Use your favourite features in-game with our Desktop App

PoE 2 Build

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

Witch

Lich

Verified

0.4 TLotD

End Game

Starter

Speed Leveling

By DEADRABB1T

LIVE

Updated on Dec 20, 2025

Dec 20, 2025

Build Overview

This Build is an Endgame Setup for the Lich Ascendancy and one of the best League Starters due to its extremely good defensive layers, overall tankyness and simple and satisfying Gameplay while still being able to deal high amounts of sustained Damage even on a lower investment Level.

STEP BY STEP LEVELING GUIDE

Although it is mostly suited and optimized for the Witch Class and Lich Ascendancy, it can absolutely be played by any other Class or Ascendancy to easily get through Campaign and into early Endgame as fast and smooth as possible.

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.

The 0.3 Patch has buffed this Build in multiple ways, mainly due to more synergies for the Low Life Mechanics being added, increasing mainly the Single Target DPS and Movement and Cast Speed.

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, Tecrod's Gaze, 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 is for when we have just reached Endgame with the Character and are just starting out on the progression through our first Maps. Acquiring Atziri's Disdain as fast as possible and also using Waveshaper as a Budget Body Armor. Our focus should mainly be to improve our defensive Layers, getting as much Energy Shield on our Gearpieces as possible and improving all of our Elemental and Chaos Resistances. Offensively the focus is on getting a good Wand with +Level of Chaos Spells, Spell Damage and Cast Speed to make Mapping alot smoother and speed up the Progression.

Equipment

CAMPAIGN 1-60

T1 - T15 MAPS

ENDGAME (FULL LIFE)

ENDGAME (LOW LIFE)

Set 1

Set 2

Equipment Priority

+11

All of these Gearpieces are just examples of what we should get, you do not need specific Resistances on any Item, it is just important that you get all of the Resistances including Chaos as high as possible as you are progressing through the Endgame. Getting Atziri's Disdain as fast as possible should have priority, since it massively boosts our defensive Layers with Eternal Life. This Build especially excels at Maps with high monster density, so specializing on that aspect of the build for your first progression into the Endgame will be a big benefactor in actually managing to farm up efficiently. We are also trying to get as much Rarity find and as much Cast Speed as we possibly can, especially getting higher Cast Speed will make the Build feel much faster and smoother in Maps, since we are cutting down massively on the time it takes to cast Essence Drain and Contagion which both have a high movementspeed penalty while casting. Getting atleast some Rarity early while Mapping will help us increase the chances of getting basic Currency and Unique drops to keep improving our Gear and continuously upgrading.

Item Priorities with Stat Priorities in Order:

Atziri's Disdain is probably the biggest Core Gearpiece of the Build, we are going for one with high Energy Shield from Maximum Life and Corrupted 2 Sockets.

Wand: +Level of Chaos Skills -> Chaos/Spell Damage -> Cast Speed
Focus: +Level of Chaos Skills -> Chaos/Spell Damage -> High ES -> Cast Speed
Amulet: +Level of Chaos Skills -> Maximum ES -> Increased Maximum ES -> Spell Dmg/Cast Speed
Body Armor: High ES -> Resistances -> Maximum Life
Rings: Chaos Damage -> Cast Speed -> Resistances -> Maximum Life
Gloves/Boots/Belt: High ES -> Resistances -> Maximum Life

Offensive Upgrade Priority should always be Wand, Focus and Amulets with a big emphasis on +Level to Chaos Skills. Second Priority offensively is Spell Damage and Chaos Damage, getting Cast Speed is important to reduce the Cast Time on both Essence Drain and Contagion, especially when Mapping this makes the Build feel much smoother and less clunky, its not an extremely high priority to increase Essence Drain Damage, but getting high Cast Speed makes a big difference in making the Build just feel good.

Most important offensive Gear Piece is the Wand, Stat priority here is +Level of Chaos Skills, Chaos/Spell Damage and Cast Speed. Getting "Gain extra Damage as Lightning Damage" on the Wand enables the Shock Ailment on Enemies with the use of Dark Effigy.

Socketables on Gear:

Wand: +1 All Spells Rune, % Damage added as Chaos Damage Rune or Greater Iron Rune
Greater Iron Rune in Body Armor, Boots and Gloves
If Focus has high ES, also Greater Iron Rune
Atziri's Disdain either Runes to fix Resistances or Bear Talisman for AOE

Soul Core of Tacati for Chaos Res is a good option in any Slot you can do it !

Valley of the Titans Medaillons: 2x 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 20

Int 70

Expand all

Chaos Bolt

Essence Drain

Contagion

Dark Effigy

Despair

Blasphemy

Withering Presence

Sigil of Power

Convalescence

Gem Priority

+21

Jewellers Orb Priority:

Essence Drain
Dark Effigy
Despair
Contagion

Quality Priority:

Withering Presence
Dark Effigy
Despair
Contagion
Convalescence

For Essence Drain we are using Chain for Mapping and general Clearing, for Bossing and other Single Target DPS we slot in Deliberation instead of Chain for more Damage.

For Contagion we are using either a Level 1 Skill Gem for lesser Mana use or a higher Level Contagion and than use Arcane Surge for the Mana Reg and Cast Speed Buff it provides.

For Dark Effigy we are using Ancestral Urgency for Mapping and switch that out for Execute or Concentrated Effect when Bossing.

Also we are using Withering Presence with Clarity (40 Spirit) and Blasphemy (60 Spirit).

Chaos Bolt should always be used on Single Target Encounters to keep up our Withered Stacks, which increases our overall Chaos Damage by alot !

Passive Tree

CAMPAIGN 1-60

T1 - T15 MAPS

ENDGAME (FULL LIFE)

ENDGAME (LOW LIFE)

main:

123

set 1:

set 2:

Reverberation is Annointed on the Amulet for improved Contagion AOE spread Range mainly for better clearing when Mapping.

Other options here are Spaghettification for Offense and Calibration for Defense.

Ascendancy Order:

Soulless Form
Eternal Life (Pick up ES Damage Bypass first with Atziri's Disdain and Heavy Buffer)
Eldritch Empowerment is incredibly good if you can sustain it with your ES and ES Recharge
Rupture the Soul is very good for early Mapping, switched out for Crystalline Phylactery once we reach Late Endgame and especially when we have picked up a good Jewel.

Jewel Stat Priority:

Increased Maximum Energy Shield (Prefix 1)
Spell Damage or Chaos Damage (Prefix 2)
Cast Speed (Suffix 1)
For the second Suffix slot you want to go for Mana Regeneration or ES based Stun Threshold
Increased Effect of Wither is extremely good for pure Single Target Damage
In the Prefix Slot, instead of Spell Damage you can also take Energy Shield Recharge Rate or faster start of Energy Shield Recharge

Atlas Tree

CAMPAIGN 1-60

T1 - T15 MAPS

ENDGAME (FULL LIFE)

ENDGAME (LOW LIFE)

Early Endgame Atlas Setup focus on Shrines and Strongboxes. Rush Faith in Luck first to pick up all the Shrine Nodes like Places of Worship, Seasonal Blessing and Mystic Guardians as soon as possible. Going this way on your Atlas when first progressing will make Mapping alot easier due to the constant Shrine Buffs we are picking up. Getting Experience or Rarity Shrines is also extremely helpful in general.