Glacial Cascade Miner
Shadow/Saboteur
Starter build

Updated for Patch 3.9

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: low

Glacial Cascade Spell has received a significant boost with the 3.0 content update. It is a Spell that creates several ice cascades in front of the player that shatter nearly instantly to deal area damage. It has a very similar effect to Ice Crash melee attack. Glacial Cascade is Physical Spell with 60% of its damaged converted to Cold. With the current upgrades to Saboteur Class and Miner archetype, it's becoming one of the best and most popular Starter builds in the game.

For the full list of our Path of Exile builds you can visit the following article: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

The idea behind Remote Miner builds is to plan Mines that cast linked Spells when detonated. Shadow Tree has a lot of major Mine nodes, and the entire Saboteur Ascendancy Class is built towards Mines and Trap damage. This provides extremely fun to play gameplay mechanics while allowing amazing damage with not much currency investments - most of the damage comes from the Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and inexpensive Tremor Rod unique staff. We have also received Skitterbots in Patch 3.8 which detonate your Mines and increase your Mine Damage.

0:06 Tier 16 Forge of the Phoenix 0:41 Tier 16 Pit of the Chimera 1:11 Tier 16 Maze of the Minotaur 1:32 Tier 17 Shaper This video was recorded on a level 91 Saboteur using Tremor Rod and Belly of the Beast in Patch 3.8

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

The leveling phase with a Miner build is rather easy. You can start any Spell available early on (for example Ethereal Knives) and use Fire Traps for some additional damage during your first levels. At level 8 you can get the Remote Mine Support gem and link it to the Spell chosen. This will greatly increase the damage, and you should be able to boost it even further by taking the Saboteur node a couple of levels later. From this point onward getting to level 28 when you can start using Glacial Cascade should be a piece of cake. After you reach level 40, it's advised to get the Tremor Rod. You can start off by using as low as 3 or 4 links on it; it will still be more than enough to carry you to Act 10.

Suggested leveling gem setups:

Levels 1-28 recommended setup
	Ethereal Knives - one of the first Spells available to the Shadow class. It is also a Physical Damage based Spell which will benefit from the suggested Passive Skill nodes
	Blastchain Mine Support - gives you the ability to cast remote Mines that will trigger Ethereal Knives. It provides the Detonate Spell as well
	Minefield Support - increases the maximum number of planted mines, increasing your overall DPS
	Trap and Mine Damage Support - grants additional DPS

Levels 28+
	Glacial Cascade - you can replace the Ethereal Knives gem with Glacial Cascade for some additional DPS
	Increased Area of Effect Support - great for leveling if you are going to use the Glacial Cascade. For the remaining Gems, just use what we have listed above

Utility Gems
	Hatred - the recommended Aura for this build which will greatly increase your Ethereal Knives/Glacial Cascade damage
	Clarity - increases your Mana Regeneration Rate which is very important for this build
	Flame Dash - the recommended Movement Skill for this build
	Summon Stone Golem - I have personally found Stone Golem to be the best addition during leveling. It increases your Life Regeneration Rate

Bandits:

We recommend helping Alira for increased Mana Regeneration Rate, Crit. Multiplier and Resistances. Killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points is also a valid option

Leveling Skill Trees:

34 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Saboteur 2) Blood Siphon 3) Assassination 4) Clever Construction and High Explosives 

64 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Volatile Mines 2) Successive Detonations 3) Blood Drinkers 4) Will of Blades

Recommended leveling items:

Belt of the Deceiver - great belt for both leveling (and possibly mid Tier Maps too). It grants extra Physical damage, Life, and Resistances
+(25-35) to Strength (15-25)% increased Physical Damage You take 30% reduced Extra Damage from Critical Strikes +(30-40) to maximum Life +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances Nearby Enemies are Intimidated

Praxis - great leveling Ring which will help you with Mana Management when spamming your Mines
+(20-25) to maximum Mana +(30-60) to maximum Mana (3-6) Mana Regenerated per second -(8-4) to Mana Cost of Skills 8% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit

