The Abyssal league this time around feels out of control, but the Explosive Witchhunter Mercenary build slices right through the chaos. This setup turns your crossbow into a screen-clearing bomb launcher, thanks to lightning-charged Explosive Shot triggering crazy Herald chains. With the right mix of gems, even the toughest bosses drop in seconds. It’s not just about big numbers—though we’re talking ridiculous DPS—but also about how fast and smooth it plays. That’s why many players use it as their go-to starter, then scale it up into a monster that crushes endgame. You can easily start on a budget, maybe grab a few key PoE 2 Items early, and you’ll be blasting through maps before you know it.
  Speed, scaling, and pure fun
  What makes this build click in patch 0.3 is how it blends speed with damage scaling. For mapping, Explosive Shot linked with Nova Projectiles, Fork, and Double Barrel III spreads huge AoE, clearing packs before they even react. For single target, swapping to Shockburst Rounds turns fights into a lightning shred fest—shocked enemies disappear almost instantly. The Witchhunter ascendancy gives you tools to make this happen: Judge, Jury, and Executioner chunk rare mobs by 30% of their life straight away, and Pitiless Killer adds that sweet culling touch. You’ll still be hard to kill—90% evasion plus around 5k Energy Shield makes you tanky enough to stand in the middle of the mess. Defensive perks like Wind Dancer and Ghost Dance let you shrug off big hits and bounce back fast.
  Skills and passives made simple
  The skill setup’s not complicated. Your main attack for maps is a 20/20 Explosive Shot linked to Nova Projectiles, Double Barrel III, and Fork. For bossing, just pop in Shockburst Rounds by itself—it’s more than enough. Run triple Heralds—Thunder, Ice, and Ash—for damage chains. On the passive tree, start by moving right on the Mercenary path, taking Heavy Ammo, Spray & Pray, and Electrifying Daze for shock synergy. Then swing left to grab the Beastial Skin cluster, stacking evasion and ES. For ascendancy order, go Zealous Inquisition first for bigger AoE, then Witchbane, and finally Judge/Jury for boss destruction. The playstyle’s straightforward—run in, fire once, watch the lightning do the work.
  Gear choices and upgrades
  You’ve got room to play here. Best-in-slot is a Gemini Crossbow with +Projectile Levels and an extra bolt, but a cheaper rare with +2 projectiles is fine early. The Three Dragons helm is huge—it lets your lightning damage shock—but an ES/Evasion rare works as a placeholder. Aim for lightning conversion gloves, movement speed boots, and stack life, resists, and Spirit wherever possible. With something like 20–50 Divines, you can have gear that feels amazing. If farming isn’t your thing, some players grab an upgrade here or there from acheter item poe 2 to speed things up. Drop into a pack, hit Explosive Shot, and watch the chain reactions go off. For bosses, toss a Voltaic Grenade to apply shock, then unleash Shockburst Rounds—fast, deadly, and ridiculously satisfying.