Arc Miner
Shadow/Saboteur
Starter Build

Updated for Patch 3.5

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: low

Saboteur became the second most popular Ascendancy class in the Incursion League and Patch 3.3. With the major changes to Passive Skills, Mine related Skill Gems, and significant buffs to Arc Spell - Arc Mines became one of the most cost-effective combination Path of Exile. Mines, on top of being extremely powerful, provide very budget-friendly and enjoyable gameplay mechanic. Even with the nerfs introduced in Patch 3.4 that slightly lower Mines' damage and actually introduce a downside to dual-wielding Shimmeron Daggers, this still remains one of the best Starter Builds in the game.

You may also want to check our other Path of Exile builds here: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

As a Miner character, you can plant mines, that once detonated, will trigger specific spells. Some Mines use a predefined spell, or as in our case, with the use of the Remote Mine Support Gem, you can use Remote Mines with any skill that can be used with Bows and Wands. In our case, this is Arc, which since the changes in Patch 3.3 deals insane amount of damage and provides amazing clear speed. For the defenses, this build uses moderately high Life and Blind mechanic (from Saboteur Ascendancy passives and Smoke Mines).

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Leveling with a Miner Saboteur is very easy. Mines deal very high damage even only with the Passives and Skill Gems, allowing you to focus on defensive rare gear and Movement Speed bonuses. Also, the main DPS setup of this build (Arc Mines) becomes available as soon as you reach level 12, which lets you level up all the required Support Gems. Out of all leveling items, we would suggest prioritizing Praxis rings and Tabula Rasa. Other than that, rest of the gear can be random rares you find during your campaign.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Early level Gems
	Freezing Pulse - decent projectile-based Spell which is available right after you start the game
	Fire Trap - used to deal some extra DoT damage

Arc Mines
	Arc - primary Spell in this build. With the use of Remote Mine Support, you can plant Mines that will cast Arc once detonated
	Remote Mine Support - allows you to plant Mines that will cast supported skills once detonated
	Minefield Support - greatly increases your DPS
	Trap and Mine Damage Support - increases the damage of your Mines

Utility Gems
	Clarity - increases your Mana Regenerated per second
	Assassin's Mark - recommended Curse for this build
	Flame Golem - increases your damage
	Herald of Ice - will add Cold Damage to your Spells and cause AoE explosions

Bandits:

We recommend helping Alira for the increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier, Mana Regen. and Elemental Resistances

Leveling Skill Trees:

32 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Trickery 2) Saboteur 3) Volatile Mines 4) Clever Construction

64 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Devastating Devices 2) Blast Cascade 3) Heart and Soul 4) Cruel Preparation

Recommended leveling items:

Lifesprig - very popular leveling Wand
(8-12)% increased Spell Damage +1 to Level of Socketed Spell Gems (20-28)% increased Spell Damage (5-8)% increased Cast Speed +(15-20) to maximum Life +(15-20) to maximum Mana Regenerate (6-8) Life over 1 second when you Cast a Spell

Praxis - during the leveling phase, the biggest issue you can come across is sustaining your Mana. This ring (or two of those) solve it entirely
+(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

Victario's Flight - this pair of boots provide a new Mana recovery mechanic, and greatly increased Movement Speed
+15 to Dexterity +15 to Intelligence (100-150)% increased Evasion Rating 15% increased Movement Speed (5-10)% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit 10% increased Movement Speed for you and nearby Allies

Tabula Rasa - one of the most popular leveling items in Path of Exile. If you have solved the Mana problems, Tabula Rasa will be the best pick for your Arc Mines setup
Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

114 Points Final 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 the Shadows

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

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Arc Mines (in Body Armour)
	Arc - the core skill in this build. It is triggered by detonating Mines
	Remote Mine Support - allows you to plant Remote Mines that will cast Arc once detonated
	Mine and Trap Damage support
	Minefield
	Controlled Destruction Support - greatly increases Spell Damage of supported skills
	Lightning Penetration Support - makes supported skills ignore some of the monsters' resistance to Lightning Damage

[UTILITY] Immortal Call and Vaal Clarity
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - auto-casts supported skills after a certain amount of damage is taken. Keep this Gem at level 1
	Immortal Call - grants brief immunity to Physical Damage. Keep this Gem at level 1 again
	Increased Duration Support - increased the duration of Immortal Call and Vaal Clarity spells
	Vaal Clarity - used for the regular Clarity Aura, as well as the Vaal effect which completely removes Mana Cost of Spells for a short duration

[MOBILITY] Flame Dash
	Flame Dash - the only movement skill that can be used with Wands. It also will grant Arcane Surge buff
	Faster Casting Support
	Arcane Surge Support - grants increased Spell Damage and Mana Regen. after you spend a certain amount of Mana on supported skills. Keep it at level 7 to gain the buff after each Dash

[UTILITY] Detonate Mines
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - once again keep it at level 1
	Detonate Mines - linked to CwDT will occasionally detonate your Mines

[UTILITY] Phase Run
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - upgrade it to level 9 and match Phase Run's level with it
	Phase Run - grants Phasing for a brief duration, which increases your Movement Speed and makes you less visible to enemies. Do not upgrade it above level 11

[UTILITY] Ice Golem
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - for the Golem setup, use CwDT at maximum level
	Ice Golem - increases your chance to Critically Strike

[UTILITY] Wrath
	Wrath - the best DPS Aura for this build

[CURSE] Assassin's Mark
	Assassin's Mark - recommended Curse for this build. On top of increasing your DPS, it generates Power Charges. Upgrade this Gem to level 11
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - linking the Curse to CwDT Gem allows the smoothest gameplay. Keep at level 8
	Increased Area of Effect Support - will slightly increase the effectiveness of this Curse setup
	Detonate Mines

5. Gear Setup

Now onto the most interesting part - gear selection. Below you will find all the required and recommended equipment for this Arc Miner build. Since we have decided to make a Starter build, mostly rare gear will be included, and harder to obtain unique items will be listed as optional. 