The Princess - this item will grant incredible DPS boost to both Ethereal Knives and Glacial Cascade Spells
40% increased Accuracy Rating (20-50)% increased Physical Damage Adds (3-4) to (5-8) Physical Damage 15% increased Attack Speed Gain (25-30)% of Physical Damage as Extra Cold Damage 10% increased Damage taken from Skeletons 10% increased Damage taken from Ghosts

Hrimsorrow - another excellent leveling item that can boost your Spell DPS and convert Physical Damage to Cold
+(20-30) to Strength Adds (5-7) to (13-15) Cold Damage to Spells and Attacks +(40-50) to Evasion Rating +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance 50% of Physical Damage Converted to Cold Damage Reflects 10 Cold Damage to Melee Attackers

Le Heup of All - this Ring is extremely well-round for leveling. Provides everything except for added Life. Good rolled ones can be quite expensive though early in a League
Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks (10-30)% increased Damage +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

114 Points Skill Tree
114 Points Path of Building(PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Bomb Specialist
2. Demolitions Specialist
3. Pyromaniac
4. Born in Shadows

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of the Brine King You cannot be Stunned if you've been Stunned or Blocked a Stunning Hit in the past 2 seconds

Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%

5. Final gems links

[DPS] Glacial Cascade Remote Mines (socketed in Tremor Rod)
	Glacial Cascade - your main DPS Spell. Its' damage can be increased by the following affixes: Increased Physical damage Increased Elemental damage Increased Area damage Increased Cold damage
	Mine and Trap Damage Support - a great DPS Support Gem
	Swift Assembly Support - allows you to throw more Mines with each cast but without reducing their damage
	Elemental Focus Support - greatly increases Elemental Damage dealt by Supported Skills but makes it unable to inflict Elemental Ailments
	Controlled Destruction Support - greatly increases Glacial Cascade's DPS
	Concentrated Effect Support - greatly increases your DPS but reduces the Area of Effect
	Blastchain Mine Support - this is the core Support Gem of the entire build. A level 10 of this Gem is granted by the Tremor Rod Unique Staff

[AURA] Hatred in Essence Worm
	Hatred - the best DPS aura for this build. We are using Essence Worm so that no extra mana is reserved and you have no problems managing it with the Mind over Matter passive

[UTILITY] Various utility Gems (single sockets)
	Vaal Clarity - increases your Mana Regeneration Rate, and the Vaal part of this skill makes your Spells Cost no Mana for a short duration
	Summon Skitterbots - summons Skitterbots that Shock/Chill nearby enemies, detonate your Mines, and increase your Mine Damage
	Summon Lightning Golem - Lightning Golem is my personal preference as it increases your Cast and Attack Speed. You can also use Stone Golem for Life Regen, or Ice Golem for some extra Crit. Chance

[MOBILITY] Flame Dash
	Flame Dash - your main Mobility Spell. It will also grant you Arcane Surge buff with each cast
	Faster Casting Support - grants faster casting of Flame Dash
	Arcane Surge Support - grants a buff that increases their Spell Damage and Mana Regeneration Rate. Always make sure what is your current Flame Dash's Mana Cost and upgrade Arcane Surge with accordance to it - you have to make sure to gain the buffs with every Flame Dash cast
	Increased Duration Support - used mainly to increase Flame Dash's Mana Cost and to increase Arcane Surge's duration

[UTILITY] Frost Bomb setup
	Frost Bomb - is an AoE/Duration Spell that applies Cold Exposure to affected enemies reducing their Cold Resistance
	Faster Casting Support - increases the Cast Speed of Frost Bomb
	Increased Area of Effect Support - increases the radius of Frost Bomb
	Increased Duration Support

[UTILITY] Detonate Mines
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - use at level 1 for most frequent casts
	Detonate Mines  - linked with CwDT Support Gem will periodically help you detonate your Mines

[UTILITY] Steelskin and Enfeeble
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will automatically cast Supported Spells when you take a certain amount of damage. Use a level 14 of this Gem
	Steelskin - the best Guard Skill for this build which absorbs flat amount of damage. Use the Gem at level 18
	Enfeeble - the recommended Curse for this build which reduces your chance to be Hit by affected enemies, and their damage. Use this Gem at level 17
	Increased Duration Support

5. Gear Setup

Our Glacial Cascade Miner is a League Starter build which makes it very budget-friendly. Tremor Rod is the only required unique that doesn't cost much if you want to start off with just three or four links on it (when you reach level 40 it is more than enough). This build also has an end-game variation with two Shaped Daggers - let us know if you would like to find out more about it in the comments below!

