PoE2 League Start Tier List: Fubgun’s 16 Builds

Sixteen builds, four tiers, zero balance change between the two patches. Yet the entire PoE2 league start meta has shifted since the release of 0.5, the very beginning of a league, when everyone starts from scratch. That’s what Fubgun explains in his video tier list dedicated to patch 0.5.5. The community now has enough hindsight on ascendancies like the Martial Artist or the Gemling Legionnaire. They were almost unknown at the launch of the previous league.

The ranking below covers the sixteen builds Fubgun selected for a solid PoE2 league start, from S tier to C tier. For each one, you’ll find his reasoning and a link to the full build page published on kami-labs.fr, when it exists.

How Fubgun built his ranking

The starting rule is strict: each build must run in SSF (solo self-found, no trading with other players) or on a very low budget. Goal: clear every pinnacle boss, the end-of-mechanic encounters, for 10 divines or less, the game’s high-tier currency. Ideally, in pure SSF gear. Fubgun points out a forgotten detail: prices at the very start of a league are much higher than three months later.

A build must therefore carry the entire Atlas progression, not just shine once the full gear set is assembled. Fubgun excludes any build that requires switching at level 90 or 95 with 10 to 20 divines: that’s no longer a PoE2 league start. That’s why Arc Gemling Totems, unplayable before level 80 or 90, doesn’t appear anywhere on this list.

S Tier: the seven unkillable PoE2 league start builds of patch 0.5.5

Seven builds gathered here because, according to Fubgun, they tick every box of a true league starter. Massive damage, contained budget, the ability to clear the whole Atlas without waiting for perfect gear.

Grim Pillars: the Oracle Druid totem with very high DPS

Palsteron builds one of the most powerful builds on the list with Grim Pillars on Oracle Druid. Insane damage for a very low budget: one of the best expedition (an incursion-style mechanic) farmers of the previous patch, according to Fubgun.

Speed isn’t everything this patch anymore. Juiced expedition, ritual or abyss reward tankiness and heavy damage more than clear speed. The only real constraint: this totem needs a solid gaming PC.

Ice Shot Deadeye: Fubgun’s classic on Ranger

Fubgun says it himself: Ice Shot Deadeye remains one of the best bow builds he’s ever played, just behind his 0.3 version. His league start guide and his mobility guide are already updated for 0.5.5.

The build starts as an Ice Shot plus Snipe combo, then becomes strong enough to run Ice Shot alone. Thanks to the Deadeye ascendancy, you get the speed nodes and Tailwind right from the start. Result: you move almost twice as fast as everyone else.

Twisters Gemling: the most complete version of Twisters

Redviles and Nick2 each have a guide on this Twisters build around the Gemling Legionnaire (Mercenary). For Fubgun, it’s the best version of Twisters: comfort, damage, speed and tankiness all in one. Deadeye remains a good alternative.

He does advise against the Lich (Witch) version, though. It scales more slowly and poorly suited to a league start. For him, Lich Twisters is better played as a second character, once you’ve got some starting currency banked.

Martial Artist Falling Thunder: the Monk that explodes after its ascendancy

FGKorbyn21 offers a complete guide on this Martial Artist, a versatile class that covers Whirling Assault, Falling Thunder, Oil Barrage or Flicker Strike. The Monk starts weak, through the very first acts. It’s the only S-tier build with a real slow start.

The turning point comes with the first ascendancy, then explodes on the second lab run: damage and defense both jump at once. Fubgun also highlights the class’s versatility, playable with a bow or even as Twisters.

Flameblast Oil Grenade: the oil grenade bulldozer

This recent build revolves around Flameblast and oil grenades on Mercenary. Fubgun compares it directly to Grim Pillars: extremely high DPS for a very low budget, with slowness as its only real flaw.

Several million DPS for very few divines, enough to run expedition, juiced ritual or even boss carries. A Gemling Legionnaire variant by josiahyeet also exists. Same note as for Grim Pillars: plan for a solid gaming PC.

Tactician Galvanic: the crossbow that lasts the whole game

Ruetoo delivers one of the best crossbow builds currently playable according to Fubgun, with a detailed guide available on Mobalytics. The character clears the campaign without a hitch and keeps scaling all the way to multi-mirror.

By the end game, the build turns into near one-button crossbow gameplay, real comfort for farming with no effort. Fubgun recommends it without hesitation to anyone who really wants to play crossbow this season.

Poisonburst Arrow Chayula: poison makes a comeback on Monk

The last surprise of S tier according to Fubgun himself: Poisonburst Arrow, built by Goratha around the Acolyte of Chayula ascendancy on Monk. Chayula reportedly multiplies damage by roughly three, enough to bring this poison build back into the meta.

The weak point remains the damage delay, less responsive than direct damage. But at this budget level, the power is huge, well above an equivalent Pathfinder version according to Fubgun.

A Tier: seven solid builds, one notch below S tier

Nothing alarming in this A tier: most of these builds nearly climbed into S tier. Each remains a perfectly valid choice for a PoE2 league start, provided you accept a small compromise somewhere.

