Hexblast Miner
Saboteur Build

Updated for Patch 3.20

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Hexblast is a one-of-a-kind Spell in the Path of Exile that has many unique interactions. It is strictly associated with the Hexes, hence the name. It deals very high Damage on its own, but if it's targeted against Hexed enemies, it will deal even more damage, and with much better AoE. Usually, Elemental Skills rely on lowering foe's Resistances through various ways, such as Hexes or Exposure effects, while Chaos Skills are mostly limited to Wither debuff and a single Despair Curse. Hexblast however, can take the best of the two worlds, as it will choose the lowest Resistance of the struck enemy, while also being affected by the Damage amplification from Wither. But that's not all! It can also apply Ignite, Freeze, and Shock with its Chaos Damage. Keep in mind that just because a Skill can inflict an Elemental Ailment, it doesn't necessarily mean it will do so, as you also need a Chance to apply a specific Ailment. Fortunately, Critical Strikes will always apply them, so you don't need to worry about it. Hexblast needs to consume a Hex to deal increased Damage, so you will need a source of Curse on Hit to constantly reapply Hex for the next Hit. Profane Proxy and its Hex Aura are used to ensure even the first Hit is amplified. 

However, it's not a perfect Skill and it also has some flaws. One of the biggest problems is its Cast Time, as it's the slowest Spell in the entire game. It also has a very low base Critical Strike Chance. Fortunately, there are a few countermeasures you can take to make the most of this Skill. One such method is to ignore entirely the Cast Time and use Mines instead. Mine Throwing Speed is unified for all Mines, and there are plenty of ways to efficiently improve it to very high values. Playing as a Miner has many advantages, such as the ability to preload your Damage in Boss encounters, generally strong Damage scaling opportunities, or even auto-targeting. It is a vastly different gameplay style than regular Spell Casting, and we strongly encourage you to try it out at least once! 
To solve the second problem of this Skill we simply use the Sandstorm Visage Unique Helmet. It's a new addition to the game, commonly available from the final Boss of the Forbidden Sanctum. It sets your Spells Critical Strike Chance to the base Critical Chance of your Weapon, which in the case of Wands, is usually very high.  

The maximum Life pool achievable is quite low, but it doesn't mean it's a squishy Build. Thanks to the combination of Grace, Determination, and the Skin of the Lords, you will be very safe during regular encounters. As a Saboteur, you will have access to a very powerful Blind Aura, which also lowers all the Damage dealt by Blinded enemies. On top of that, you will also be constantly Chilling and Freezing your enemies, making them very slow or even unable to attack you. 

At its core, it is a quite cheap and accessible Build, it uses a lot of Unique Items and some Rares to cap Elemental Resistances and Attribute Requirements. It is however a bit more than a League starter, and diving deep into min-max territory can be expensive. 

You can also check our other Path of Exile builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

Mines are often referred to being a 2 button gameplay, but it's not really the case. By binding Detonate Mines to your Left Click, you will automatically activate them every time you move, making it a very smooth gameplay style. All you have to do is quickly throw a few Mines in the general direction of your opponent, and auto-targeting will do the rest! To boost your Damage against powerful bosses, you will need to cast a Wither Totem every so often. Curses in this Setup are actually required to be automated, so you don't have to worry about them at all! 

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Leveling as a Miner is a very smooth experience, but you will need 2 Unique Rings to use the Hexblast Setup. You can also use basically any other Spell, as the scaling of the Mines is very generic. Mine Throw Speed is a bit slow at first, but don't worry, it gets much better as you progress. You can do a few small adjustments to the Passive Tree and respec them later with the Points you obtain from doing Quests, as the synergy with Critical Strikes and Charges is quite bad without specific end-game Items. 

