Overview
This is the campaign companion guide for the 0.5 Plants Lich league starter — a Witch leveling path that pairs the Plants archetype (Entangle, Ravenous Swarm, Thrashing Vines) with classic caster staples (Volcano, Bonestorm, Thunderstorm) on the route to the Lich ascendancy. The build is meant to be played hand-in-hand with the author’s separate endgame video that pivots into Abyssal Lich at T14 maps; this video focuses entirely on getting through the campaign smoothly.
The central campaign loop is simple: Entangle for clear, channelled spells for bosses. Volcano carries single-target through the early acts until Bonestorm unlocks at level 14, at which point boss strategy becomes Frost Bomb for exposure followed by full-stack channelled Bonestorms on top. From mid-act-2 onward, Blasphemy + Temporal Chains transforms the playstyle into a slow-everything-around-you puzzle where mobs can barely close the gap, and the Lich’s Rupture the Soul ascendancy node turns cursed kills into chain explosions for trivial pack clear.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Clean two-button clear (Entangle + Thunderstorm) once core gems come online in act two
- Volcano + Frost Bomb exposure delivers strong single-target before Bonestorm unlocks
- Blasphemy/Temporal Chains makes most of act three onward feel oppressive in your favor
- Rupture the Soul detonate-on-kill chains turn pack clear into one-click trivialization
- Works with no expensive uniques — just vendor regex on a one-handed-and-folky or staff
Cons
- Cemetery zones (Asinas/Draven’s Tombs) are awful for Entangle — Unholy Knights deflect the projectiles
- Bonestorm/Volcano channel timing has a learning curve for boss DPS
- Two-attribute hybrid spells mean you must keep both Str and Int allocated and on gear
- The early single-target window leans on Volcano channels which can feel slow against fast bosses
Key Skills
- Entangle — primary clear from act one onward; gets Accelerated Growth and Branching Fissures along the way
- Volcano — channelled single-target from level 1; carries until Bonestorm unlocks
- Bonestorm — channelled boss bomb at level 14, supported by Burgeon and Considered Casting
- Thunderstorm — act-two cleanup spell paired with Living Lightning to trigger Accelerated Growth
- Thrashing Vines — act-three level-9 support recipient with Rapid Casting, Zenith, and Concentrated Area
- Blasphemy + Temporal Chains — act-three aura that slows every mob within radius into uselessness
Gear & Anointments
Gear philosophy is vendor-driven: use the creator’s provided regex from the linked Mobalytics guide and roll for spell damage + spell levels on weapons. A staff is recommended over a one-hander + folky because you only need to luck into one item rather than two, and it generally rolls more damage. Both Entangle and Volcano are strength/intelligence hybrid spells, so prioritize gear that supplies both attributes. Spirit gear unlocks the build’s defensive layers — Ravenous Swarm with Corrosion runs first, then gets dropped for Blasphemy + Temporal Chains once you hit 60+ spirit in act three (via the Bog Witch’s reward + an amulet roll).
Endgame Notes
The campaign ends with Lich ascended (Soulless Form, then Rupture the Soul), with the plan being to swap to Abyssal Lich once T14 maps unlock — at which point Rupture the Soul becomes Rupture the Flesh and gains physical scaling on top. For deeper endgame mechanics, gear targets, and the full progression past maps, the creator points viewers at the separate Plants Abyssal Lich endgame video and the Mobalytics written guide.
Credits & Source
Build credited to DEADRABB1T. See the source video for the full leveling walkthrough + voice commentary: Campaign Leveling Guide for my 0.5 Plants Witch League Starter.