Pyromancers unite!!

Vidar · Post by **Vidar** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 5:31 pm

Hi everyone,

Just thought I would start a thread asking if anyone has made a successful 60+ level Pyromancer? Searched the forum and couldn't find any suggestions so thought I would just ask.

Currently I am going down the Vocanic orb path with Core dweller and Stone form as my regen sanctuary. Intend on getting use of Eruption when I can and Volatility (for added fire damage).

Any tips or advice on other skills that I should be using or alternative tactics that have worked for your character?

Feedback is most welcome.

Vidar · Post by **Vidar** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:01 pm

Hint for everyone when going a pure Pyromancer....

For crowd control try using stone form and eruption.

Gather a good group of monsters together arround you (with core dweller near you also) plant an eruption then change into stone form.

Pretty much everything will be dead or distracted by the core dweller once you come out so you can either repeat eruption (if you have good enough recharge) or Volcanic orb them to death.

Give it a go.

Vidar · Post by **Vidar** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 5:21 pm

Still going strong with the Pyromancer - level 35 now and starting to realise how difficult it is not to have the extra 32 levels worth of attribute points I would be getting if I had a second mastery....I only have 1200 life and are working my way to Cerebus....

The combo of Stone Form and Eruption is still working well however timing is essential cos one miss click with only 1200 life and it can mean curtains...

Finally finding the merits of some of the other skills within the Mastery...put my first point into Heat Shield and have found it works well on both myself and putting it on the Core Dweller...finding ring of fire to be a little useless though....after the first attack the ring disappears!?...might remove that skill point from that....

So far Eruption is the main killer spell I have....I have managed to kill most bosses through placing it under them and running around them throwing Volc. orbs at them from range while my core dweller tanks them for a bit.

Will keep everyone posted if you are ever wanting to try this Mastery solo.

Claudius · Post by **Claudius** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:11 pm

ring of fire should be staying up. If you have another buff with a graphic if you cast that after RoF the ring will dissappear but it is still there.

You can test if it is working by standing there and if guys are getting hit by fire even though your not using any other skill then it works.

It is on a ticker timer I think it hits every second. I think its a better skill for melee char with % fire gear and skills (intelligence a plus too)

Vidar · Post by **Vidar** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:40 pm

cool cheers for that. Thought that might be the case. Will keep to it and see how things pan out with this character build.

Uller · Post by **Uller** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:50 pm

Just thought I would update everyone....and yes I have changed my profile to Uller instead of Vidar....

Just finding out that stun is vital for this build....the quicker you can get recharge on Volcanic orb the better your chances of survival.

I am finding at the moment I can stun the enemy (in a small group) and keep them stunned providing I keep hitting them with Volcanic Orb.

Now this is an important aspect of the build. Since my character does not have much life (1250 only due to only going one mastery) you have to make the most of every aspect of the skills within the Earth mastery....this including stun time on Volcanic Orb.

The recharge timer is essential also for Eruption and Stone Form. When facing those boss monsters you need to be able to dish the damage out and Volcanic Orb currently does not cut it however Eruption does.

Will keep you posted further as a I find things out.

Uller · Post by **Uller** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 6:38 pm

Ok, I have done it. Beat Normal finally. Level 37 - Hades was actually pretty easy provided that I didn't get hit by him (only 1200 life).

Am finding Heat Shield a very good skill. You can cast it on yourself and the Core Dweller. Which makes him basically near indestructable....well in epic Greece so far anyways...

Have reached 41st level and are on the way to the Knossos Palace. Have finally managed to "beef" up my equipment. So now I have 2250 life and 1400 energy. Have also managed to get +2 to all my skills. +1 from the Dragons Tongue Artifact which I managed to construct (which adds +1 to Earth Elemental attacks) and +1 from armour (I think).

Am finding that things are getting easier rather than harder from epic onwards....which is weird considering how difficult it was to start out....

Eruption cast for large mobs whilst I go into Stone Form is still a good tactic. Everything is pretty much dead by the time I come out of it.

Volcanic Orb is still working very well. I consider it kind of like a stun grenade. Has good range and is a good way to stun all of the enemy and damage a whole lot of them before they come charging in. Typically by this time you have killed a few of them or your Core Dweller has got in there and mixed it up with them.