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Stormblast Mine setup
	Stormblast Mine - deals Lightning Damage in a small area after detonation.
	Added Lightning Damage Support - adds a lot of Lightning Damage to your Mines.
	Added Cold Damage Support - Similar to the previous Gem, it adds a lot of Cold Damage.
	Elemental Focus Support - grants a lot of Damage but disables the Elemental Ailments from supported Skill.
	Trap and Mine Damage Support - improves the Damage of any Trap or Mine Skill.
	Controlled Destruction Support - lowers the Critical Strike Chance but grants a lot of Damage instead.

Hexblast setup
	Hexblast - you can use it as your Main Skill once you get a source of Curse on Hit, as it needs to consume a Hex to deal AoE Damage.
	High-Impact Mine Support - turns your Spell into a Mine type instead. It automatically grants you Detonate Mines Skill as well.
	Controlled Destruction Support - improves the Damage of your Skill while lowering its Critical Strike Chance.
	Trap and Mine Damage Support - grants a lot of Damage to your Mines.
	Minefield Support - causes you to throw 5 Mines instead of just 1, but reduces the Throw Speed significantly.
	Void Manipulation Support - improves the Chaos Damage you deal,  while removing any other type.

Auras setup
	Vitality - using Mines reserves your Mana instead of Spending it, so you don't need to use Clarity. Use Vitality to get Life Regeneration instead.
	Summon Skitterbots - a very important Aura, not only because it grants you Damage and useful Ailments, but also to apply Curses on your enemies with the Profane Proxy Unique Ring.
	Grace - it's your main source of Evasion Rating early on. Use it to stay more defensive.

Utility
	Elemental Weakness -  lowers all Elemental Resistances of your foes. Hexblast is affected by the lowest Resistance on the enemy despite dealing purely Chaos Damage.
	Conductivity -  this Curse lowers only the Lightning Resistances but also provides a chance to Shock.
	Steelskin - grants you a bit of extra shield that protects you from incoming Damage.
	Flame Dash - a quick blink that teleports you to the targeted location.

Bandits:

Kill all three bandits to get two additional Passive Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:
You won't make us of extra Charges or Critical Strike bonuses without your end-game Items, so we recommend grabbing additional generic Passives and refunding them later. 
40 Points Passive Tree
Suggested order of allocation: 1) Trickery 2) Saboteur 3) Coldhearted Calculation  4) Fangs of Viper  5) Explosive Elements&Devastating Devices 6) Whispers of Doom 7) Written in Blood

76 Points Passive Tree
Suggested order of allocation: 1) Efficient Explosives 2) Influence 3) Disciple of the Forbidden 4) Cruel Preparations 5) Corruption&Heart of Darkness 6) Sovereignty 7) Purity of Flesh

Recommended leveling items:

Profane Proxy - one of the 2 required Rings to make a Hexblast setup work. By socketing a Hex Gem into it, your Skitterbots will apply it instead of selected Ailment.

+3 to Level of Socketed Curse Gems +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance +(20-30)% to Lightning Resistance Left Ring Slot: Your Chilling Skitterbot's Aura applies Socketed Hex Curse instead Right Ring Slot: Your Shocking Skitterbot's Aura applies Socketed Hex Curse instead

Mark of Submission - second Ring for that combination, you will apply Socketed Curse with your Hits.

Curse Enemies with Socketed Hex Curse Gem on Hit

Le Heup of All - if you use any other Spell to level up instead, it's a great Ring that provides a lot of Attributes and Resistances.

Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Damage (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

Goldrim - grants all Elemental Resistances which are very important during leveling.

+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Tabula Rasa - give you access to early 6-link setup. You can also get a corrupted one with +2 Levels for socketed AoE Gems.

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

Perandus Blazon - grants a lot of Attributes and some Fire Resistance.

(15-25)% increased Stun and Block Recovery +(20-30) to all Attributes (6-8)% increased Quantity of Items found +20% to Fire Resistance 20% increased Flask Effect Duration -2 Physical Damage taken from Attack Hits

Rare Weapon - you can get +1 level of your main setup Gem very early on. It will add a significant amount of Damage.

