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This is a Tactician Mercenary build for Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2)'s Dawn of the Hunt Update. Check out the Ballista Tactician Mercenary build, including its gear, socketables, skills, and playstyle!
List of Contents
| Build Setup | |
|---|---|
 Ballista Tactician Build |  Herald of Ash While active, enemies you sufficiently Overkill with attacks will cause an explosion that ignites nearby enemies based on the Overkill damage dealt.  Wind Dancer Grants a buff that gives you more Evasion per stage. Being Hit by a Melee Attack while you have this buff consumes all stages to damage and Knock Back enemies around you.  Armour Piercing Rounds Load your Crossbow with a clip of bolts that can be fired rapidly and Break enemy Armour. Using this skill again reloads the clip.  Oil Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that bursts in a spray of Oil when the fuse expires or when it impacts an Enemy, dealing minimal damage but covering the ground and nearby enemies in Oil. Oil created this way can be Ignited by Detonator Skills or Ignited Ground.  Ripwire Ballista Deploys a Balista Totem that fires Pinning bolts which Maim enemies.  Artillery Ballista Deploys a Ballista Totem that fires bolts skyward, to explode a short time after landing.  Siege Cascade Loads your Crossbow with enemy-seeking payloads which are fired into the air, dropping a bolt near every enemy in the target area. These bolts lodge in the ground and explode after a short delay . |
 Great Totem Damage Excellent Survivability Ballistas Can Draw Aggro Low Mobility High Mana Consumption | |
| Build Setup | |
|---|---|
| Ballista Tactician Build | Herald of Ash While active, enemies you sufficiently Overkill with attacks will cause an explosion that ignites nearby enemies based on the Overkill damage dealt. Wind Dancer Grants a buff that gives you more Evasion per stage. Being Hit by a Melee Attack while you have this buff consumes all stages to damage and Knock Back enemies around you. Armour Piercing Rounds Load your Crossbow with a clip of bolts that can be fired rapidly and Break enemy Armour. Using this skill again reloads the clip. Oil Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that bursts in a spray of Oil when the fuse expires or when it impacts an Enemy, dealing minimal damage but covering the ground and nearby enemies in Oil. Oil created this way can be Ignited by Detonator Skills or Ignited Ground. Ripwire Ballista Deploys a Balista Totem that fires Pinning bolts which Maim enemies. Artillery Ballista Deploys a Ballista Totem that fires bolts skyward, to explode a short time after landing. Siege Cascade Loads your Crossbow with enemy-seeking payloads which are fired into the air, dropping a bolt near every enemy in the target area. These bolts lodge in the ground and explode after a short delay . |
| Great Totem Damage Excellent Survivability Ballistas Can Draw Aggro Low Mobility | |
This is a Ballista Tactician Mercenary endgame build that makes use of Artillery Ballista to quickly clear mobs and Ripwire Ballista for taking on Bosses. This gives you time to focus on maneuvering while dealing damage so make sure to keep dodging and recover mana as this build heavily relies on keeping your Ballistas active.
| Date | Changes |
|---|---|
| 04-14-2025 | ・Reworked Tactician Ascendancy passives due to Watch How I Do It not working on Ballistas. ・Removed Herald of Blood and War Banner persistent skills. ・Removed Goldrim Felt Cap and Bushwhack Lizardscale Boots uniques for better survivability. Focused on equipment with Armor and Evasion to compensate for the low Dexterity. |
| 04-08-2025 | Updated Ballista Tactician build to have a Mapping version for endgame. Added recommended Jewels. |
| 04-07-2025 | Added Oil Grenade, Wind Dancer and Herald of Ash persistent skills, and Primal Armament support gem to Siege Cascade. Swapped a few Support Gems to accommodate for the new skills. |
| 04-06-2025 | Created Ballista Tactician Build for Cruel difficulty. |
