Updated for Patch 3.9
The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo
Estimated budget: low
Guide notes |
December 14, 2019 -Updated for Patch 3.9 |
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
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.
This video was recorded on a level 91 Saboteur using Tremor Rod and Belly of the Beast in Patch 3.8 |
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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 | |
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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 |
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Blastchain Mine Support - gives you the ability to cast remote Mines that will trigger Ethereal Knives. It provides the Detonate Spell as well |
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Minefield Support - increases the maximum number of planted mines, increasing your overall DPS |
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Trap and Mine Damage Support - grants additional DPS |
Levels 28+ | |
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Glacial Cascade - you can replace the Ethereal Knives gem with Glacial Cascade for some additional DPS |
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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 | |
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Hatred - the recommended Aura for this build which will greatly increase your Ethereal Knives/Glacial Cascade damage |
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Clarity - increases your Mana Regeneration Rate which is very important for this build |
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Flame Dash - the recommended Movement Skill for this build |
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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:
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+(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 |
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+(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 |
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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 |
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+(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 |
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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 |
Final Skill Tree:
114 Points Skill Tree
114 Points Path of Building(PoB) link
Ascendancy points:
Preferably in that order:
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%
[DPS] Glacial Cascade Remote Mines (socketed in Tremor Rod) |
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Glacial Cascade - your main DPS Spell. Its' damage can be increased by the following affixes:
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Mine and Trap Damage Support - a great DPS Support Gem |
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Swift Assembly Support - allows you to throw more Mines with each cast but without reducing their damage |
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Elemental Focus Support - greatly increases Elemental Damage dealt by Supported Skills but makes it unable to inflict Elemental Ailments |
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Controlled Destruction Support - greatly increases Glacial Cascade's DPS |
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Concentrated Effect Support - greatly increases your DPS but reduces the Area of Effect |
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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 | |
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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) |
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Vaal Clarity - increases your Mana Regeneration Rate, and the Vaal part of this skill makes your Spells Cost no Mana for a short duration |
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Summon Skitterbots - summons Skitterbots that Shock/Chill nearby enemies, detonate your Mines, and increase your Mine Damage |
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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 | |
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Flame Dash - your main Mobility Spell. It will also grant you Arcane Surge buff with each cast |
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Faster Casting Support - grants faster casting of Flame Dash |
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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 |
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Increased Duration Support - used mainly to increase Flame Dash's Mana Cost and to increase Arcane Surge's duration |
[UTILITY] Frost Bomb setup | |
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Frost Bomb - is an AoE/Duration Spell that applies Cold Exposure to affected enemies reducing their Cold Resistance |
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Faster Casting Support - increases the Cast Speed of Frost Bomb |
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Increased Area of Effect Support - increases the radius of Frost Bomb |
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Increased Duration Support |
[UTILITY] Detonate Mines | |
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Cast when Damage Taken Support - use at level 1 for most frequent casts |
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Detonate Mines - linked with CwDT Support Gem will periodically help you detonate your Mines |
[UTILITY] Steelskin and Enfeeble | |
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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 |
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Steelskin - the best Guard Skill for this build which absorbs flat amount of damage. Use the Gem at level 18 |
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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 |
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Increased Duration Support |
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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:
Stat priorities on items:
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Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 50% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes Attributes (Dexterity/Intelligence) |
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Helmet enchantment: 40% increased Glacial Cascade Damage |
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Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 35% Fire Resistance 35% Lightning Resistance 35% Cold Resistance |
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(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 |
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+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 |
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Min. requirements: 65 maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 30% Cold Resistance 25% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Dexterity |
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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 |
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Min. requirements: 100 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance |
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Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 25% Global Critical Strike Multiplier 45 Strength 45 Dexterity |
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Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 50 maximum Mana 70% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes Cold/Elemental Damage |
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Has 1 Socket +2 to Level of Socketed Aura Gems Socketed Gems Reserve No Mana 40% increased Mana Reserved |
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Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 35% Fire Resistance 35% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Attributes |
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(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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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(30-50)% increased Amount Recovered 100% increased Recovery Speed Your Skills have no Mana Cost during Flask effect |
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Other suggested Flasks:
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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.