Path of Exile 2 0.5 League Starter Tier List and Best Builds Guide

Patch 0.5, titled Return of the Ancients, is easily the biggest Path of Exile 2 update released since the start of early access. Players are getting two brand-new ascendancies, five fresh endgame storylines, 21 Kalguuran-themed skills, the new Runes of Aldur league mechanic, and one of the most aggressive balance passes the game has seen so far. Looking at the changes, the PoE2 0.5 league-start meta is surprisingly easy to understand. Grinding Gear Games clearly decided that recovery and sustain mechanics had become too strong, and the patch reflects that philosophy everywhere.

The league launches on May 29. The servers will probably struggle at some point. That's simply part of the Path of Exile tradition. While sitting in queue waiting to enter Wraeclast, it's worth familiarizing yourself with the strongest league starters available. If you need help getting ahead this season, Gamer Choice has you covered with plenty of options to jump-start your adventure.

Tier List

These rankings focus on the first 25 to 40 hours of progression. The goal is reaching tier-15 maps efficiently without relying heavily on trading. Almost every build can become powerful with unlimited currency investment, but that's not what this list is evaluating.

Tier	Build	Class	Notes
S	Twisters (Whirling Slash + Twister) buffed	Huntress / Spirit Walker	Untouched. 3-hour act speedrun record still intact. Contested gear at league start: everyone's playing it.
S	Lightning Arrow Deadeye unchanged	Ranger / Deadeye	34% of top ladder. Herald of Thunder chain clears full screens. Zero unique requirements.
A	Ice Shot + Snipe minor nerf	Ranger / Deadeye	Freeze buildup down 25%. Boss combo still works. Ghost Archer + Ghost Sniper in Snipe now.
A	Grenades (Explosive + Gas + Oil) new base	Witchunter / Gemling	Grenade launcher added. All three grenade types untouched. Available act 1, zone 1. Piano fingers required.
A	Whirling Assault Bell Monk new asc	Monk / Martial Artist	Triple Tempest Bell is a boss kill button. Combo generation harder for newcomers. Leveling is rough acts 1–2.
A	ED Contagion Lich stable	Witch / Lich	Best SSF and self-found option. Boring. Effective. Doesn't care about leech nerfs.
B	Spark Stormweaver unchanged	Sorceress	Survives another league through inertia alone. Early access, solid damage scaling, no surprises.
B	Tactician Ballista stable	Mercenary	Safest totem-style starter. Boring but functional. Good if you like watching things die without involvement.
C	Wyvern Druid untested	Druid	Easier than Martial Artist defensively, harder than Twisters mechanically. Middle ground of mediocrity.
D	Wall of Shields (endgame) nerfed	Warrior / Titan	Still fine for leveling. Dead for endgame progression. Don't delude yourself.
D	Infernal Legion−67%	Various	67% damage cut. Minion ignite is a joke now. RIP.
D	Blood Mage Leech deleted	Witch / Blood Mage	Instant leech removed. The entire identity of this build is gone. GGG considered it deserved.

The Builds Worth Your Time

Twisters: Spirit Walker Huntress

Twisters currently sits at the top of most community tier lists and is widely considered the strongest league starter in Path of Exile 2 patch 0.5. The build revolves around using Whirling Slash to generate powerful Twister projectiles, and remarkably, the core interaction survived the balance pass untouched. The newly introduced Spirit Walker ascendancy gives Huntress a smoother leveling experience thanks to improved synergy with Hollow Palm techniques. Additionally, hybrid evasion and energy shield gear becomes available fairly early, removing much of the fragility that previously existed during the leveling process.

Improved attack runes and stronger armor/evasion values on item bases only make the experience better compared to patch 0.4.

The biggest drawback is popularity. Nearly everyone seems to be planning to start with Twisters. Spear-related gear will likely become extremely expensive during the opening days of the league. Anyone choosing this build should expect inflated prices and heavy competition for upgrades.

Best class: Huntress with Spirit Walker ascendancy. Alternative options include virtually any spear-based character. Most players transition into Hollow Palm around level 22 before fully committing to Twister gameplay. With experience, the campaign can be completed in well under four hours.

