The closest thing Superfuse has to a classic damage-from-range spellcaster is the Fire Elementalist and it does not disappoint. It's a wise decision to stick with ranged attacks from start to finish during the campaign and these attacks are not in the least bit underwhelming.
Players who find the Fire Elemenalist tough to play aren't alone, but they shouldn't pull the plug on the character just yet. This is indeed one of the best heroes in Superfuse when players have their builds in order and have selected some of the best talents the class has to offer.
This article was written during the Early Access period. Updates and patches may have altered the overall experience.
10 Burned
- Energy restore on kill.
A few points of energy restored after each kill might not look like a big deal. After all, it takes a lot of energy to kill one opponent, so getting a few points back feels like merely lessening the blow. However, consider that the Fire Elemenalist will be grouping enemies up and taking them out in waves. With a wave of enemies going down and a few points into the Burned talent, the Fire Elemenalist will be immediately given a full energy bar. This is handy for dealing with bosses after handling their minions.
9 Boil
- Increase maximum energy.
As a caster, not having enough energy may make players seek out a respec method very soon after starting the game. The Fire Elementalist does need to remain in combat for as long as possible, damaging enemies with area-of-effect spells. To increase the hero's longevity, three points in Boil will give players an extra 30% to their energy pool, more than enough to outlast the competition.
8 Ignite Boost
- Increase fire spell damage per ignited enemy.
As the Fire Elementalist takes a group and casts fire spells against them, more than a few of these units are going to ignite. When this happens, the Ignite Boost talent gives the Fire Elementalist even more strength in battle. Groups will start falling in masse as soon as one starts to burn, creating a snowball effect that doesn't end until every unit has killed the ones around it with burn damage.
7 Ignite
- Increase chance to cause burn.
The Fire Elementalist thrives on damage over time from Combust and Torch. These have a small chance to apply burn effects, but this can be enhanced by Ignite. Against bosses especially, the constant attacks from this hero will increase the likelihood of a burn effect. Ignite greatly increases this chance. Instead of porting around to evade combat encounters like this, this talent will cut down the amount of time tough enemies can survive.
6 Overheat
- Increase fire penetration.
Bosses and elite units have some of the best new fuses on their person. Fire penetration won't make much of a difference against a bulk of the game's enemies, but it sure is important when clashing with the toughest opponents. These creatures have elevated resistance to fire penetration. To counter this, players will want to be sure to either use Overheat or apply fuses that penetrate these defenses.
5 Fire Boost
- Increase fire spell damage.
An increase in fire spell damage should be a flat increase in damage to the Fire Elemenalist. Players that use this class and end up using their physical attacks have done something very wrong with their build. As players unlock new skills, they'll find they are all based on fire damage. Fire Boost, therefore, increases all the damage a good player will do with this build. With five points, that's a 25% boost.
4 Fire Superiority
- Increase fire penetration, fire resistance, and fire damage.
The biggest downside with Fire Superiority is that it's all the way at the end of the talent tree, meaning that players will have to level up quickly to get access to it at all and they'll have to sacrifice many other passives along the way. The upside, though, is that for a single point, players get three benefits, two of which (fire penetration and fire damage) are valuable about all of the time.
3 Combust
- Combust the air around you, damaging anyone in the area.
This specialization is designed to take out groups of units and Combust puts it on that track. The Fire Elementalist should stay in mid-range, just outside of the melee attack range of the mobs. Run around with Combust going off and the units will die before they can reach the hero. Fuse the skill to make it more powerful to enhance the Fire Elementalist's role in combat.
2 Torch
- Encase yourself in fire, dealing damage to surrounding enemies and quickly regenerating energy.
Torch takes all the advantages of Combust but instead of costing energy, it actually gives the Fire Elementalist energy. Spells that give players power instead of drawing power make the Fire Elementalist one of the best specializations in the game. As with Combust, it's best when kiting enemies around as they are out of reach.
1 Fireball
- Shoot a fireball in your targeted direction.
While getting better gear makes every character stronger, players will always be limited by their abilities. Some classes get access to a ranged area of effect skills further down in the chain, but it's the Fire Elementalist that starts out with this powerful skill at the first level. Fireball will wipe out groups of enemies and single targets alike. It's a strong move from start to finish.
Superfuse is available in Early Access for PC.