There are a lot of great endgame builds for Path of Exile 2, Mercenaries have access to a few of the best ones for clearing high-level Atlas maps. Though some of the best Mercenary builds PoE 2 players have made optimize its damage with Galvanic Shards and other Crossbow abilities, the Grenade Mercenary offers a more bombastic, but still extremely effective, endgame setup.

By the time you've worked through the campaign and are ready to take your PoE 2 Grenade Mercenary build into the endgame, there are a lot of things you must start to consider to be effective in the Atlas.

But once you master the Grenade Mercenary's playstyle and fine-tune its complex interconnected parts, you will feel unstoppable as you blast high-tier Waystones apart with a barrage of FPS-lowering explosions.

Best Grenade Mercenary Skill & Support Gems

When you get to the endgame, Grenade Mercenary builds must start to consider more than damage output as enemies continue to get stronger and stronger the further you progress in the Atlas.

Of course, the PoE 2 endgame Mercenary build needs damage output to map efficiently, but you must also start to rotate in abilities that control and debuff enemies, too, or you will get overwhelmed.

While Explosive Grenade and Explosive Shot are our primary means of damage output, you should start to use Flash Grenade regularly, too.

Flash Grenade helps to thin out herds of enemies and interrupts just about everything except Stun-resistant Rares and Bosses, especially with the Overpower, Scattershot, and Payload Support Gems.

It has a very short fuse, and is great for making room when you get backed into a corner. Though you also get flashed by the Flash Grenade, you don't need Accuracy to Detonate grenades on the ground, so it has practically no effect on this build.

Gas Grenade and Oil Grenade will Slow and Poison enemies and can be Ignited with a Detonator skill (Explosive Shot). With the correct Support Gems, these two AoE effect grenades can also make enemies more vulnerable to Fire damage or reduce their Fire Resistance.

Because Explosive Grenade is primarily Fire damage, this combination results in a significant boost in damage while also slowing and Poisoning enemies.

Rotate through these abilities to deal with almost every enemy that comes your way.

Ripwire Ballista can be used to help distract enemies and is invaluable in wave-based events like Rituals and certain rooms in Trials.

Glacial Bolt is not a skill we use a lot for this build, but it can be incredibly handy for walling off enemies to create some space – especially with the Fortress and Glacier Support Gems.

The best Grenade Mercenary Spirit ability is Herald of Ash, which blows up targets on death, dealing the amount of overpower damage to nearby enemies.

Sorcery Ward is a skill gained from the Witchhunter Ascendancy, and because it counts as a Cold, Fire, and LIghtning skill, you can use the appropriate Masteries to raise its level by up to 3 higher than normal.

Grenade Mercenary Build Passive Skills & Ascendancy

Essential Passive Skill Tree Notable Nodes

In the Passive Skill Tree, the best Grenade Mercenary Passives are those that add Area of Effect size, Elemental/Crossbow/Projectile damage, or otherwise increase the effectiveness of your Grenade arsenal.

You should be able to get all of these Notable nodes by Level 75, or about 10 levels into the endgame for Path of Exile 2.

• Devastation: Increases Area Damage and Area of Effect size by 15%
• Overwhelm: 5% reduced Attack Speed, but 20% increased Stun Buildup and 40% increased damage with 2H Weapons (which Crossbow counts as)
• Cluster Bombs: Grenades take 50% longer to explode, but all Grenade skills fire another projectile
• Authority: Increase Area of Effect size by 20%, increases Cooldown Recovery by 10%
• Crushing Judgement: Increases Armor Break duration and Area damage by 25%
• Smoke Inhalation: All damage penetrates 15% of enemy Fire Resistance, and all Damaging Ailments last 15% longer
• Repeating Explosives: Grants Grenades a 15% chance to explode twice
• Any Passive node that increases Projectile, Fire (or Elemental), Grenade, or Crossbow damage

There are a few Notable nodes that can be handy for survivability, including the group of defensive Evasion and Armor nodes to the left of the Crossbow and Grenade constellation at the bottom of the Passive Skill tree.

But generally, if you can Stun, debuff, and blow up enemies faster than they can damage you, you don't need to focus too much on increasing Defenses.

If you are having trouble at higher Waystone tiers, consider increasing your Elemental Resistances first before re-speccing to more defensive Skills.

Best Ascendancy: Witchhunter

The best Ascendancy for the PoE 2 Grenade Mercenary endgame build is the Witchhunter.

This Ascendancy grants us a few powerful abilities, most notably the ability to cull enemies, gain a shield for all non-physical damage, and another way to blow up enemies on death to pair with Herald of Ash.

• Pitiless Killer: Grants Culling Strike (instantly kill normal enemies below 30% HP, Magic enemies below 20%, Rare enemies below 10%, and Bosses below 5%)
• Obsessive Rituals: Grants the Sorcery Ward skill, which reduces Armor and Evasion by 50%, but adds a Shield that re-charges and blocks all Elemental damage
• Area of Effect: Increases Area of Effect for all attacks by 10%
• Zealous Inquisition: Grants a 10% chance to blow up enemies on kill, dealing the enemy's max HP in damage to surrounding enemies.

As you complete Trials and gain Ascendancy points to spend, go for the notable Witchhunter nodes in the order listed above. You will notice Culling Strike almost immediately, Sorcery Ward comes in handy in the mid-tier Waystones when elemental damage becomes a real concern, and Zealous Inquisition is a powerful upgrade but ultimately just makes your mapping more efficient.

