Path Of Exile 2: Tactician Build Guide

The Mercenary is one of the strongest classes in Path of Exile 2 on account of its damage output and utility. While the damage part has been good ever since the release of the game, the utility part has been significantly improved after the release of the Tactician Ascendancy class in Dawn of the Hunt League.

Path of Exile 2: Mektul, The Forgemaster Boss Guide

Learn how to defeat Mektul, The Forgemaster in Path of Exile 2 with this detailed boss guide.

The Tactician is a class that boasts support capabilities alongside survivability and damage, and can be built both as a pure support or a hybrid. If you're interested in the Tactican class from Dawn of the Hunt, here's a guide that will cover all the necessary details.

Path of Exile 2 is in early access and builds will change when the final version of the game releases somewhere in the future.

Tactician Build Overview

Tactician is one of the most unique Ascendancies in the game, as it gives a variety of opportunities to you as a player. You can build your character for a solo playthrough, where you decimate your enemies with immense elemental damage, or you can play as a support character, where you help buff your friends in a cooperative-focused gameplay.

However, before you can do that, you'll have to level up the Tactician as a standard Mercenary class, which means the focus will be on the usual skills such as Fragmentation Rounds, High Velocity Rounds, Explosive Grenade, Gas Grenade, and much more.

This will ensure that your campaign is very smooth as you will breeze through both the early game and the Cruel Mode with ease. Once you reach maps, you can switch your build depending on what you feel is necessary, as you will have more than enough Uncut Spirit Gem to unlock new spells.

The only problem you will face as a Mercenary is that this class is quite squishy, and you will die if you can't dodge boss attacks. However, the trade-off to this is that the Mercenary can easily stun bosses, which opens up free damage windows for you.

This guide will strictly focus on the build that will help you with solo play. However, an additional section will be provided towards the end if you want to build the support Tactician that will benefit your friends in cooperative-focused mode.

Tactician Leveling Guide

Act 1

In Act 1, focus on getting your basic skills that will carry you through the early game. Start with Fragmentation Rounds, as it helps in dealing with mobs quite effectively. Use it for a while until you unlock High Velocity Rounds and Flash Grenade. You will also need to attach Scattershot and Double Barrel to High Velocity Rounds and attach Overpower and Second Wind to Flash Grenade.

Once you level up a bit more, unlock Galvanic Shards and attach Lightning Infusion and Martial Tempo to this skill. Finally, defeat the King of the Mists boss for your first Uncut Spirit Gem and unlock Herald of Thunder.

Skills

Support Gems

High Velocity Rounds

Scattershot, Double Barrell

Flash Grenade

Overpower, Second Winds

Galvanic Shards

Lightning Infusion, Martial Tempo

Herald of Thunder

/

Act 2

In Act 2, you will level up some of the existing skills, unlock new ones, and get access to your Ascendancy class. The first skill you'll need to unlock is Gas Grenade, and attach Scattershot and Magnified Effect to it. You'll also have to unlock Explosive Grenade and attach Second Wind and Inspiration to it.

Remove High Velocity Rounds as you won't need them anymore. Finally, Explosive Shot is an important unlock in Act 2, and you'll have to attach Martial Tempo to it. In the case of Galvanic Shards, attach Conduction in place of Martial Tempo.

You'll also unlock the Tactician Ascendancy class here by completing the Trial of Sekhemas and unlocking the nodes Pin Buildup and Suppressing Fire.

Skills

Support Gems

Gas Grenades

Scattershot, Magnified Effect

Explosive Grenade

Second Wind, Inspiration

Explosive Shot

Martial Tempo

Galvanic Shards

Lightning Infusion, Conduction

Herald of Thunder

/

Act 3

In Act 3, focus on leveling up your skills once again, as there aren't as many unlocks. The only ability you will need to unlock here is Oil Grenade, and attach Encumbrance to it. While you don't need it yet, you can also unlock Ripwire Ballista and attach Lockdown and Persistenceto it.

Complete the Trial of Chaos and unlock the Pin BuildUp and Right Where We Want Themnodes from the Tactician Ascendancy. Finally, defeat the boss Ignagduk, the Bog Witch, and unlock the skill Ghost Dance using an Uncut Spirit Gem. You can attach the Support Gem Clarity to Ghost Dance.

