If you’re looking for the strongest low-investment builds in Path of Exile 3.28, you don’t need mirrors or mageblood-tier gear to clear endgame. In this PoE 3.28 budget build guide, we'll break down the top 3 best cheap builds for Mirage league.
PoE 3.28 Budget Build Guide - Top 3 Best Cheap Build for Mirage
We need a budget build for 3.28 Mirage because league starts reset everyone to zero—no PoE currency, no gear, no safety net. In the first week especially, high-end uniques and meta items are overpriced or simply unavailable, so a build that functions on 50–100c (or ~10 Div later) lets you start farming immediately instead of waiting for upgrades. Mirage mechanics also reward fast map completion and consistent boss kills, which means a strong budget build accelerates Atlas progression, Voidstones, and invitation unlocks much earlier. Without further ado, let's check the gear and passive trees of the 10 Divine Kinetic Fusillade Totem Hierophant, the brutally efficient 100c Ground Slam of Earthshaking Slayer, and the ultra-cheap Hierophant Kinetic Fusillade Ballista league starter.
1. Kinetic Fusillade Totem Hierophant
The 10 Divine budget Kinetic Fusillade Ballista is arguably the best Path of Exile 3.28 budget build because it delivers true endgame-level boss damage (10M+ DPS) on minimal investment while remaining mechanically safe and scalable. Thanks to Ancestral Bond and heavy totem scaling, you offload all risk to Ballistas, letting you focus purely on positioning while maintaining 100% hit chance, 93% crit chance, and 453% crit multi—numbers most budget builds simply cannot reach. It bosses fast, plays safely, scales efficiently, and reaches eight-figure DPS on a 10 Div budget, which is exactly what makes it the strongest cost-to-power option in 3.28.
Gear
Weapon - Rapture Needle
Offhand - Armageddon Duty
Helm - Dread Salvation
Armour - Lightning Coil
Hand - Doedre's Tenure
Belt - Prismweave
Leg - Gale March
Ring - Blood Gyre, Soul Gyre
Amulet - Warped Timepiece
Passive Tree
2. Ground Slam of Earthshaking Slayer
The 100c Ground Slam of Earthshaking Slayer is one of the PoE Mirage best budget builds because it combines absurd mechanical scaling with a near-complete unique package that costs almost nothing yet feels endgame-ready. The gearing is straightforward (~100c full setup with Kaom’s Heart and Skull Splitter), progression is smooth using Sunder leveling with almost no respec cost, and every upgrade—especially the crit swap—feels massively impactful (2–3x damage spike). Despite moderate physical/chaos mitigation and some leech-map limitations, it offers immunity coverage, reliable Fortify, nearly 5k life, and boss-melting burst at a price point few builds can match, which is exactly why it stands out as a top-tier Mirage league budget choice.
Gear
Weapon - Skull Splitter
Helm - Gloom Peak
Armour - Kaom's Heart
Hand - Great Old One's Tentacles
Belt - Belt of the Deceiver
Leg - Skull Spur
Ring - Agony Circle, Icefang Orbit
Amulet - Tainted Pact
Passive Tree
2. Hierophant Kinetic Fusillade Ballista Build
The low-budget Hierophant Kinetic Fusillade Ballista stands out as one of the best Path of Exile 3.28 league starters because it reaches true endgame viability (T16 Minotaur and Maven invitations) on an extremely cheap setup while maintaining elite scaling efficiency. With Ancestral Bond double totems, Wand Mastery’s extra projectile, and Greater Multiple Projectiles, Kinetic Fusillade shotguns bosses for nearly 3.7M DPS on basic rares and budget uniques, while sitting at 93% crit and 451% multi—numbers most starters can’t touch without heavy investment. The reservation-efficient shield tech allows flexible aura optimization (Wrath + Skitterbots for damage, or Tempest Shield / Anger swaps depending on survivability needs), and Purity of Elements solves ailment immunity early, massively smoothing progression.
Gear
Weapon - Rapture Needle
Offhand - Kraken Span
Helm - Mazarine Vaal Mask of Craft
Armour - Virile Silken Wrap of the Polar Bear
Hand - Doedre's Tenure
Belt - Prismweave
Leg - Athlete's Satin Slippers of Craft
Ring - Virile Two-Stone Ring of the Kaleidoscope, Robust Two-Stone Ring of Ephij
Amulet - Warped Timepiece
Passive Tree
