Quick Answer (Season 5, Week 3, Patch 1.5.2): Nine builds sit in S tier on all three of Maxroll's Season 5 lists (endgame, bossing and speed farming): Shadow Cascade Bladedancer, Rip Blood Lich, Flay Mana Lich, Stygian Coal Lich, Shield Throw Time Rot Void Knight, Erasing Strike Void Knight, Static Orb Sorcerer, Flame Reave Spellblade and Ballista Falconer. The endgame list was last updated on October 18, 2026 and ranks 63 builds: 17 S, 19 A, 19 B and 8 C. Acolyte has the most S tier builds (5). Forge Guard has none above B. Necromancer is the most played mastery this season according to Eleventh Hour Games' own stats, as summarised on r/LastEpoch.
This Last Epoch tier list covers Season 5: Rage of the Frostborn as it stands in Week 3, on Patch 1.5.2 (released October 7, 2026) plus Hotfix 1.5.2.1 (October 9, 2026), per the official patch notes forum. Season 5 launched on October 1, 2026. Tier lists in an ARPG go stale fast, so every ranking below is dated and sourced, and this page will be refreshed in place as the season moves.
Here is what the guide covers:
- The full Week 3 endgame tier list, all 63 builds
- How each S and A tier build performs in bossing and speed farming
- The 9 builds that are S tier on every list
- Which masteries are strongest, and which are being left behind
- What players are actually playing, per Eleventh Hour Games' Season 5 stats
- What Patch 1.5.2 changed that matters for your build choice
- A quick decision guide for picking your build
How Is This Season 5 Tier List Ranked?
The rankings come from Maxroll's three Season 5 tier lists, all three last updated on October 18, 2026. Each one asks a different question:
- Endgame tier list (updated October 18, 2026, "Season 5, Week 3"): overall performance against high-end content, weighing damage, defence, speed, gear requirements and ease of play
- Bossing tier list: ranked by how long a build takes to defeat Uber Aberroth
- Speed farming tier list: ranked by how fast a build grinds gear and experience in the Monolith
Maxroll is explicit that a low tier is not a dead build: "All builds on Maxroll can push high Corruption, but some are better than others. Once a build no longer meets our standards, it gets archived. All builds displayed here are viable options." Its endgame guides also assume a Level 80 character, so these rankings describe a finished build, not a fresh campaign character.
Week 3 added two new builds to the endgame list: Tornado Werebear Druid (straight into A tier, and S tier for bossing) and Tornado Swarmblade Druid (B tier).
What Are the S Tier Builds in Last Epoch Season 5?
Seventeen builds hold S tier on the Week 3 endgame list. The bossing and speed farming columns show where each one lands on the other two lists.
| Build | Mastery | Endgame | Bossing | Speed farming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Cascade | Bladedancer | S | S | S |
| Rip Blood | Lich | S | S | S |
| Flay Mana | Lich | S | S | S |
| Stygian Coal | Lich | S | S | S |
| Shield Throw Time Rot | Void Knight | S | S | S |
| Erasing Strike | Void Knight | S | S | S |
| Static Orb | Sorcerer | S | S | S |
| Flame Reave | Spellblade | S | S | S |
| Ballista (ZHP) | Falconer | S | S | S |
| Warpath | Void Knight | S | A | S |
| Tornado | Shaman | S | A | S |
| Shuriken | Marksman | S | A | S |
| Lightning Blast | Runemaster | S | S | A |
| Anurok Frogs | Beastmaster | S | A | A |
| Storm Crows | Beastmaster | S | S | B |
| Blood Spectre | Necromancer | S | S | B |
| Skeleton | Necromancer | S | S | B |
The 9 triple-S builds at the top of that table are the safest picks of the season: no weak content type, so you never need a second character to cover a gap. We have full Season 5 guides for three of them: the Rip Blood Lich build, the Void Knight build (Time Rot and Erasing Strike), and the Ballista Falconer build.
The bosser-only S tiers. Storm Crows Beastmaster, Blood Spectre Necromancer and Skeleton Necromancer are S tier for endgame and bossing but only B tier for speed farming. They kill Uber Aberroth fast and push Corruption well, but clear Monolith echoes slower. If you farm loot more than you push bosses, that gap matters.
Which Builds Are A Tier in Season 5?
