Basic Guide: Witch Hunter vs Gemling Legionnaire in Path of Exile 2 (Mercenary)
Image Credits: Grinding Gear Games, Path of Exile 2 (POE2)
In Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2) Mercenaries can choose between two specialties/ascendancy options as either Witch Hunter or Gemling Legionnaire. Witch Hunters focus on precise strikes and utility, while Gemling Legionnaires lean into massive scaling and explosive gameplay. Let’s break down the strengths of each path to help you choose the best option for your explosive grenade mercenary!
Witch Hunter: Utility and Precision
Witch Hunter gives us a unique mix of control and adaptability, with abilities focused on timing. This path shines in both boss encounters and general mapping.
What Makes Witch Hunter Strong:
Concentration Mechanic: Reduces the cooldown of enemy abilities, potentially making fights less dangerous by minimizing high-damage skills.
Zealous Inquisition: Grants significant area damage, doubled against Undead and Demons, which is excellent for clearing and niche encounters like Breach content.
Sorcery Ward: Provides an elemental aegis-like shield for added survivability in boss fights. With enhanced recovery, it becomes even more reliable.
Weapon Master: Converts passive skill points into weapon-specific nodes, opening up creative options for scaling damage with weapon swaps.
Why Pick Witch Hunter:
You prefer utility and precision in your playstyle.
You want a well-rounded class that excels at both clearing and bossing.
You like having flexible scaling options for weapons and grenades.
Gemling Legionnaire: Explosive Scaling and Attribute Stacking
Gemling Legionnaire uses explosive area damage and scaling through attributes. This path is perfect for players who enjoy massive bursts of damage and attribute-based scaling.
What Makes Gemling Legionnaire Strong:
Integrated Efficiency: Grants three additional skill slots, allowing for diverse setups and cooldown-based abilities that amplify boss damage.
Enhanced Effectiveness: Doubles inherent bonuses from strength, intelligence, and dexterity, making attribute stacking a core part of your build.
Quality Focus: Provides increased skill gem quality, improving damage, cooldowns, and overall performance.
Mana Efficiency: Reduces the mana cost of skills, smoothing out resource management in the late game.
Why Pick Gemling Legionnaire:
You want a high-damage playstyle that scales with attributes.
You love explosive gameplay with massive area damage.
You enjoy optimizing cooldown-based skills for maximum effectiveness.
How to Choose
Pick Witch Hunter if you want utility, flexibility, and strong options for both clearing and bossing.
Pick Gemling Legionnaire if you love explosive, attribute-scaling builds and enjoy pushing your damage to its limits.
Both paths are viable, but Gemling Legionnaire is better for players who enjoy explosive bursts and late-game scaling, while Witch Hunter appeals to those who value control and having adaptability. Choose the one that matches your playstyle!
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