Overview
This is a plant-spell Abyssal Lich, picked as a 0.5 league starter for tankiness and screen-wide clear without any chase uniques. Entangle and Threshing Vines are the core plant skills, watered by Thunderstorm to trigger Accelerated Growth and Overgrow for AoE damage, while Bonestorm covers single-target. The build leans on the Abyssal Lich’s Rupture the Flesh notable for a free Detonate Dead-style chain explosion that scales off monster life rather than gear — a key reason it ramps so quickly on a fresh league.
Defence comes from a low-life energy-shield setup. Eternal Life locks the life pool below 35% while Soulless Form, Heavy Bulwark and Atziri’s Disdain (upgradable with Curgurin crafting in 0.5) stack flat damage reduction on top of energy shield. Locking low life also unlocks Pain Attunement on the tree and the Execute III support gem in every skill, both providing more multipliers rather than increased. The build is explicitly framed as a post-energy-shield-nerf, post-leach-nerf league starter that does not lean on Cast-on-Critical.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Extremely cheap entry — only required unique is Atziri’s Disdain, gettable from level 40 onward by gambling helmets in Act 3.
- Stacks energy shield with 25%+ flat damage reduction for one of the strongest defensive shells in the patch.
- Rupture the Flesh explosions scale off monster life, so clear power holds up even with mediocre gear on day two or three.
- Low-life setup converts into Execute III, Pain Attunement, Techrod’s Gaze movement-speed sockets and other multiplicative bonuses for free.
- Straightforward one-to-three-button playstyle that is accessible to both new and veteran players.
Cons
- Pinnacle bossing is sustained damage rather than burst — the creator explicitly says it is not a one-shot pinnacle build and takes a few seconds longer than the flashy alternatives.
- Requires the Koolamak invitation kill to become an Abyssal Lich, which some players prefer to skip.
- Energy-shield recharge per second and recharge delay are getting nerfed in 0.5, so the recovery feel will not match late-0.4 numbers.
Key Skills
- Entangle — main plant with Accelerated Growth, Branching Fissures, Execute III, Rapid Casting II and Blind Side.
- Threshing Vines — secondary plant scaled with Rapid Casting II, Execute III, Concentrated Area, Blind Side and Prolonged Duration II.
- Thunderstorm — the watering skill that triggers Accelerated Growth and Overgrow, slotted with Magnified Area II, Prolonged Duration II, Living Lightning to Shock and Lightning Exposure. Weapon-set 2 picks up the magnitude-of-shock cluster to keep shock guaranteed without Shock Conduction II.
- Blasphemy + Temporal Chains — mandatory curse for clear-speed and to feed Rupture the Flesh, supported by Magnified Area II, Ritualistic Curse and Hex Bloom.
- Bonestorm (self-cast) — single-target damage option supported by Execute III, Rapid Casting II, Blind Side and Considerate Casting. Spell-totem Bonestorm is flagged as an upcoming 0.5 experiment to plug the pinnacle gap.
- Cast on Critical + Detonate Dead — optional, mainly retained from 0.4 for juiced temple farming; the creator expects to drop it in 0.5.
Gear & Anointments
The shopping list is intentionally light. A chiming staff on weapon-set 2 gives access to Sigil of Power for damage windows. The only mandatory unique is Atziri’s Disdain. Energy-shield body armour, rings with cast speed and max life, and a resistance belt are all rare-gear baseline. Techrod’s Gaze boots are highly recommended for the low-life movement-speed sockets but can wait if the early-league price is steep. Night Scale gloves are flagged as an easy mana-regen unique upgrade. Visage of Aya plus the Life Tap support gem are needed once to drop life under 35% before re-equipping Atziri’s Disdain. Confirm specific stat targets against the source video and the mobalytics guide.
Endgame Notes
Koolamak’s vessel is described as barely a pinnacle boss at full power and is the gate to becoming an Abyssal Lich — the creator considers it a day-one endgame milestone. Crystalline Phylactery is highlighted as a major scaling lever given 0.5’s new jewel-crafting systems, with the lich’s 100%-increased-effect jewel slot in mind. The build aims at T15 maps and full juicing, with deliberate room left to experiment with spell-totem Bonestorm against pinnacle bosses post-launch.
Credits & Source
Build credited to DEADRABB1T. See the source video for the full build’s gameplay footage and voice commentary: My 0.5 League Starter - Plants Abyssal Lich - POE2 Build Guide.