POE currency expansion has brought a fresh wave of powerful builds, and among them, one of the most exciting options is the Exsanguinate Mine Trickster. This build combines explosive clearing speed, strong single-target damage, and fluid mechanics that feel smooth from start to finish. If you've ever wanted to glide through maps while detonating entire screens at the press of a button-and then melt bosses with a deadly swap-this is the setup that delivers.

In this guide, we'll break down how the build works, how to level efficiently, which ascendancies and passive nodes to prioritize, the gear that pushes it to the next level, and gameplay tips to maximize both survivability and DPS.

Why the Exsanguinate Mine Trickster?

Many players hesitate when they hear "mine build." Older iterations of miners were clunky-slow throw speed, awkward detonation sequences, and gameplay that felt like constant double-tapping instead of smooth progression. But with the right investment, Exsanguinate Mines are nothing like that.

 Fast Throwing Speed: With proper scaling, you can get your mine throw animation down to 0.25 seconds, effectively throwing four mines per second. It feels responsive and fluid, not clunky.

 Automatic Detonation: Thanks to the Automation Support gem, mines detonate while moving. No more manual pressing of Detonate Mines-it just happens seamlessly as you play. This makes the build feel much closer to a spellcaster than a traditional miner.

 Dual Damage Setup: Exsanguinate Mines handle mapping with freezing waves of destruction, while Reap Mines take over for bosses, ensuring you don't lack single-target damage.

The combination of clear speed, survivability, and flexibility makes this build one of the best all-rounders in 3.26.

Leveling Path: From Campaign to Maps

Leveling into this build is smoother than you might expect.

1.Early Game (up to ~28): Start with Explosive Trap until you unlock Pyroclast Mine, which synergizes well with Charge Mine Support. This gives you solid damage and charge generation right away.

2.Transition Point: Around level 28, respec out of your trap nodes and into mine nodes. Pick up Blast Waves and start linking Pyroclast Mine with support gems.

3.End of Campaign: Once you acquire Crimson Sorrow gloves, swap into Exsanguinate Mines. This is when the build's true identity begins to shine, as Crimson Sorrow converts your physical damage into cold.

4.During leveling, you can switch between Cold Penetration (for raw DPS) and Chain Support (for smoother clears) depending on how your damage feels.

Pro Tip: Keep both Exsanguinate and Reap gems leveling in weapon swap slots. By the time you reach mapping, they'll be ready to go at full power.

Ascendancy Choices

The Trickster ascendancy synergizes beautifully with this build, providing both offense and defense.

1.Swift Killer-Generates Frenzy and Power charges by throwing mines, boosting both clear speed and single-target DPS.

2.One Step Ahead-Provides 8% action speed while reducing enemy action speed. This affects mine throw speed, shield charge movement, and recovery, making everything feel snappier.

3.Polymath-Scales damage based on the number of masteries you've taken. Also grants recovery on kill for life, mana, and energy shield, which keeps sustain smooth in maps.

4.Escape Artist-The defensive cornerstone. Scales evasion and energy shield together, rewarding hybrid bases like Sadist Garb. This is key to survival in red maps.

Together, these ascendancies create a balance of fluid offense and reliable defenses.

Passive Tree & Defenses

The tree focuses on both mine scaling and layered defense.

 Offensive Scaling: Prioritize skill gem levels for physical spell damage. Look for increases to spell gems, mine gems, cold gems, and critical multipliers.

 Cold Conversion: Crimson Sorrow provides early conversion, but later you'll pick up Cold Mastery for full physical-to-cold scaling. This ensures every mine freezes enemies in place.

Defenses:

 Evasion with Grace + gear pushes you close to the 95% evasion cap (with a Grace Watcher's Eye jewel).

 Storm Shroud grants full elemental ailment immunity if you're shock-immune.

 Spell Suppression cuts spell damage in half, easy to cap with passive clusters.

 Ghost Dance restores energy shield every time you're hit, giving sustain against chip damage.

With this layering, even dangerous encounters become manageable.Core Skill Gem Links

Your main skill setup revolves around Exsanguinate or Reap, depending on content. Both share the same core supports, so swapping between them is painless.

Main Links (6-link):

 Exsanguinate (for mapping) / Reap (for bosses)

 High-Impact Mine Support

 Trap and Mine Damage Support

 Swift Assembly Support

 Empower Support (late-game) or Increased Critical Damage (budget option)

 Hypothermia or Cold Penetration (situational)

Utility Gems:

 Assassin's Mark for crit scaling against bosses.

 Shield Charge + Faster Attacks + Fortify for mobility and sustain.

 Automation Support to automate mine detonation.

This setup allows for fast mapping without interruptions and a simple swap to Reap for single-target encounters.

Gear Progression

Smart gearing is what transforms this build from "solid" to "insane."

 Gloves: Start with Crimson Sorrow, but transition to rare gloves with full physical-to-cold conversion and high resistances.

 Helmet: Heatshiver is a top-tier option, massively increasing damage against frozen enemies. Rare helmets with +1 gems or "Nearby enemies take increased cold damage" are also strong.

 Chest: Hybrid evasion/energy shield bases like Sadist Garb pair perfectly with Escape Artist.

 Jewels: Storm Shroud, Watcher's Eye (with Grace mods), and crit multipliers.

 Weapons: Dual wands or sceptres with +1 to all spell/physical gems, crit multi, and spell damage.

Don't forget: Always cap resistances early. A build this strong offensively only works if you survive.

Mercenaries (Companions)

Depending on your needs:

 Fallen Reverent-Great balance of offense and utility with Zealotry and Battle Mage's Cry.

 Rune Crafts (Sinistral)-Improves Shield Charge speed.

 Fortress Craft-Adds defensive utility if survivability is an issue.

Adjust based on what your gear lacks-extra crit, resistances, or sustain.

Gameplay Loop

Once the build comes together, the gameplay is simple but rewarding:

1.Shield Charge into packs.

2.Let mines autodetonate as you move-no need to stop and double-cast.

3.Keep flasks active for speed, sustain, and defense.

4.For bosses, swap to Reap, maintain your charges, and focus on uptime.

The key is trusting the build. Don't overcast-just keep moving. The faster you move, the more value you squeeze out of every map.

Tips and Tricks

 When to Swap to Exsanguinate Mines: Right after campaign, once you've secured Crimson Sorrow, Kikazaru, and ideally Heatshiver with a 5-link.

 Attributes: Watch for strength and dexterity requirements. Fill gaps with +30 nodes, rings, or belts.

 Mana Management: Exsanguinate Mines reserve life, not mana, when linked with High-Impact Mine. Use Kikazaru for regen sustain. Don't overlevel support gems like Frostblink to keep costs manageable.

 Reservation Efficiency: If tight, drop Skitterbots until you can upgrade into better gear.

Final Thoughts

The Exsanguinate Mine Trickster is one of the most satisfying builds in cheap POE currency. It blends speed, automation, freezing utility, and strong single-target scaling into a package that feels modern and responsive compared to older miner playstyles. With the ability to handle everything from juiced mapping to Uber bosses, it's a true all-rounder that rewards both casual play and high investment.

If you've ever wanted a build that lets you stay one step ahead of the action, while detonating the whole screen with effortless waves of destruction, this is the build for you.