Min. requirements: +1 to Level of all Chaos Spell Skill Gems Optional affixes:  Spell Damage Damage over Time Multiplier

Doedre's Tenure - as a Miner, you don't use Cast Speed, so you can freely benefit form the insane bonus to Spell Damage.

+(20-50) to Intelligence 100% increased Spell Damage (25-15)% reduced Cast Speed

Wanderlust - a decent pair of Boots that give you a bit of Movement Speed and Immunity to Freeze.

+5 to Dexterity +(10-20) to maximum Energy Shield (20-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate 20% increased Movement Speed Cannot be Frozen

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

106 Points Final Passive Tree (doesn't include Cluster or Unique Jewels)
119 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 the Brine King: You cannot be Stunned if you've been Stunned or Blocked a Stunning Hit in the past 2 seconds; Cannot be Frozen

Minor God: Soul of Shakari: You cannot be Poisoned while there are at least 3 Poisons on you; 50% less Duration of Poisons on You

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Exsanguinate Setup
	Hexblast - deals high Chaos Damage to your target. If possible, consumes the Hex on the enemy to deal significantly higher Damage in a large Area.
	High-Impact Mine Support - causes you to throw Mines that use linked Spell instead. It also grants you the Detonate Mine Skill that you will need to trigger them.
	Void Manipulation Support - grants a lot of Chaos Damage, the Awakened version grants an additional level to supported Chaos Gems.
	Minefield Support - causes you to throw 4 additional Mines when you use a Skill, but lowers their Throw Speed significantly.
	Empower Support - grants additional Levels to linked active Gem. It is also affected by the Skin of the Lords Unique Armour.
	Charged Mines Support - grants a ton of Mine Throw Speed and Critical Strike Chance.

[UTILITY] Wither Setup
	Wither - applies a stacking debuff that increases the Chaos Damage taken by the enemy
	Spell Totem Support - your Wither will be cast by your Totems instead.
	Multiple Totems Support - increase the number of summoned Totems, so they can apply wither more reliably.

[UTILITY] Aura Setup
	Grace - grants a lot of flat Evasion Rating and allows to scale it very efficiently.
	Determination - very similar to the previous Aura, but this time it adds Armour Rating instead.
	Summon Skiterbots - summons 2 helpful Bots that apply Ailments and give you More Damage with Mines.
	Enlighten Support - reduces the reservation cost of linked Auras

[UTILITY] Divine Blessing Setup
	Zealotry - this Aura grants you more Spell Damage and increases your chance to Critical Strike. It also creates Consecrated Ground when you land a Critical Strike on the enemy.
	Divine Blessing Support - turns your permanent Aura into a temporary Buff. It doesn't Reserve Mana that way.

[UTILITY] Shield Charge and Bear Trap Setup
	Shield Charge - performs a charge at the enemy or targeted location. Scales with both your Attack Speed and Movement Speed.
	Faster Attacks Support - makes your Shield Charge significantly faster.
	Bear Trap - throws a trap that slows caught enemy and increases the damage it takes from your Traps and Mines for a short duration.
	Culling Strike Support - with this Support Gem your utility Skills can Cull the enemy, which means they will instantly kill opponents if they are below 10% of maximum Life.

[UTILITY] Guard Setup
	Molten Shell - creates a protective barrier that increases your Armour and absorbs a big portion of incoming Damage.
	Cast when Damage Taken - triggers linked Skills when you take enough Damage.
	Stone Golem - this Golem increases your Life Regeneration significantly.
	Increased Duration Support - increases the duration of your Molten Shell. Doesn't affect Golem.

[MOBILITY] Flame Dash setup
	Flame Dash - a quick blink that teleports you to the targeted location. Used to supplement your Shield Charge when you need to bypass terrain gaps.