Just a reminder for everyone again that this is a single mastery build and recommend it for anyone that wants a real challenge.

Claudius · Post by **Claudius** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:58 pm

Congratulations. Your going to want to view + health/attribute gear as very desirable. You will have extra skillpoints in earth trees. Make sure not to spread out too much between attributes or you won't be able to wear legendary gear. If it becomes too impossible you can always make the character a 2 mastery char. Have fun!

Uller · Post by **Uller** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 3:15 pm

Finally hit that level 42 thresh hold where I can start to use most of the legendary items.

Just put on Leggings of the Defiled and Crown of Dockma'ar. Made a good difference.

Currently cruising really. Just completely obliterated the Minotaur in Knossos. My Core Dweller with level 15 Heatshield tanked him while I planted Eruption under him and orbed him to death. The Core Dweller walked away with no damage loss! Crazy!

Also beat the Telkine rather easily...had to use just one potion of health and switched into stone form when he took control of my Core Dweller but apart from that rather easy.

I think this build is starting to evolve into something quite good. Haven't even invested heavily into the Fire Enchantment tree yet or Volatility for that matter....currently cranking out 1400 dps from staff.

So far....
Maxed Eruption
Maxed Orb tree
Maxed Heat Shield
Maxed Core dweller (exc. damage output part)
Few points into Stone form
Few points into Volatility
Few points into Fire Enchantment
1 point in ring of fire

I think this build is turning out to be very worthwhile.

Soontir Fel · Post by **Soontir Fel** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 8:05 pm

With your positive reinforcement, I started a pyromancer myself and I really liked it. I'm just level 10 right now but this build is really good. I will use volcanic orb and core dweller but with the -100% recharge the flame surge is pretty good too, it can be the primary attack.
I have the idea to mix this build with Dream mastery -Nightmare and master mind actually- for core dweller being not just the tank but the damage dealler as well.
But all in all it gave me something to play in my drought, so thanks for the topic and ı would be happy to trade ideas with you about the build.

Uller · Post by **Uller** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:34 pm

Hi Soontir Fel,

Yes Earth mastery with Dream would be quite a nice build and they compliment each other quite nicely.

I have a couple of suggestion for you in the Dream tree if you are utilising Orb from the Earth tree and that is making the most of the Distortion Wave and Distortion Ripple spells. I have built 2 characters beyond 60th level now involving the Dream mastery (one char melee based and the other caster based) - I found with the caster that I built Distortion ripple and distortion wave to be very useful. Coupled with the stun ability from the Volcanic orb I think you will find throwing a Distortion wave in the direction of the monsters also will finish them off quite nicely.

Core Dweller with the Nightmare has been a proven good combo so you are onto a winner there. Just another suggestion for you if you are going down the "super pet" build and that is get Heat Shield maxed in the Earth enchantment. You can cast this on yourself, the Core Dweller and your Nightmare and it lasts indefinately so it gets the thumbs up for being worth your skill points from me.

And lastly but not least have fun with your build - there is no right or wrong way just be wary of trying to strategise a wee bit on your build so you can ultimately beat Legendary difficulty.

Have fun!

Soontir Fel · Post by **Soontir Fel** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 6:32 pm

I've made a Prophet some time ago and Distortion Wave rocks!
Heat shield gives more than 15% dmg resistance, it's for sure, but what do you think about flame surge? Will it worth the points?

Uller · Post by **Uller** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:03 pm

There has been mixed feedback on Flame Surge some find it worth while, yet some prefer Volc. orb.

I guess what I look at firtsly in a skill that I intend on utilising is firstly is it still going to be useful in Legendary difficulty. Now I know Flame surge hits multiple targets and never misses however is the maxed damage output high enough for monsters in Legendary still to feel it?

Reasoning I went with Volcanic Orb is that enevitably it was not going to put out enough damage to be a main form of attack in Legendary however what else does it have going for it after the damage output? And of course it can stun multiple opponents...and what I mean by multiple opponents I mean 9-15 opponents (quantity or orbs that explode out of original orb). From this I recognised that yes this will be very useful when slowing the rate at which I am attacked in Legendary.

