Path of Exile 2: Mercenary Class Hands-On + Endgame First Look

ign.com:

Every time I play Path of Exile 2 – and I’ve been lucky enough to play it a few times now – I grow more confident that it’s going to be special. I’ve now played as the Hunter, Monk, Witch, Warrior, and most recently Mercenary. You’d think that I’d be tired of doing 2+ hour sessions with each of the classes, but the inverse is true. I can’t wait to dive back in. Its beta release on December 6 can’t come soon enough.

I’m going to focus this preview on the Mercenary. While it’s not my favorite of the classes, the Mercenary is very unique in that it transforms traditional Path of Exile gameplay into what you would expect from a top-down shooter. This class, which focuses on the use of a crossbow, has you start by firing 7 rounds of bolts at any approaching enemies. You’ll then slowly unlock new skill gems that add abilities that will snipe, rapidly fire Armor Piercing Rounds, lob a grenade, freeze, set on fire, or otherwise set you up for success against the waves you’ll come across.

This transformation to a shooter is intentional, with Grinding Gear Games’ Jonathan Rogers embracing the challenge the class gave them by taking lessons from other titles in the shooter space that they then built upon. While I found that I missed the thwack of the Monk’s staff or the agility the Hunter’s bow offered I can see how the Mercenary could be an attractive option for new players who may be more familiar with other genres and entering the ARPG space for the first time.

The one reason I feel the Mercenary is held back is because of the sheer amount of reloading needed, as it happens when you swap between firing modes or run out of ammo, leading to a bit more downtime than I liked in the early game.

That said, the class does start coming together and feeling quite powerful around the graveyard section of Path of Exile 2. This seems to be the point where all the classes really begin to come into their own and give players a peek at their endgame potential. By this point I had: a grenade