Nineteen builds sit in A tier on the endgame list. Several of them are S tier in one specific job, which makes them strong second characters.
| Build | Mastery | Endgame | Bossing | Speed farming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado Werebear (new Week 3) | Druid | A | S | A |
| Rive | Void Knight | A | S | A |
| Shatter Strike | Spellblade | A | S | B |
| Bladestorm | Bladedancer | A | A | S |
| Shadow Rend | Bladedancer | A | A | S |
| Harvest Flay | Lich | A | A | S |
| Fire Aura | Spellblade | A | A | A |
| Radiant Lance | Paladin | A | A | A |
| Shatter Totem Werebear | Druid | A | A | A |
| Sabertooth | Beastmaster | A | A | B |
| Judgement Aura | Paladin | A | A | B |
| Abomination | Necromancer | A | A | B |
| Bear | Beastmaster | A | A | C |
| Zombie | Warlock | A | B | A |
| Chaos Bolts | Lich | A | B | A |
| Bleed Hammerdin | Paladin | A | B | A |
| Hydrahedron | Runemaster | A | B | A |
| Totem | Shaman | A | B | A |
| Judgement | Paladin | A | C | C |
Radiant Lance, the new Season 5 Paladin skill, is the most balanced A tier pick: A on all three lists. Our Radiant Lance Paladin guide covers the Cloudless Sky staff version and the mana loop it needs.
What Are the B and C Tier Builds?
These builds work, but they ask more from your gear or your hands for the same result.
B tier (19 builds): Heartseeker Marksman, Melee Avalanche Shaman, Meteor Sorcerer, Profane Veil Warlock, Multistrike Smite Void Knight, Crit Hammerdin Paladin, Javelin Paladin, Shield Throw Paladin, Tornado Swarmblade Druid (new in Week 3), Flame Whip Warlock, Reflect Shaman, Multistrike Forge Guard, Upheaval Beastmaster, Swipe Beastmaster, Ignite Radiant Lance Paladin, Radiant Lance Void Knight, Abyssal Echoes Void Knight, Shield Bash Forge Guard and Forged Weapons Forge Guard.
C tier (8 builds): Spirit Thorns Beastmaster, Forge Strike Forge Guard, Multishot Marksman, Glacier Sorcerer, Raptor Beastmaster, Wraith Necromancer, Skeleton Mage Necromancer and Shield Rush Forge Guard.
Two B tier builds stand out on the other lists. Profane Veil Warlock is only B for endgame but S tier for bossing. Meteor Sorcerer is B for endgame but A for both bossing and speed farming. Both are better than their endgame tier suggests if you only care about one job.
Which Mastery Is Strongest in Season 5?
Count the S tier builds on the endgame list by class and the picture is clear.
| Class | S tier builds | Masteries with an S tier build |
|---|---|---|
| Acolyte | 5 | Lich (3), Necromancer (2) |
| Rogue | 3 | Bladedancer, Falconer, Marksman |
| Sentinel | 3 | Void Knight (3) |
| Mage | 3 | Sorcerer, Spellblade, Runemaster |
| Primalist | 3 | Beastmaster (2), Shaman |
Three takeaways:
- Lich and Void Knight are the two deepest masteries. Each has three S tier builds, so you can respec within the mastery if one build gets nerfed.
- Paladin has no S tier build despite getting Radiant Lance, the headline Season 5 skill. Its best builds (Radiant Lance, Judgement Aura, Bleed Hammerdin, Judgement) all land in A.
- Forge Guard is the weakest mastery this season. It has no build above B on the endgame list: Multistrike, Shield Bash and Forged Weapons are B, while Forge Strike and Shield Rush are C. That matches the mood in the community, where one player in the Season 5 stats thread simply asked: "Where are all of my Forge Guards at!?"
What Are Players Actually Playing in Season 5?
Tier lists say what is strong. Play rates say what people chose. Eleventh Hour Games posted Season 5 character stats on its official X account covering data since the October 1 launch, and an r/LastEpoch thread summarised them on October 19, 2026:
- Necromancer is the most played mastery of Season 5
- Spellblade and Void Knight follow close behind
- Per the thread's summary, those three masteries "together account for 56.9% of all characters created"
- On the uniques side, the thread singles out Hollow Finger and Unbroken Legion, both core to skeleton builds
The data lines up with the tier list better than usual. Necromancer has two S tier builds (Blood Spectre and Skeleton), Void Knight has three, and Spellblade has Flame Reave in triple S. The thread's view is that bleed skeleton builds dominate Necromancer on the ladders and that Flame Reave is probably the most played Spellblade build.
Players in the thread were more cautious about why minions are so popular. Replying about Unbroken Legion, one comment argued that "90% of its popularity is due to shattering rage being busted, not through any inherent merit of the build itself", adding that it "would have mediocre clear at best without the ring." Another expected bleed and poison chances on Unbroken Legion minions to be toned down. Neither is confirmed by EHG, but if you are rolling a skeleton Necromancer now, keep in mind the build depends heavily on one or two items.
What this means for you: the three most played masteries are also the most crowded on the Bazaar. Expect popular build gear, Hollow Finger and Unbroken Legion above all, to cost more gold than off-meta uniques while demand stays this concentrated.
What Did Patch 1.5.2 Change for the Tier List?
