Part sixteen of my controller friendly build series: Chaos Darkblaze Pyromancer
This will likely be my final build on this patch, since I’m out of exciting ideas.
Playstyle: cast Curse of Frailty, and kite like crazy.
At SR80, this is about as much of a glass cannon as there can be. However, its damage is so high that it kills most enemies very quickly, as shown in the example chunk video.
Stats with Abomination active
Introduction
It is extremely controller friendly, requiring only 5 skills. The downside is that, due to its glass cannon nature, its survivability relies on intelligent gameplay. This makes it both difficult and fun. If you want a facetanky ranged build, [my Oathbearer Paladin](https://forums.crateentertainment.com/t/something-clever-about-pistols-piercing-oathbearer-righteous-fervor-paladin-sr80-controller-friendly/126460) is a good option.While I’m not crazy about Thermite Mine/Hellfire Mine in a kiting heavy build (which almost caused me to not go through with this build), there’s no way to ignore the massive damage that this can output. Like my Valdun’s Tactician, I was a bit surprised that this build isn’t already on the compendium since the set bonus has such synergy with these classes. Voidsoul Pyromancer did have a build back in 1.1.4.2, but quite a lot has changed since then. Most importantly, the recent change in passthrough to WPS enables this build to clear hordes of enemies in seconds, which would otherwise pose considerable dangers. The WPS available in combination with the obscene 228k dps (with Abomination active) means that this build shreds everything it touches. It has tons of explosions from Brimstone and Burning Void (hence the title), and tremendous linear damage from Void Rounds and Plunderer’s Talisman (both of which attack twice with each gun.) The gameplay is a little different from my other ranged builds, largely due to the glass cannon nature of this build, which is why I included an example chunk clear.
I do have a Mad Queen clear, but I’m not entirely sure what to make of it due to the mutator and the ambiguous starting time.
SR80 example chunk clear
Video proof of clear
Fight tips
Make sure to watch your energy. You should be able to maintain it with occasional potions, but if it runs out you’re in trouble. You could run more points in spirit if you don’t plan on attempting SR80.
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Offense: if you shoot something, it will die. Kiting with Thermite Mine can be tricky, but the most important factor in your offensive output is your ability to not die.
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Defense: run away. You’re not going to have much success facetanking. Vindictive Flame/Ulzuin’s Wrath applies a huge 23% damage reduction, but can be tricky to safely apply against hard hitting bosses. As Gnomish_Inquisition notes, it has complicated application conditions, and as a result is pretty unreliable. This build does require some intelligence, but if I can make it work then you should be fine.
Gear
As usual, the resists are overcapped to deal with resist reduction on high SR.
Essential Gear:
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Darkblaze set: core
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Second Darkblaze Incinerator: its WPS fires both weapons twice, effectively doing double the listed damage.
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Plunderer’s Talisman: you have good conversion on most of the elemental damage, and its WPS fire both weapons twice. With a 4% DA roll, it also provides vital defense.
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Korvaak’s Brand: you have good conversion on the flat damage, and the attack speed is nice. The 15% weapon damage to Fire Strike is multiplied by the % weapon damage on your WPS, which is huge, but the most important thing is the 6% Fire Strike damage converted to health, which is a vital healing boost.
Stuff I’m pretty sure is best in slot:
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Combustion Band: the chaos resist reduction is the headline, but it also brings flat fire damage (which becomes chaos) plus the health, attack speed, and +2 to Fire Strike.
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Voidheart: provides chaos resist reduction, an important conversion, and +2 to posession.
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Demonbone Legplates: the bonuses to Curse of Frailty and Solael’s Witchfire are nice, but the defense offered here is enormous.
