Mobalytics
News
menu
MobalyticsUse your favourite features in-game with our Desktop App
PoE 2 Build

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

presentationWitch
presentationLich
Verified
End Game
Starter
Speed Leveling
0.5 RotA
By DEADRABB1T
Updated on Jun 8, 2026
Jun 8, 2026

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.

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 maintaining 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, Tecrod's Gaze and Final Barrage 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

High Investment Endgame Setup with a focus on High ES Bases, +Level of Chaos Spells and as much Chaos/Spell Damage and Cast Speed as possible. Capping all Resistances including Chaos is a must.

This Version is not using the Low Life Trick to make use of Final Barrage and Quick Response, instead we are gaining the Cast Speed from Mental Alacrity and Spiral into Mania.

Equipment

item
3
item
9
item
1
item
5
item
8
item
9
item
4
item
6
item
2
item
7
item
item
item
item
item
Equipment Priority
+11

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.

Defensively, getting a high ES Body Armor should be the first priority, getting a Flowing Raiment is recommended due to the implicit Mana regeneration Rate it provides. In general getting high flat Energy Shield on all your Bases (Body Armor, Gloves, Boots, Focus) is first priority when deciding on Gear.

Ofcourse getting Elemental Resistances capped and also getting Chaos Resistance as close or over the Cap as possible is an absolute given for the Endgame Version of this Build.

Getting Ingenuity is also an absolute possibility if you manage to get very optimized Rings.

I personally prefer to have a 3 Charm Slot Rare Belt with Tri Resistances, Maximum Life and Mana.

Socketables on Gear:

  • Wand: +1 All Spells Rune, % Damage added as Chaos Damage Rune or Greater Iron Rune
  • Greater Iron Rune in Body Armor
  • Focus: Atmohua's Soul Core of Retreat
  • Atziri's Disdain: Talisman of Egrin
  • Gloves: Fenumus' Rune of Draining
  • Boots: Iron Rune

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

Skill Gems

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 20

Dex 25

Int 100

1

Essence Drain

supportchainplayertwo
supportswiftafflictionplayertwo
supportrapidcastingplayertwo
supportintenseagonyplayer
supportchaosmasteryplayer
2

Chaos Bolt

supportwitheringtouchplayer
supportrapidcastingplayertwo
supportchaosmasteryplayer
supportextractionplayer
3

Contagion

supportunleashplayer
supportrapidcastingplayertwo
supportmagnifiedareaplayertwo
supportchaoticfreezeplayer
4

Dark Effigy

supportincreaselimitplayertwo
supporturgenttotemsplayerthree
supportrapidcastingplayerthree
supportconcentratedareaplayer
supportcontrolleddestructionplayer
5

Blasphemy

temporalchainsplayer
supportslowpotencyplayer
supportritualisticcurseplayer
supportmagnifiedareaplayertwo
6

Despair

supportcurseeffectplayer
supportcursedgroundplayer
7

Withering Presence

prolongeddurationsupportplayertwo
supportclarityplayer
8

Sigil of Power

supportmagnifiedareaplayertwo
prolongeddurationsupportplayertwo
9

Convalescence

supportcooldownrecoveryplayertwo
prolongeddurationsupportplayertwo
Gem Priority
+30

Jewellers Orb Priority:

  1. Essence Drain
  2. Dark Effigy
  3. Despair
  4. Contagion

Quality Priority:

  1. Withering Presence
  2. Dark Effigy
  3. Despair
  4. Contagion
  5. 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 when Bossing.

Also we are using Withering Presence with Clarity (40 Spirit), Blasphemy (55 Spirit with Quality), Convalescence (30 Spirit).

So overall 125 Spirit is needed, you can get the additional 25 on either Amulet or Helmet Corruption.

