Level 86 Hybrid Crit Glacial Cascade of the Fissure Mine Elementalist^3.27

Notes

FAQ

- Do I need to throw mines away from the target for optimal damage?
Yes. You should throw mines at least one circle's AOE away from the target, ideally further than that, to account for random variance in where the mines land/detonate. 

- Why GCF over GC?
GC only hits optimal damage (4 overlaps) if the enemy is standing in one specific spot (see Aero's video on this). GCF hits 3 overlaps no matter where the enemy is, so it's much better for mines. 

- Why mines over self cast? 
GCF with mines auto targets the whole screen. Self cast playstyle sucks, and is probably less damage than mines. 

- Do I need AOE for GCF?
Yes - the more AOE, the more overlaps. 100-150% increased AOE = 3 overlaps most of the time, sometimes 2. This is because the fissure length remains constant as AOE changes - only each circle changes size.
For this reason, you should DEFINITELY NOT run Concentrated Effect support! 

- How much of Elementalist's ascendancy works with mines?
Shaper of Storms's shock is applied by mine damage, and you can also scale it with the 50% ailment effect on crit crit mastery.
Mastermind of Discord's -25 exposure is applied by mine hits, when you have exposure on hit from gloves/cold mastery.
Mastermind of Discord's 1% mana regen is not granted to the player from mine hits (I think the regen goes to the mine, not the player).
Convergence's AOE bonus and more damage are applied to the mines, but mine damage will not proc convergence. I recommend using arcanist brand+frost bomb to proc it reliably, or just use frostblink. 

- How do I farm Arkhon's Tools?
Take the atlas nodes that give you increased memory tear chance, and take the two nodes that REDUCE chance for the non-neglect bosses. Don't mess up and do it the other way around!

- How do I use Arkhon's Tools? 
Replace Herald of Purity with Skitterbots (with ideally Unbound Ailments + Bonechill if you have the reservation). 
Tempest shield gives you shock immune.
Overcap your res to negate the scorch. 
Either craft cannot be chilled+ms on your boots, or equip Winterweave ring, to negate/reverse the chill. 
Change Shaper of Storms to Bastion of Elements, as now you have shock from Skitterbots.

- Can I reverse chill with Arkhon's Tools+Winterweave+Meat Shield Support o Skitterbots?
Reverse chilling with Winterweave is good, however, sometimes you need to issue an attack command far away and then again on top of you, to make your skitterbots "go away and then come back" to reset the chill buff. 
Meat Shield is bad because it makes the skitterbots not apply their debuffs to the enemies. 
The ideal gameplay with Winterweave/Reverse Chill is to stand on top of the boss so the skitterbots affect both you and the boss. 
If reverse chilling, don't take Brine King 50% reduced effect of chill pantheon.

- When do you go low life?
You can go low life once you have Shavronne's Wrappings OR Traitor Keystone (Brutal Restraint) + Coruscating Elixir. Then, you use Arrogance+Hatred, and run Discipline.
You'll need some life reservation efficiency to do this, such as reservation mastery, runegraft of treachery, enlighten support, etc. 
Prism Guardian is good, but not necessary (unless herald stacking in super late game). It's outclassed by a good rare shield with +1 cold, %inc spell damage, spell crit, and block chance.

- How do you farm Shavs/Coruscating Elixir?
Shavs: you have to get a lucky drop - farming the card is never worth it. 
Coruscating Elixir: farm The Dragon card. Best way is to farm Diviner's Strongboxes, it's a very common card, so just drop it twice (and it duplicates from Atlas tree) and then you have full set of 4. You can also run Caer Blaidd map. 

- Can you do herald stacking with this build?
Yes, but only in late game. You will need Lost Unity ring, AND a functioning lowlife setup with Prism Guardian, and maybe lycia herald bloodline to do this.

- How does GCF compare to Eye of Winter? 
Damage numbers and playstyle are extremely similar. Only real differences are that EOW needs to manage proj speed/pierce/splitting (fury valve), and EOW is pure cold and can't scale using Hatred as GCF can. 

- How do you craft the giga lategame Archdemon Crown?
So, this is a very lategame craft that you can sink endless currency into and still not get a great result.
But here is my basic crafting guide for one you can close-to-deterministically make in SSF, although this craft will take a lot of currency and time to farm the essences and harvest juice.
1. Farm ritual in T17 maps for ilvl 84+ Archdemon crown, use Influenced Exalted Orb on it, and harvest reroll the influence to Shaper.
You need ilvl84+ for the chance to get T1 base crit. You can also be lazy and go for a ilvl83 one. 
2. Spam Essence of Horror until you get either Hypothermia/Trap and Mine Damage/base crit, and an open suffix (or an open prefix if you want to stop here, see below note).
IF YOU ARE BROKE , YOU CAN JUST CRAFT +1 AOE GEMS ON PREFIX AND STOP HERE. THIS IS ALREADY A 30% MORE DAMAGE THAN A 6 LINK. ONLY PROCEED FURTHER IF YOU HAVE CURRENCY TO CRAFT!!!
3. Now, you are looking to fill that open suffix with another damage link. 
If you got Hypothermia, lock suffix reforge crit and try to get T1 base crit. 
If you got Trap and Mine Damage or base crit, lock suffix reforge cold and try to get Hypothermia. 
If you fail this step, you can annul or beast craft "add prefix remove suffix", and hope that you get to try again.
If you were successful with this step, your suffixes are now done (3 damage link suffixes). Now, you want to work on the prefixes. 
4a. CHEAP METHOD FOR PREFIXES: Now, lock suffix veiled orb/veiled exalt, block mana, and try to unveil +2 to level of socketed AOE gems.
If you fail this step, as long as you have an open prefix, you can lock suffix and just try again. Otherwise, you have to yolo annul a prefix to try again. 
When you hit +2 to level of socketed AOE gems, then just craft life, and you're done. 
4b. EXPENSIVE METHOD FOR PREFIXES, DO NOT RECOMMEND IF SSF AND HAVE LESS THAN 50 EXALTS: Lock suffix and exalt twice until you hit Increased Area of Effect (DO NOT GO FOR CONCENTRATED EFFECT!!! THAT WILL REDUCE YOUR OVERLAPS!!!)
If you don't hit Inc AOE, scour, re-craft lock suffix, and keep trying until you hit Inc AOE.
When you do hit Inc AOE, remove the lock-suffix craft, and bench craft +1 to level of socketed AOE gems, and you're done. 
You can also keep the lock-suffix craft and Veiled Orb to try to hit +2 to level of socketed AOE gems, if you're really crazy. But if you erase the Inc AOE, then you're cooked. 
5. Note that an optimal Archedemon crown will have +4 gem level and 30-60% more damage than a normal 6link body armor.