Rescued from an old window, formatting omitted:
Foreword
So someone in Russian Grim Dawn discord asked me if I ever tried making a Panettiās Replicating Missile build. I never did. In fact, I have never even touched Mage Hunters and PRM used to be below mediocre before last patch. So after quite a bit of testing and a lot of failed or sub-par specs I made a spec that is what I believe an ultimate PRM build - a very fast and consistent Crucible farmer that facetanks everything and utilizes only legendary and epic items, so itās basically dirt cheap to assemble compared to most builds and has only one drawback: its clear times really rely on your computer power (but even with my old PC it does sub 8 minutes runs easily so sweat free 3 runs in one blessings duration with 3 blessings + 1 banner is always easy).
The Build
1.1.1.2 Forgotten Gods update
New expansion made this build much much stronger. Build now has up to 14% more Physical resist, more PRM damage and more OA as well as better cc-resists to tackle Shattered Realm. And Rune of Displacement takes the build to a whole new level. Updated Grimtools and added a video of an easy Shard 66 run.
Build can complete 75-76 if you can aggro bosses 1 by 1 and play smart (also with some vitality/poison overcap with potions). But itās not an Octavius Warlord in that sense.
<<<<<GRIMTOOLS>>>>> (Shattered Realm spec)
Why Lightning PRM?
I have tested Elemental version (Ultos + Seekers) and it was just ok. Clearing times were average, kiting was required sometimes, and sometimes build could die. I have also tested Fire Version which turned out to be pretty miserable (at least in my hands). Stats with fire devotion route were always awful, proccing both Seekers and Meteor was a choir, survivability was shit. So since Invoker set doesnāt allow for a cold version, I have came to my last resort. Suffocation, no breathing but this Lightning mage delivers hell of a beating (ugh, my guides are becoming lazier every time).
How is it compared to other casters?
Itās very flashy and very easy to pilot. You donāt need to kite ever, the only ādificultyā is not messing up ghoul/mirror/nulification rotation when you are cornered by 2 Reapers. This Mage Hunter is pretty relaxing and very forgiving spam-caster kind of build, you donāt need to think about positioning or about skill rotation or about kiting.
But what of the era of melee/ranged builds?
This build is comparable in speed to some of the best ranged builds and some medium top-tier melee builds, like Belgothian BM/Infiltrator or Korba Trickster. Itās definitely much cheaper and more accessible than those mentioned builds tho.
Gear
Getting resists capped without green gear is a pain on a Mage Hunter. OA/DA is also very painful to get to a decent level. Nevertheless, current gear set is optimal, imo. All resists are covered, physical resist is at a decent level for a caster with a Seal, belt was a last minute change from Scales of Beronath and it turned out to be pretty huge damage boost for this build (hard cap of important PRM nods + 3k OA on a build with 90% crit damage). New Iskandra relic is pretty great. Cindertouch gloves is what pushed this build into top-tier category (conversion and proc are pretty big deal).
Try and get %Physique crafting bonus at Angrim on helmet and medal.
Skills and Devotions
Devotions are pretty self-explanatory - standard lightning route + a little twist in a form of Bat devotion. You can swap Bat for Fiend for a tiny bit more damage, but I think Bat is what really pushes the build closer to immortality. Skill points distribution is standard, I chose Word of Pain as a proccer because we have a decent boost to its second nod that helps us a bit in tough melee encounters.
Gameplay
Stay in seals, cast debuffs and spam, use Nullification generously. Save mirror for the really rainy day. Place more Inquisitor Seals around to move freely and proc Bat more often - they have very low cooldown and live very long because of the mods on the wand. Only somewhat dangerous Nemesis combo is double Reapers. But just stay in seal and keep your cool, if they already procced your ghoul, donāt use mirror untill Ghoul is up, after that, use mirror and after mirror use Nullification. During that time, you can kill dozen of Reapers.
Stats
Permanent buffs + Word of Renewal
Magical
Panettiās Replicating Missile damage breakdown
Videos
Shard 76 run
6:40 Crucible 150-170 run piloted by me (I think it should be considerably faster on a good pc).
1.1.1.2 Easy Shard 66 run
My 7:50 run on a slow PC
Mercymakerās 6:36 run
John Smithās 3x runs (older spec but still sub-7 minutes runs. Should be faster with the final spec)
Mad Queen 13 seconds kill (meh single target damage)
Lokkar fight (literally lost a track of him mid-fight)
In Conclusion
Thanks to John Smith (Arthur Petrov) and Firozo from Russian Grim Dawn discord (which is in fact Russian Twitch streamer Safarelās discord) for testing the build and discussing different ways PRM build can go.