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

main:
123
123
set 1:
20
20
set 2:
20
20

Ascendancy Order:

  1. Soulless Form
  2. Eternal Life (Pick up ES Damage Bypass first with Atziri's Disdain and Heavy Buffer)
  3. Eldritch Empowerment is incredibly good if you can sustain it with your ES and ES Recharge
  4. 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

Quest Rewards

Check which quests you’ve completed on your character
Clearfell — Beira of the Rotten Pack
Not Specified1 choice
Hunting Grounds — The Crowbell
Not Specified1 choice
Freythorn — The King in the Mists
Not Specified1 choice
Ogham Farmlands — Una's Hut
Not Specified1 choice
Ogham Manor — Candlemass, the Living Rite
Not Specified1 choice
Keth — Kabala, Constrictor Queen
Not Specified1 choice
Valley of the Titans — Medallion
30% increased Charm Charges gained
+1 Charm Slot
Deshar — Final Letter
Not Specified1 choice
The Spires of Deshar — Sisters of Garukhan
Not Specified1 choice
Jungle Ruins — Mighty Silverfist
Not Specified1 choice
The Venom Crypts — Venom Draught
25% increased Stun Threshold
Jiquani's Machinarium — Blackjaw, the Remnant
Not Specified1 choice
The Azak Bog — Ignagduk, the Bog Witch
Not Specified1 choice
The Molten Vault — The Molten Vault
Not Specified1 choice
Aggorat — Blood Sacrifice
Not Specified1 choice
Journey's End — Captain Hartlin
Not Specified1 choice
Eye of Hinekora — Navali's Rest
Not Specified1 choice
Halls of the Dead — Yama The White
Not Specified1 choice
Halls of the Dead — Tawhoa's Test
+5% to Lightning Resistance
Abandoned Prison — Goddess of Justice
30% increased Mana Recovery from Flasks
Halls of the Dead — Tasalio's Test
+5% to Cold Resistance
Halls of the Dead — Ngamahu's Test
+5% to Fire Resistance
Wolvenhold — Oswin, the Dread Warden
Not Specified1 choice
The Khari Crossing — Akthi and Anundr
Not Specified1 choice
The Khari Crossing — Molten Shrine
Not Specified1 choice
Qimah — Tabana's Pillar
+5% to all Elemental Resistances
Kriar Village — Lythara, the Wayward Spear
Not Specified1 choice
Howling Caves — The Abominable Yeti
Not Specified1 choice

How it Plays

Campaign Quest Rewards:

  • Act 2: Increased Charm Charges Gained
  • Act3: Stun Threshold
  • Act4: Resistances

Both the Act 4 and Interludes Rewards can be changed at any Time.
Take Life Flask Recovery at first and then change to Mana in the Endgame.

In the Interludes you can take Resistances at first and swap to Movement Speed later on.

Most Important League Mechanic Rewards during Campaign:

  • Act 1: Cemetery of the Forsaken - Regal Orb
  • Act 1: Tomb of the Consort - Amulet
  • Act 1: Manor Ramparts - LVL 5 Skill Gem
  • Act 1: Ogham Manor - Alchemy Orb
  • Act 2: Buried Shrines - Lesser Jeweller's Orb
  • Act 2: Valley of the Titans - Random Unique
  • Act 4: Ngakanu - Greater Jeweller's Orb

Video Guide

Build Planner Export

Export this build variant directly to your game.

Table of Contents

1. Build Overview2. Strengths and Weaknesses3. Build Variants4. Equipment5. Skill Gems6. Passive Tree7. Atlas Tree8. Quest Rewards9. How it Plays Campaign Quest Rewards: Most Important League Mechanic Rewards during Campaign:

Featured Builds

[0.5] Gun and Run - Machine Gun Gemling
Updated on Jun 21, 2026
[0.5] Corpse Master Bitter Dead Gemling Legionnaire | HUGE BURST DAMAGE!
Updated on Jun 21, 2026
[0.5] FULL Adonia's Trifusion Stormweaver Guide
Updated on Jun 21, 2026
[0.5] Corrupting Wings - (One Button Speedster) Gemling
Updated on Jun 21, 2026
[0.5] COC COMET - Stormweaver @animeprincess
Updated on Jun 21, 2026

Become a Creator

Want to earn rewards by sharing your builds with your community?