| Equipment | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tense CrossbowStats: Damage - 7-13 Critical Chance - 5.00% Attacks Per Second - 1.60 Reload Time - 0.85 Requirements: None Modifiers: ・+% Increased Elemental Damage with Attacks ・Adds Fire Damage ・Level of All Projectile Skills ・Gain Life per Enemy Killed ・Gain Mana per Enemy Killed Weapon |  Shielded HelmStats: Armor - 75 Evasion - 66 Requirements: Level - 33 Strength - 34 Dexterity - 34 Modifiers: ・+% Increased Armour and Evasion Rating ・Maximum Life ・Maximum Mana ・Strength ・Any Element Resistance Helmet | - | |||||||||||||
 Scale MailStats: Armor - 125 Evasion - 112 Requirements: Level - 37 Strength - 43 Dexterity - 43 Modifiers: ・+% Increased Armour and Evasion Rating ・Maximum Life ・Maximum Mana ・Strength ・Any Element Resistance Body Armour | |||||||||||||||
 Gravebind Rope CuffsStats: Armor - 12 Energy Shield - 6 Requirements: Level - 5 Modifiers: ・+% Increased Armor and Energy Shield ・Cold Resistance ・Gain Life per Enemy Killed ・Gain Mana per Enemy Killed ・Enemies in your Presence Killed by Anyone Count as Being Killed by You Instead Gloves |  Utility BeltRequirements: Level - 55 Implicit: ・% of Flask Recovery applied Instantly Modifier: ・Maximum Life ・Maximum Mana ・Strength ・Life Regeneration per Second ・Any Element Resistance Belt |  Stacked SabatonsStats: Armor - 56 Evasion - 50 Requirements: Level - 33 Strength - 32 Dexterity - 32 Modifiers: ・+% Increased Movement Speed ・Maximum Life ・Maximum Mana ・Strength ・Any Element Resistance Boots | |||||||||||||
 Transcendent Life FlaskStats: Flask Type - Life Recovered Life - 840 Charge Per Use - 10 Total Charges - 75 Duration - 4 sec. Modifier: ・+% increased Amount Recovered ・+% increased Recovery Rate ・+% increased Charges Health Flask |  Amethyst RingRequirements: Level - 20 Implicit: ・Chaos Resistance Modifier: ・Evasion Rating ・Maximum Mana ・Maximum Life ・+% Increased Mana Regeneration Rate ・Any Elemental Resistance Ring 1 |  Idol of Uldurn Crimson AmuletRequirements: Level - 24 Implicit: ・Life Regeneration per Second Modifier: ・Maximum Life ・Dexterity ・Skills have +1 to Limit Amulet | Amethyst Ring Requirements: Level - 20 Implicit: ・Chaos Resistance Modifier: ・Evasion Rating ・Maximum Mana ・Maximum Life ・+% Increased Mana Regeneration Rate[ ・Any Elemental Resistance Ring 2 |  Transcendent Mana FlaskStats: Flask Type - Mana Recovered Mana - 285 Charge Per Use - 10 Total Charges - 75 Duration - 3.5 sec. Modifier: ・+% increased Amount Recovered ・+% increased Recovery Rate ・+% increased Charges Mana Flask | |||||||||||
| Equipment | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tense Crossbow Stats: Damage - 7-13 Critical Chance - 5.00% Attacks Per Second - 1.60 Reload Time - 0.85 Requirements: None Modifiers: ・+% Increased Physical Damage ・Adds Physical Damage ・Level of All Projectile Skills ・Leeches Physical Damage as Life ・Leeches Physical Damage as Mana Weapon |  Goldrim Felt CapStats: Evasion - 61 Requirements: Level - 10 Dexterity - 20 Modifiers: ・Evasion Rating ・+% Increased Rarity of Items Found ・+% to All Element Resistance Helmet | - | |||||||||||||
| Scale Mail Stats: Armor - 125 Evasion - 112 Requirements: Level - 37 Strength - 43 Dexterity - 43 Modifiers: ・+% Increased Armor and Evasion ・Maximum Life ・Strength ・Life Regeneration per Second ・Any Element Resistance Body Armour | |||||||||||||||
 Doubled GauntletsStats: Armor - 37 Evasion - 33 Requirements: Level - 33 Strength - 30 Dexterity - 30 Modifiers: ・Adds Physical Damage to Attacks ・Maximum Life ・Maximum Mana ・Strength ・Leeches Physical Damage as Mana ・Any Element Resistance Gloves | Utility Belt Requirements: Level - 55 Implicit: ・% of Flask Recovery applied Instantly Modifier: ・Maximum Life ・Maximum Mana ・Strength ・Life Regeneration per Second ・Any Element Resistance Belt |  Bushwhack Lizardscale BootsStats: Evasion - 90 Requirements: Level - 33 Dexterity - 57 Modifiers: ・+% Increased Movement Speed ・+% Increased Evasion Rating ・Dexterity ・Physical Damage is Pinning Boots | |||||||||||||