Grenades Gemling Legionnaire: the campaign sprint

GuyThatDies delivers one of the best campaign starts of the patch with these Grenades on any Mercenary ascendancy. Fubgun admits he almost ranked it S-tier: one of the fastest starters of 0.5.5.

If it drops back to A-tier, it’s only because this build mainly serves as a stepping stone toward other, more powerful Gemling builds. Fubgun wouldn’t play it for more than 20 to 30 hours before switching.

Djinn Varashta: dslily’s tanky giant

This Sorceress build by dslily embraces a hardcore profile, extremely tanky. For Fubgun, over-the-top tankiness doesn’t bring much in softcore. Even a well-juiced abyss doesn’t require 20,000 life.

Its real niche: being an assault tank. Good damage, but slower and less powerful than S tier. If survival matters most to you, this Djinn Varashta remains an excellent choice.

Spirit Walker: very strong at bosses, very slow on maps

Fubgun personally played this CaptainLance9 build on Huntress in hardcore SSF, all the way to killing the Arbiter with it. It’s by far the slowest build on the whole list for map clearing.

Boss damage remains very high. But mapping comfort only improves with a companion monkey built around critical hits. Reserved, according to Fubgun, for anyone who genuinely doesn’t care about speed.

Plants Abyssal Lich: no-frills comfort

DEADRABB1T delivers, with this plant Lich, a build solid across the board: decent damage, good tankiness, good sustain and honest speed. No real weak point, from level 1 to tier 15 maps.

It’s precisely this lack of a specialty that keeps it out of S tier, according to Fubgun. It also makes it one of the most enjoyable builds to play throughout an entire league start.

Supporting Fire: the no-surprises one-button build

Crouching_Tuna offers this Mercenary Tactician build built for simplicity. No spectacular strength, but above all no major flaw. From skill level 30 to 36, it becomes your main skill all the way to tier 15 maps.

A 200% delirium is enough to take on every boss in the game with this build, with no rotation complexity. A comfort pick, easy to get the hang of within the first few hours.

Oil Barrage Wyvern: powerful but clunky bossing

J_Macc’s Oil Barrage Wyvern could almost have climbed into S-tier, since it’s also a Martial Artist. Fubgun finds it slower and more restrictive than the others. You need to stand still channeling for two to three seconds per pack of monsters.

The damage, though, is huge. An excellent choice for anyone chasing very high boss DPS above all else. And if the playstyle doesn’t suit you, you can always switch to another Martial Artist.

Spark Stormweaver: mediocre, then explosive once you get Adonia’s

OperatorOtter builds this Spark Sorceress around Adonia’s, a unique staff that changes everything once unlocked. Before that, Fubgun is blunt: it would be a B-tier build at best. Estimated league start price: between 2 and 5 divines.

Once you’ve got Adonia’s, combined with a chaos amulet, the build pulls in millions of DPS. It then rises to S-tier level according to Fubgun. The only catch: maintaining a buff roughly every minute.

B Tier: two decent builds, nothing more

ED Contagion Lich: Plants’ little sister

DEADRABB1T returns with a second Lich version, this time based on Essence Drain and Contagion. Fubgun rates this version slightly below his Plants Abyssal Lich. The latter has a better single-target damage option.

This build remains just as comfortable to play, just one notch below its A-tier cousin.

Bear Shaman: the bear that lost its shine

Ronarray offers this Druid build that has clearly fallen back in the meta, according to Fubgun. He even considered dropping it to C tier. The verdict stays decent, nothing more: the build clears all of the game’s content.

An honest choice for enjoying the game without chasing performance, but it no longer competes with the A- and S-tier builds.

C Tier: two builds to avoid for your PoE2 league start

Wolf Oracle has suffered a lot from the 0.5 patch nerfs, more harshly than Fubgun initially expected. Fubgun initially placed it in B tier. It has fallen further since then. It still clears all of the game’s content. It just doesn’t really shine anymore.

Warrior builds bring up the rear for a structural reason. The Titan ascendancy used to rely on area damage and generic stats; it lost its niche to the Gemling Legionnaire. There’s still Shield Wall, exceptional for early-game progression, capable of clearing tier 15 maps with no effort. The problem comes afterward. Switching to another build from Shield Wall is particularly painful. The Warrior falls far behind the others past the first 20 to 30 hours of play.

Conclusion: which build to choose for your PoE2 league start based on your playstyle

For maximum speed from the very first hours, Ice Shot Deadeye and Grenades Gemling Legionnaire remain the patch’s safe bets. If tankiness is your priority, turn to Djinn Varashta or Bear Shaman, even if it costs a bit of damage. To hit very hard on bosses, Spirit Walker and Oil Barrage Wyvern dominate the category, provided you accept slower mapping. And if budget matters most, Grim Pillars and Flameblast Oil Grenade offer the best damage-per-divine-invested ratio.

Find every build from this tier list, along with all the other builds published this season, on the kami-labs.fr builds hub. For a more condensed ranking, our quick tier list remains a good complement to this detailed selection by Fubgun. Whether you’re after speed, survival or pure DPS, these sixteen builds cover every PoE2 league start style. All that’s left is to decide before day one.