Lightning Arrow Deadeye

Lightning Arrow Deadeye remains the dominant ranged archetype heading into patch 0.5. During the previous league, more than a third of high-end players selected Deadeye, and the overwhelming majority were using Lightning Arrow. Nothing in the latest update meaningfully challenges its position.

The build excels thanks to Lightning Arrow's ability to chain beams between multiple enemies. Combined with Herald of Thunder's on-kill effects, entire packs disappear almost instantly. Clearing large sections of a map often requires only a couple of casts.

Another major advantage is accessibility. The build functions without mandatory uniques, making it extremely friendly for fresh economies. Bows and quivers are easy to obtain throughout the campaign, and progression remains smooth even with mediocre gear.

Among all Runes of Aldur league starters, this is arguably the build that requires the least preparation while delivering some of the most consistent results.

Grenades: Witchunter or Gemling

Explosive Grenade, Gas Grenade, and Oil Grenade continue to form one of the strongest and most reliable combinations available. The reason this archetype barely changed in 0.5 is simple: it didn't need to. Its power level was already extremely high.

The strongest grenade skill becomes available almost immediately, allowing players to establish the build right from the beginning of the campaign. Patch 0.5 also introduces a new grenade launcher base, which represents a noticeable upgrade for the archetype overall.

Although virtually any class can make grenades work, Witchunter and Gemling continue to gain the most value from the setup.

• Better survivability than many popular starters, including Twisters and Ice Shot.
• Excellent screen-wide clear speed even on low-budget gear.
• Minimal gear dependence during early progression.
• Can feel extremely button-intensive throughout Acts 1 to 3.
• Not recommended for players who prefer simple one-button gameplay.

The good news is that transitioning later into Explosive Shot or Freezing Bolt crossbow setups is seamless, significantly reducing mechanical complexity.

Whirling Assault Bell Monk: Martial Artist

The newly introduced Martial Artist ascendancy turns Monk into one of the most interesting league starters available. Faster combo generation allows players to deploy multiple Tempest Bells with much greater consistency, dramatically increasing boss damage.

The basic strategy is straightforward: place three Tempest Bells and then repeatedly strike them using Whirling Assault. When executed correctly, bosses disappear with surprising speed. Herald of Ice handles most mapping situations by shattering entire packs of monsters.

Leveling paths are flexible as well. Many players begin with Grenades, Ice Strike, or Ice Cascade combined with Directed Freeze before transitioning into Whirling Assault around level 41.

One of the most impactful additions is Way of the Stonefist. This notable significantly improves both offense and defense through glove interactions, provided you manage to find suitable gear.

Players should expect occasional frustrations, however. Bell placement remains somewhat inconsistent, and poorly positioned bells can dramatically reduce damage during boss encounters.

Long-term goals include roughly 9,000 Energy Shield, 80% Evasion, and 85% Deflect chance. Chaos Inoculation becomes attractive once Energy Shield reaches around 4,000. These numbers are realistic week-two objectives rather than day-one expectations.

ED Contagion: Lich (SSF King)

For solo-self-found players, Erasure Dot Contagion Lich continues to reign supreme. This build has occupied the top SSF position for multiple leagues, and patch 0.5 does little to change that reality.

The reason is simple. The build never depended heavily on leech mechanics, Energy Shield recharge stacking, or many of the sustain systems that received heavy nerfs. While other archetypes lost major sources of survivability, ED Contagion largely continues functioning as before.

If your goal is progressing without trade, this remains one of the safest recommendations available. Even in trade leagues, the build comfortably belongs in A-tier territory.

Its biggest weakness isn't power. It's boredom. The playstyle remains effective but lacks the excitement and spectacle offered by many newer alternatives.

The Graveyard

A short and unapologetically disrespectful farewell to the builds and mechanics that patch 0.5 effectively buried.