 Ultimate Life FlaskStats: Flask Type - Life Recovered Life - 920 Charge Per Use - 10 Total Charges - 75 Duration - 3 sec. Modifier: ・+% increased Amount Recovered ・+% increased Recovery Rate ・+% increased Charges Health Flask |  Prismatic RingRequirements: Level - 35 Implicit: ・All Elemental Resistances Modifier: ・Adds Physical Damage to Attacks ・Maximum Mana ・Maximum Life ・Level of All Projectile Skills・+% Increased Mana Regeneration Rate ・All Elemental Resistances Ring 1 | Idol of Uldurn Crimson Amulet Requirements: Level - 24 Implicit: ・Life Regeneration per Second Modifier: ・Maximum Life ・Dexterity ・Skills have +1 to Limit Amulet | Prismatic Ring Requirements: Level - 35 Implicit: ・All Elemental Resistances Modifier: ・Adds Physical Damage to Attacks ・Maximum Mana ・Maximum Life ・Level of All Projectile Skills・+% Increased Mana Regeneration Rate[ ・All Elemental Resistances Ring 2 |  Ultimate Mana FlaskStats: Flask Type - Mana Recovered Mana - 310 Charge Per Use - 10 Total Charges - 75 Duration - 3 sec. Modifier: ・+% increased Amount Recovered ・+% increased Recovery Rate ・+% increased Charges Mana Flask | |||||||||||
The most important modifiers for your Crossbow should be Elemental Damage with Attacks and Level of All Projectile Skills as this significantly boosts the damage output of your Artillery Ballistas. Try to use a Tense Crossbow for the additional Bolt Speed as this allows your Ballistas to fire much faster.
Keep in mind that in order to increase the damage of your Ballistas approaching endgame, you will need higher tiers of the Level of All Projectile Skills modifier since their base physical damage scales through their level. Just make sure to have Gain Mana per Enemy Killed since the mana cost of your Ballistas increases according to their skill level as well.
The only Unique you will need for your armor is the Gravebind Rope Cuffs to enable better survivability and resource management while using Totems. As for your base Armors, focus on getting equipment that has Armor and Evasion Rating as this improves the Tactician's survivability greatly, and Strength to further boost your maximum life and damage with Brute Strength. The rest of your stats should focus on reaching the 75% Elemental Resistance cap so you can avoid getting one-shotted while running maps.
For your Rings, we recommend using Amethyst Rings to help increase your Chaos Resistance and reach the 75% cap. On the other hand, try to trade or pick up the Unique Amulet called Idol of Uldurn Crimson Amulet so you can summon up to 4 Ballistas on the field to further increase your damage.
Since we have a ton of Level of All Projectile Skills, it is necessary to have Increased Mana Regeneration Rate and Maximum Mana on your Rings to help compensate for the high mana cost of your Ballistas.
Note: The modifiers listed are arranged according to priority.
 Ruby |
・Increased Totem Damage
・Increased Totem Life ・Increased Totem Placement Speed ・Damage Penetrates Fire Resistance |
|---|---|
 Emerald |
・Increased Attack Damage
・Increased Damage with Crossbows ・Increased Projectile Damage |
 Sapphire |
・Damage taken Recouped as Life
・Increased Mana Regeneration Rate |
For your jewels, we recommend prioritizing Ruby jewels as they can maximize your totem stats by a great amount. Your Emerald jewels are still viable for maxing out damage as long as they increase your weapon damage to benefit your Watch How I Do It ascendancy passive, while your Sapphire jewels are your least priority as they focus more on survivability and utility.
| Equipment | Sockets |
|---|---|
| Weapon | |
| Armor |
The best runes for the Ballista Tactician build rely on slotting in two Greater Rebirth Runes on your Crossbow to provide you with better survivability on higher-tier maps. For your Armor runes, we recommend using Greater Inspiration Rune as this allows you to manage your mana better and Any Elemental Resistance Rune to help you reach the 75% cap for all your Elemental Resistances.
| All Runes and Soul Cores | |
|---|---|
| List of Runes | List of Soul Cores |
 Thawing Charm |
・Increased Duration
・Increased Charges ・Gain Charges Per Second |
|---|---|
 Antidote Charm |
・Increased Duration
・Increased Charges ・Gain Charges Per Second |
 Beira's Anguish Dousing Charm(Endgame) |
・23% Chance to gain a Charge when you kill an enemy
・Ignite enemies in presence as though dealing Fire damage equal to 25% of your Maximum Life when used |
We recommend equipping Thawing Charm or Antidote Charm depending on your current Act as many of their Bosses have specific elements that can help with your survivability. As for endgame, try to pick up or trade Beira's Anguish Dousing Charm as this works great with the Ballista Tactician build due to the high Maximum Life it has.