[MOBILITY] Hex setup
	Elemental Weakness - lowers all Elemental resistances of cursed Foe. You will need either of those two Curses on your Ring as a Curse on Hit modifier.
	Conductivity/Flammability/Frostbite - you will also need a specific Element Curse paired with Profane Proxy Unique Ring. It doesn't matter which curse you will get, just pair it with relevant Elemental Exposure on your Gloves.

6. Gear Setup

The Build uses almost exclusively Unique Items. Most of them are rather cheap and easy to access and have a pretty simple way to an upgrade - via specific corrupted Implicit, such as additional Power Charge on your Helmet or Elemental Resistances on your Belt.  But don't stress over that too much, baseline versions are more than enough to achieve excellent results. In the end, you will wear only 2 Rare Items and a bunch of Rare Jewels. This puts pretty heavy stress on your Resistances and Attributes - you will need a lot of them there. It's important to get Rare Gloves with Exposure on Hit, and pair it with relevant Elemental Curse to maximalize Resistance Reduction on enemies. 

(Helmet) Sandstorm Visage - this Helmet is necessary to fix the very low base Critical Strike Chance of the Hexblast. You can obtain the additional Power Charge Corrupted Implicit here, but it's quite hard to do.

(8-10)% increased Cast Speed (200-250)% increased Energy Shield Avoid interruption from Stuns while Casting Base Critical Strike Chance of Spells is the Critical Strike Chance of Main Hand Weapon Cannot deal Critical Strikes with Attacks

(Boots) Ralakesh's Impatience - it's a core Item to generate all your Charges. You will have all your Charges when you throw and detonate your Mines at all times.

+(15-25)% to Cold Resistance +(15-25)% to Chaos Resistance 30% increased Movement Speed Lose all Frenzy, Endurance, and Power Charges when you Move Minimum Endurance Charges equal to Maximum while stationary Minimum Frenzy Charges equal to Maximum while stationary Minimum Power Charges equal to Maximum while stationary

(Weapon) Void Battery -  there is no better weapon for a build that stacks a lot of Power Charges other than Void Battery. It adds a lot of Spell Damage and increases your Power Charge limit.

80% reduced Spell Damage (10-20)% increased Cast Speed (50-65)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance +(40-50) to maximum Mana +1 to Maximum Power Charges 25% increased Spell Damage per Power Charge

(Off-hand) Malachai's Loop - another great piece of equipment for Power Charge stacking. Its downside is completely negated by Saboteur Ascendency.

(210-250)% increased Energy Shield +2 to Maximum Power Charges 20% chance to gain a Power Charge on Hit (12-16)% increased Spell Damage per Power Charge Lose all Power Charges on reaching Maximum Power Charges Shocks you when you reach Maximum Power Charges

(Body Armour) Skin of the Lords - this Armour provides an amazing boost to your survivability and Damage at once. It increases Levels of your main setup Gems and your defenses such as Armour and Evasion Ratings.

Sockets cannot be modified +2 to Level of Socketed Gems 100% increased Global Defences You can only Socket Corrupted Gems in this item Random Keystone

(Belt) Arn's Anguish - another great addition to a Charge stacking Build. Each Brutal Charge gives you a 3% chance to deal Triple Damage. You can obtain a Corrupted Implicit that grants you Elemental Resistances here.

+(600-700) to Armour (12-15)% increased maximum Life +(40-60)% to Fire Resistance +1 to Maximum Endurance Charges Modifiers to Minimum Endurance Charges instead apply to Minimum Brutal Charges Maximum Brutal Charges is equal to Maximum Endurance Charges Gain Brutal Charges instead of Endurance Charges

(Belt) Rare Belt- if you desperately need additional Elemental Resistances or Attributes, you can use a Rare Belt in meantime. Endurance Charges in this setup are quite unreliable, as they constantly disappear, so don't rely on them to cap your Resistances.

