Gemling Legionnaire Minion Leveling Guide

Build Introduction

With the sweeping balance changes to every system coming in Patch 0.2, it is nearly impossible for us to have confidence in existing, well tested guides. While we will do our best to get these updated as soon as possible, their current state may leave them unusable. Make sure to regularly check back to see if any changes have been made.

This guide will walk you through leveling a Mercenary from Act 1 to early mapping to transition into the late game Gemling Legionnaire builds found on PoE Vault. Whether it’s your first character in a fresh league or a new character with some currency to spend, we’ve got you covered. If you want to be a big beefcake, commanding hordes of undead to slay your enemies, this is the build for you!

This guide is a collaborative work by GhazzyTV and Lollash based on a build originally developed by Oscrix(used with permission). We will do our best to keep it as up-to-date as possible as the game continues to develop and new content is added. If you have any questions regarding the guide, feel free to drop into the streams!

For gameplay footage, you can check out the video below. Do keep in mind that the video guide might be out of date, so to make sure you have the latest updated version of the build, keep reading the written guide here.

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Strengths and Weaknesses

Path of Building

Path of Building is a fantastic community-made tool that lets you see how any change you make to your character’s skill tree, gear, or skill gems will impact you. If you haven’t used POB before, you can find a useful beginner’s guide here.

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Ascendancy

Towards the end of Act 2, you will encounter the Trial of the Sekhemas. By completing the trial, you will unlock your first two Ascendancy points. You will want to ascend as soon as you can gain access. You will have the option to ascend as a Gemling Legionnaire, a Witch Hunter, or a Tactician. For this guide, we will be focusing on the Gemling Legionnaire.

Gemling Legionnaire

1. Mysterious Lineage (A simple 15% more Maximum Life, improving survivability)
2. Colossal Capacity + Hulking Form (You will respec out of Mysterious Lineage after completing your second trial to get access to Hulking Form as soon as possible)

You can find full guides on the Trial of the Sekhemas here.

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General Advice for Leveling

Path of Exile II’s campaign is not meant to be taken lightly. The following tips are things to keep in mind throughout the campaign and apply to all characters. This will help you have the smoothest leveling experience possible:

• Pick up Magic and Rare items you find to sell or disenchant.
• Check Vendors often (every time you return to town or level).
• Collect socketed/superior items to salvage so you can add sockets/quality to gear. These will have names like “Superior Mail Vestments” or have a little white square next to their name.
• Explore each zone to find the special encounters, such as optional bosses or hidden treasure. These will be a strong source of uncut gems and permanent character statistics.
• If you haven’t found an upgrade for a particular slot for a while, consider spending some gold at the gambler to find a magic or rare item you can use or craft.
• Don’t spam dodge roll. It takes a while to learn when to use it to avoid dangerous attacks but in most situations continuing to move normally and attacking will keep you alive more often.
• Don’t rush. If you are feeling overwhelmed by enemies make sure you retreat the way you came as continuing to move forward will likely pull even more enemies.

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Gear Progression and Stat Priority

NOTE: At the beginning of the game, you will want to be using a Withered Wand and Rattling Sceptre. If possible, you can purchase these from the vendors when you first arrive in town, but if they are unavailable or you can’t afford them, it is probably worth creating a Witch character and clearing the first zone, killing the miller, and transferring that Witch’s starting gear to your Mercenary. Eventually, you will swap to using a Sceptre and Shield around Act 3.

Minion-based characters’ highest priority statistics are increases to Spirit and “+# to the level of Minion Skills“. As with almost all characters, it is also important to pick up as much Maximum Life, Resistances, and Attributes.

Below you will find a breakdown of the most important affixes you can find for each gear slot. The affixes on items are more important than the base type. Due to attribute requirements, you will find it easiest to equip Energy Shield bases.

