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Leveling and scaling a Crossbow Mercenary in Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.4 can feel overwhelming at first. Crossbows don't behave like bows, spells, or melee weapons, and their early-game pacing can feel sluggish if you don't understand their core mechanics. However, once properly supported, Crossbows become one of the most explosive and satisfying weapon types in the game.

This guide breaks down the best Mercenary build in PoE 2.0.4, centered around Armour Piercing Rounds (APR). The build excels at map clearing, scales smoothly into endgame, and has flexible options for melting bosses using Riven Armour and explosive synergies.

Armour Piercing Rounds Mercenary Overview

Armour Piercing Rounds are deceptively weak on their own. By default, it hits a single target and deals modest damage. What makes APR powerful is how it breaks enemy armour, opening the door to chain explosions, bleed damage, and devastating follow-up skills.

With the correct support gems and passives, APR becomes a screen-clearing machine capable of handling everything from early leveling to high-tier maps.

Core Skills and Support Gems

Armour Piercing Rounds (Main Clear Skill)

Required Supports:

·Chain I

·Armour Explosion

·Bleed I (later upgraded)

Chain allows APR bolts to bounce between enemies, while Armour Explosion causes enemies to explode when their armour breaks. Once Bleed is added and paired with Herald of Blood, these explosions chain into massive area damage.

With sufficient attack speed and a high physical-damage Crossbow, APR scales well even into late-game mapping.

High Velocity Rounds (Single-Target DPS)

Supports:

·Close Combat

·Deliberation

High Velocity Rounds are your primary tool for bosses and tanky enemies. It applies Riven Armour, a powerful debuff that causes subsequent hits to deal bonus damage based on HVR's hit. This debuff is the backbone of your boss-killing potential.

Explosive Grenade (Burst Damage)

Supports:

·Multishot

·Adhesive Grenades

Explosive Grenade provides massive burst damage when used correctly. When combined with Riven Armour, grenades scale dramatically, allowing you to chunk bosses in seconds.

How to Play the Build

For regular map clearing, Armour Piercing Rounds do almost all the work. Hold down the trigger, keep moving, and let chain explosions wipe out packs.

Against tougher enemies or bosses, follow this rotation:

1. Use APR to fully break enemy armour

2. Throw Explosive Grenades

3. Before grenades detonate, hit the target with High Velocity Rounds

4. While Riven Armour is active, continue firing APR

Riven Armour boosts all incoming hits, so spamming APR during this window dramatically increases damage output.

Endgame Armour Piercing Rounds Setup (Level 70+)

By the time you reach maps, your setup expands with stronger support gems and detonators.

Key Additions:

·Explosive Shot as a dedicated grenade detonator

·Emergency Reload for boss burst windows

·War Banner for increased damage during Riven procs

During boss fights, activate War Banner, reload with Emergency Reload, apply Riven Armour, then detonate grenades with Explosive Shot. This setup comfortably clears Tier 8+ maps and handles most pinnacle encounters when equipped with proper PoE2 Items.

This setup comfortably clears Tier 8+ maps and handles most pinnacle encounters when properly geared.

Rampart Raptor Boss-Killing Variant

For players who want extreme boss damage, the Rampart Raptor Unique Crossbow offers an alternative setup.

Rampart Raptor grants unlimited ammo for six seconds after reloading, allowing you to rapidly trigger Riven Armour procs.

How It Works

·Equip Fragmentation Rounds exclusively on Rampart Raptor.

Support it with:

·Streamlined Rounds (50% more attack speed)

·Rapid Attacks III (35% increased attack speed)

Your damage comes from Riven Armour triggers, not Fragmentation Rounds themselves, so losing flat damage is irrelevant. The attack speed lets you apply Riven instantly, setting up explosive follow-up damage.

Ascendancy Choice - Witchhunter

The Witchhunter Ascendancy is the best choice for this build.

Key benefits include:

·Culling Strike and Decimating Strike, massively improving clear speed.

·Strong synergy with APR's low-hit damage

·Late-game access to Sorcery Ward through Obsessive Rituals and Ceremonial Ablution, preventing sudden deaths

This ascendancy turns a mechanically complex build into a smooth, aggressive mapping monster.

Passive Tree Priorities

Focus on Crossbow damage, reload speed, and survivability through armour and leech.

Priority Notables:

·Run and Gun

·Spray and Pray

·Rapid Reload

·Full Salvo

·Cull the Hordes

·Giant Slayer

·Iron Reflexes

·Vaal Pact

Because you're running Run and Gun and Spray and Pray, always stay mobile and swap ammo types every 10 seconds to keep Full Salvo active.

Gear Recommendations

Weapon

Use the strongest physical-damage Crossbow you can find. Prioritize:

·Increased Physical Damage

·Mana Leech

·+Levels to Projectile Skills

·Accuracy Rating

If farming or trading isn't yielding upgrades quickly, some players choose to buy POE2 Items using accumulated Path of Exile 2 Currency to accelerate progression.

Armor

Stack pure Armour gear to maximize damage reduction. Armour-based mitigation gives Life Leech time to stabilize your health pool.

The only exception is Myris Uxor, a helmet that significantly increases your Culling Strike threshold and boosts overall clear speed.

Defenses

·Cap elemental resistances

·Use armour modifiers that apply Armour to Elemental hits

·Maintain some Chaos Resistance

·Use Thawing, Stone, and Staunching Charms for ailment protection

Final Thoughts

The Armour Piercing Rounds Mercenary is one of the strongest and most satisfying builds in PoE 2 Patch 0.4. Once its synergies come online, it offers incredible clear speed, flexible boss damage, and strong survivability.