With patch 0.5 "Return of the Ancients" launching on May 29 at 1PM PDT, the Path of Exile 2 community is deep into league-starter theorycrafting. The update introduces five new storylines, the Runes of Aldur league, and two fresh ascendancies, making this one of the most exciting fresh-league moments the game has seen since early access began. After watching multiple breakdowns and testing a few setups myself in the current patch, I am genuinely impressed by how many strong, accessible starters there could be in patch 0.5.
Three builds in particular keep coming up as excellent day-one choices: Twisters, Ice Shot, and grenade-focused strategies. Twisters deliver incredible clear speed and feel amazing when everything clicks, though they do require more button inputs and careful setup than some other options. Ice Shot stands out for its smooth progression and satisfying freeze mechanics, making it one of the most enjoyable mapping experiences once you get past the early bow campaign. Grenade builds, especially Gemling Grenade, have me the most excited personally. I have been leaning heavily toward Gemling Grenade for my league start because it offers explosive damage, strong single-target, and surprisingly good clear from the very first acts. It is currently tied in my mind with a Boss Tamer spec, which adds extra survivability and feels like a safer choice if I want to push higher-tier content faster without dying as much. Check out Fubguns recent video talking about these three strong starters below:
Beyond those three, two other league starters also look very promising for patch 0.5. Martial Artist (the new unarmed ascendancy) is shaping up to be a fantastic melee option with high mobility and strong scaling once you get the right runes and support gems. It plays aggressively and rewards good positioning, which should feel rewarding in the new storyline-driven endgame. The other strong contender is a Chaos DoT Witch build, which benefits from the new storylines and rune crafting to deliver excellent damage over time with very little gear investment. It is one of the most SSF-friendly starters available and should cruise through the campaign and into early maps without much stress.
What makes this league feel special is the endgame overhaul. Instead of the old waystone grind with no clear stopping point, players now have five narrative storylines that lead to satisfying conclusions while still letting you continue the infinite grind if you want. That change alone makes every league starter feel more rewarding because you can actually finish a full loop of content and feel accomplished before moving on to the next character or the next league.
I am personally most drawn to Gemling Grenade because it looks like it will be fast, explosive, and fun from level 1 all the way through the new story content. There is also the new unique crossbow and the grenade crossbow type that I am dying to try out for grenade builds. The tie with Boss Tamer comes down to how safe I want to play early on. If I want pure speed and big damage numbers, Gemling Grenade wins. If I want to feel tanky and push bosses comfortably, Boss Tamer edges it out. Either way, both look like they will perform extremely well with the new runes and ascendancy options coming in patch 0.5.
Overall, patch 0.5 feels like the best time yet to jump into a fresh league. The new storylines give the endgame real purpose, the free map packs and Crusade Mode updates will keep things fresh between paid expansions, and there are multiple strong starters that do not require perfect gear or high-level knowledge to feel good. Whether you go Twisters for screen-wide clear, Ice Shot for smooth mapping, Grenades for big explosions, Martial Artist for aggressive melee, or Chaos DoT for safe and steady progression, there is a league starter here for pretty much every playstyle.
I cannot wait to log in on May 29 and start fresh. The combination of the new endgame structure and these strong early builds has me more excited for a Path of Exile 2 league than I have been since the game first entered early access. I am sure we will see some unexpected and insane starters that blow everything out of the water. See you in Wraeclast on launch day.
If you are interested in a more precise or exact build, shoot a comment at me in the comments below and I will see what I can do about writing some more official guides or builds!