Slot	Affixes	Notes
Main Hand	1. + # to Level of All Minion Skills 2. + #% increased Spirit 3. Any bonus to Minion stats	Rattling Sceptre. Higher level sceptres should only be used if they have better affixes. Adding quality to your sceptre with Arcanist’s Etcher will scale the implicit 100 spirit by up to 20%.
Off Hand	1. + #% increased Block Chance 2. + # to Maximum Life 3. + #% increased Energy Shield/+X to Maximum Energy Shield 4.+ #% to Resistances/+# to Attributes	Any shield with good affixes and an implicit block chance.
Helm	1. + # to Level of All Minion Skills 2. + # to Maximum Life 3. + #% increased Energy Shield/+X to Maximum Energy Shield 4. + #% to Resistances/+X to Attributes	Energy Shield bases will be the easiest to meet the requirements for, and will be important once you have Grim Feast, but while levelling any base with good affixes you can equip will work.
Body Armour	1. + # to Spirit 2. + # to maximum life 3. + #% increased Energy Shield/+X to maximum Energy Shield 4. + #% to Resistances/+X to Attributes	Energy Shield bases will be the easiest to meet the requirements for, and will be important once you have Grim Feast, but while levelling any base with good affixes you can equip will work.
Gloves	1. + # to Maximum Life 2. + #% increased Energy Shield/+X to Maximum Energy Shield 3. + #% to Resistances/+X to Attributes	Energy Shield bases will be the easiest to meet the requirements for, and will be important once you have Grim Feast, but while levelling any base with good affixes you can equip will work.
Boots	1. + #% increased Movement Speed 2. + # to Maximum Life 3. + #% increased Energy Shield/+X to Maximum Energy Shield 4. + #% to Resistances/+X to Attributes	Energy Shield bases will be the easiest to meet the requirements for, and will be important once you have Grim Feast. You should always prioritise higher Movement Speed boots to help with avoiding enemy attacks and abilities and moving through zones faster.
Rings	1. + # to Maximum Life 2. +# to Attributes 3. + #% to Resistances	Try to use resistance bases such as Ruby Ring or Amethyst Ring. Having at least one ring with lots of Intelligence or Strength will make equipping gear and levelling your gems much easier.
Amulet	1. + # to Level of all Minion Skills 2. + # to Spirit 3. + # to Maximum Life 4. + #% to Resistances/+X to Attributes	A Solar Amulet might let you have more minions, attribute amulets such as a Lapis Amulet or Stellar Amulet will make equipping gear and levelling gems easier.
Belt	1. + # Charm Slots 2. + # to Maximum Life 3. + #% to Resistances/+X to Attributes	Use the belt with the best affixes while levelling, base type does not really matter.

Runes

Runes are socketable items that can be found throughout the campaign. If you have any items with sockets, you can insert these runes to add an additional modifier to the item. You can acquire additional Artificer’s Orbs by salvaging items that already have sockets that you loot. For this leveling strategy, you will mostly use these to add additional resistances to your gear.

Flasks and Charms

While levelling, it is important that you continuously upgrade your life and mana flasks when you find more powerful flasks. Remember that you can use Orbs of Transmutation and Orbs of Augmentation on flasks to add a prefix or suffix. The most important affixes for your life flasks are “gains +# charges per second” and ” #% of recovery is instant“. Because this build has low mana usage, you will not want to use an instant recovery mana flask.

After equipping a belt you will gain access to one or more Charm Slots on your inventory screen. Charms are a useful defensive tool, after collecting enough charges from killing monsters, they will automatically trigger their effect when a condition is met. While levelling we recommend you use a Thawing Charm which will unfreeze you and grant freeze immunity when you are frozen, or a Stone Charm which will grant stun immunity when you are stunned.

Jewels

Jewels rarely drop in general play but can often be found in the Trial of the Sekhemas, with guaranteed jewel drops from Royal Caches. You will path through a number of jewel sockets on your passive tree, and if you drop any jewels, they can add additional power to your character. Sapphires will typically have the best affixes for your build. Here are some you should look for:

Best	Good
Minions deal #% increased Damage	(2–4)% of Damage is taken from Mana before Life
Minions have #% increased Attack and Cast Speed	Gain #% of maximum Energy Shield as additional Stun Threshold
#% increased Minion Accuracy Rating	Offerings have (15–25)% increased Maximum Life
Minions have #% to all Elemental Resistances	–
(10–20)% increased maximum Energy Shield	–

Levelling Uniques

• Oaksworn – If you find one, or can buy one cheaply this provides a significant amount of power right from Act 1 and can be worn all the way to maps.
• Enfolding Dawn – This Body Armour gives +100 flat spirit and can be worn from level 1. You may run into some mana issues and will be less tanky but with careful use of your mana flask it can provide a big boost to your damage output.
• Wanderlust – An early 20% Movement Speed pair of boots that also gives slow immunity.
• Corpsewade – If you find a low item level pair, or can buy a low item level pair of Corpsewade boots they can provide a large damage boost. Please note that the level of the decompose skill granted by them is linked to the item level and will require a higher character level to wear if dropped later in the game. They also only provide 10% movement speed and so you will likely want to replace them later in the game.

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Act I

NOTE: At the beginning of the game you will want to use a Withered Wand and Rattling Sceptre. If possible, you can purchase these from the vendors when you first arrive in town, but if they are unavailable or you cant afford them it is probably worth creating a Witch character and clearing the first zone, killing the Miller and transferring that Witch’s starting gear to your Mercenary.

You will start by using Contagion, Flame Wall, and Chaos Bolt (from your Withered Wand), using Skeletal Sniper minions’ Command: Gas Cloud ability for large bursts of damage. You can also cast Unearth over enemy corpses to summon Bone Constructs.

