Essence Drain Lich

Essence Drain Lich the classic starter on this list. It was already one of the most reliable builds in Patch 0.5 and remains almost exactly what you want from a League Starter for 0.5.5: cheap to build, easy to progress and extremely difficult to kill once its defenses come together.

The biggest strength is consistency. Essence Drain and Contagion provide excellent clear from very early on, while the damage naturally improves with gear and Gem Levels. The core setup works with very basic equipment, making the build much less dependent on the state of the fresh economy.

Mapping is where it really shines. Apply Contagion, hit one enemy with Essence Drain and let the damage spread through the pack. In dense Maps this can create huge chain reactions, while the DoT-based playstyle allows you to keep moving as enemies continue losing Life.

Defense is another major selling point. Lich provides a powerful Energy Shield setup focused heavily on recharge and mitigation, and with enough investment the build can reach a very large ES pool. Bossing is less explosive than dedicated boss builds, but Dark Effigy, Despair and additional damage sources provide reliable sustained single-target damage while allowing you to spend most of the fight moving.

That combination of cheap progression, efficient clear and strong defenses is why Essence Drain keeps returning as a starter. If you want a safe, tested all-rounder for 0.5.5, Essence Drain Lich remains one of the easiest builds to recommend.

Ice Shot Deadeye

Ice Shot Deadeye is another classic choice on this list. If you want a bow starter and do not feel like experimenting with something unusual, this is one of the most proven options available. It was among the strongest starters in Patch 0.5, and there is little reason not to recommend it again for 0.5.5.

Its biggest strength is how well it covers every part of the game. Ice Shot provides extremely fast mapping by freezing packs and shattering them through Herald of Ice explosions. You get excellent screen coverage, high mobility and a natural defensive layer from freezing enemies before they can reach you.

For bosses, Snipe provides focused single-target damage. With enough gear, the build can eventually become powerful enough to drop the dedicated bossing Skill entirely, leaving you with an almost one-button setup for both mapping and single-target.

The progression path is also extremely clean. You can start with a relatively cheap non-Crit version, progress through the Atlas, improve your bow and gradually transition into Crit and high-end variants. Ice Shot unlocks a little later in the Campaign, so another bow Skill is used beforehand, but after the swap the build consistently improves with every weapon upgrade. If you want one character capable of fast mapping, strong bossing and serious endgame scaling, Ice Shot Deadeye remains one of the safest bets for 0.5.5.

Barya of Kelari Disciple of Varashta

Barya of Kelari Disciple of Varashta is one of the more unique starter choices for Patch 0.5.5, but it is also surprisingly practical. The build combines the safety of a Minion archetype with gameplay that feels much closer to a caster, since your Djinn does not attack on its own and instead relies on powerful Command Skills that you activate manually.

The main source of damage is Kelari, especially Kelari's Deception, which becomes significantly stronger when several charges are stored and released in quick succession. The build scales heavily through Minion Skill Levels, Minion Damage, Critical Strikes and Cooldown Recovery, while Physical Damage is supplemented by a substantial amount of Chaos Damage through additional scaling and Withered.

Another major advantage is how little gear is required to make the build function. There are no mandatory expensive Uniques, and after your first Ascendancy you can already transition into the core Kelari setup. The Djinn itself cannot take damage and always stays in your Presence, while additional Minions such as Wolves and Skeletons support it with utility, buffs and debuffs.

Defensively, the build can stack a very large Energy Shield pool and further improve it through Disciple of Varashta's defensive Ascendancy options. If you want a starter that combines strong bossing, solid mapping and Minion scaling without feeling like a traditional summoner, Barya of Kelari Disciple of Varashta is an excellent choice for Forbidden Rites.

Arc Spell Totem Gemling Legionnaire

Arc Spell Totem Gemling is one of the best choices for players who want mapping to be as relaxed as possible. It was already a strong mapping archetype in Patch 0.5, and Gemling's interaction with Skill Quality gives the build plenty of room to scale.

The gameplay is simple: place your Totems, let them cast Arc for you and keep moving. They can attack enemies outside your immediate screen, allowing you to start clearing areas before you even reach them. Additional Skill Quality improves Arc in several ways, including its chaining potential, which lets the build cover huge areas.

There are a few drawbacks. The build needs some currency before it truly shines, early bossing can feel rough, and it is not the fastest Campaign starter on this list. You need the core setup to come together before the character starts feeling like its finished version.

Once that happens, however, the investment pays itself back very quickly. If your priority is comfortable mapping, safe positioning and a build with enormous scaling potential, Arc Spell Totem Gemling remains an excellent 0.5.5 choice - especially for Totem enjoyers.

Hollow Form Martial Artist

Hollow Form Martial Artist is one of the most versatile starter builds available in Patch 0.5.5. It combines extremely fast mapping, excellent boss damage, strong defenses and a unique playstyle that feels completely different from most conventional melee builds.

The core mechanic is Hollow Form, which creates clones that perform Whirling Assault for you. Since each clone can deliver the full multi-hit attack, stacking several of them creates enormous overlapping damage that works just as well against dense packs as it does against bosses. Freeze adds reliable crowd control, while Pounce and the build's natural mobility make moving between encounters extremely smooth.