Using this opportunity, we would like to invite you to visit our PoE Currency Marketplace where you can buy cheap Orbs from other Path of Exile players. Link to the Market section can be found on top of this page.

The recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life/Mana to start mapping successfully

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - simply aim for high defensive stats and possibly some extra Attributes

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 50% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes Attributes (Dexterity/Intelligence)

Helmet enchantment: 40% increased Glacial Cascade Damage

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - just anything with some Life and Elemental Resistances will do just fine here

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 35% Fire Resistance 35% Lightning Resistance 35% Cold Resistance

(Body Armour) Carcass Jack - solid armor for this build which greatly increases your AoE and DPS

(120-150)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield +(50-70) to maximum Life +(9-12)% to all Elemental Resistances (40-50)% increased Area of Effect (40-50)% increased Area Damage Extra gore

(Weapon) Tremor Rod - an amazing Staff for this build. It's a perfect leveling weapon and also, grants free the seventh link later on for massive DPS bonus

+18% Chance to Block Attack Damage while wielding a Staff +2 to Level of Socketed Spell Gems Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 10 Blastchain Mine (40-60)% increased Spell Damage (15-20)% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold Mines can be Detonated an additional time

(Boots) Rare Boots - preferably two Elemental Resistances, Dexterity, Life, and Movement Speed bonuses

Min. requirements: 65 maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 30% Cold Resistance 25% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Dexterity

Boot enchantment: Adds 45 to 68 Cold Damage if you've been Hit Recently Regenerate 2% of Life per second if you were Hit Recently

(Belt) Rare Belt - with the highest bonus Life you can afford

Min. requirements: 100 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - grab one with the highest bonuses out of all selected stats. You can skip Elemental Resistances as they should be capped with the other equipment

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 25% Global Critical Strike Multiplier 45 Strength 45 Dexterity

(Ring) Rare Ring - try to cap your Resistances and get some extra Life

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 50 maximum Mana 70% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes Cold/Elemental Damage

(Ring) Essence Worm - use it to socket your Hatred Aura. It will not reserve any Mana

Has 1 Socket +2 to Level of Socketed Aura Gems Socketed Gems Reserve No Mana 40% increased Mana Reserved

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - which should cap your Resistances

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 35% Fire Resistance 35% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Attributes

(Jewel) The Long Winter - Glacial Cascade threshold Jewels. They allow 100% damage conversion to Cold and maximize your DPS

(10-15)% increased Cold Damage With 40 Intelligence in Radius, Glacial Cascade has an additional Burst With 40 Intelligence in Radius, 20% of Glacial Cascade Physical Damage Converted to Cold Damage

(Jewels) Rare Jewels - Life is the most important bonus on all the Jewels and you should try to get at least one damage amplifying mod

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Generic/Spell/Cold/Elemental/Area Damage Optional affixes: increased All Elemental Resistances increased Global Critical Strike Chance increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - pretty much the best offensive Flask for this build. Also grants amazing Life Leech bonus during Flask Effect, and it's very cheap

2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect Gain (15-20)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect Gain (10-15)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect

(Flask) Lavianga's Spirit - great utility flask. Until you can afford it replace it with any Mana flask

(30-50)% increased Amount Recovered 100% increased Recovery Speed Your Skills have no Mana Cost during Flask effect

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (Bleeding immunity) Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Heat (Freeze immunity) Ample Diamond Flask of Warding (Curse immunity)

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.