※ The Support Gems' priority are arranged in a descending order. The first one being the most important and the last being the least crucial.
| Skill | Support Gems |
|---|---|
| Artillery Ballista Artillery Ballista Deploys a Ballista Totem that fires bolts skyward, to explode a short time after landing. |  Martial Tempo Martial Tempo Supports Attacks, causing them to Attack faster.  Acceleration Acceleration Supports Projectile skills, making those projectiles travel faster.  Ancestral Urgency Ancestral Urgency Supports skills which place Totems, causing those skills to place Totems much more quickly.  Font of Blood Font of Blood Supports skills which create stationary objects. Objects created by supported skills generate a Font of Blood, creating an Aura which grants Life regeneration. |
| Ripwire Ballista Ripwire Ballista Deploys a Balista Totem that fires Pinning bolts which Maim enemies. |  Lacerate Lacerate Supports any skill that hits enemies, giving it a chance to inflict Bleeding.  Rusted Spikes Rusted Spikes Supports Skills which deal Damage with Hits. When Supported Skills Pin an Enemy, they also Aggravate Bleeding on that Enemy.  Lockdown Lockdown Supports any skill that hits enemies, causing any Pin buildup it inflicts to be stronger the closer the enemy is to you.  Font of Rage Font of Rage Supported Skills which create stationary objects. Objects created by supported Skills generate a Font of Rage, creating an Aura which grants Rage over time, as well as preventing Rage loss. |
| Armour Piercing Rounds Armour Piercing Rounds Load your Crossbow with a clip of bolts that can be fired rapidly and Break enemy Armour. Using this skill again reloads the clip. |  Nimble Reload Nimble Reload Supports Crossbow Ammunition skills, causing them to Reload bolts significantly faster.  Fresh Clip Fresh Clip Supports Crossbow skills, granting them more damage for each bolt reloaded by that skill in the last 6 seconds.  Heft Heft Supports Skills which deal damage, increasing the maximum Physical Damage of their Hits.  Fork Fork Supports Projectile Skills, making their Projectiles Fork. |
| Siege Cascade Siege Cascade Loads your Crossbow with enemy-seeking payloads which are fired into the air, dropping a bolt near every enemy in the target area. These bolts lodge in the ground and explode after a short delay . |  Ammo Conservation Ammo Conservation Supports Crossbow Ammunition Skills, granting a chance to not consume a Bolt when firing.  Fire Infusion Fire Infusion Supports Attacks, causing them to Gain Fire Damage but deal less Cold and Lightning Damage.  Primal Armament Primal Armament Supports Attacks that use a weapon, causing them to deal more weapon Elemental Damage.  Elemental Focus Elemental Focus Supports any skill that hits enemies, causing it to deal more Elemental Damage but be unable to inflict Elemental Ailments. |
| Oil Grenade Oil Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that bursts in a spray of Oil when the fuse expires or when it impacts an Enemy, dealing minimal damage but covering the ground and nearby enemies in Oil. Oil created this way can be Ignited by Detonator Skills or Ignited Ground. |  Scattershot Scattershot Supports Projectile skills, making them fire extra Projectiles. Also lowers Attack and Cast speed of supported skills, as well as lessening their damage.  Strip Away Strip Away Supports Skills which apply Exposure to Enemies, increasing the effect of applied Exposure.  Magnified Effect Magnified Effect Supports any skill with an area of effect, making it larger.  Despoiler Despoiler Supports skills that create Ground Surfaces, causing those surfaces to last longer. |
| Herald of Ash Herald of Ash While active, enemies you sufficiently Overkill with attacks will cause an explosion that ignites nearby enemies based on the Overkill damage dealt. |  Cannibalism Cannibalism Supports Persistent Buff Skills, causing you to recover Life on kill while the skill is active.  Clarity Clarity Supports Persistent Buff Skills, causing you to gain increased mana Regeneration while the skill is active.  Precision Precision Supports Persistent Buff Skills, causing you to gain increased Accuracy while the skill is active. |
| Wind Dancer Wind Dancer Grants a buff that gives you more Evasion per stage. Being Hit by a Melee Attack while you have this buff consumes all stages to damage and Knock Back enemies around you. |  Unbreakable Unbreakable Supports any skill that you can use, making you harder to Stun while using it.  Blind Blind Support any skill that Hits enemies, causing them to Blind on hit.  Maim Maim Supports Attacks causing them to Maim enemies. |