One other tip is definately get Eruption. It is by far the most damaging spell from the Earth tree and great to plant under your core dweller when he is surrounded.

Slayer87 · Post by **Slayer87** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:14 am

I have a lvl 42 warfare/defense, a lvl 31 storm/nature and a 15 pyromancer. All are good builds, but I seem to have the best time playing on the pyromancer. I use the Core Dweller and the Weapon fire enchant with a fire staff with leach life. It is working very well to this point.

I would suggest that anyone sacrafice a small amount of dps if you can have life leach on a weapon because it really helps with the issue of having a low hp with only one mastery.

I am going to add a mastery at some point, but I am no sure which one will be better the dream or the spirit. I am wanting to pick a one that I have not done yet but will most likely focus on the Earth mastery. Any suggestions?

Uller · Post by **Uller** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:29 pm

There are lots of different possibilities here.

If you are you going the complete caster way I would probably suggest Dream, Spirit or Nature.

Dream if you want another form of attack that can stun your opponent in place. I have also built a Dream/Spirit caster and have to say that Sleep from the Dream mastery is the most under rated spell in the game. I have boosted this to the max and find I can put a large mob of creatures (not uniques or bosses) to sleep for up to 12 seconds....by this time pretty much you could probably go out get your self a drink come sit back down and then make a decision as to what spell you plan on finishing them off with!

Dream also offers the 2 distortion type blasts - one the wave and the other the nova effect....I would go for the nova one if you already are throwing Volcanic orbs at people....a nice little combo could be orb then sleep then wlak up to them and nova ripple them....while your core dweller is bashing them.

Spirit is good if you decide to use your staff damage (due to enchant) as your main damage causer this backed by Ternion can cause a stack load of damage to the enemy...also in the spirit tree the Lich King is great support for your Core Dweller....if anything the Lich King can probably tank just as much damage! The Outsider from the spirit tree is also a must for bosses...this guy is probably the best tank in the game.

Nature is great for healing your pets and for additional pets....wolves + Dryad + Core Dweller = a lot of pets....just make sure you support them well by using volcanic orb to stun enemies + eruption for mobs/bosses and the use of Heat shield on each of them when you can to make them last a little longer.

Hope this helps and keep having fun. I have managed to get my Pyromancer to level 50 now! Defeated Typhon in Epic just the other night...

...and one further thing I am finding the Gatekeeper staff that I am using (legendary staff) very good for staff damage.

Soontir Fel · Post by **Soontir Fel** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:13 am

I have the Gatekeeper in my stash but trying to find Eye of Osiris, which gives +41& fire damage and +2 to earth skills. I have found crown of dockma'ar, bracelets of aman'da and demonskin walkers with my conquerer and they are awesome.
At first I started this pyromancer build to spend my free time but now I find myself freeing time to play!

Uller · Post by **Uller** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:45 pm

Yeah I am trying to find that staff also.

Looks like a goody for a Pyromancer. My other little suggestion is that I am actually using Hesiones Veil at the moment for its bonus to fire damage and various other bits that I considered a slight bit better than crown of Dock'mar in the end.

I think both are a great choice though really.

Currently I am going down the damage resistance path and wearing Diognes robes and bracelets...I think I worked it out but I have like 70 something damage res at the moment....which I absolutely have been needing in Hades levels of Epic.

Currently using 2 green rings that add to % of intelligence and Energy and reliced them with diomedes relics that have a base of 6% damage res....this just reinforcing my damage res from melee attackers.

Currently sitting on 900+ intelligence and are aiming for 1000+.

Its a great challenge really to go single Mastery and it definatley is fun using the Earth mastery.

Slayer87 · Post by **Slayer87** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:01 pm

Uller,
Thanks for the advice, all that I need to do now is decide if I want to use a staff and have more pets or if I want to focus more on spells. I may even just hold the single pyromancer role. All I do know for sure is that it'll be fun reguardless of my path. Thanks again!!

Uller · Post by **Uller** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 7:14 pm

You are most welcome. Have fun with the Pyromancer. I sure am and it is a good challenge to build a single mastery character. It forces you to rethink every skill within the mastery and how to maximise its use.