Other Stuff
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Rah’Zin’s Shoulderguards: A good Kra’vall Shoulderguards or Benn’Jahr’s Pauldrons (as Foehammer suggested) would be better. The 1% damage absorption you’d lose from the -2 to Posession can be more than offset by DA or health from the MI rolls. The AS bonuses from Benn’s and from Solael’s Witchfire shouldn’t matter, since you’re way over the max already. However, thanks to the damage from +3 to Solael’s Witchfire, if you have decent +chaos on the MIs they’ll lead to more damage and can offer much more defense if you’re lucky.
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Vestments of Severed Faith: I looked at a few tempting alternatives, but the 5% OA from this made it seem to be the strongest. I’m not sold on it though.
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Harbinger’s Grasp: initially I had Doom Bolt in this build, but it ended up not being useful. Without it, Voidrend Talons may be the better option. They offer slightly less damage, but have very useful aether resist.
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Timewarped Walkers: provide useful resists, but they don’t seem like a perfect fit.
Devotions
Core
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Solael’s Witchblade: chaos resist reduction.
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Manticore: Hellfire Mines apply its AOE very effectively, but I can see an argument for Revenant on Curse of Frailty. The resist reduction wouldn’t be spread effectively over numerous enemies, but this build is extremely strong against hordes anyway. You would get attack speed and a significant lifesteal boost in return. Hmm.
Core 2
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Abomination: this gives a huge boost to damage. It would have been one of the first things to go if I needed more defense, but I didn’t.
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(Dying God): it would give a ton of damage, but you don’t have the defense to spare. I think it gives lower DPS than Manticore, since this build doesn’t have another source of flat resist reduction, and would make the build less consistent. You could use it instead of Abomination, in something like these devotions. You’d have more offense and defense without Dying God activated, but you are much stronger with Abomination activated than Dying God. Given this build’s propensity for running away, I’m not sure a big health drain would be ideal, but I think either could work.
Not core
- Hydra: it’s the only constellation here that requires purple, and gives 5 points of affinity for 6 devotion points. However, Empty Throne gives vital defensive utility, and Hydra gives terrific stats. I was unsure of whether I should use this, but it seems to work.
Skill choices
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do note that WPS are extra important in a dual wielding build, since they always attack with both weapons. Auto attacks without WPS do 50% both, 25% left hand, and 25% right hand, which averages to 75%. A WPS with 100% weapon damage is a substantial increase in damage. This build gets over 100% WPS, which is not easy on a Pyromancer.
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Fire Strike: core. The % weapon damage here is multiplied with the % weapon damage of the WPS, so that’s essential. I wanted more points in Static Strike, but they were needed elsewhere.
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Flame Touched/Temper: the OA and DA are necessary. The flat fire damage and physical damage are mostly converted.
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Thermite Mine/Hellfire Mine: great resist reduction, and good for activating Acid Spray, but it’s not a great skill for kiting. You’re going to have to use your brain on when and where to put them, which I always find problematic.
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Vindictive Flame: with the AS rolls on my items, I didn’t need any extra points in Vindictive Flame. Ulzuin’s Wrath is maxed, but can be tricky to apply against bosses, and impossible against many. However, it is great when it can be applied. However, the damage reduction it applies is critical. Again, you’re going to have to use your brain.
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Solael’s Witchfire: an obvious choice
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Possession: an obvious choice
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Curse of Frailty: a single point gets -18% chaos resist, but more get a bigger radius, longer duration, and slower movement.
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Blood of Dreeg: 100% acid to chaos conversion makes this super powerful. The physical resist and poison and acid resist from Aspect of the Guardian made it essential for survival.
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(Flashbang): it has great DA reduction, and offers a little defense, but I found that the points were better used elsewhere in a kiting build. It might be a better choice if you’re using mouse+keyboard and you can aim it precisely.
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(Blackwater Cocktail): I don’t like this on a controller, particularly on a kiting build like this. Demon Fire would be more reliable than Ulzuin’s Wrath, but overall I preferred the build without cocktails.
Leveling tips
I levelled this a while ago, so I don’t really remember it. Make sure to max Abomination first since it takes so much XP.
