It's natural to be confused when somebody picks the highest Anomaly damage class in Outriders and 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 World 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 able to regularly apply such an effect makes the Ash Breaker a hot commodity in group play against tough bosses.

Updated on April 19th, 2021 by Hodey Johns: Nobody likes it when their favorite class is nerfed, but that's exactly what happened to the Ash Breaker Pyromancer within one week of the game's release. Despite the nerf to Volcanic Rounds, the skill is still, by far, the best way to do damage with this build. That being said, there are some alterations due to the nerf and so this guide's weapons, armor, mods, and nodes have been adjusted to stay at the very highest of the DPS charts for its class.

• Ashes To Ashes: Ash inflicts Vulnerable.
• Burning Sensation: Activating an Immobilize Skill increases weapon damage by 60% for 10 seconds.
• Assault Master: 20% Weapon Damage with Assault Rifles.

This build sticks to using all Ash Breaker nodes. The only nodes to avoid involve Leech (the class already heals by killing, Leech is unnecessary) and Piercing (hitting targets with Ash automatically ignores armor resistance). Other than that, take the rest!

Status Effects are the name of the game for the Ash Breaker as it will already be applying Mark and Ash regularly. By adding Vulnerable via Ashes to Ashes, players will leave enemies with more debuffs than they can shrug off. The final node in the tree, Burning Sensation, will increase weapon damage when doing any skill that immobilizes a target. This will be active more often than not with a good rotation. Assault Master will buff up assault rifle damage by 20% and, as a mid-range master, the Assault Rifle is perfect for the Pyromancer anyhow.

Feel free to grab the Sniper Master node as well. This boosts damage from the rifle by 40%, which can be higher when learning about what is and isn't effective against the higher World Tiers. Fights will usually start off with this gun until enemies get overwhelming, so this makes for a more effective opening salvo. If sniper rifles aren't in the cards, Marble Orchard will help by reducing skill cooldowns by 15%.

• 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.
• Overheat: All nearby enemies in a large area are damaged and interrupted. Enemies inflicted with Burn will stop burning but will receive significantly more damage.

Ash Blast is 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 Flames is the go-to skill. It will pull the enemy forward (which is incredible for getting tough targets out of cover), deal damage, and inflict Ash. As expected, this is crippling to enemy units with how well these penalties synergize to give the Ash Breaker a strong advantage. Gamers will debate 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 on Volcanic Rounds. Being able to ignore all armor is especially powerful against stronger targets. This also is another means of inflicting Burn, which can also be extinguished to create Ash with Overheat.

• Head: Death Sentence, Bullet Absorption
• Chest: Susceptibility, Ashen Boost
• Hands: Flame Grasper, Wide Grip
• Legs: Reload Boost, Extra Mag
• Feet: Anomaly Echo, Empowerment
• Weapon: Ultimate Ashen Bullets

The Extra Mag mod is as good as it gets for the Ash Breaker because it doubles the duration of their best skill. There are tempting options that reduce armor against enemies who are afflicted by Ash, but remember that Volcanic Rouns ignore armor. These skills will help teammates out, but generally there are much better options for these valuable spots.

Ashen Boost is a tier two mod that increases damage against enemies afflicted by Ash by an additional 20%. Because this will be every enemy, this mod can be treated as a flat-out 20% increase in damage.

Bullet Absorption restores bullets in the magazine for every enemy hit by Feed the Flames. Even better, it stacks with Flame Grasper and Wide Grip in a way that will fill even the largest magazine back to full. This is invaluable with the Volcanic Rounds, which will gain a brand new clip for which to dispense the Ash Breaker's best skill.

• Assault Rifles: Voodoo Matchmaker, Inferno Seed
• Sniper Rifle: Icarus
• Pistols: Torment & Agony

With so much variety 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 their scope limited right away due to such huge boosts to assault rifles and sniper rifles.

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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.

The Icarus is an automatic sniper rifle that refunds critical hits strikes. The Voodoo Matchmaker has a mod that gives players damage based on the amount of damage that the enemies do, making it one of the most sought-after mods in the game. Lastly, the Torment & Agony is usually considered the lesser of the two legendary pistols sets, but the guaranteed Mark infliction works great for the Ash Breaker.

• Head: Torturer's Mask
• Chest: Torturer's Vest
• Hands: Any
• Legs: Any
• Feet: Torturer's Footgear

There is no question that the best legendary set is the Torturer set. By wearing three pieces of the armor, the Pyromancer will get three 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, which, depending on the mod selection, can refund bullets and keep the damage going for even longer.

The complete set comes with a whopping four mods that bolster Volcanic Rounds. There aren't any on the hands or legs of any significance, so feel free to substitute those pieces of gear with anything that has better mods on them after getting the other three pieces set.

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