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The Path of Exile Mercenaries of Trarthus launch introduced several balance changes. These affected many builds, including the ones used for mapping. The question is, how much did they affect some of the beloved builds?
In this article, we will go over the updated tier list for some popular mapping builds. If you are planning to make a second build or playing for the first time, one of these will surely be a great league starter.
Path of Exile 3.26 tier list for popular mapping builds
There are several mapping builds viable for endgame in Path of Exile. When compared, it is clear that some are much stronger, but that’s the best part about this game. You don’t need to play the meta builds to have fun, but it’s always good to know what the best options are.
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Note: This article reflects the writer's opinion and should not discourage you from playing what you want.
S-tier mapping builds in Path of Exile Mercenaries League
These are some of the best builds for map-clearing, capable of wiping the entire screen in a blink.
1) Lightning Arrow/Elemental Hit Deadeye
One of the easiest and most popular mapping builds, the Lightning Arrow Deadeye, remains a solid choice in Path of Exile 3.26. While a lot of Skill Gems and Ascendancy passives saw changes, Ranger and Lightning Arrow were left untouched.
The build focuses on dealing critical hits by picking up passives like King of the Hill and Lethality. For damage, you’ll need the best elemental bow you can find throughout leveling and mapping. Gathering Winds Ascendancy passive provides you with incredible clearing speed, while Farshot lets you deal damage to enemies while keeping distance.
Another variant of this build with the same passive setup is Elemental Hit of the Spectrum, which is quite popular in the Mercenaries League.
2) Volcanic Fissure Berserker
Volcanic Fissure is the most popular build for Path of Exile Mercenaries of Trarthus. The current meta requires a transfigured variant of the gem called Volcanic Fissure of Snaking. While you can start playing the build early on, it mainly shines in the endgame.
To acquire this Gem, you’ll need to farm the Lord's Labryinth and try your luck on the Divine Font, which will be around level 30. Alternatively, you can get it for around 30 Chaos Orbs from other players.
The gameplay consists of you slamming the ground to form a fissure that travels towards enemies and erupts multiple times. You can spam the skill from a distance, but getting a little close to enemies to activate Warcries will provide a big damage boost.
3) Poison Concoction Pathfinder
Poison Concoction is another popular build that works as well as the previous league. While it can work with multiple character classes, the Pathfinder is the best pick when it comes to map clearing, due to mobility and good synergy with Ascendancy passives.
As with any other Ranger build, the investment for zooming through the maps is minimal. Since you don’t use a primary weapon, you save some currency to invest in other gear. If you get lucky at the Divine Font, you can start leveling Poison Concoction of Bouncing from the campaign.
Else, use the regular Skill Gem until you manage to get one. Swapping to the transfigured gem will improve the boss damage, making the build more versatile.
A-tier mapping builds in Path of Exile Mercenaries League
If you are in no rush to earn currency and want to relax, these builds will help you maintain a decent speed while having better defences.
Righteous Fire Chieftain
If you are new to the game, Righteous Fire is the easiest build you can use to clear early to mid-endgame content. The build requires minimal investment to start working effectively, and is available to play from the early campaign.
The highlight for this build is its smooth map-clearing ability. It may not be the fastest, but all you need to do is activate your skill and run through enemies. Your life-regen and armor, paired with maxed elemental resistances, will let you tank almost anything.
To make this build work, focus on getting life modifiers and DoT damage on your gear and pick up the same type of nodes on the passive skill tree. The only reason it’s not S-tier is that T17 maps can be challenging without proper investment.
Chaos Army Necromancer
Another popular pick that is viable for early game and Uber content in Path of Exile 3.26, the Necromancer Chaos Army is also one of the most fun builds out there. It can get complex in the early stages, but the large number of minions can wipe the entire screen very quickly, which is great for map clearing.
The build plays around Unnatural Strength Ascendancy passive, which grants all of your minions Unholy Might. This allows them to deal Chaos damage. Since minions are fragile by themselves, the passive tree focuses on minion life and damage.
Using Vaal Summon Skeletons will spawn your main minion army, but to activate the skill, you’ll need to use other minions like zombies or specters. The base gameplay loop is you summoning minions to take down enemies, then activating the Vaal skill as you collect enough souls.
B-tier mapping builds in Path of Exile Mercenaries League
These builds are still good, but don’t expect to zoom through the maps and farm tens of Divine worth of items every hour. They are mostly for fun.
Contagion Trickster
Trickster builds in Path of Exile were already a rare sight, but few love playing the class, despite recent nerfs. The Mercenaries League reduced the damage you can get from assigning passive masteries. However, the buff to Blight of Contaigon makes it a decent pick.
The gameplay revolves around stacking Blight and Blight of Contaigon on enemies. Being a Chaos-based skill, you easily bypass energy shields to deal extra damage. But the build can be tricky to use when enemies have resistance or immunity to Chaos and Slow.
Cyclone Slayer
Cyclone Slayer is back, or at least on paper, as Grinding Gear Games buffed the Skill Gem and its Transfigured variant. The skill now features improved damage, movement speed, and a better AoE while channeling the skill.
The best part for this build is also less dependency on uniques. The new Starcaller unique is a good map-clearing option, but it is only available after defeating a pinnacle boss and isn't required for endgame content.
As mentioned earlier, Path of Exile features many mapping builds. The aforementioned tier list includes some of the most popular builds that are easier to get started with.
Check out more on Path of Exile:
- Path of Exile 3.26 day-one meta wrap-up: Most popular builds this league (so far)
- Why you should prioritize farming Mercenaries in Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas
- Top 3 Atlas strategies for currency farming in Path of Exile 3.26