A major turning point is Lochtonial Caress combined with Way of the Stonefist, which provides reliable Charge generation and allows the build to maintain several powerful bonuses. From there, you can scale Elemental Damage, Critical Strikes, Skill Levels and additional buffs, giving the character plenty of room to grow throughout the endgame.

The main thing you have to get used to is that Hollow Form is a Channelling Skill. Ideally, you only hold it for a fraction of a second to create the number of clones you need. Learning that timing makes the build extremely fluid, but if you channel for too long, you will simply spend more time standing still and exposing yourself to incoming attacks. Once you get comfortable with that mechanic, there are very few situations this build cannot handle.

Explosive Grenade Gemling Legionnaire

Explosive Grenade Gemling is one of the most straightforward recommendations for anyone who wants a powerful Mercenary starter without worrying too much about early progression. Grenades were already extremely reliable before 0.5, and Gemling makes the archetype even more attractive thanks to its Skill Quality scaling.

The main advantage is consistency. You do not need any special Unique to make the build work, and progression from the Campaign into early Maps is very smooth. You can also play the build almost immediately, with no awkward transition, no waiting for key items and no weak leveling phase.

The downside is that this is not really a one-button build. Grenades reward good positioning and timing, while their delayed explosions can feel slightly slower than something like Twister or Ice Shot. At the same time, that setup-based gameplay is one of the reasons the build performs so well against tougher targets.

It is an excellent choice for players who want to farm a wide variety of content rather than specialize in a single mechanic. Strong mapping, good boss damage, low gear requirements and smooth progression make Explosive Grenade Gemling one of the safest Mercenary starters for Patch 0.5.5.

Twister Gemling / Abyssal Lich/ Martial Artist / Spirit Walker

Twister was one of the biggest winners of Patch 0.5 and remains one of the easiest builds to recommend for 0.5.5. It offers everything you want from a League Starter: extremely fast mapping, strong damage scaling and several Ascendancy choices that can turn the same Skill into noticeably different builds.

The biggest selling point is clear speed. Once the setup gets going, Twisters cover huge portions of the screen and let you move through Maps extremely quickly. Spirit Walker became particularly popular thanks to its strong Projectile Speed scaling, but Gemling, Abyssal Lich and Martial Artist all provide different ways to scale the same general concept.

That flexibility makes Twister especially appealing if you want a starter that can remain your main character for the entire event. There are some trade-offs: stronger versions can become fairly button-heavy, the attack-to-move playstyle takes some getting used to, and large boss arenas can feel less comfortable than mapping.

Still, those weaknesses are easy to accept when the clear speed is this good. If you want a fast character that can generate currency quickly and has plenty of room to scale, Twister remains one of the safest recommendations for 0.5.5.

Flameblast Oil Grenade Gemling Legionnaire

Flameblast Oil Grenade Gemling is the wildcard pick on this starter list. Unlike most of the other builds here, it was not a popular League Starter when Patch 0.5 launched. The setup was discovered and refined later, but now that it is fully figured out, it checks almost every box we want from a starter.

The biggest reason to play it is the ridiculous damage. Gemling's Quality scaling gives Flameblast a massive boost to Ignite Magnitude, and a fully charged cast can apply an enormous Ignite despite the relatively low cost of getting the build started.

For mapping, Oil Grenade spreads that Ignite through packs while Cast on Elemental Ailment triggers Tornado, adding another layer of screen-wide clear. Against bosses, you fully charge Flameblast and apply a huge Ignite, allowing you to focus on movement while the DoT continues dealing damage.

The build also has a very natural upgrade path through Gem Levels, Ignite scaling and better gear, allowing it to progress from early Maps into serious endgame content. Its main downside is visual clarity: Oil Grenade, burning ground and Tornado can make the screen extremely busy and may even become demanding on your GPU.

If you can live with that, this relatively fresh setup combines cheap entry, strong mapping, ridiculous boss damage and excellent endgame scaling, making it one of the most interesting starters for Patch 0.5.5.

Tame Unique Beast Spirit Walker

Tame Unique Beast is probably the most unusual starter on this list, and that is exactly why it deserves a spot. It was one of the standout ideas introduced with the Spirit Walker in 0.5, proving that the new companion system could carry a character deep into the endgame.

The biggest strength is single-target damage. Once you get access to a strong Unique Beast, especially Mighty Silverfist, your companion can absolutely destroy bosses while you mostly focus on staying alive. Silverfist is particularly powerful thanks to its naturally high Critical Strike potential, giving the build a very high damage ceiling without requiring an absurdly expensive character.

This also makes Spirit Walker a great choice for players who enjoy a more relaxed playstyle. Your companion does most of the heavy lifting, giving you much more freedom to move during dangerous encounters. The build also has plenty of room to evolve, starting with a fairly simple companion setup and eventually progressing into a much more optimized endgame version with excellent defenses and damage.

If you want something different from the usual bow, grenade or caster starter, Tame Unique Beast Spirit Walker is a great pick. It is especially attractive for boss-focused players while remaining perfectly capable of handling mapping and general endgame progression.