Outriders' Fire Witch Build Explained | Screen Rant
Square Enix's new looter shooter Outriders features four unique character classes to choose from. Each of these character archetypes can be played in several different ways that accentuate either gunplay or the use of their skills. On March 31, Square Enix showed gamers one of the many ways to play the Pyromancer class in Outriders, which focuses on area-of-effect abilities and damage-over-time debuffs to reduce enemies to ashes.
While many users might be tempted to play Outriders like a traditional third-person shooter, its skill system lets gamers adopt alternative strategies. The Pyromancer's kit is full of abilities that can deal devastating damages to groups of enemies. As players progress through Outriders' campaign, they can choose to skill into powering up their ability damage instead of their weapon damage, and find weapons and equipment to complement those abilities. That essentially turns the Pyromancer into a spellcaster more traditionally seen in fantasy RPG games.
Square Enix showcased what it calls the Fire Witch build in a YouTube video published on March 31. This unique character strategy enhances the damage Outriders' Pyromancers can deal with their skills and how frequently they can use them. The gear and mods seen in the video are all optimal endgame items, but players should feel free to experiment with the Fire Witch build with any armor or weapons they have available to them. Here's how this particular Outriders Pyromancer build works and why it's so strong.
The Fire Witch build relies on the synergy between the following Pyromancer skills. Players won't have access to all of these skills until they reach level 22.
- Overheat: Deals 503 damage to all enemies with a large radius and Interrupt their skills. Enemies afflicted with Burn receive 6,455 damage instead (the Burn will be consumed).
- F.A.S.E.R Beam: Fire an entry beam that deals 11,672 that benefits from 150% of Status Power, inflicting Burn and causing Interrupt to enemies hit by the beam, as well as enemies within a small radius around you.
- Eruption: Create a volcanic eruption beneath the selected enemy, dealing 12,691 damage to all enemies within a small radius of the target. The eruption spews lava, dealing damage over time within a small area.
To make sure the aforementioned skills are dealing the most damage possible, Outriders players will want to invest their Class Points into the Tempest skill tree. This will increase the damage dealt by their skills and reduce their cooldown so the Pyromancer can use them more frequently. Shown above are the talents Square Enix recommends for the Fire Witch build. Once those are settled, it's important to know when to use the Pyromancer's skills.
Open fights with Overheat to apply its debuff to every enemy around the Pyromancer. Next, use F.A.S.E.R Beam for a massive burst of damage and follow up with Eruption. Use Overheat every time it is off cooldown and pick off isolated targets with primary weapons. The Fire Witch's main strategy is to hit hordes of enemies with their skills, so running around and luring enemies into groups is key.
To further boost the power of the Fire Witch build in Outriders, players will want to equip armor and weapons that buff their skills' damage and decrease their cooldowns. They can further increase those benefits by using mods to add buffs to their gear. Square Enix featured the Outriders' legendary Lava Lich armor set, which is optimal but difficult to find. It grants a 40% damage increase to Eruption and reduces its cooldown by 10% when players equip three pieces of the five-part set. Pyromancers should strive for this gear but can settle for any other items that boost their chosen skills.
Players will want to first focus on acquiring the best mods for their gear, which are much more attainable. The following four mods elevate Outriders' Fire Witch build and should be the top gear priorities.
- Giga-Blast is for torso armor and increases the radius of Eruption by 100%.
- Size Matters is for leg armor and increases F.A.S.E.R Beam's radius by 100%.
- Etna is or gloves, and lets Eruption be activated 1 more time before triggering the cooldown.
- Pompeii is for footgear and adds an Eruption charge, which stacks with Etna and gives the Pyromancer 3 total charges of the skill before it goes on cooldown.
Even managing to get one or two of these modes halfway through a run will seriously boost the Pyromancer's power, but there are plenty of ways to play the fire-casting class. Players should experiment with every item and mod they find, especially if they boost abilities that work well together. There are plenty of class synergies to discover in Outriders, and the Fire Witch build only scratches the surface of what's possible.
Source: Square Enix/YouTube