Main skill
Permafrost Bolts
2 supports
Double Barrel I · Elemental Armament I
0.5.5Mercenary
Grenade Gemling
Permafrost Bolts to freeze early enemies, then blast the frozen targets with Fragmentation Rounds for bonus explosion damage. Explosive Shot takes over as the main attack from Act 2 on, backed by Explosive Grenade, Mirage Archer (which spams its own Explosive Grenade for free), and — once Mortar Cannon and Oil Grenade come online in Act 3 — automated resistance shred on top. Huge damage, genuinely tanky via the Gemling Legionnaire's Virtuous Barrier, and one of the very few sources in this series that covers level 1 through endgame on a single page with zero gaps.
Path of Evening: Act 1 → Endgame
Gemling Legionnaire
Mercenary · Gemling Legionnaire20 passives · Act 1
Build Planner
Gear
Legend
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Passive tree
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Path of Exile 2
Early accessSkill Gems
6 skills · 13 gems · Act 1
Skill
Fragmentation Rounds
2 supports
Double Barrel I · Elemental Armament I
Skill
Explosive Grenade
2 supports
Multishot I · Elemental Armament I
Skill
Flash Grenade
1 support
Multishot I
Skill · Body Armour
Herald Of Ash
No supports
Skill
Crossbow Shot
No supports
Early Access — skill data can change with patches · hover or tap a gem for its tooltip
Sourced from the creator's own Build Variant tabs (Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, Act 4+, Endgame), downloaded in one zip export. The Live Character variant was intentionally excluded — it's a snapshot of the creator's actual live seasonal character rather than an authored teaching stage, and duplicates the Endgame stage's content. All 5 stages used here have real equipped gear and real skill/support setups.
Ascendancy order
- Gemling Legionnaire
- Essence of Virtue (ascendancy start, grants the Virtuous Barrier skill — a huge chunk of the build's life/armour/evasion/energy shield) comes online by Act 2.
- Advanced Thaumaturgy (gem Quality grants Socketed Skills an additional effect — extra projectiles on Explosive Grenade, faster detonation on Cluster Grenade, extra damage on Flash Grenade) comes online by Act 3.
- Implanted Gems (+2 gem levels to all primary skills) comes online by Act 4.
- Gem Studded (immunity to critical strike damage and 40% less movement speed penalty while using skills, if you have an equal number of red and green support gems socketed) is the final notable, coming online at Endgame.
- The source guide notes an alternative early pick: Gemling Legionnaire's first ascendancy point is purely defensive, so you can spec into Tactician and use Supporting Fire instead if you prefer — swapping ascendancies after trials is free, just talk to the nearby NPC. Support Supporting Fire with Bidding I if you go this route.
- Once you've completed the second ascendancy trial: take Advanced Thaumaturgy with your second pair of points if your primary skills already have 20% quality, otherwise take Implanted Gems first and save Advanced Thaumaturgy for third.
Leveling & campaign stages
Act 1
1–~15 (spirit)
Gear (self-found)
- Weapon (Makeshift Crossbow base): Adds 30-45 Fire, 25-38 Cold, 1-85 Lightning Damage, +3 to Level of all Projectile Skills, 11% increased Attack Speed
- Helm (Brimmed Helm base, lvl 5+): +60 Life, +21% to all Elemental Resistances
- Body Armour (Chain Mail base): +85 Life, +21% to all Elemental Resistances
- Gloves (Ringmail Gauntlets base, lvl 6+): Adds Physical/Fire damage to Attacks, 8% increased Attack Speed
- Boots (Mail Sabatons base, lvl 6+): +60 Life, +21% to all Elemental Resistances, 20% increased Movement Speed
- Rings x2 (Ruby Ring base, lvl 8+): +5 all Attributes, +9% all Elemental Resistances, flat Physical/Fire damage to Attacks
- Flasks (Transcendent Life lvl 50+, Lesser Mana), Charms (Thawing lvl 12+, Dousing lvl 32+)
Tree
- New notables: Remorseless (15% increased Projectile Damage, 30% increased Stun Buildup within 2m, +5 Str/Dex), Ricochet (15% increased Projectile Damage, 10% chance to Chain off terrain), Colossal Weapon, Overwhelm (40% increased Damage with Two Handed Weapons), Curved Weapon
Notes
- Use Permafrost Bolts to freeze enemies in Act 1 and early Act 2, then blast the frozen target with Fragmentation Rounds to detonate it for bonus damage — this combo also works on bosses with adds, funneling extra damage into the boss
- Fire Explosive Grenade and Flash Grenade to clear packs and blast bosses
- Craft Herald of Ash as your first aura in Act 1