After defeating the King in the Mists in the Freythorn zone, you will get +30 spirit and your first Uncut Spirit Gem. At this point, you will select Raging Spirits from the Sorceress’ spirit gem list, and from then on, you will be focusing on minions as your primary damage-dealing tool. It may be necessary to assign some Intelligence on the passive tree, small travel nodes to equip and use Raging Spirits.

In the table below, you will find a list of the skill gems and the support gems you will want to link to each of the skills.

Rotation and Skills

• Flame Wall x2 -> Contagion -> Command: Gas Cloud.
• Cast Unearth over corpses to generate Bone Construct minions.
• If you have time and are safe you can fill in with Chaos Bolt.

Skill Gem (In Order of Priority)	Support Gem 1	Support Gem 2
Raging Spirits	Martial Tempo	Fire Infusion
Skeletal Sniper	Scattershot	Last Gasp
Flame Wall	Arcane Tempo	Fortress
Unearth	Brutality	Persistence
Skeletal Warrior (from Rattling Sceptre)	Meat Shield	–

Below you can see a step-by-step guide on how to assign your passive skill tree points.

Remember: If you ever find you cannot cut a specific support gem or level an active skill gem you should focus on assigning attribute travel nodes as a priority.

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Act II

In Act 2 you will be adding two new skills to the rotation. You will pick up Pain Offering as soon as you get access to a Level 5 Uncut Skill Gem and Flammability from the Elemental Skill Gem list when you get a Level 7 Uncut Skill Gem. Whenever you encounter a tanky rare monster or boss, you should cast Pain Offering, trying to target your Skeletal Warrior Minions. Don’t worry if you accidentally target a Skeletal Sniper Minion occasionally, because the bulk of your damage is coming from Raging Spirits during the levelling process. You will also cast Flammability to keep the enemy cursed, which lowers their fire resistance.

Skill Gem (In Order of Priority)	Support Gem 1	Support Gem 2
Raging Spirits	Martial Tempo	Fire Infusion
Skeletal Sniper Minion	Scattershot	Last Gasp
Flame Wall	Arcane Tempo	Fortress
Pain Offering	Inspiration	Persistence
Flammability	Heightened Curse	–
Unearth	Brutality	–
Skeletal Warrior (From Rattling Sceptre)	Meat Shield	–

In The Valley of the Titans, after collecting two parts of an amulet in some earlier zones, you will be offered a choice of two permanent rewards. You should choose “30% Increased Charm Charges gained“.

You will gain access to the Trial of the Sekhemas after defeating Balbala in the Traitors’ Passage and collecting their Djinn Barya. We recommend you ascend as soon as you are able, to get access to “Crystalline Potential” to gain a noticeable reduction in Spirit cost for your minions, alongside other benefits to all your Active Skill Gems. If you’d like to see our guide on the Trial of the Sekhemas, you can find that here.

Rotation and Skills

• Flame Wall x2 to summon Raging Spirits -> Command: Gas Cloud
• Pain Offering on Skeletal Warrior Minions -> Flammability on tanky monsters
• Unearth on corpses to summon temporary Minions.

Below you can see a step-by-step guide on how to assign your passive skill tree points.

Remember: If you ever find you cannot cut a specific support gem or level an active skill gem you should focus on assigning attribute travel nodes as a priority.

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Act III

There are a couple of important side objectives you won’t want to miss in Act III. The first time you defeat the Orok Campfire event in the Sandswept Marsh, you will drop a guaranteed Lesser Jeweller’s Orb, which will let you add a third socket to one of your skill gems. You should use this on Raging Spirits. In the Venom Crypts, after collecting the quest item and returning it to town, you will be offered a choice of three quest rewards. You should choose “25% Increased Mana Regeneration“. Defeating Ignagduk in the Azak Bog will reward you with +30 Spirit and a Level 10 Uncut Spirit Gem.

When you can summon four or more Skeletal Sniper Minions, it becomes our highest priority skill to level. The support gems you use on your skills also change as you get access to Level 2 Uncut Support Gems. Make sure you check the table below for the new support links and priorities.

If you are feeling strong, have found some good items, and are confident, it is worth attempting to complete the Trial of Chaos. Allocating “Adaptive Capability ” will allow you to respec all intelligence and dexterity on your tree to Strength, providing you with more survivability. If you would like more information on the Trial of Chaos, you can find that here.

Skill Gem (In Order of Priority)	Support Gem 1	Support Gem 2	Support Gem 3
Skeletal Sniper Minion	Scattershot	Bidding	Fire Infusion
Flame Wall	Arcane Tempo	Fortress	–
Raging Spirits	Martial Tempo	Immolate	–
Pain Offering	Inspiration	Persistence	–
Flammability	Focused Curse	Heightened Curse	–
Unearth	Brutality	–	–
Skeletal Warrior (From Rattling Sceptre)	Maim	Meat Shield	Culling Strike

Rotation and Skills

• Flame Wall x2 to summon Raging Spirits -> Skeletal Sniper Command: Gas Cloud
• Pain Offering on Skeletal Warrior Minions -> Flammability on tanky monsters
• Unearth on corpses to summon temporary Minions.