Patch 1.5.2 (October 7, 2026) was mostly bug fixes, but a few changes touch build choice. From the official 1.5.2 notes:
- Lightning Blast "will no longer chain to breakable objects, unless the total number of chains exceeds the number of non-breakable targets." Lightning Blast Runemaster still holds S tier for endgame and bossing in Week 3 and is A tier for speed farming.
- Revitalizing Rage, a Rage of Morditas Bloodrage buff, no longer applies to characters with effects that grant ward per missing health.
- Summon Wraiths now spawns near the player instead of at the cursor by default.
- Dreamslash with Nightmare Steel: shadows copying Dreamslash now aim at your cursor rather than the end point of your own Dreamslash.
- Merchant's Guild: "The minimum amount for automatic price lowering in the Bazaar is now 1g, down from 500g."
Hotfix 1.5.2.1 (October 9, 2026) followed with fixes for players unable to climb the stairs in Champion's Gate, Summon Tide Elemental visual effects hiding enemy attack indicators, and a bug where corrupting Unsated Rage, Frostbound Solitude or Withstand the Elements could strip the item's variant modifier. If you lost a variant before October 9, that was the bug, not bad luck.
How Do You Pick the Right Build From This Tier List?
Tier alone is a bad way to choose. Use this decision guide:
- You want one character that does everything: pick from the 9 triple-S builds. If you want room to respec later, Lich and Void Knight each have three S tier builds to move between.
- You mostly farm loot and Corruption: favour speed-farming S tiers such as Tornado Shaman, Warpath Void Knight, Bladestorm Bladedancer, Shadow Rend Bladedancer or Harvest Flay Lich. Our Tide Elemental Shaman guide covers the Tornado setup.
- You want to kill Uber Aberroth: take a bossing S tier, including Tornado Werebear Druid, Rive Void Knight, Shatter Strike Spellblade or Profane Veil Warlock if you prefer something off the beaten path.
- You play Hardcore: avoid zero-health setups like the ZHP Ballista Falconer unless you take its Hardcore variant, and look at sturdier Sentinel builds first.
- You are new to Last Epoch: start with our Season 5 starter build guide, then grow into an endgame build from this list once you hit Level 80.
One rule matters more than any tier: Maxroll's endgame rankings assume a Level 80 character with the planner gear. A triple-S build at Level 55 in rares will feel worse than a well-geared B tier. Getting through the campaign and into Empowered Monolith is the real gate, and that is where our Season 5 leveling guide helps.
Want to play the S tier build instead of grinding toward it? Skip the campaign, buy the uniques your build needs, and open the Bazaar on day one.
- Last Epoch Leveling — campaign and Corruption push so your build reaches Level 80 and Empowered Monolith
- Last Epoch Gold — Bazaar buying power for crowded-meta uniques like Hollow Finger and Unbroken Legion
- Last Epoch Merchant's Guild — faction rank and Bazaar access to buy and sell build gear
FAQ
What is the best class in Last Epoch Season 5? By S tier count, Acolyte: it has five S tier endgame builds across Lich (Rip Blood, Flay Mana, Stygian Coal) and Necromancer (Blood Spectre, Skeleton) on Maxroll's Week 3 list, updated October 18, 2026. For a single mastery, Lich and Void Knight are tied with three S tier builds each.
What is the most played mastery in Last Epoch Season 5? Necromancer. Eleventh Hour Games' Season 5 stats, covering data since October 1, 2026, put Necromancer first, with Spellblade and Void Knight close behind. Per the community summary, the three together make up 56.9% of characters created.
Which builds are S tier on every Season 5 tier list? Nine: Shadow Cascade Bladedancer, Rip Blood Lich, Flay Mana Lich, Stygian Coal Lich, Shield Throw Time Rot Void Knight, Erasing Strike Void Knight, Static Orb Sorcerer, Flame Reave Spellblade and Ballista Falconer. Each is S for endgame, bossing and speed farming as of Week 3.
Is Forge Guard bad in Season 5? It is the weakest mastery on the current list, with no build above B tier for endgame. Every Maxroll build is still described as viable, so Forge Guard works, but it needs more gear to match S tier masteries.
Is Radiant Lance Paladin good in Season 5? Yes, it is a solid A tier pick. Radiant Lance Paladin is A tier for endgame, bossing and speed farming. The Ignite Radiant Lance Paladin and Radiant Lance Void Knight variants sit lower, in B tier.
How often does the Last Epoch tier list change? Maxroll has revised it throughout Season 5: a pre-patch version on September 28, then Week 1 (October 5) and Week 3 (October 18) updates; Week 3 added Tornado Werebear Druid and Tornado Swarmblade Druid. Patches can move builds at any time, so check the patch number and date on any tier list before you commit. This page reflects Patch 1.5.2 and Hotfix 1.5.2.1.
