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.

• 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.

The Ash Breaker Pyromancer can absolutely keep up with other physical damage builds, but it requires being very precise. All weapon damage small nodes should be selected in order to stay at maximum relevancy. Many of these only apply to enemies under the Mark or Ash effect, but with some help from the Pyromancer's skills, this won't be a problem.

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.
• Feed The Flames: Pull enemies toward the Pyromancer. The enemy is inflicted with Ash, immobilized, and has its health drained.
• 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.

Overheat works in tandem with the Incinerate node. This is a guaranteed method of inflicting Ash when detonated on enemies who are burning. The Burn effect is extinguished, but the extra damage far exceeds the amount that the Burn would have caused. And essentially stunning every enemy with Ash sets you the Pyromancer and their team for free headshots.

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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.

• Extra Mag
• Armor Melting
• Sunburnt
• Third Degree
• Bullet Absorption

The Extra Mag mod is as good as it gets for the Ash Breaker because it doubles the duration of their best skill. When combined with Armor Melting, this also diminishes the armor on enemy units that take fire during Volcanic Rounds. One doesn't even need to look at the other skill mods and can easily select Volcanic Rounds mods exclusively if they so desire.

Sunburnt and Third Degree both combine to make it so the Pyromancer will do extra damage to units hit by Overheat so long as there was a status effect on the units. Being that the Ash Breaker can apply Burn, Ash, and Vulnerable status effects almost on a whim, this is nearly guaranteed to occur on every use.

Bullet Absorption restores bullets in the magazine for every enemy hit by Feed the Flames. 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 Tormet & Agony is usually considered the lesser of the two leegndary pistols sets, but the guaranteed Mark infliction works great for the Ash Breaker.

• Torturer Set

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 gloves or boots, so feel free to replace those pieces of gear with anything that has better mods on them after getting the full set.

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