Since Outriders announced its delay out of 2020 and into the more open launch date of February 2, 2021, news has unfortunately gone silent. The much anticipated Broadcast 4 has not been dated as of yet, though fans are hopeful the next information session will be arriving in the next few weeks. People Can Fly have already teased that the next broadcast will touch on the end game, what to do when the max level has been reached, as well as how to find some of the best loot in the game.
Part of the reason for such anticipation is the promise of a closer look at the final class available to be selected in the game, the Technomancer. Unlike the three previously revealed classes, the Technomancer features a unique blend of traps and support skills, perfect for co-op. In a recent hands-on event, it was discovered that this class can manifest all sorts of tools of destruction from mini-guns, to turrets, and even mines. The class can also be an adept healer when needed thanks to its Shaman skill tree.
However, Outriders also features more traditional style class rolls such as the tank-like Devastator, the shifty and hard hitting Trickster, as well as the elemental powerhouse Pyromancer. Unlike the other three classes, the Pyromancer isn't a typical glass cannon wizard. For those that want to reign down chaos upon the enemies of Enoch, the Pyromancer may be the best choice.
What is it?
As the name suggests, the Pyromancer is all about fire. This class excels at medium range and is especially good at dealing with large groups of enemies at a time. Unlike Tricksters, Pyromancers don't have the ability to get in and out of combat quickly and can't take a beating like their Devastator brethren.
However, they specialize at controlling enemies and setting them up to either burn or explode. Many of their skills and abilities also affect groups of enemies thanks to area of effect damage as well as explosion effects. In a group, Pyromancers are masters of enemy control.
Melee and Healing Ability
For the Pyromancer, their basic melee attack applies an area of effect burn on any nearby enemies creating damage over time. While sprinting, the attack upgrades into a ground slam, which applies the same effects to a group of nearby enemies.
Unlike other games in this genre, Outriders doesn't have healing potions littered around the ground. Instead, each class had their own unique way to gain back health. For the Pyromancer, any enemies that die when marked by a Pyromancer skill will generate a healing effect. What this means is that anytime a class ability is used on an enemy will mark them with a skull and green plus icon for a few seconds. If that enemy dies with the mark still active, regardless of who killed it, the Pyromancer will heal. Considering that many of the class skills involve explosions and area of effect, there's a ton of potential for large amounts of healing.
Skill Trees
Just like the other classes, the player has plenty of options to better personalize their Pyromancer. In addition to loot, players have multiple skill trees to invest in, letting them create their perfect version of the class. Devoting skill points into one or more branches will ultimately alter how the Pyromancer plays as well as their combat effectiveness. Of course, experimentation is encouraged as players are not locked into choosing one tree and can even respec to try out different branches if they so choose.
- Ash Breaker - This branch is mainly focused on bonuses that help the player deal damage to marked enemies. Naturally, this means players will likely be able to kill enemies faster and heal more often.
- Fire Storm - Invest in this tree to increase skill damage, anomaly effectiveness, and burn damage.
- Tempest - The final tree will turn the Pyromancer into more of a tank. Skills a centered more on survivability through increasing health and reducing damage.
Abilities
As the studio has done for the other classes, only four of the eight abilities have been revealed so far, leaving a bit more for fans to discover once the game arrives. As a master of the flame, most of the abilities revolve around burning and exploding. However, more than a few also have some interesting alternative abilities as well in addition to stunning and causing burn damage.
- Thermal Bomb - Striking the ground, the Pyromancer targets a single enemy to damage and set them on fire. If the enemy dies under this effect, they rise into the air and explode, setting nearby enemies on fire as well. Great for single damage as well as taking out groups of enemies too close to one another. Not only that, if a teammate kills an enemy under the Thermal Bomb effect, they'll rise and explode as well.
- Ash Blast - Cast in a large radius, any enemies caught within it will gain the debuff Ash. Essentially, this freezes them in place for a few seconds in a cloud of dust. Not only is this great for crowd control, but it combines well with other class abilities for maximum effect.
- Heatwave - One of the most important skills in the toolbox for a Pyromancer. Using this summons a fire wall that races out ahead of the player. That means any enemies in front of the player take damage, get marked, and burn all at the same time. A perfect move to use for burst healing.
- Overheat - While this move may seem weak at first glance, it actually is one of the Pyromancers better support skills for compounding damage. Essentially, using this ability deals a small amount of damage to enemies in a large radius as well as bonus damage for enemies who are already burning. It's also a great way to mark a large group of enemies very quickly.
Teases for the other abilities have been found through various trailers and blog posts including one that looks like it gives Pyromancers access to inferno bullets. This move appears to be similar to the Trickster's Twisted Rounds ability which replaces the current weapon's magazines with anomaly-infused bullets. It's likely assumed then that these bullets do added damage and perhaps cause the burning effect on enemies. Regardless, players will have plenty of options as they go up against the variety of enemies found on Enoch when the game launches early next year.
Outriders releases February 2, 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Stadia version in development for later in 2021.