- Vendor regex for movement speed boots: "\d+% i.+mov"
Act 2
~15–~28 (spirit)
Gear (self-found)
- Doll carries over unchanged from Act 1 in the source data — same weapon/armor pieces, still well within level range
Tree
- New notables: Grenadier (Grenade Skills have +1 Cooldown Use), Adrenaline Rush (increased Movement/Attack Speed after a recent kill), Rapid Reload (40% increased Crossbow Reload Speed), Volatile Grenades (25% reduced Grenade Detonation Time), Volatile Catalyst
- Ascendancy: Essence of Virtue (start, grants Virtuous Barrier) comes online here
Notes
- Once you unlock Explosive Shot in Act 2, switch to it as your primary attack — but keep Permafrost Bolts and Fragmentation Rounds equipped so you can still use Virtuous Barrier once you ascend to Gemling Legionnaire
- Take your first ascendancy trial around this point — Essence of Virtue is purely defensive if you'd rather spec Tactician/Supporting Fire instead at this stage (see ascendancy notes above)
Act 3
~28–~42 (spirit)
Gear (self-found)
- Doll still carries over unchanged from Act 1/2 in the source data at this level range
Tree
- New notables: Demolitionist (Gain 4% of Damage as Extra Fire per different Grenade fired in the past 8s), Authority, Repeating Explosives (15% chance for Grenades to activate a second time), Efficient Loading (30% chance for an immediate Crossbow reload)
- Ascendancy: Advanced Thaumaturgy comes online here
Notes
- Mirage Archer and Mortar Cannon both unlock in this bracket — for bosses, Cluster Grenade (once you have it), Explosive Grenade, and Mirage Archer's own Explosive Grenade spam will blast them down quickly
- Oil Grenade, automated via Mortar Cannon, shreds boss resistances for even more DPS
- Once you reach Act 3, craft Mirage Archer as your second aura and socket Explosive Grenade into it — turn off Herald of Ash if you need the Spirit
Act 4+
~42–~60 (spirit) (spirit)
Gear (self-found)
- Doll still carries over from earlier acts at this level range in the source data
Tree
- New notables: Sand in the Eyes, Spray and Pray / Run and Gun (damage/accuracy trade-offs while moving), Forces of Nature (Attack Damage Penetrates 15% of Enemy Elemental Resistances)
- Ascendancy: Implanted Gems comes online here
Notes
- You unlock Cluster Grenade very late in the campaign — it will obliterate bosses
- Wind Dancer joins here, combining with Virtuous Barrier and Ghost Dance (endgame) for a very tanky armour/evasion/energy shield blend
Endgame
~60+ (spirit) (spirit) (spirit)
Gear (self-found)
- Weapon (Siege Crossbow base, lvl 79+): Adds 102-155 Fire, 84-126 Cold, 1-63 Lightning Damage, +4 to Level of all Projectile Skills, 14% increased Attack Speed, Grenades have 15% chance to activate a second time
- Helm: Constricting Command (use the "four fewer enemies" roll — this unlocks several tree nodes that would otherwise need 5 nearby enemies, and lets you use the Defy II support for lucky damage and trivialized mana)
- Body Armour: Morior Invictus
- Gloves (Secured Wraps base, lvl 80+): Chaos/Lightning Resistance, flat Physical/Fire/Cold damage to Attacks, 11% increased Attack Speed
- Boots (Serpentscale Boots base, lvl 59+): +120 Life, Fire/Cold Resistance, 56% increased Evasion, 35% increased Movement Speed, Deflection Rating equal to 21% of Evasion
- Amulet (Absent Amulet base, lvl 49+): +31 Dexterity, +90 combined maximum Energy Shield, +3 to Level of all Projectile Skills, 20% increased Global Armour/Evasion/ES
- Rings (Topaz + Prismatic, generic): flat elemental damage to Attacks, Life, resistances
- Flask (Ultimate Life Flask, lvl 60+)
Upgrades if you get lucky or can trade
- Headhunter (Belt) — the build overview names Morior Invictus + Constricting Command as the two core defining pieces; Headhunter is a genuine but expensive luxury upgrade for the belt slot, not a requirement
- Lavianga's Spirits (second Flask slot)
- Nascent Hope, For Utopia, Rite of Passage (Charms)
Tree
- New notables: Backup Plan, Favourable Odds / Tactical Retreat / Frantic Fighter / Thrill of Battle / Paranoia / In the Thick of It (a large 'Surrounded' defensive/offensive wing), Last Stand (conditional Attack Damage bonuses), Gem Enthusiast, Crystal Elixir, Cluster Bombs (Grenade Skills fire an additional projectile), Defiance, Afterimage, Natural Immunity
- Ascendancy: Gem Studded (final notable) comes online here — immunity to critical strike damage and 40% less movement speed penalty while using skills if you have an equal number of red and green support gems socketed, which the source guide notes is easy to achieve
