Use your favourite features in-game with our Desktop App

PoE 2 Build

[0.3] ED Contagion Lich League Starter (Level 1 to Endgame)

Witch

Lich

End Game

Starter

0.3 TTE

Verified

By DEADRABB1T

Updated on Oct 29, 2025

Oct 29, 2025

Build Overview

This Build is an Endgame Setup for the Lich Ascendancy, especially suitable as a League Starter due to its extremely good defensive layers for very little investment.

Soulless Form, Atziri's Disdain and Heavy Buffer give this Build an out of the gate damage mitigation of 25% with the use of the core Ascendancy Node of Eternal Life. With a big focus on Energy Shield with high ES Bases as our Gear and basically picking up every % increased maximum Energy Shield Node on the Passive Tree, we can easily reach up to and above 10K Energy Shield while also maintining high Energy Shield recharge rate and a fast start to Energy Shield recharge.

Our main Damage Abilities are Essence Drain with Contagion to spread the Debuff, with also utilizing Dark Effigy paired with Despair for even more clear and good single target DPS.

This Build excels at High Tier Maps, especially with high monster density. With its very simple and efficient rotation of applying Contagion and Essence Drain the Build has amazing clearing capabilities while being extremely tanky and incredibly hard to kill.

Included in this Build Guide are a leveling Setup for using Essence Drain and Contagion through the Campaign and into Endgame, an early Endgame Mapping Setup to get from T1 into T15 Maps and two different high investment Endgame Setups, one using the Low Life Trick to get some advantages from some of the Low Life Bonuses from Execute III, Final Barrage and Quick Response and one regular Full Life Setup without the use of that Trick but still going with very high Cast Speed and Energy Shield Recharge.

If you have any Questions or Suggestions about the Build, feel free to tune into my Stream at twitch.tv/DEADRABB1T where I stream every day!

I am always happy to answer any questions that may arise!

Strengths and Weaknesses

Simplicity
Clearing
Survivability

Mana Hungry

Build Variants

CAMPAIGN 1-60

T1 - T15 MAPS

ENDGAME (FULL LIFE)

ENDGAME (LOW LIFE)

This Setup designed to get you through the Campaign, using Essence Drain and Contagion right from Level 1 onwards. For early Campaign we are also adding Flame Wall for clear, Bonestorm for Single Target DPS and Unearth to get a Meatshield of Minions. On the Passive Tree we are trying to get to Potent Incantation, Lingering Horror, Void and Dark Entries as fast as possible before focusing more on Energy Shield Nodes like Melding and Patient Barrier.

Equipment

CAMPAIGN 1-60

T1 - T15 MAPS

ENDGAME (FULL LIFE)

ENDGAME (LOW LIFE)

Set 1

Set 2

Equipment Priority

Main Hand

Withered Wand

Off Hand

Antler Focus

Body

Hexer's Robe

Boots

Silk Slippers

Helmet

Beaded Circlet

Left Ring

Prismatic Ring

Right Ring

Amethyst Ring

Amulet

Lapis Amulet

Gloves

Jewelled Gloves

Belt

Long Belt

Stat Priority during Campaign:

+Chaos/All Spell Skills
Spell/Chaos Damage
Resistances
High Energy Shield Bases
Maximum Life
Maximum Mana

If you can get some Cast Speed on Wand, Focus, Amulet or Rings thats a nice Bonus !

Check Vendors as often as you can to look for +Chaos Level Gear, Movement Speed for Boots or any other Upgrades you can get (High ES Gear, Resistances, Maximum Life)

Valley of the Titans Medaillons: Charm Charges Gained

Venom Vial Quest Rewards: Stun Threshold

Act 4 and Interlude Rewards: Resistances

Skill Gems

CAMPAIGN 1-60

T1 - T15 MAPS

ENDGAME (FULL LIFE)

ENDGAME (LOW LIFE)

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 10

Dex 15

Int 50

Expand all

Essence Drain

Contagion

Chaos Bolt

Unearth

Flame Wall

Withering Presence

Bonestorm

Dark Effigy

Despair

Enfeeble

Gem Priority

The usual Skill Rotation for clearing is casting Contagion into Essence Drain and make sure the Essence Drain DoT is nicely spread by the Contagion, in the very early Stages of Campaign we also add Flame Wall to support the Contagion Spread, since alone it is sometimes not able to reliably kill the Mobs. We also use Unearth on the resulting Corpses to keep up an Army of Minions for extra Damage and a Meatshield.

Our Single Target comes from casting Essence Drain, Chaos Bolt and Bonestorm which we add as soon as we get a Level 5 Skill Gem and hit Level 16.

It's really important to use Chaos Bolt on Single Target Encounters to apply Withered Stacks.

Adding Enfeeble with Decaying Hex can also be a nice DPS improvement.

Once available, using Despair and Dark Effigy on Tanky Rare Mobs and Bosses is gonna help that Single Target DPS alot!

You can remove Flame Wall and Unearth at any point, if you feel like you don't need any of these anymore !

Passive Tree

CAMPAIGN 1-60

T1 - T15 MAPS

ENDGAME (FULL LIFE)

ENDGAME (LOW LIFE)

main:

123

set 1:

set 2:

While Leveling prioritize the Damage Nodes like Potent Incantation, Lingering Horror, Void and Dark Entries. After we get a few of our Items with Energy Shield on it, we can start to also allocate the Energy Shield increasing Nodes like Melding and Heavy Buffer.

Go for Damage first and than slowly start to scale the Energy Shield we are getting throughout the progression of the Campaign.

Ascendancy Order:

Soulless Form
Eternal Life (even better if we get Atziri's Disdain early and Heavy Buffer)
Rupture the Soul (Very good for clear when we get Blasphemy with Temporal Chains and Whispers of Doom)
Eldritch Empowerment (only take this when you can actually sustain the ES cost)