| Skill | Support Gems |
|---|---|
| Artillery Ballista Artillery Ballista Deploys a Ballista Totem that fires bolts skyward, to explode a short time after landing. | Martial Tempo Martial Tempo Supports Attacks, causing them to Attack faster. Acceleration Acceleration Supports Projectile skills, making those projectiles travel faster. Ancestral Urgency Ancestral Urgency Supports skills which place Totems, causing those skills to place Totems much more quickly. |
| Ripwire Ballista Ripwire Ballista Deploys a Balista Totem that fires Pinning bolts which Maim enemies. | Lacerate Lacerate Supports any skill that hits enemies, giving it a chance to inflict Bleeding. Rusted Spikes Rusted Spikes Supports Skills which deal Damage with Hits. When Supported Skills Pin an Enemy, they also Aggravate Bleeding on that Enemy. Lockdown Lockdown Supports any skill that hits enemies, causing any Pin buildup it inflicts to be stronger the closer the enemy is to you. |
| Armour Piercing Rounds Armour Piercing Rounds Load your Crossbow with a clip of bolts that can be fired rapidly and Break enemy Armour. Using this skill again reloads the clip. | Heft Heft Supports Skills which deal damage, increasing the maximum Physical Damage of their Hits.  Demolisher Demolisher Supports any skill, causing Armour Break it inflicts to be stronger.  Armour Explosion Armour Explosion Supports attacks, causing them to trigger a Fiery explosion when they Fully Break an enemy's Armour. |
| Siege Cascade Siege Cascade Loads your Crossbow with enemy-seeking payloads which are fired into the air, dropping a bolt near every enemy in the target area. These bolts lodge in the ground and explode after a short delay . | Ammo Conservation Ammo Conservation Supports Crossbow Ammunition Skills, granting a chance to not consume a Bolt when firing. Fire Infusion Fire Infusion Supports Attacks, causing them to Gain Fire Damage but deal less Cold and Lightning Damage. Primal Armament Primal Armament Supports Attacks that use a weapon, causing them to deal more weapon Elemental Damage. |
| Oil Grenade Oil Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that bursts in a spray of Oil when the fuse expires or when it impacts an Enemy, dealing minimal damage but covering the ground and nearby enemies in Oil. Oil created this way can be Ignited by Detonator Skills or Ignited Ground. | Scattershot Scattershot Supports Projectile skills, making them fire extra Projectiles. Also lowers Attack and Cast speed of supported skills, as well as lessening their damage. Strip Away Strip Away Supports Skills which apply Exposure to Enemies, increasing the effect of applied Exposure. Magnified Effect Magnified Effect Supports any skill with an area of effect, making it larger. |
| Herald of Ash Herald of Ash While active, enemies you sufficiently Overkill with attacks will cause an explosion that ignites nearby enemies based on the Overkill damage dealt. | Cannibalism Cannibalism Supports Persistent Buff Skills, causing you to recover Life on kill while the skill is active. Clarity Clarity Supports Persistent Buff Skills, causing you to gain increased mana Regeneration while the skill is active. Precision Precision Supports Persistent Buff Skills, causing you to gain increased Accuracy while the skill is active. |
| Wind Dancer Wind Dancer Grants a buff that gives you more Evasion per stage. Being Hit by a Melee Attack while you have this buff consumes all stages to damage and Knock Back enemies around you. | Unbreakable Unbreakable Supports any skill that you can use, making you harder to Stun while using it. Blind Blind Support any skill that Hits enemies, causing them to Blind on hit. Maim Maim Supports Attacks causing them to Maim enemies. |
The skills for the Ballista Tactician require consistent use between keeping your Ballistas active and firing ammunition to deal huge damage while helping you maintain your survivability. Artillery Ballista will be your map clearing skill so make sure you always have this and Oil Grenade active throughout the field when progressing. On the other hand, Ripwire Ballista deals higher physical damage at the cost of a smaller attack range so it is best to use this against Bosses and extremely mobile rare enemies.