Skill

Support Gems

Gas Grenade

Scattershot, Magnified Effect

Explosive Grenade

Second Wind, Inspiration

Explosive Shot

Martial Tempo

Galvanic Shards

Lightning Infusion, Conduction

Herald of Thunder

Oil Grenade

Encumbrance

Ripwire Ballista

Lockdown, Persistence

Ghost Dance

Clarity

Cruel Mode And Mapping

In Cruel Mode, not much will change when it comes to your build, as most of the damage abilities are already in place. The new skill you'll need is Wind Dancer, which you can unlock using an Uncut Spirit Gem.

Additionally, use two Lesser Jeweller's Orb to unlock new gem slots on Gas Grenades and Galvanic Shards and attach Primal Armament and Pierce to them, respectively.

Skill

Support Gems

Gas Grenade

Scattershot, Magnified Effect, Primal Armament

Explosive Grenade

Second Wind, Inspiration, Pierce

Explosive Shot

Martial Tempo

Galvanic Shards

Lightning Infusion, Conduction

Herald of Thunder

Innervate

Oil Grenade

Encumbrance

Ripwire Ballista

Lockdown, Persistence

Ghost Dance

Clarity

Wind Dancer

/

Tactician Support Build

If you're looking to play your Tactician as a support, your leveling process won't change much, but the Ascendancy points you unlock alongside the skills you unlock will need a little tweaking. When it comes to the Ascendancy, you'll need A Solid Plan, Watch How I Do It, and Whoever Pays Best.

Additionally, you'll have to unlock the skills Defiance Banner, War Banner, Ancestral Warrior Totem, Blasphemy, Overwhelming Presence, Dread Banner. All of these skills can be unlocked using Uncut Spirit Gems. Here's what your support Tactician skill tree will look like:

Skill

Support Gems

Defiance Banner

Magnified Effect, Refraction

War Banner

Persistence, Cannibalism

Ancestral Spirit Totem

Armour Breaker, Ancestral Urgency

Blasphemy

Heightened Curse

Overwhelming Presence

/

Dread Banner

/

Wind Dancer

/

Passive Skill Tree

Tactician is a Dexerity-based class, so most of your points will focus on increasing that particular stat. In the early game, focus on unlocking Remorseless as quickly as possible, followed by Ricochet, Grenadier, and Adrenaline Rush.

All of these skills will enhance your base damage, while Grenadier will increase the usage of the Grenade skills.

Following this, you'll unlock Lightning Rod, Flash Storm, Overwhelm, and Giantslayer. Among these, Flash Storm and Lightning Rod are extremely valuable as they increase the effectiveness of Galvanic Shards and Herald of Thunder.

You'll also need access to Escape Velocity and Freedom of Movement, as they will provide Evasion Rating and movement speed, both of which help with survivability.

If you're building the Tactician as a support, you'll need access to the Banner-specific nodes, which include Feel no Pain, Inspiring Leader, Polymathy, Bannerman, Blade Catcher, and Mind Over Matter. All of these skills increase attributes and defense, which will not only help you but your team as well.

Overview Of Endgame Tactician Build

Key Skills

• Gas Grenade
• Explosive Grenade
• Explosive Shot
• Herald of Thunder
• Oil Grenade
• Ripwire Ballista

Key Passives

• Grenadier
• Ricochet
• Remorseless
• Lightning Rod
• Flash Storm
• Overwhelm
• Giantslayer

Gear And Weapons

• Armor pieces with Resistances and Evasion Rating.
• Weapon with high Physical Damage and Lightning Damage.
• Amulets that increase Maximum Health and Maximum Mana.
• Any percentage increase in Mana is also worthwhile.

Tips To Play Tactician Build

Playing the Tactician build is very simple, and the only thing you need to worry about is cooldowns. Start with the Oil Grenade and follow that with an Explosive Shot to ignite a target. Throw in Gas Grenades, which will immediately ignite, thereby dealing massive damage to enemies.

This will put all your skills on cooldown, but you can use this period to drop Explosive Grenades to deal damage, until the abilities are back up once again. While you are performing your rotations, drop the Ripwire Balista, which will pin enemies with its powerful bolts, thereby creating openings for you to deal damage.

Path Of Exile 2: Amazon Build Guide

We cover the best Amazon build for Path of Exile 2.