Are you looking for a solid league starter build for the Path of Exile Crucible league? Look no further than the Lightning Trap Saboteur. This build offers excellent mapping capabilities and solid single-target damage with minimal investment. It also has an interesting gear progression, which allows you to scale your damage well without needing any special or expensive items.

• Build Overview
• Build Showcase
• Gear and Items
• Levelling

PoB Link: https://pobb.in/NghL2Qvv5vwv!

↖ Build Overview

The Saboteur Lightning Trap build is a good choice for a mid-season build as it can clear all non-over content with minimal equipment cost and can easily farm poe currency in the middle stage. While the recent changes to the Saboteur ascendancy may have nerfed trap builds, this build still offers a great quality of life, especially when equipment is not so good at the beginning of the game. The build requires minimal investment to get quick Atlas completion and void stones.

↖ Build Showcase

The build can comfortably clear T16 maps with just a Tinker skin, Divergent lightning trap, and some rare items with resist spell suppression and some life. The weapon used in the showcase was made with a shrieking essence of torment and then crafted trap damage with the new league mechanics. 

The Tinker skin and Divergent lightning trap are only some of the most popular items, so their cost, even at the beginning of the league, will be very cheap. The Divergent lightning trap is only needed on red maps and to kill bosses, so by that time, enough currency should have been saved to buy this gem.

↖ Gear and Items

The gear progression for this build is interesting and offers easy scaling of damage. After completing X, save up currency for Tinkerskin, which allows for easy generation of frenzy charges, gives phasing, and good life and energy shield recovery. After that, make a weapon with a shrieking essence of torment or buy a biceceptor with plus 1 to lightning skills gym. The next item to buy is a Divergent lightning trap, which will make map clearing even more comfortable and will also give more DPS when fighting bosses.

These items should be enough to give up to the T14 map, and before going to T16, buy clusters and upgrade gear to get a 100% spell suppression chance. Clusters give a nice DPS, and a 100% spell suppression chance is a must for T16 maps if you don't want to die too often.

The next stage involves buying a helmet with the enchantment of a lightning trap piercing three additional targets. This allows for freeing some skill points and spending them on something more useful. The main priority should be a six-link, which increases DPS significantly. Glorious vanity and slave driver's hand are the next targets. Timeless Jewel greatly increases energy shield and thus improves survivability, and the slave driver's hand is one of the main items that give a trap throwing speed and allows getting rid of a lifetap gem that gives a nice damage boost. Be warned that these unique gloves will cost a lot, but they are worth it.

The final stage is changing ascendancy to Saboteur, as it will significantly increase damage. Before changing ascendancy, buying forbidden jewels with pyromaniacs as traps cost life, and without pyromaniacs, they cannot be used effectively. The final point is buying two void batteries and a Badge of the Brotherhood. With these items, the damage goes up to 50 million, allowing for farming almost all content in the game quickly and efficiently.

Additional purchases that will allow for min-maxing the build include buying rings and a helmet with plus one maximum power charge, which doubles the damage.

↖ Levelling

Lightning Trap becomes available at level 12, and from there, it becomes the main skill. Before level 12, you can use Storm Blast Mine or any other skill that you prefer. The 3-link for Lightning Trap should be Pierce and Swift Assemble, and when you obtain a 4-link, you can add Trap and Mine Damage Support. To increase your damage on bosses, you can also use Lightning Spire Trap.

Conclusion:

Overall, Lightning Trap is a comfortable and potent skill with interesting gear progression. Despite the nerfs to the Saboteur ascendancy in 3.21, it still provides good quality of life, making it a viable mid-season build option. If you're interested in this build, check out the POB in this guide description and consider giving this build a try in the new league.