Updated for Patch 3.17
The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo
Guide notes | |||
February 09, 2022 -Updated for Patch 3.17 |
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Build overview | |||
Tags: [MINE] [ELEMENTAL] [LIFE] [STARTER] | |||
Budget: Defenses: |
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Boss DPS: AoE: |
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Glacial Cascade Spell is a Spell that creates several ice cascades in front of the player that shatters nearly instantly to deal area damage. It has a very similar effect to the Ice Crash melee attack. Glacial Cascade is a Physical Spell with 100% of its damage 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. At the same time, this build offers solid defenses based on Dodge, Life Regeneration, and Wind Dancer (as of the newest 3.17 version).
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 detonates your Mines and increases your Mine Damage.
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PROS |
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CONS |
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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:
36 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Blood Siphon 2) Saboteur 3) Blast Waves 4) Devastating Devices -> Explosives Elements
65 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Successive Detonations 2) Blood Drinkers 3) Throatseeker 4) Soul Thief 5) Influence 6) Herbalism
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:
117 Points Skill Tree
117 Points Path of Building(PoB) link
Ascendancy points:
Preferably in that order:
Pantheon:
Major God: Soul of Lunaris 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% increased Movement Speed for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%
Minor God: Soul of Garukhan +5% chance to Evade Attack Hits if you've taken a Savage Hit Recently
[DPS] Glacial Cascade Remote Mines setup (socketed in Tremor Rod) |
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Glacial Cascade - your main DPS Spell that deals massive AoE damage. It has its base Physical Damage fully converted to Cold. Its' damage can be increased by the following affixes:
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Mine and Trap Damage Support - a great DPS Support Gem for Mines and Traps |
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Hypothermia Support - greatly increases the damage you deal against chilled enemies |
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Charged Mines Support - increases Mine Throwing Speed and Critical Strike Chance |
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Swift Assembly Support - you have a small chance to throw additional Mines per throw, and increased Mine Throwing Speed |
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Inspiration Support - increases Elemental Damage, Critical Strike Chance, and reduces the Mana Cost of your GC Mines |
provided by Tremor Rod | |
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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 |
[UTILITY] Auras | |
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Hatred - the best DPS aura for this build. It adds a ton of extra Cold Damage directly from its' bonus and via extra Damage Conversion |
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Summon Skitterbots - summons two Minions that Chill and Shock nearby enemies. They also help you detonate Mines and increase your Mine Damage |
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Bonechill Support - increases the effect of your Skitterbot's Chilling Aura, and enemies affected by it will take increased Cold Damage |
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Enlighten Support - reduces the amount of Mana Reserved by linked Spells, making it easier to manage your Mana with all the Mines planted |
[UTILITY] Mobility Skill | |
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Dash - recommended Movement Skill for this build. You can also use Flame Dash, which's up to your personal preference |
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Second Wind Support - adds an extra Dash Charge, and increases its' cooldown recovery speed |
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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 Dash's Mana Cost and upgrade Arcane Surge in accordance with it - in our setup, we had Arcane Surge on level 5 |
[UTILITY] Frost Bomb/Curse 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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Arcanist Brand - creates a Brand that will use linked Spell, in this case, Frost Bomb and Frostbite |
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Assassin's Mark - the best Curse for this build which increases your chance to Critically Hit enemies |
[UTILITY] Immortal Call/Vaal RF setup | |
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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 1 CwDT Gem for most frequent casts |
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Immortal Call - the best Guard Skill for this build which grants a brief, but very potent defensive buff |
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Vaal Righteous Fire - you should only use the Vaal part of this Spell to increase your Spell Damage, but it's advised to link it here so that it benefits from the Increased Duration as well |
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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 many other variations (both Budget and end-game ones) which include, among others, a Low-Life build and Wand + Shield version. Let us know if you would like to have another version added here as well!
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. Links to the Market section can be found at the top of this page.
The recommended items will:
Stat priorities on items:
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Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 50% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes Nearby enemies take #% Increased Cold Damage Maximum Mana |
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Helmet enchantment: 40% increased Glacial Cascade Damage Glacial Cascade gains 10% of Physical Damage as Extra Cold Damage |
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Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life +1% to Spell Critical Strike Chance Optional affixes: increased Maximum Life Elemental Resistances You can apply an additional Curse |
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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 +60% to Total Elemental Resistances 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: +90 maximum Life +70% to Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: increased Damage Armour increased Maximum Life |
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Min. requirements: +60 Maximum Life +70% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: 25% Global Critical Strike Multiplier Attributes increased Area of Effect |
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Recommended Anointments: Counterweight |
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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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(15-25)% increased Elemental Damage 20% chance to Trigger Level 20 Summon Volatile Anomaly on Kill Adds (13-18) to (50-56) Lightning Damage to Spells (6-10)% increased maximum Energy Shield (6-10)% increased maximum Life (60-80)% increased Spell Damage if your other Ring is an Elder Item Cannot be Stunned by Spells if your other Ring is a Shaper Item |
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Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 70% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Dexterity Spell Damage Increased Critical Strike Chance against Shocked enemies |
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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: maximum Life Generic/Spell/Cold/Area Damage Optional affixes: Critical Strike Multiplier Critical Strike Chance |
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(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> Recommended Aura modifiers: +(1.2-1.8)% to Critical Strike Chance while affected by Hatred Adds (58-70) to (88-104) Cold Damage while affected by Hatred Damage Penetrates (10-15)% Cold Resistance while affected by Hatred (40-60)% increased Cold Damage while affected by Hatred |
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+35% to Chaos Resistance 2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect Gain (5-8)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect Gain (5-8)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect |
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+50% to Cold Resistance 20% less Cold Damage taken (10-15)% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Cold Damage during Flask effect Gain (10-15)% of Physical Damage as Extra Cold Damage during effect 30% chance to Avoid being Chilled during Flask effect 30% chance to Avoid being Frozen 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.
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