Area of Effect is required to get to Zealous Inquisition, but thankfully it works for this build, too.

Best Grenade Mercenary Gearing & Modifiers

Required Equipment: Bombard Crossbow

The number one most important piece of gear to make the Grenade Mercenary endgame build work is the Bombard Crossbow.

This base always adds an extra Projectile to all Grenade attacks. When added to the Cluster Bombs passive skill, you will always fire at least three Grenades with every Grenade skill, practically tripling our AoE range and damage to single targets.

When a Magic or Rare Bombard Crossbow drops, or when crafting onto a common Bombard Crossbow base, prioritize these Modifiers.

• Increased Physical Damage (both flat and percentage bonuses)
• Increased Elemental Damage, particularly Fire (both flat and percentage bonuses)
• Bonus levels to Projectile or Fire skills
• Mana/Life Restoration on Hit or Kill
• Increased Attack Speed
• Dexterity or Strength

It is essential to have extra Physical and Elemental damage (both flat and percentage) bonuses, as these contribute significantly to the power of your skills, particularly Explosive Grenades.

If a Bombard Crossbow does not have significant upgrades to your Physical or Fire damage, it's not worth using for this build.

When you get a good Bombard Crossbow with high Physical and Elemental damage modifiers, use two Artificer's Orbs to create two Rune Slots on it. Add two Iron Runes into these slots to boost its Physical damage by a further 40%, which compounds with percentage-based damage modifiers.

Grenade Mercenary Endgame Gear Modifier Priority

For all of your other gear, the best modifiers mostly look the same, with a few key differences that will only appear on non-weapon equipment.

In addition to your Elemental Resistances and Rarity of Items (two Modifiers that you should have at least a few of in the endgame), these are the gear modifiers that you should prioritize in the PoE 2 endgame Grenade Mercenary build.

• Increased Physical Damage (both flat and percentage bonuses)
• Increased Elemental Damage, particularly Fire (both flat and percentage bonuses)
• Increased Area of Effect
• All Elemental Resistances (except Chaos)
• Mana/Life Restoration on Hit or Kill
• Increased Movement Speed
• Increased Critical Hit Chance
• Bonus Attributes

Additionally, keep an eye out for Belts that grant extra Charm slots.

You only have one by default, but all Belts have a chance to have a modifier that adds up to two more. This means more ways to mitigate more status effects with more Charms, and is arguably one of the most powerful modifiers on a piece of gear in terms of survivability.

Grenade Mercenary Build Endgame Strategy & Playstyle

The Grenade Mercenary playstyle is one characterized by lengthy setups and satisfying payoffs.

Your Grenades don't deal damage instantly like other class abilities, they take a second or two to activate. Be prepared to dodge often and kite enemies efficiently to avoid being killed while waiting for your Grenades to go off.

You can't face-tank enemies with Sorcery Ward, as it reduces your Physical defenses, but Mercenaries are well-equipped to deal with ranged casters.

Stay at mid to long range whenever you can.

When confronting a group of enemies, fire off a Gas Grenade deep into the pack, then set off an Oil Grenade at the front. The enemies will be drawn to your location and the Gas will catch any stragglers while everyone else gets coated in Fire Resistance-reducing Oil.

Then, fire off a few Explosive Grenades, and ignite the Oil to set off a chain reaction that will deal ridiculous damage to enemies in the AoE.

This is your essential rotation for most groups, though there are some skills we need to use for more specific situations.

If you ever get into a tight corner surrounded by more enemies than you can handle, fire off a Flash Grenade. This will quickly clear out any low-level, low HP enemies and knock back or Stun everything stronger, giving you a path for escape.

Ripwire Ballista can be extremely handy for these situations, too.

If you are about to take on a Ritual or other wave-based event, or see a group of enemies in the distance you know will be too large to handle quickly, pop off your Ripwire Ballista as a distraction.

This is also really useful for bosses, who can also become distracted by the Ballista and give a valuable few seconds to set up a Grenade wombo combo.

Glacial Bolt is an ability we won't use often in this build, but in certain maps, it's incredibly handy. In the Crypt map, for example, this single skill can completely lock off hallways and prevent enemies from joining a horde you're currently fighting. In high-tier Waystones, pre-emptively firing off some Glacial Bolts to block off entrances can make a serious difference.

Bossing With The Grenade Mercenary Build

In terms of bosses, the Flash Grenade skill is surprisingly effective at Stunning most unique enemies incredibly fast, especially with the Support Gems we have slotted.

When you enter a boss arena (or see a Rare enemy off-screen), set up your Gas Grenades and Oil Grenades from a distance, then wait for its Life bar to appear. It should instantly become Poisoned and vulnerable to Fire damage.

Set off a few Flash Grenade blasts to rapidly Stun it, then fire away with your Explosive Grenades as their stagger meter drains.

Repeat this synergy over and over to keep the boss Stunned and melt its life bar with Fire damage.

When it comes down to it, the Grenade Mercenary build playstyle is really as simple as that – set up your synergies ahead of time, have a way out of every situation, and know the order you need to use skills to maximize damage and you'll have few issues taking this endgame PoE 2 Mercenary build through to the highest Waystone tiers.