Below you can see a step-by-step guide on how to assign your passive skill tree points.

Remember: If you ever find you cannot cut a specific support gem or level an active skill gem, you should focus on assigning attribute travel nodes as a priority. Once you complete the Trial of Chaos, remember to respec ALL attribute nodes on your tree to Strength. You can do this at the hooded one for a discounted gold cost when swapping an attribute node from one attribute to another.

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Acts I – III Cruel

After defeating Doryani in Act 3, you will be sent back to the first zone of Act 1 and will play through the first three acts again in Cruel difficulty. Eventually, there will be 3 new acts added to the game, and we will update this section of the guide when they are added. The second time through the acts, you will continue to look to upgrade your gear incrementally and continue to level your skill gems.

In Act II Cruel you will start to find Level 13 Uncut Skill Gems and will be adding Skeletal Cleric to your skill list. You want to make sure that you have at least 1 Skeletal Cleric summoned, though you may be able to summon more, but never at the cost of losing more Skeletal Arsonist’s.

After reaching the Halani Gates in Act II Cruel you can start dropping Level 3 Uncut Support Gems, which will change what support gems you use with your skills. Below you will find the supports we recommend for each of the skills you will be using from highest to lowest priority, left to right. Once again in The Valley of the Titans you will be offered a choice of two rewards, you should again choose “30% Increased Charm Charges gained“.

In Act III Cruel you will again want to defeat the Orok Campfire encounter in the Sandswept March to pick up a guaranteed Lesser Jeweller’s Orb. You will use this on Skeletal Sniper to add a third socket if you haven’t already done so. After collecting a quest item in the Venom Crypts and returning it to town, you will again be offered a choice of three rewards. You should choose “+10% Chaos Resistance” this time.

Ignagduk in the Azak Bog will reward you with an additional +40 spirit and a Level 14 Uncut Spirit Gem. At this point you will pick up Grim Feast from the Occultist spirit gem list, providing you with a powerful defensive buff. Grim Feast allows you to over cap your maximum energy shield by collecting small white wisps that appear whenever your minions or enemies die. Once you have Grim Feast, it is very important to maximize the amount of Energy Shield you have on your character to get the most out of it. You should also keep an eye out for the unique body armor Ghostwrithe, or possibly purchase one if playing trade, as it is a massive survivability bonus.

Rotation and Skills

• Flame Wall x2 to summon Raging Spirits -> Skeletal Sniper Command: Gas Cloud
• Pain Offering on Skeletal Warrior Minions -> Flammability on tanky monsters
• Unearth on corpses to summon temporary Minions

Skill Gem (In Order of Priority)	Support Gem 1	Support Gem 2	Support Gem 3	Support Gem 4
Skeletal Sniper	Scattershot	Bidding	Fire Infusion	Feeding Frenzy
Raging Spirits	Martial Tempo	Primal Armament	Immolate
Flame Wall	Arcane Tempo	Fortress	Mobility	–
Pain Offering	Inspiration	Persistence	Font of Rage	–
Flammability	Hex Bloom	Heightened Curse	Focused Curse	–
Skeletal Cleric Minion	Last Gasp	Meat Shield	–	–
Unearth	Brutality	Minion Pact	Physical Mastery	–
Grim Feast	–	–	–	–
Skeletal Warrior (From Rattling Sceptre)	Culling Strike	Maim	Blind	–

Below you can see a step-by-step guide on how to assign your passive skill tree points.

Remember: If you ever find you cannot cut a specific support gem or level an active skill gem you should focus on assigning attribute travel nodes as a priority.

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Rotation

The way you play the game changes as you unlock new skills. You can check the Act-by-Act section of the guide for advice specific to that point in the game. Once you have everything unlocked, your general play will be casting Flame Wall to keep your Raging Spirits summoned, then casting Skeletal Sniper Command: Gas Cloud while focusing on staying safe and avoiding enemy abilities. When you encounter a tough rare or boss, you will cast Flame Wall twice, followed by Pain Offering targeted on your Skeletal Warrior Minions, then Flammability on the target. When a pack of enemies dies, you will cast Unearth over their corpses to summon additional Bone Constructs to help you clear faster.

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Progressing into Endgame

This guide is mostly meant to get you to early maps. Progressing from there on out will require you to follow one of our Endgame guides. We recommend doing this around level 80 when you’ve amassed a little bit of currency to enable transitioning.

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Changelog

April 3rd, 2025: Guide created for Path of Exile II, Early Access