PoE Sanity

Fubgooners Are Damnation Coping - Selling Shovels is 55D+/HR | Budget Boxes Guide

By XTheFarmerXWatch videoDuration: PT10M57S

Summary

  • A low-investment “Selling Shovels” strategy designed to profit from the high demand for expensive scarabs (Pilfering, Ambush, Bloodlines).
  • Focuses on running high-quantity 8-mod maps with a total investment of approximately 15 chaos per map.
  • Utilizes an Atlas tree that blocks most mechanics to force strongbox density, while incorporating Heist and Delirium for supplementary profit.
  • Relies on manually rolling Operative Strongboxes to maximize scarab yields.
  • Achieves 55–60+ Divine per hour based on running 40+ maps per hour.

The “Selling Shovels” Strategy

The current Path of Exile meta is dominated by “Damnation cope farming,” a high-risk, high-reward strategy where players gamble hundreds of Divines chasing mirror-tier cards. This has caused the price of consumables—specifically Pilfering, Ambush, and Bloodlines scarabs—to skyrocket. Instead of participating in the gamble, this strategy focuses on “selling the shovels” by farming those expensive scarabs with minimal overhead.

While some versions of this farm use expensive “Containment” scarabs or full Mirage maps, this version uses standard 8-mod maps to keep the entry cost extremely low.

Investment and Map Preparation

The total investment per map is roughly 15 chaos, making almost every drop pure profit.

  1. Maps: Use 8-mod maps with 105% increased item quality or higher. These can be purchased in bulk for roughly 10 chaos each using specific trade filters and RegEx.
  2. Scarabs:
    • 3x Ambush Scarabs: <1 chaos each.
    • 1x Ambush Scarab of Potency: ~2.5 chaos.
    • 1x Ambush Scarab of Compartments: ~2 chaos.
  3. Map Choice: Haunted Mansion is recommended for its layout and suitability for high-speed clearing.

Atlas Tree and Mechanics

The Atlas configuration is designed to maximize the speed of the Mirage mechanic and the yield of specific boxes.

  • Blocking Mechanics: Block almost all league mechanics (Abyss, Harvest, etc.). This does not prevent scarabs from those mechanics from dropping out of Operative Strongboxes; instead, it prevents those mechanics from spawning near the Mirage, increasing the likelihood of more strongboxes appearing within the Mirage.
  • Delirium: Include Delirium nodes to farm Refracting Fogs and Volatile Phials.
  • Beyond: Added for a small boost to raw currency drops with minimal point investment.
  • Heist: Essential for additional profit. Smuggler’s Caches take almost no time to open and frequently drop blueprints worth 1–2 Divines.

Profit Breakdown

Testing over multiple sessions (ranging from 40 to 91 maps) consistently yielded 55–60 Divines per hour. Profit is derived from four main sources:

  1. Scarabs (60% of revenue): The primary income source, mostly from Operative Strongboxes.
  2. Black Baria (~15%): With a 1 in 19 drop rate and a high map-per-hour clear rate, you should find at least two per hour (approx. 7–8 Divines total).
  3. Delirium Currency: Refracting Fogs and Volatile Phials drop roughly every 5–10 maps.
  4. Heist Blueprints: Targeted blueprints (Currency/Scarab or Experimental Items) sell for 1.5–3 Divines depending on the number of wings and reveals.

Execution and Rolling Strongboxes

This is a high-speed strategy requiring 40+ maps per hour. The gameplay loop is as follows:

  1. Enter Map: Run down the center looking for the Mirage.
  2. The Mirage: If present (approx. 30% spawn rate), prioritize opening it immediately.
  3. Operative Strongboxes: These are the only boxes worth rolling.
    • Use Orbs of Alteration/Chaos to roll for 70%+ increased quantity of items.
    • Avoid the mod “All contained scarabs are the same type,” as this significantly reduces total scarab yield.
    • Use Exalted Orbs if the quantity is slightly low to fish for “Additional Scarabs” prefixes (e.g., Harvest, Ambush, or Divination).
  4. Other Boxes: Run Arcanist’s and Diviner’s boxes if they are nearby, but do not waste time rolling them.
  5. Boss Room: Always check the boss room. Bosses have a high chance to drop Astrolabes or Nightmare maps.
  6. Cleanup: Use a mouse-wheel scroll bind for left-click to quickly vacuum up scarabs.

Each map should take approximately 90 seconds. Profitability is heavily tied to speed; at 30 maps per hour, the profit drops to roughly 45 Divines per hour.

Key References