For your Ammunition Skills, Siege Cascade is for fast clearing mobs and works great with Artillery Ballista while Armour Piercing Rounds is best used as a single-target skill to help inflict Pin and fully break their Armor so you can deal more damage.
Lastly, your Persistent skills consist of Herald of Ash to stack more explosion damage against large mobs while Wind Dancer will be your failsafe against tight situations for better survivability. Just make sure to keep Wind Dancer at Level 5 so you do not have to stack too much Dexterity and focus more on Strength.
| Ascendancy Tree | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Passive Nodes | |||
| 1. |  | 2. |  |
| 3. |  | 4. |  |
| 5. |  | 6. |  |
| Ascendancy Tree | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Passive Nodes | |||
| 1. |  | 2. |  |
| 3. |  | 4. |  |
| 5. |  | 6. | - |
The passive tree for the Ballista Tactician build focuses on taking Totem nodes and Attack buffs that can benefit both the player, totems, and party members.
For the first few passives, go down Battle-hardened and Hard to Kill for better survivability and head straight for Overwhelm and Presence Present to significantly boost the damage of your Ballistas. You should then focus on taking Totem nodes especially Watchtowers and Ancestral Artifice as these can increase the number of Ballistas you can summon up to 4 if you have the Unique Amulet equipped.
Your next priority should be getting Beef for higher maximum life, Carved Earth for more Totem damage, and Hardened Wood so your Ballistas can survive longer against both physical and elemental attacks. Lastly, focus on getting Strength attribute nodes for better damage and make sure you have enough Dexterity and Intelligence nodes so you can equip Wind Dancer to help with your survivability.
Passive Skill Tree Guide and List of Passives
※ Press on what type you are fighting for a more detailed explanation on the playstyle and skill rotation.
| Type | Skill Rotation |
|---|---|
| Mobbing | Artillery Ballista Deploys a Ballista Totem that fires bolts skyward, to explode a short time after landing.
▶
Artillery Ballista Deploys a Ballista Totem that fires bolts skyward, to explode a short time after landing.
▶
Oil Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that bursts in a spray of Oil when the fuse expires or when it impacts an Enemy, dealing minimal damage but covering the ground and nearby enemies in Oil. Oil created this way can be Ignited by Detonator Skills or Ignited Ground.
▶
Artillery Ballista Deploys a Ballista Totem that fires bolts skyward, to explode a short time after landing.
▶
Artillery Ballista Deploys a Ballista Totem that fires bolts skyward, to explode a short time after landing.
▶
Oil Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that bursts in a spray of Oil when the fuse expires or when it impacts an Enemy, dealing minimal damage but covering the ground and nearby enemies in Oil. Oil created this way can be Ignited by Detonator Skills or Ignited Ground.
▶
Siege Cascade Loads your Crossbow with enemy-seeking payloads which are fired into the air, dropping a bolt near every enemy in the target area. These bolts lodge in the ground and explode after a short delay .
|
| Bossing | Artillery Ballista Deploys a Ballista Totem that fires bolts skyward, to explode a short time after landing.
▶
Oil Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that bursts in a spray of Oil when the fuse expires or when it impacts an Enemy, dealing minimal damage but covering the ground and nearby enemies in Oil. Oil created this way can be Ignited by Detonator Skills or Ignited Ground.
▶
Ripwire Ballista Deploys a Balista Totem that fires Pinning bolts which Maim enemies.
▶
Ripwire Ballista Deploys a Balista Totem that fires Pinning bolts which Maim enemies.
▶
Ripwire Ballista Deploys a Balista Totem that fires Pinning bolts which Maim enemies.
