PoE2 Season 5 Builds: Top 10 S-Tier Ranking

Path of Exile 2 Season 5 runs on patch 0.5 « Return of the Ancients, » and the meta for PoE2 Season 5 builds has had time to settle. Fubgun just released a new video listing ten strong builds across every class, each with its own level of budget and difficulty to acquire.

You’ll find PoE2 Season 5 builds you can play right from league start (the very beginning of the season, when you have no gear at all) and others reserved for players with several thousand divine orbs (Path of Exile 2’s top-tier trading currency) to invest. You’ll find the full details of every build, along with all the other guides for the season, on the PoE2 hub on kami-labs.fr.

Table of Contents

• 1. Cast on Dodge Gemling (@jungroan)
• 2. Lich Twisters (@787prada)
• 3. Ice Shot Deadeye/Pathfinder (@Fubgun)
• 4. Spirit Walker Beast Tamer (@Captainlance9)
• 5. Martial Artist: Hollow Form Beyblade & Falling Thunder (@jungroan / @fgkorbyn21)
• 6. Falling Thunder Gemling (@Palsteron)
• 7. Oil Barrage (@j_macc)
• 8. Lightning Warp (@KingpinUwu)
• 9. Adonia’s Trifusion (@OperatorOtter)
• 10. Temporalis Spark COC (@Fubgun)

1. Cast on Dodge Gemling: The Ultra-Fast Mercenary by @jungroan

The first build on the list is a Mercenary Gemling Legionnaire built by @jungroan around the Absolution amulet. This amulet grants a free spirit charm that lets you trigger Cast on Dodge twice, the skill that powers the build’s entire offensive kit.

The result: extremely fast clearing and solid boss damage, for a high budget that’s still noticeably more accessible than other PoE2 Season 5 builds centered on the Temporalis unique. A great pick if you want clear speed without chasing the very top tier of wealth.

2. Lich Twisters: The Projectile Speed Witch by @787prada

Twister builds are everywhere this season, but at very high budget, nothing rivals @787prada’s Lich version. The Lich ascendancy pushes projectile speed and attack speed to levels that let you clear an entire screen in an instant.

If you want to play Twister right from league start, the Deadeye or Spirit Walker ascendancies remain better suited to a small budget. But for endgame at several thousand divine orbs, Lich remains the benchmark among PoE2 Season 5 builds.

3. Ice Shot Deadeye/Pathfinder: The Perfect League Starter by @Fubgun

Ice Shot Deadeye is one of the best league starters among PoE2 Season 5 builds. The build scales smoothly from level 1 all the way to multi-mirror endgame, making it a safe choice if you only want to invest in a single Ranger for the whole season.

The build’s quirk: no movement skill at all. You’re constantly walking at very high speed, and swapping to Pathfinder lets you sprint at 200% movement speed. Chained ice explosions cover the whole screen for very comfortable clearing.

4. Spirit Walker Beast Tamer: The Companion That Kills on Its Own by @Captainlance9

@Captainlance9’s Beastmaster/Spirit Walker Huntress relies on a monkey companion that does most of the work. The gameplay is very passive, almost on autopilot, which earned it the nickname « dad gamer build » in the video’s comments.

The build remains very tanky while still being able to one-shot any Uber boss, like many PoE2 Season 5 builds built for the endgame. It’s playable both as a league starter and as a very high-budget version with several mirrors invested.

5. Martial Artist: The Most Versatile Ascendancy of the Season

The Monk’s Martial Artist ascendancy delivers on every promise among PoE2 Season 5 builds. It’s playable with almost any weapon, not just the quarterstaff, and the unique gloves it unlocks open the door to builds that are very different from one another. Whether you’re looking for a league starter or a build to push all the way to multi-mirror, Martial Artist has an answer. Fubgun’s video highlights two very distinct versions of this ascendancy.

6. Falling Thunder Gemling: The High-Budget Boss Killer by @Palsteron

Don’t confuse this with the Monk build just above: @Palsteron’s is a Mercenary Gemling Legionnaire that uses Falling Thunder for both clearing and boss damage. Same skill name, but a completely different build.

With a budget of over 1000 divine orbs, this build ranks among the tankiest PoE2 Season 5 builds and one-shots most bosses in the game. It only requires two main investment points: one for movement (Assault) and one for damage.

7. Oil Barrage: The Stationary, Overpowered Monk by @j_macc

Oil Barrage is one of the most original builds on the list. This Martial Artist Monk combines very good area clear with excellent boss damage, a combination that’s fairly rare among this season’s builds.

The trade-off: you have to stay stationary to deal your damage. Oil Barrage lets you snapshot a good part of the build before triggering the damage. Playable from league start all the way to high tiers in multi-mirror.

8. Lightning Warp: The Ultra-Fast Infernalist Witch by @KingpinUwu

Lightning Warp isn’t a new concept, but @KingpinUwu’s Infernalist version pushes clear speed very far. The build chains teleports at a steady pace to blast through maps quickly.

Be careful if you’re sensitive to visual clutter: this build throws a huge number of effects on screen at once. It’s not a build for everyone, but it ranks among the fastest of the season.

9. Adonia’s Trifusion: The Budget-Friendly Spark by @OperatorOtter

The Adonia unique staff (Adorned Staff) often costs just a single chaos orb, a very cheap currency, and yet it powers builds with very high damage. That’s exactly the case with this Stormweaver version by @OperatorOtter.

Spark on Cast on Crit remains one of the best spellcaster archetypes in the game, despite the recent Common Solves nerf. An excellent damage-to-investment ratio.

10. Temporalis Spark COC: The Fastest Build of the Season by @Fubgun

We’ll finish with the most expensive build on the list, but also the fastest. @Fubgun’s Blood Mage Witch uses the Temporalis unique, a clock that speeds up the action, combined with Spark on Cast on Crit.

Damage climbs up to 20, even 40 million DPS. This build is reserved for players with a lot of currency, but it remains the fastest archetype in the game at unlimited budget.

Which Build to Choose Among These PoE2 Season 5 Builds

This list of ten S-Tier builds covers a lot of ground: from accessible league starters like Ice Shot Deadeye or the Falling Thunder Monk, up to builds worth several thousand divine orbs like Lich Twisters or Temporalis Spark COC. If you’re starting Season 5, begin with a cheap build and scale up your investment once you’ve stacked some currency. If you’re already looking to push your character to the max, check out the Endgame and Boss DPS versions on this list instead.

All ten builds on this list now have their full write-up on the site. Find them, along with every other build already published, on the PoE2 builds page, and every guide for the season on the PoE2 hub on kami-labs.fr.