Notes
- The Gemling Legionnaire's Virtuous Barrier grants huge bonuses to life, armour, evasion, and energy shield — combined with Wind Dancer and Ghost Dance, this reaches roughly 3000 HP and 1000 ES per the creator's own numbers
- For endgame gearing: flat added damage on rings/gloves, as much damage as possible on your crossbow, projectile skill levels on crossbow and amulet; for defense, life/resistances/evasion/deflection on at least one piece
- Anointing Paragon allows bringing all skills above 30% quality, massively reducing grenade cooldowns — worth prioritizing once you're gearing seriously
- Loot filter the creator uses: https://www.filterblade.xyz/Profile?name=Llarold&game=Poe2
Story rewards worth grabbing
- Act 1: Clearfell — Beira of the Rotten Pack — +10% to Cold Resistance
- Act 1: Freythorn — The King in the Mists — +30 to Spirit
- Act 1: Ogham Manor — Candlemass, the Living Rite — +20 to maximum Life
- Act 1: Hunting Grounds — The Crowbell — Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
- Act 1: Ogham Farmlands — Una's Hut — Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
- Act 2: Valley of the Titans — Medallion — 30% increased Charm Charges gained, +1 Charm Slot
- Act 2: The Spires of Deshar — Sisters of Garukhan — +10% to Lightning Resistance
- Act 2: Keth — Kabala, Constrictor Queen — Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
- Act 2: Deshar — Final Letter — Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
- Act 3: The Venom Crypts — Venom Draught — 25% increased Stun Threshold
- Act 3: Jiquani's Machinarium — Blackjaw, the Remnant — +10% to Fire Resistance
- Act 3: The Azak Bog — Ignagduk, the Bog Witch — +30 to Spirit
- Act 3: Jungle Ruins — Mighty Silverfist — Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
- Act 3: Aggorat — Blood Sacrifice — Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
- Act 4: Whakapanu Island — Great White One — +30% increased Global Armour, Evasion and Energy Shield
- Act 4: Eye of Hinekora — Navali's Rest — 5% increased Maximum Mana
- Act 4: Halls of the Dead — Tawhoa's Test — +5% to Lightning Resistance
- Act 4: Abandoned Prison — Goddess of Justice — 30% increased Life Recovery from Flasks
- Act 4: Halls of the Dead — Tasalio's Test — +5% to Cold Resistance
- Act 4: Halls of the Dead — Ngamahu's Test — +5% to Fire Resistance
- Act 4: Journey's End — Captain Hartlin — Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points, a level-13 skill gem, and a Delirium Drop
- Act 4: Halls of the Dead — Yama The White — Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
- Interlude: The Khari Crossing — Molten Shrine — 5% increased Maximum Life
- Interlude: Kriar Village — Lythara, the Wayward Spear — +40 to Spirit
- Interlude: Wolvenhold — Oswin, the Dread Warden — Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
- Interlude: The Khari Crossing — Akthi and Anundr — Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
- Interlude: Howling Caves — The Abominable Yeti — Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
FAQ
What's the core rotation?
Run through packs blasting with Explosive Shot. If anything survives, hit it with Explosive Grenade or just dodge-roll past and let Mirage Archer's own Explosive Grenade spam finish them. For bosses: Cluster Grenade, Explosive Grenade, and Mirage Archer, with Oil Grenade (via Mortar Cannon) shredding resistances. If enemies close the distance, Flash Grenade blinds and stuns them.
Why does the build change skills so much between Act 1 and later acts?
Permafrost Bolts + Fragmentation Rounds (freeze then detonate) is the Act 1/early Act 2 opener before Explosive Shot unlocks in Act 2 and takes over as the primary attack. Keep the earlier gems equipped even after switching, since they're needed to use Virtuous Barrier once you ascend.
Is Headhunter required for this build?
No — the build's actual defining gear is Morior Invictus and Constricting Command, both explicitly called out by the creator as the core setup. Headhunter, Lavianga's Spirits, and the endgame charms are genuine upgrades but not requirements to function.
How tanky is this build really?
The Gemling Legionnaire's Virtuous Barrier grants large bonuses to life, armour, evasion, and energy shield on its own. Combined with Wind Dancer and Ghost Dance at endgame, the creator reports roughly 3000 HP and 1000 ES.
Sources: Path of Evening — Grenade Gemling (Mobalytics) · Video
On PoE Source: PoE 2 campaign · Gemling Legionnaire