In Outriders’ Broadcast #2, People Can Fly gave us an in-depth look at the Pyromancer Class. As described by the developer, the Pyromancer is a mid-range fighter that can “manipulate explosive volcanic energy and devastating walls of flames.”
People Can Fly say the Pyromancer is for players who enjoy taking on hordes of enemies at once. The Pyromancer uses lots of area of effect attacks and abilities which combo nicely with its healing ability.
Like all classes in Outriders, the Pyromancer heals by killing enemies. However, to gain health, the Pyromancer needs to defeat enemies which have been marked by their skills. Any time the Pyromancer uses a skill or ability that damages an enemy, the enemy will be marked for a short period.
If they die while marked, the Pyromancer recovers health. The best way to recover health with the Pyromancer is to mark and kill as many enemies as possible at the same time.
Outriders Pyromancer
Like all classes in Outriders, the Pyromancer has eight total powers to use. Each character begins with one power and gradually unlocks more by levelling up. We only know about four of the Pyromancer’s powers at this stage, as People Can Fly didn’t reveal more during the broadcast.
It did reveal that the Pyromancer inflicts the ‘Burning’ status on enemies which deals damage over time and temporarily stuns enemies. This allows Pyromancers to use their skills and abilities to interrupt enemies by inflicting burning, if the need arises.
The four abilities revealed in Broadcast #2 are;
- Thermal Bomb
- Ash Blast
- Heatwave
- Overheat
Heatwave is one of the earliest powers available to the Pyromancer and is a great example of their mid-range abilities and healing mechanics. Drawing their hands upwards from the ground, the Pyromancer sends a wave of flame towards enemies in a straight line. The wave is only slightly wider than the Pyromancer itself but travels quite some distance.
Heatwave applies the Burning status which can stun and interrupt enemies as well as dealing damage over time. If players manage to hit enough enemies with Heatwave at once they may recover a lot of health when they all perish together.
Thermal Bomb sets enemies on fire and deals damage over time; pretty standard. However, an enemy affected by Thermal Bomb will rise into the air and explode if they’re killed whilst affected. This lets the Pyromancer turn enemies into living weapons who can take out groups of burning enemies to both clear the battlefield and heal.
An enemy affected by Thermal Bomb doesn’t need to be killed by the player who used the abiliity for the effect to take place either. A Pyromancer can use Thermal Bomb and have a team mate deal the killing blwo to set the bomb off.
Ash Blast is a unique skill in that it applies the ‘Ash’ status rather than burning. It affects enemies in a wide radius and completely immobilises all enemies it affects. This gives players a bit of breathing room and is great as a catalyst for other powers like Heatwave or Thermal Bomb.
People Can Fly also says Ash Blast has both offensive and defensive utility. As an offensive ability, Pyromancers can freeze enemies in place to unleash an area of effect attack, or have one of their teammates do so. On defense, Pyromancers can freeze nearby enemies to make a quick escape.
Overheat deals a small amount of damage to enemies in a large area and deals extra damage to enemies which are already burning. Overheat is a great secondary skill, useful to follow up the Pyromancer’s other abilities that inflict burning and a great way to get a tonne of healing at once.
Even without weapons, the Pyromancer makes use of its skills in a variety of ways. Despite excelling at mid-range, if enemies get too close, the Pyromancer can use its melee attack. This deals fire damage to anything it hits, as well as dealing extra damage over time. If you melee an enemy and it dies or you kill it while marked, it will heal you.
The spotlight on the Pyromancer also gives us a look at their Skill Tree and the three branches they have. As People Can Fly explain, players earn points to spend on the Skill Tree by levelling up but won’t be able to earn enough to fill out the entire tree. However, players will be able to respec their Skill Tree to change how their class plays.
The Pyromancer’s three branches are; Ash Breaker, Fire Storm and Tempest. The Ash Breaker increased damage against marked enemies, Fire Storm increases Skill Damage and Anamoly Power and the Tempest improves health recovery, max health and reduces incoming damage.
In the gallery above you can see some of the skills available in the Pyromancer’s Skill Tree, including the Phoenix Nestling skill available in the Tempest branch. Phoenix Nestling allows players to return to life with 50% health upon death. Other Skills increase the Pyromancer’s effectiveness, increase damage output, reduce incoming damage and more.
Players look to be able to mix and match the Skill Tree to create their perfect build.
Additionally, weapons and armour can also change the way skills work, the damage they deal and the impact they have on enemies. There’s going to be an incredible amount of customisation going on in Outriders and it looks like it’s going to be an RPG/Stat Nerd’s wet dream.
For now, we only know four of the Pyromancer’s eight abilities, though from the trailer, it looks as though it has a flaming ground pound move that deals AoE damage. We’ll have to wait until People Can Fly reveal the remaining abilities before we definitely know what they are but so far, the Pyromancer looks like a hell of a lot of fun.
Outriders is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
