Every few months in Path of Exile, a new seasonal league is introduced. These seasonal leagues give you the chance to start over while you enjoy the new content that has been added to the game. Starting over with a new character means planning a new build though, which can be a tedious process.

Struggling to decide on a good starter build for the beginning of a league? We are here to help with that. This will cover some general tips for building your character as you level up, as well as some example builds. Overall, the build is completely up to you, but we can help make the decision-making process go a bit smoother.

It's important to remember that these are starter builds, and as such, they won't cover the exact specifics (gear stats, gems, modifiers, Path of exile currency, etc) of each build. As you are just starting out, the most important thing is being strong without having weak defenses. These builds can then later be tweaked to fit your end-game idea.

General Tips For Making A New League Build

If you are looking for tips on starter builds, you've come to the right place. A starter build for a new season is exactly what it sounds like. This is the build that you use at the beginning of a season. It may be different from your end-game build and is mainly used to level while also not dying.

For those of you who are brand-new to Path of Exile, it's important to understand how builds are... well, built. The skills you use, the ears you wear, and the passives you choose all factor into your build. At the start of a season, skill gems and gear items may be limited, but when you level up, you will be able to choose new passives to unlock.

When unlocking, it's best to have a goal in mind. For example, if you are playing as a Witch, scroll to the very top of the skill tree. Here, you can find some elemental passives that are on the 'end' of the branches. If you have a general build in mind that lines up for one of these, then your goal should be to reach it.

Rather than unlocking passives here and there depending on what you feel like, try to reach the nodes that you want. Sure, you can get a stray passive here or there, but overall, the passives that you unlock should stretch outward (away from the center).

The goal doesn't always have to be at the end/edges, but overall, try to only invest in a passive if you know that you want it to lead you somewhere.

Minion Necromancer Build

Base Class: Witch

Complete Build Example

If you've played any ARPG, then you know the power of minion builds. Depending on how many minions you have, it's like having additional teammates to help you. When just starting out, you'll want to focus on getting skill gems that summon minions. This includes the following:

Raise Zombie

Raise Spectre

Summon Chaos Golem

Summon Holy Relic

These skill gems create minions that you can then buff with minon-related passives. There are a lot of these passives on the skill tree, but you can find them in plenty in the northwest region. For specific passives, you can refer to the build linked above; don't forget that you can search for a specific passive in the search bar on the tree.

In terms of armor, this is less important when you are just starting out. Overall, aim for defensive armor that boosts your skill gems, HP, and minion skills. We also suggest getting The Covenant, which is a unique chest armor piece. Of course, there is no guaranteed way to get this, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled.

Archmage Ice Nova Hierophant Build

Base Class: Templar

Complete Build Example

When leveling up and completing maps around the world, AoE damage can come in handy. Rather than targeting one enemy at a time, AoE skills target many, which can help you move forward faster. One skill that excels in this situation is Ice Nova. It's so good, in fact, that there are a few builds that revolve around it.

Archmage is a support gem that adds lightning damage to a skill, so in this build, it's used to support Ice Nova.

Ice Nova deals an AoE of cold damage in a circle around you. Fortunately, it's also a reward (for Templars) for completing The Siren's Cadence, which is a main quest in the first act of the game. This basically means that you can start setting up this build pretty early in your journey.

This applies to most skill gems on our list, but it's important to buy it/choose it as a reward as soon as possible so you can get started on your build.

While leveling up and unlocking passives, you'll gradually want to extend the nodes to the top portion of the tree. Here, you can find passives that increase your elemental damage, which means that Ice Nova will become even stronger. Other skill gems to aim for include ones that also deal cold damage, such as Frostbolt, Frostblink, and Frost Shield.

Lightning Strike Slayer

Base Class: Duelist

Complete Build Example

The Lightning Strike Slayer build is quite a popular option due to the amount of damage it puts out. Lightning skill that, as its name suggests, infuses lightning damage into your weapon while firing projectiles.

The build linked above is also a common build that players follow, and is pretty accessible early on in the game. The damage output is high enough that you won't feel like you are struggling to keep up while leveling. It's worth noting that this build is melee-based, which isn't always common in Path of Exile (as the game seems to favor ranged combat).

You can also create a similar build on a Warden (which is an Ascendancy class for Rangers), which has also been shared by the creator of the Lightning Strike Slayer build.

Toxic Rain Totem Pathfinder

Base Class: Ranger

Complete Build Example

The last league starter build that we have for you is the Toxic Rain Totem Pathfinder. This is a mouthful, but the most important point to highlight is that this build centers around Toxic Rain which is supported by the Ballista Totem support gem.

This support gem will summon a totem that uses Toxic Rain. So, what is this skill exactly? Using Toxic Rain will cause arrows to fly into the air and land on the ground (as spores), dealing chaos and damage over time. These spores will then eventually explode and deal even more chaos damage.

In terms of other modifiers and skills, we suggest aiming for gear that increases your attack speed. Additionally, the building example above utilizes the Mirage Archer support gem, which will summon a Mirage archer who will use the skill that the gem supports.

Conclusion

Overall, there are a lot of builds to choose from. All over the internet, you can find people sharing unique builds that are viable in Path of Exile. The build you choose comes down to how you want to play the game though. It's also possible to make up a build as you go, but this may lead to some difficulties later down the road.

Take these build examples into consideration, but don't be afraid to do more research on your own. You may find the perfect build that just needs one or two tweaks to fit what you had in mind.