Welcome to the Path of Exile 3.25 Necro Settlers Builds guide! As we gear up for the re-launch of the league, it's crucial to have a solid plan for your league starter build. Today, I will share the top 12 league starters with you.
1. Archmage Ice Nova of Frostbolts Hierophant
Coming in at number one, we have Archmage Ice Nova. This build is no surprise, as there aren't any balance changes for this event. It's the same as regular Settlers, but it is a standard build now. It's a good all-rounder with high damage, defense, decent clear speed, and good bossing. It's good at everything and great at some things. The only thing it's not super good at is clear speed, but it's still more than acceptable. If you want to dump a lot of currency into it, it scales very well, but it's also good without much currency. You can start it as an SSF or casual-friendly build. The downside is that the visual clarity is not the greatest.
2. Archmage Ball Lightning of Orbiting Hierophant
If you want something different than Ice Nova but still want to go Hierophant, you could try Archmage Ball Lightning instead. The build is very similar; you change a few gems and use Ball Lightning instead of Ice Nova. Pretty much everything else is the same. Damage and bossing are a little bit worse than Ice Nova, but it's still good, and you get the bonus of playing a sort of hipster build. It's a little bit more popular now than originally, but it might pique your interest more than Ice Nova.
3. Lightning Strike Slayer
Lightning Strike Slayer has big damage, good defense, and good clear speed. You can also respec it later in the game for bossing by switching to Molten Strike or Zenith, which gives you ridiculous amounts of damage. This build is probably going to be what I start with. It's much faster than the Trickster, though less tanky. The Trickster is also not a league starter and has a different purpose.
4. Lightning Strike Trickster (Not a League Starter)
This build is amazing at everything and probably the best build of the league, but it's not a league starter. I'm only mentioning it now, so the comments don't get spammed with it. It's not a league starter, really good, but not a league starter.
5. Locus Power Siphon Miner Trickster
This build does huge damage quickly and scales very well. You'll be crit-capped at something silly like Act 3 or 4. You'll completely delete the campaign. The defense is pretty meh early but doable. Clear speed is pretty good as it auto-targets everything on your screen and blasts them. Bossing is decent since you have so much damage. You'll have hybrid HP for a while, and then you can choose what you want to do after that, whether rerolling to Lightning Strike or Ephemeral Edge. Either way, it's a very solid starter. However, it's not super new player-friendly. It's doable for SSF or casual-friendly players, but you might encounter some problems.
6. Hexblast Miner Trickster
If you want to get rich with low effort and no thinking, pick this build and sit in Sanctum. It's easy to play; you throw your mines, and it auto-targets and blows them up. It has huge damage but below-average defense. You probably don't want to do heavy mapping with this. Clear speed is okay, not terrible. It's fine to play maps, but it's best for Sanctum. Bossing is fine if you don't get hit, as you'll obliterate them, but they'll also obliterate you. You shouldn't start this build directly in SSF as you need some sources of curse on hit, like the axe Dread Ark. In trade, the items will be for sale very cheaply and early, so it shouldn't be a problem.
7. Earthshatter Berserker
If you want to bonk enemies, Earthshatter Berserker is the play. If you're not worried about dying occasionally, it has an okay defense, but it's not bulletproof. It has great damage, decent clear speed, and decent bossing. It's spamming a lot of buttons, but you can automate some of them. Early on, the less stuff you'll be able to automate nicely, so keep that in mind. An alternative to Berserker is Earthshatter Juggernaut.
8. Earthshatter Juggernaut
The damage is pretty lackluster early on Earthshatter Juggernaut. It's playable and was fine for me for a while, but it falls off once you hit T17 maps. You'll need major upgrades and a good axe. The clear speed is still decent on Juggernaut, but the bossing is bad due to the lack of damage. It's SSF/casual-friendly, but keep in mind your damage will be lacking once you hit T17. Before then, it's completely fine; make sure you keep up with your axe upgrades.
9. Retaliate Eviscerate Bleed Gladiator
If you want a different kind of playstyle, go Retaliate Gladiator and block everything that hits you, then throw it back at their face. The damage is decent, and the defense is great unless you get hit by a big attack and don't block. The clear speed is pretty good and is definitely SSF/casual-friendly. However, it is a weird playstyle, so if you're not okay with that, probably don't pick this build.
10. Retaliate Eviscerate Ignite Elementalist
If you want to be a bit of a hipster and don't want to do Bleed or Gladiator, you can go Evis Ignite Elementalist. I'm unfamiliar with this build, but the damage seems all right. It's definitely on the squishier side, as you are an Elementalist. Decent clear speed but is probably not great at bossing.
11. Obama Guardian (Blink Arrow/Mirror Arrow of Bombardment)
This build has a super smooth progression once you hit the normal lab. Before that, it's kind of scuffed for leveling, as minions aren't great. I don't like leveling as minions early; it feels bad to me. You might want to go to Rolling Magma early and then respec a few points once you get to the normal lab. It is smooth once you get the Transfigure gem and hit the normal lab. Your Radiance guy carries you hard. He was nerfed a few patches ago but is still very strong. Going SRS at this point should be fine. When you get the Transfigure gem, you've hit the pinnacle of smoothness. You'll have a great time transitioning into maps and clearing your atlas. Make sure you're getting better bows, but that's easy to do. Slap a few essences on, and you're good to go up to Tier 16. It's a smooth build with big damage, decent defense, clear speed, and bossing.
12. RF Chieftain
If you want a big map blaster with the bonus of never dying, RF Chieftain is for you. It's super tanky, and you walk around and blow stuff up. The damage is rather low, so that I wouldn't do anything besides map blasting. Bossing is bad, but you have a great defense and clear speed. You can eventually do a higher-end version of the build for big juice maps on a semi-budget.
Conclusion
And there you have it: the top 12 re-launch league starter builds for Path of Exile 3.25 Necro Settlers. Each of these builds offers unique strengths and playstyles, ensuring there's something for everyone. Whether you prefer high damage, strong defenses, or a balanced approach, these builds will help you confidently navigate the new league's challenges. Remember to experiment and find the build that best suits your playstyle.