Min. requirements: +80 maximum Life +100% total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Life Regeneration

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - you will need a lot of Elemental Resistances and Attributes here. You will also need plenty of maximum Life. As for your Eldritch Implicits, get a Chance to Unnerve Enemies and any Elemental Exposure, and match your second Curse to its Element.

Min. requirements: +100% to Elemental Resistances +60 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: Chance to Unnerve Enemies Inflict Fire/Cold/Lightning Exposure on Hit

(Amulet) Badge of the Brotherhood- yet another vital part of Charge Stacker. It makes all your Maximum Power Charge investments apply to Frenzy charges as well.

(7-10)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate of Travel Skills per Frenzy Charge (7-10)% increased Effect of Elusive on you per Power Charge (20-25)% chance to lose a Frenzy Charge when you use a Travel Skill (20-25)% chance to lose a Power Charge when you gain Elusive Your Maximum Frenzy Charges is equal to your Maximum Power Charges Recommended Anointment:  Successive Detonations

(Ring) Rare Ring - you will need any Elemental Curse on Hit modifier here, supplemented by maximum Life and Resistances.

Min. requirements: +60% to Elemental Resistances +60 to Maximum Life Curse Enemies with Conductivity/Flammability/Frostbite on Hit Optional affixes: Attributes

(Ring) Profane Proxy - it's used to apply your second curse with your Skittebots even before you make your first Hit. It's best to give up the Shock Aura, as you will inflict much more powerful Shock with your Hits anyway.

+3 to Level of Socketed Curse Gems +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance +(20-30)% to Lightning Resistance Left Ring Slot: Your Chilling Skitterbot's Aura applies Socketed Hex Curse instead Right Ring Slot: Your Shocking Skitterbot's Aura applies Socketed Hex Curse instead

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - you will have plenty of Jewel sockets, and they should be used to boost your maximum Life and fill remaining Resistances or Attributes. Once you have it sorted out, you can add some Critical Strike Multiplier for your Spells.

Recommended affixes: (5-7)% increased maximum Life  Optional affixes: Attributes Elemental Resistances Critical Strike Multiplier

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewels - you will need at least 3 Notables that boost your Chaos Damage there.

Recommended affixes: Touch of Cruelty Unwaveringly Evil Unholy Grace   Wicked Pall

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewels - there are plenty of very useful Notables here. It's also a great source of Mine Throwing Speed or Arcane Surge buff.

Min. requirements: Arcane Pyrotechnics Recommended affixes: Guerilla Tactics Expert Sabotage

(Jewel) Militant Faith - Inner Conviction granted by this Jewel grants you a lot of additional Damage, and the downside of not getting Frenzy Charges is bypassed by our Boots.

Carved to glorify (2000-10000) new faithful converted by High Templar (Avarius-Dominus-Maxarius) Passives in radius are Conquered by the Templars Historic <two random mods of devotion>

(Jewel) Forbidden Flesh&Flame - best pick here would be Unstable Infusion to get additional Power Charge, but you can also opt for more defensive Notables, which shadow has plenty of.

Allocates <Random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifiers on Forbidden Flesh/Flame

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - you can get an additional source of elemental Penetration while affected by Zealotry thanks to this Jewel. Pair it with any useful defensive modifier for your Determination or Grace Aura.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> Recommended Aura mods: Critical Strikes Penetrate 10% of Enemy Elemental Resistances while affected by Zealotry

(Flask) Rotgut - you can get a very long Onslaught Buff from this Flask, which greatly speeds up your Shield Charge usage.

50% chance to gain a Flask Charge when you deal a Critical Strike (30-50)% increased Duration Consumes Frenzy Charges on use Gain Onslaught for 3 seconds per Frenzy Charge on use

Suggested Flasks: Life Flask with Bleeding removal Jade Flask with an increased Evasion Rating modifier Granite Flask with an increased Armour Rating modifier Sulphur Flask with additional Attack Speed

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

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