, allowing you to deal damage without interruption.

Key Passive Nodes for Tactician Build

Grenadier: Increases the effectiveness of your grenade skills.

Ricochet: Adds projectile damage, boosting all grenade-based attacks.

Remorseless: Increases physical and elemental damage across the board.

Lightning Rod: Enhances the power of your lightning skills, crucial for endgame elemental builds.

Flash Storm: Boosts the damage of Galvanic Shards and Herald of Thunder, great for late-game clear speed and bosses.

Overwhelm: Increases your damage output, especially for tougher bosses.

Giantslayer: Vital for scaling damage against large enemies and endgame bosses.

Gear and Weapons for Tactician

Armor: Focus on pieces that offer Evasion Rating and Resistances, as survivability will be key. Evasion helps you dodge attacks, which is crucial for staying alive in tougher fights.

Weapon: Ideally, use a weapon with high Physical Damage and Lightning Damage to scale with your skills like Herald of Thunder and Explosive Shot.

Amulets: Prioritize Maximum Health, Maximum Mana, and % Mana Increase for scaling your damage and survivability.

Rings: Consider Resistances, Mana Regeneration, or Increased Damage.

Flasks: Focus on flasks that grant Life Recovery, Mana Regeneration, or Evasion boosts.

Tips to Play Tactician Build

Cooldown Management: This build relies heavily on skill rotations and managing cooldowns. Make sure you keep track of your Grenade cooldowns and rotate your abilities effectively.

Mobility: Use Escape Velocity and Freedom of Movement to stay mobile during tough boss fights. You need to be quick on your feet to avoid devastating hits.

Boss Fights: When fighting bosses, start by using Oil Grenade to debuff them and follow up with Explosive Shot for maximum damage. Use Ripwire Ballista to pin enemies and create openings for free damage.

Support Role: If you want to focus on supporting your team, invest in nodes that grant Evasion and Defenses, as well as those that enhance team damage like Inspiring Leader and Bannerman.

Final Thoughts

The Tactician Mercenary in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt is a powerhouse build for players who love both dealing damage and providing support. By balancing offense with utility, you can clear content quickly while also offering buffs to your team. Be prepared for the Tactician's squishiness and make sure to leverage your mobility and evasion to avoid death in tough encounters.

As you continue exploring the game and optimizing your build, you'll likely need Path of Exile 2 currency and Path of Exile 2 items to enhance your character's performance and make your journey smoother.