Path of Exile 2 Return of the Ancients Build Tier List: The Best League Starters in Patch 0.5
Patch 0.5.0, Path of Exile 2’s Return of the Ancients update, reshuffled the early game and gave every class a reason to try something new. If you’re picking a league starter and don’t want to burn hours on a dead-end build, here are the three strongest leveling builds for the new league, plus how the wider class tier list shakes out.
1. Twister Huntress (S-Tier Leveling)
Built around the Predatory Instinct node for Amazon or the owl-focused Spiritwalker nodes for Spirit Walker, this Huntress leans on Twister, usually cast after Whirling Slash and converted to Cold damage with Ice-Tipped Arrows. It clears packs quickly through shatter explosions and still hits hard enough for single-target damage against bosses and rares. Expect a campaign clear of roughly 3 hours 25 minutes — just know its defenses are fragile, so positioning matters more than usual.
2. Glacial Cascade Monk (S-Tier Leveling)
Taking either the Mountain Teachings node for Martial Artistry or I Am the Thunder for Invoker, this Monk build centers on Glacial Cascade detonating Frozen Locus for fast, chain-shattering pack clears and strong boss damage through Freeze, Cold, and Shock interactions. It’s versatile enough to flex into other skills like CoC/Eye of Winter or Tempest Flurry later, with a campaign time around 3 hours 48 minutes. Like the Huntress build above, it starts fragile and needs careful play before its damage output comes online.
3. Varashta Sorceress (S-Tier Leveling)
Running the Disciple of Varashta ascendancy, this Sorceress build centers on Kelari’s Deception supported by Pounce and Thunderstorm, clearing large packs quickly while still dealing strong single-target and boss damage. Its main weakness is cooldown management — miss your windows and your damage drops off hard — but a clean run comes in around 3 hours 35 minutes to finish the campaign.
Class Tier List: Witch and Sorceress Still Lead
S-Tier: Sorceress and Witch remain the strongest classes overall. Witch’s Summon Raging Spirit lets you clear content with minimal risk through minion summoning, making it one of the best classes for a stress-free leveling experience, while Sorceress’s Spark build (often built as Stormweaver) can clear entire monster waves in seconds.
A-Tier: Ranger is stronger than its reputation suggests, with Gas Grenade and Magnetic Salvo builds that clear all content — Deadeye is the better ascendancy pick now that Pathfinder lost its old utility flask benefits.
B-Tier: Mercenary (Gas Grenade builds that clear hordes) and Monk (versatile, with CoC/Eye of Winter, Tempest Flurry, and Lightning Comet all viable once geared) sit a tier below the top picks.
C-Tier: Warrior remains the hardest class to level thanks to low mobility and slow clear speed, though Boneshatter and Totem builds can still compete once you reach the endgame.
Get Path of Exile 2 and Stock Up for the League
Path of Exile 2 is available now on Steam. Grab it from our Path Of Exile 2 PC listing, then pick up a Steam Wallet Code (Global) or Steam Wallet Code (US) to cover supporter packs and stash tabs for the new league.
