[IMPORTANT!] Ranking POE2 0.5 League Starter - Best and Worst Builds! — Various League Starter Tier List

Overview

This is a satirical tier-list / ranking video that walks through the 0.5 league-start landscape and gives the creator’s verdict on each major archetype. It is best read as a meta overview rather than a single deep guide — the entry exists in the codex so visitors can find the discussion alongside the individual build entries, not as a recommendation to copy a specific tree. The creator’s framing is deliberately blunt about which builds will likely be patched out, which ones bait new players, and which ones quietly survive the patch notes.

Because this is a Showcase / Various entry, each archetype below gets only a brief 1–2 sentence digest. Treat it as a directory of starting points to research further on the creator’s deeper guides or on dedicated build entries.

Builds Previewed

Arch Mage Totem builds — Flagged as likely to be patched within the first week. Creator advises sitting it out a few days until GGG ships a hotfix.
Snipe Deadeye — Will become item-expensive due to popular streamers playing it. Requires endgame crafting that 0.5 has nerfed; better as a day-3+ buy-in than a true league starter.
Twister Spirit Walker — Complex with many buttons; excels in closed corridors (notably ritual) but weaker in open layouts. Heavy off-hand attack speed investment.
Minion builds — Easiest entry for newcomers; high-investment in minion skill levels, damage, and crits. Strong AFK currency-farming feel once the build is set up.
Cocaine Rampage Titan Bear (Warrior) — Warcry-driven slam build praised as new-player friendly. Tanky, strong at bossing and mapping, and dodged the major 0.5 nerfs.
Essence Drain + Contagion (Witch/Sorceress) — Recommended for relaxed leveling; lower damage ceiling but easy two-button gameplay. Suggested pivot to Chaos Ignite at T15+ for better scaling.
Black Flame Incinerate / Chaos Bonestorm — New 0.5 ideas built on the same Witch/Sorceress chaos chassis as ED+Contagion; chaos ignite with Black Flame keystone + Black Flame ring scales further into maps.
Plant / Entangle (Oracle / Witch) — Vine + Thunderstorm + Pod combo for clear and single target. Simpler than meta picks but lower ceiling.
Companion builds — Currently weak in 0.4 but the new Spirit Walker companion adds may push them into viability — wait and see rather than league-start.
Hollow Palm Quarter Staff Monk (Martial Artist) — One of the creator’s top picks; falling thunder + flicker strike alternative. Smooth gameplay with low gear requirements.
Grenade builds (Deadeye or Gemling Legionnaire) — Oil ignite combos; cheap to start but the creator flags weak single-target damage on Deadeye.

Builds to Avoid

The creator explicitly calls out the following as bad 0.5 league-start choices: shield skills, poison builds, concoction skills, spark builds (especially spell totems), arch mage builds, and Blood Mage post-leech changes.

How to Use This Entry

This page is a starting map, not a build guide. If one of the archetypes above interests you, search the codex for the dedicated entry from a creator who specialises in that build — those entries carry the act-by-act gem ladder, gear targets, and ascendancy progression.

Credits & Source

Ranking credited to Path of Dan (Uber Uber version). See the source video for the full commentary and pretty pointed jokes: IMPORTANT! Ranking POE2 0.5 League Starter — Best and Worst Builds!.