Goratha·
Goratha
Luminary Mercenary Support SSF HC Fresh Start - THIS CLASS SEEMS BROKEN?! 3.29 Curse of the Allflame
Mercenaries went core in 3.29 and the new Luminary Scion is the only way to keep one permanently and gear it yourself. So I rolled a fresh SSF Hardcore character where the Mercenary does everything, and I just buff it with Flame Link.
In this video I go over my fresh start progression, and what I did exactly, and why.
PoB: https://pobb.in/jsR_OcdISUbx
Maxroll Link: https://maxroll.gg/poe/planner/2f1adm0x
HOW THE BUILD ACTUALLY WORKS
The damage comes entirely from the hired Mercenary's own skills. Flame Link is the main ability, which hands the merc a huge chunk of flat added Fire damage. That buff scales three ways: gem levels, my total Life, and Light Radius (Golden Glory makes Light Radius apply to the link buff, which turns a load of cheap items into real damage). From there the obvious next step is Fire Pen, Enmity's Embrace gives penetration off overcapped Fire Resistance, but it also guts the Fire Res you get from gear, so The Untouched Soul pairs with it to get the resistance back.
WHERE TO FIND MERCENARIES
Guaranteed campaign spawns: The Sceptre of God (A3), The Grand Arena (A4), The Ridge (A6), The Hidden Underbelly (A8), Control Blocks (A10). No Rucksack items in these. Only one merc per area, and you need to be within 10 levels of the area level, except Control Blocks, which always spawns one.
LEVELING
Level with whatever you like early (I used Lightning Tendrils). You can technically swap to a pure Merc character at first Lab, but you really want Flame Link at 34 first. Farm your first merc by resetting The Sceptre of God entrance. The big thing is don't be picky, most mercs carry at this point. Avoid Slammers, Trappers and Minion mercs; Absolution is great. Prioritise +Fire gem levels and stacking as much Life as possible. Support your merc's chosen skill (Wave of Conviction + Combustion early, Stormblast Mine for bossing). Assassin's Mark in a blue socket for Power Charges, or Poacher's Mark in green for Frenzy. Haste works early, but Purity of Elements becomes mandatory so your merc doesn't get frozen.
LATER CAMPAIGN
Control Blocks is the zone to farm for a map-progression merc, caster mercs do very well here. I ran a double Bladefall Bladecaster. Other strong picks: Flamehand with Rolling Magma, Stormhand with Arc + Chain, Thunderquiver (no Galvanic), Manyshot (no Icicle Rain), Kineticist (no Kinetic Bolt), Combatant (no Spectral Helix). One bad skill can wreck a merc's AI, so experiment. While farming, grab every high Life piece you can, plus Light Radius on rings and helmet. Weapons matter for both caster and attack mercs, and Cast/Attack Speed and % Increased Damage are high priority since Flame Link is giving them so much flat.
ASCENDANCY ORDER
Noble Blood first (this is what lets you hire permanently). Oath of Fealty second for permanent Flame Link. Golden Glory third, big flat damage if you have Light Radius gear. Later on, Unique Rings and Unique Amulet for Enmity's Embrace, The Taming and The Untouched Soul, but that's a long way off. Early on take whatever unique slots scale your merc, Unique Gloves for a Wander alongside Doedre's Tenure, or The Arkhon's Tools with a Summon Skitterbots Trapper.
MAPPING
Get as much white/yellow map completion as you can and rush Unwavering Vision. The real priority is 100% Mercenary spawn chance and the extra support nodes, this makes finding those good mercs far easier. Spam low-tier maps to reroll mercs before pushing red.
EARLY ABYSS
Great early mechanic for starter merc gear, random Abyss socket gear goes a long way. Tecrod's Gaze is a unique Abyss jewel giving massive main-hand crit chance scaling with Murderous Eye jewels, which is huge for Wander, Striker and Bow mercs.
PINNACLE SINGLE TARGET
Blade Trapper / Spectral Helix Trapper is a monster on low gear. Multi-trap + Slower Projectiles are the DPS supports; Spectral Throw is lower priority. Summon Skitterbots is excellent, especially with an early Arkhon's Tools.
WAYS I'M NOT SCALING THIS (YET)
Flame Link + Enmity's Embrace is one route of many. Destructive Link is strong. Aura stacking is very strong, especially with Armour Stacking later. Support Mercenary setups where you deal most of the damage also work. Luminary has a lot of unexplored scaling.
#PathOfExile #PoE #Luminary #CurseOfTheAllflame
As always you can catch me live at https://twitch.tv/goratha
LINKS:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gorathapoe
Twitch: https://twitch.tv/goratha
Discord: https://discord.gg/6vRSrMn
2nd YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GorathaEdits
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