▶
Armour Piercing Rounds Load your Crossbow with a clip of bolts that can be fired rapidly and Break enemy Armour. Using this skill again reloads the clip.
|
For general mobbing, you will need to keep your Artillery Ballistas active while also reigning down fire with Siege Cascade. The rotation is as follows:
For bossing, you will adopt a single-target playstyle that uses Ripwire Ballistas for damage and crowd control paired with Armour Piercing Rounds. The rotation is as follows:
| Rank | Build |
|---|---|
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Ballista Tactician |
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|
 |
 Strike Warrior
|
 Lightning Ranger
|
 Spark Sorceress
|
 Arsonist Minion Witch
|
 Lightning Mercenary
|
 Lightning Monk
|
 Bleed Huntress
|
| List of Builds by Class | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Huntress |
 Mercenary |
 Monk |
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 Witch |
 Sorceress |
 Warrior |
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 Ranger |
- | - | |||||||||
| Other Build Guides | Dawn of the Hunt Leveling Builds | How to Make a Good Build | |||||||||
| Lightning Mercenary
NEW |
 Herald of Thunder While active, killing Shocked enemies with Attack damage, will cause subsequent Attack hits to release lightning bolts which deals Attack damage to all surrounding enemies.
 Flash Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that unleashes a Blinding, Stunning explosion when its fuse expires. This explosion can Blind both Allies and Enemies.
Wind Dancer Grants a buff that gives you more Evasion per stage. Being Hit by a Melee Attack while you have this buff consumes all stages to damage and Knock Back enemies around you.
 Voltaic Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that discharges an Electrocuting Lightning blasts when its fuse expires
 Emergency Reload Instantly relaods your active Crossbow Ammunition and Empowers the loaded bolts to deal more damage.
 Shockburst Rounds Loads your Crossbow with a clip of charged bolts which releases damaging pulses upon hitting an enemy affected by a lightning ailment. Using this skill again reloads the clip.
 Galvanic Shards Loads your Crossbow with a clip of charged bolts that fragment in flight, releasing Chaining Lightning beams when they Hit enemies. Using this skill again reloads the clip.
Focus: AoE, Fast Clear, Lightning |
 Bleed Bow Witchhunter
|
 Barrage Ready a volley of arrows or spears, Empowering your next Bow or Projectile Spear Attack to repeat multiple times. Consumes your Frenzy Charges on use to add additional repeats.
 Snipe Channel to charge up your bow before releasing a powerful shot. Releasing the moment you fully charge causes the arrow to explode on impact for a guaranteed Critical Hit.
 Sniper's Mark Marks a target. The next Critical Hit the target receives consumes the Mark to deal extra damage and grant you a Frenzy Charge.
 Rain of Arrows Fire arrows into the air, causing them to rain from above. Consumes your Frenzy Charges to fire more arrows.
 Spiral Volley Loads your Bow with a volley of enchanted arrows and fires them in a circle as you spin forward, firing directly at targets if possible. Consumes Frenzy Charges to cause the arrows to deal more damage and Chain to other targets. Each target can only be Hit once.
 Combat Frenzy While active, grants you a Frenzy Charge when you Freeze, Electrocute, or Pin an enemy. This can only occur once every few seconds.
Wind Dancer Grants a buff that gives you more Evasion per stage. Being Hit by a Melee Attack while you have this buff consumes all stages to damage and Knock Back enemies around you.
Focus: DoT, Burst Damage, Bossing, Mobbing |
| Fire Grenade Witchhunter
UP |
Herald of Ash While active, enemies you sufficiently Overkill with attacks will cause an explosion that ignites nearby enemies based on the Overkill damage dealt.
 Gas Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that causes a burst of Poison gas when its fuse expires, damaging enemies and leaving behind a growing Poison cloud. Burning effects or Detonator skills will cause the cloud to explode in a fiery blast.
Wind Dancer Grants a buff that gives you more Evasion per stage. Being Hit by a Melee Attack while you have this buff consumes all stages to damage and Knock Back enemies around you.
 Incendiary Shot Loads your Crossbow with flaming bolts that fragment in flight, damaging and igniting enemies on hit and in a small cone behind their final target.
 Blasphemy Turns socketed Curse skills into vile Auras, applying their effects to all nearby enemies.
Oil Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that bursts in a spray of Oil when the fuse expires or when it impacts an Enemy, dealing minimal damage but covering the ground and nearby enemies in Oil. Oil created this way can be Ignited by Detonator Skills or Ignited Ground.
 Explosive Shot Loads your Crossbow with flaming bolts that explode on impact. The explosion will cause any Grenades in its area of effect to also explode.
Focus: DoT, AoE, Mobbing |
 Gunslinger Gemling Legionnaire
|
Wind Dancer Grants a buff that gives you more Evasion per stage. Being Hit by a Melee Attack while you have this buff consumes all stages to damage and Knock Back enemies around you.