• Instant Leech: Removed from every major source, including items and runes. Blood Mage lost a huge portion of its identity overnight.
• Energy Shield Recharge Stacking: Tree nodes, equipment modifiers, and rune bonuses suffered reductions ranging from roughly 50% to 66%. Intelligence-based armor can no longer roll Energy Shield recharge modifiers at all.
• Wall of Shields (Endgame): Still performs well during leveling for Warrior characters. Once players move into serious endgame progression, however, the build falls apart. The community noticed immediately. GGG remained silent.
• Infernal Legion / Pyre Elephant: Both received approximately 67% damage reductions. That's not a small tuning adjustment. That's a statement.
• Comet Meteor (Budget): The archetype technically survives as a heavily invested endgame build. Unfortunately, the new mana and health resource systems leave budget versions struggling to function.
• Ice Shot Freeze Buildup: Freeze accumulation was reduced by roughly 25%. The build remains playable, but the difference becomes obvious against tougher rare enemies and bosses.

What Actually Got Better

Despite the heavy-handed nerfs, Return of the Ancients isn't entirely a funeral procession. Several systems, skills, and mechanics actually improved and deserve recognition.

• Basic Runes: Maximum Life runes increased from 40 to 60, while primary attribute runes gained roughly 40% to 50% more value. These are meaningful upgrades rather than cosmetic buffs.
• Armor and Evasion Bases: Early-game gear now provides approximately 33% more armor and evasion. At higher levels, gains remain around 15%. Deflection calculations were also reworked to better reward heavy investment.
• Tempest Bell: Players can now maintain up to three bells simultaneously while benefiting from ancestral interactions. Monk enthusiasts have discovered a new belief system.
• Grenades and Crossbows: Virtually untouched by balance changes. Grenade builds gain a new launcher base while bolt mechanics remain fully intact.
• Attack Runes: Every major offensive attack rune received buffs, improving damage scaling across numerous archetypes.
• Resistance Swapping: Solo-self-found players finally receive access to resistance-flux currency through remnants, making gear correction dramatically easier without trade.
• Atlas Passive Tree: Players can now allocate the entire tree without constantly refunding points to swap between league mechanics. This is one of the most appreciated quality-of-life changes in the patch.
• Ranged Quivers: Quivers can now roll additional arrow chance. The increase isn't game-changing, but it provides a reliable and consistent boost for bow characters.

Read our other Path of Exile 2 Guides:

• Item Filter Guide
• Anoint List (Distilled Emotions Combinations)
• Sacrificial Heart Quest Guide
• Trading Guide

FAQ

What is the best PoE2 0.5 league start build?

Most players currently consider Twisters Spirit Walker Huntress to be the strongest league starter in patch 0.5. The build avoided the major nerfs that affected many competing archetypes, levels exceptionally fast, and reaches mapping with very little gear investment. It also has broad support from experienced players and content creators across the community.

Is Energy Shield still worth playing in patch 0.5?

Energy Shield remains a viable defensive option, but it now requires significantly more investment to feel comfortable. Hybrid defenses and high-quality gear are far more important than before. Characters relying on low-budget ES setups will generally struggle compared to previous leagues, especially after the recharge and recovery nerfs introduced in Return of the Ancients.

Is Wall of Shields still viable in PoE2 0.5?

Wall of Shields continues to perform adequately during the campaign and early progression stages. However, its effectiveness drops noticeably once players begin pushing deeper into the Atlas. Anyone planning to use the build long term should expect to transition into a stronger endgame setup before reaching higher-tier maps.

What happened to leech in Return of the Ancients?

The expansion fundamentally reworked leech mechanics. Instant leech sources were removed, leech interactions became more restricted, and damage contributing toward leech calculations is now subject to stricter limitations. These changes impact nearly every build that relied heavily on recovery, with Blood Mage being one of the biggest losers from the overhaul.

Is Martial Artist Monk good for new players in 0.5?

Martial Artist Monk offers excellent survivability and scales into a powerful endgame character, but it is not the easiest build to master. Managing combo generation, Tempest Bell placement, and boss rotations requires some practice. Players with experience from at least one previous league will usually adapt much faster and get better results from the build.