It’s natural to be confused when somebody picks the highest Anomaly damage class inOutridersand then proceeds to build that character that prioritizes physical damage. Why would somebody turn down big damage numbers in exchange for a middle-of-the-road damage build? This is accurate, so long as somebody looks at numbers, only numbers, and nothing but the numbers.
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It turns out there there is a method to the madness behind why so many pros are testing out the Ash Breaker Pyromancer at the highest Apocalypse Tier. The damage is still fantastic, even if it can’t quite reach the Tempest, but the real star of the show is the Ash status effect. This is, by far, the best status effect in the game as it stuns enemies completely. Being the only build inOutridersable to regularly apply such an effect makes the Ash Breaker a hot commodity in group play against tough bosses.
Updated on July 5th, 2022 by Hodey Johns:Many will look at the new endgame content, new weapons, and additional talent trees and already get a sense of how the builds have updated since Worldslayer. But this is only a fraction of the equation. The new foes and bosses employ different moves and tactics. These types of targets should not be a second-hand consideration. This build has been updated to account for the new opponents, giving players the skills and gear that best counters anything Worldslayer has to throw at them.
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+10% Weapon Damage against Marked targets
+10% Weapon Damage against Ashed targets
+5% Weapon Damage and +5% Anomaly Damage
All Guns Blazing
+20% Weapon Damage for 7 seconds when any skill is activated
+10% Damage against Elites and -10% Damage from Elites
Burning Sensation
+20% Weapon Damage for 10 seconds when an Immobilize is activated
Whenlearning about what is and isn’t effective against the higher Apocalypse Tiers, players will find that the stun from Ash is more than just an annoying slow-down mechanism. It makes scoring critical hits easier and enables players to kite bosses, which is really the most critical part of the build.
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Venture into the Fire Storm tree and pick up All Guns Blazing for more weapon damage. This build is all aboutVolcanic Rounds, which will ignore armor and scale based on Firepower, not Anomaly Power. Weapon damage should be the focus of the node selection process.
Effect
Coming In Hot
Deal 15% more damage to enemies above 80% health and 30% more damage to enemies below 30% health
Ashen Wake
Shots damage all enemies inflicted with Ash within 4 meters of the target, dealing 30% of the damage dealt
Hot Streak
Critical shots increase weapon damage by 6%, the bonus lasts for 4 seconds and stacks up to 5 times
Increase magazine size by 200%
Bullet Frenzy
Shots with assault weapons increase weapon damage by 3%, the effect lasts until the Pyromancer stops shooting
If the Ash Breaker has any single weakness, it’s the ability to handle mobs of opponents. For most players, this is an acceptable trade-off to perma-stun an elite unit or boss. Ashen Wake allows players to avoid the sacrifice, dealing damage to clusters of enemies in addition to retaining the single-target damage.
Players will struggle to keep Volcanic Rounds refreshed 100% of the time, but as soon as they get Carbon Ammo, it’s nearly impossible to lose this bonus. The rest of the nodes are just gravy.
Ascension Points
The nature of Ascension points is that every class and build, given the time to farm, can max out every node. So this build only provides an accurate starting point for gamers. After that, the rest of these points have more to do with luxury than necessity.
It’s easier to manage Ascension points for the Ash Breaker than most classes. Due to the reliance on VOlcanic rounds, definitely prioritize the lower cooldowns and larger magazines, but, after that, feel free to customize them to fit the run.
Skill Selection
Volcanic Rounds
Fills a magazine with Igniting rounds. These rounds inflict Burn, ignore all armor, and pierce targets. The effect lasts until the magazine runs out, the gun is reloaded, or the weapon is switched.
Ash Blast
Blast the area in front of the Pyromancer. Enemies hit by the blast are inflicted with Ash and immobilized.
Feed The Flames
Pulls an enemy toward the Pyromancer, damaging them, stealing their health, and inflicting Ash.
Ash Blastis a great skill with a huge radius and a low cooldown. Most importantly,it is an Immobilize skill, meaning that for ten seconds after casting it, the Ash Breaker will be receiving all kinds of benefits, including bumping up weapon and anomaly damage by 45% each. It’s useful early on before a weapon mod can regularly apply Ash to enemies and acts as an easy stun for when enemy numbers get overwhelming.
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For big single targets and bosses,Feed the Flamesis the go-to skill.It will pull the enemy forward(which is incredible for getting tough targets out of cover),deal damage, andinflict Ash. As expected, this is crippling to enemy units with how well these penalties synergize to give the Ash Breaker a strong advantage. Gamers willdebate about which class builds are good or bad, and this skill makes the Ash Breaker one of the better options.
Of course, this whole build is based onVolcanic Rounds. Being able toignore all armoris especially powerful against stronger targets. This also is another means ofinflicting Burn, which is the secondary source of damage for the Ash Breaker.
Mod 3
Ultimate Burning Bullets
With so muchvariety when it comes to legendary weapons, it can be overwhelming to try and pick out the best of the best. Thankfully, the Ash Breaker has its scope limited right away due to such huge boosts to assault rifles. Given that selection, the Inferno Seed is probably the best choice, exploding enemies that take critical hits and inflicting Burn on them.
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More importantly than any weapon,take the Ultimate Ashen Bullets mod off of the Wicker and put it on another weapon. The Wicker is an SMG and therefore not a great choice, but a mod that automatically applies Ash to enemies is an incredibly powerful advantage.
Waiting for skills to apply Ash is too lengthy of an affair. Putting it on the weapon is exactly what the Ash Breaker needs, allowing them to shoot without interrupting.
Ashes and Leeches
Mod 2
Empowerment
There is no question that the best legendary set is theTorturer set. By wearing three pieces of the armor, the Pyromancer will getthree times the aura area size around the bullets during Volcanic Rounds. This makes it not only more likely to land shots but more likely to land critical shots, locking enemies down in a cycle of stun and exposure to free critical hits.
All but two of the default mods contribute to either Volcanic Rounds or Ash Blast, which works perfectly for this build.The other two mods should be replaced with Lava Shots and Bullet Absorption. Lava Shots gives players a 50% boost to weapon damage after Volcanic Rounds runs out. Bullet Absorption gives players back 40% of the bullets in their magazine for each enemy hit by Feed the Flames.
Outridersis available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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