 Fragmentation Rounds Loads your Crossbow with Piercing bolts that fragment in flight. Bolts that hit a frozen enemy consume the Freeze and cause an explosion of Shrapnel. Bolts that hit an Ice Crystal cause it to explode.
 High Velocity Rounds Loads your Crossbow with Piercing bolts that can consume Fully Broken Armour on enemies to deal extra damage.
 Herald of Plague While active, killing a Poisoned enemy spreads its Poison to other nearby enemies, and has a chance to also Hinder them.
 Attrition While active, causes you to deal more Hit damage to Rare and Unique enemies the longer you've been fighting them, and gain Culling Strike against them once you've been fighting them for long enough.
 Cast on Freeze While active, gains Energy when you Freeze enemies and triggers socketed spells on reaching maximum Energy.
Emergency Reload Instantly relaods your active Crossbow Ammunition and Empowers the loaded bolts to deal more damage.
Galvanic Shards Loads your Crossbow with a clip of charged bolts that fragment in flight, releasing Chaining Lightning beams when they Hit enemies. Using this skill again reloads the clip.
 Withering Presence While active, periodically Withers enemies in your Presence.
 Blink Replaces your dodge roll with a short-cooldown Spell that allows you to tunnel through space, instantly reappearing a medium distance away.
Focus: DoT, Crowd Control, Bossing |
| Grenadier Gemling Legionnaire
UP |
 Explosive Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that unleashes a devastating fiery blast when its fuse expires.
Flash Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that unleashes a Blinding, Stunning explosion when its fuse expires. This explosion can Blind both Allies and Enemies.
Gas Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that causes a burst of Poison gas when its fuse expires, damaging enemies and leaving behind a growing Poison cloud. Burning effects or Detonator skills will cause the cloud to explode in a fiery blast.
Wind Dancer Grants a buff that gives you more Evasion per stage. Being Hit by a Melee Attack while you have this buff consumes all stages to damage and Knock Back enemies around you.
Attrition While active, causes you to deal more Hit damage to Rare and Unique enemies the longer you've been fighting them, and gain Culling Strike against them once you've been fighting them for long enough.
Oil Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that bursts in a spray of Oil when the fuse expires or when it impacts an Enemy, dealing minimal damage but covering the ground and nearby enemies in Oil. Oil created this way can be Ignited by Detonator Skills or Ignited Ground.
 Cluster Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade That explodes when it's fuse expires, throwing out a nova of mini Grenades that explode when they come to a stop.
Focus: AoE, Burst Damage, Crowd Control |
| Ballista Tactician
NEW |
Herald of Ash While active, enemies you sufficiently Overkill with attacks will cause an explosion that ignites nearby enemies based on the Overkill damage dealt.
Wind Dancer Grants a buff that gives you more Evasion per stage. Being Hit by a Melee Attack while you have this buff consumes all stages to damage and Knock Back enemies around you.
Armour Piercing Rounds Load your Crossbow with a clip of bolts that can be fired rapidly and Break enemy Armour. Using this skill again reloads the clip.
Oil Grenade Fires a bouncing Grenade that bursts in a spray of Oil when the fuse expires or when it impacts an Enemy, dealing minimal damage but covering the ground and nearby enemies in Oil. Oil created this way can be Ignited by Detonator Skills or Ignited Ground.
Ripwire Ballista Deploys a Balista Totem that fires Pinning bolts which Maim enemies.
Artillery Ballista Deploys a Ballista Totem that fires bolts skyward, to explode a short time after landing.
Siege Cascade Loads your Crossbow with enemy-seeking payloads which are fired into the air, dropping a bolt near every enemy in the target area. These bolts lodge in the ground and explode after a short delay .
Focus: Totem, Physical, Fire, Mobbing, Bossing |
| Base Class | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mercenary
|
||
| Ascendancies | ||
| Witchhunter |
Gemling Legionnaire |
 Tactician |
Hello! We're happy to know that our Ballista Tactician build is helping you out! About the Mass Rejuvenation node, we recommend choosing this last since Totem nodes, the ones that update your Ballistas with better stats, should be prioritized first. We have also updated the page to clarify this information. Hope this helps! :D
PoE 2 0.2 Mercenary Build - Ballista Tactician
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Hi, loving the build but it seems to only go up to level 73. What's recommended to pick after having all of the recommended passives?