Also, if you are looking for cheap PoE Currency we would like to invite you to visit our Path of Exile marketplace section. You can access it by links on top of the page.

We can guarantee that the items listed by us will:

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

(Helmet) rare Helmet - with the highest defensive stats possible

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 29% Fire Resistance 29% Cold Resistance 29% Lightning Resistance

Helmet enchantment: 40% increased Arc Damage

(Body Armour) Tabula Rasa - should be more than enough for this build. Getting a corrupted piece which will increase the level of socketed Gems shouldn't be a problem either even with a low budget

3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden) Corrupted implicit modifiers: +2 to Level of Socketed Trap or Mine Gems +1 to Level of Socketed Gems

(Weapon) rare Crit./Spell Damage wand - should be much cheaper than Shimmeron wands and completely fine to start mapping. You can't use wand and dagger at the same time. Dual-wield either just Wands or Daggers

Min. requirements: 60% increased Lightning Spell Damage 80% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells 20 added Lightning Damage to Spells Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed

(Weapon) Divinarius - is a good budget option for early mapping and leveling phases

30% increased Global Critical Strike Chance (50-70)% increased Spell Damage (80-100)% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells +10 Life gained on Kill +5 Mana gained on Kill 10% increased Area of Effect

(Weapon) Shimmeron - is the best in the slot and the end-game option. With the changes to Shimmeron, we no longer recommend dual-wielding those

(35-39)% increased Spell Damage (30-40)% increased Spell Damage Adds (26-35) to (95-105) Lightning Damage to Spells +(6-10)% to Critical Strike Multiplier per Power Charge +0.3% Critical Strike Chance per Power Charge +2% Chance to Block Spell Damage per Power Charge Adds 3 to 9 Lightning Damage to Spells per Power Charge 200 Lightning Damage taken per second per Power Charge if your Skills have dealt a Critical Strike Recently

(Weapon) Saffell's Frame -a great option when using Shimmeron in your main-hand. It will reduce the Lightning Damage taken and grant moderate bonus Spell Damage

+4% to all Elemental Resistances 3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) (15-20)% Chance to Block Spell Damage (20-30)% increased Spell Damage +10% to all Elemental Resistances +4% to all maximum Resistances Cannot Block Attacks

(Boots) rare Boots - again, aim for high Movement Speed and defensive stats

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 29% Fire Resistance 29% Cold Resistance 29% Lightning Resistance 25% increased Movement Speed

Boot enchantment: Adds 1 to 160 Lightning Damage if you haven't Killed Recently 10% increased Movement Speed if you haven't been Hit Recently (clear speed)

(Belt) rare Stygian Vise  - with decent ES, Life and elemental resistances

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Chaos Resistances Reduces Flask Charges used

(Amulet) rare Amulet

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 40% Mana Regeneration rate 20% increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: All Elemental Resistances

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(Ring) rare Ring

Min. requirements: 65 maximum Life 10% increased Lightning Damage 29% Fire Resistance 29% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: maximum Mana increased Mana Regeneration Rate Attributes

(Ring) rare Ring

Min. requirements: 50 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 24% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 34% Lightning Resistance

(Gloves) rare Life/Res. gloves - will be the optimal choice if you are missing some Elemental Resistances and maximum Life

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances maximum Mana Spell Damage

(Gloves) Maligaro's Virtuosity - provide good DPS bonus and are rather cheap. You could also try getting a corrupted pair which increases Critical Hit Chance of Spells

+(20-30) to Dexterity 5% increased Attack Speed 50% increased Global Critical Strike Chance +(20-30)% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier (60-80)% increased Evasion Rating Corrupted implicit modifier: Spells have +(0.5–0.8)% to Critical Strike Chance

(Jewels) Abyss jewel - one Abyss Jewel with a chance to Hinder on Spell Hit is recommended

Recommended affixes: maximum Life added Lightning Damage to Spells chance to Hinder on Spell Hit Optional affixes: increased Critical Strike Multiplier with Lightning Skills

(Jewels) Abyss jewel - other jewels can focus on additional DPS affixes

Recommended affixes: maximum Life added Lightning Damage to Spells increased Critical Strike Multiplier with Lightning Skills Optional affixes: increased Critical Strike Multiplier if you have killed recently

(Jewels) Rare jewels - increased Life

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Elemental/Spell/Lightning Damage increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: Attributes

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - grants some extra DPS and Life Leech

+35% to Chaos Resistance 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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Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (bleeding immunity) Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Heat (freeze and chill immunity) Experimenter's Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline (increased Movement Speed) Experimenter's Diamond Flask of Grounding (increased Critical Hit Chance and Shock immunity)

We hope that you have enjoyed this kind of guide, and we are looking forward to your feedback. We would love to hear your suggestions about which build should we work on next. Let us know in the comments below. 

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