The Pyromancer

In the first few weeks of Rift, Mages were a rare sight around Telara. Fast forward a few weeks and you can’t swing a stick without hitting one. While the reasons for this bunny-like explosion are numerous, the biggest one is the buffs made to the Pyromancer soul. In terms of raw firepower (pun intentional) there is no better soul, which makes it a perfect addition to virtually every Mage build.

Pros

• Hits harder than an angry Mike Tyson
• Well suited for multiple mobs due to powerful AoE
• Best option for primary soul in a DPS build
• Excellent synergy will all souls

Cons

• Glass cannon
• Aggro can be hard to manage
• Will be target of class balancing and face reductions in power over next few updates

Overview

One of the most powerful DPS souls in the game, the Pyromancer is a devastating combination of sustained and burst damage. Using the destructive forces of flames to do their bidding, Pyromancers sacrifice many of the survivability tools and tricks employed by other Mage souls in favor of raw power. While most players will make this their primary soul, it is essential to put a pet wielding soul into the mix during the leveling process.

Solo Play

It is widely held that if the DPS is high enough, there is little need for healing. If any soul can prove this theorem, it’s the Pyromancer. Soloing as a Pyro is all about overwhelming your enemies with sheer force before they can reach you. While it is possible to take a hit or two, and don’t be fooled - the Pyro isn’t completely defenseless, you won’t want to play punching bag for too long. Pyromancers are blessed with a ton of powers and abilities and quite a few are AoE, making them very capable soloists.

Group Play

While a deep spec Pyro may not bring a ton of utility to the table in a group setting, they do bring the hurt. Most groups looking for pure DPS will snap up a Pyro in a heartbeat and be secure in the knowledge that things will die much quicker with one in the group. That being said they do bring some amount of utility in the form of a stat buff, a disarm and a mass stun. Pyromancers are also excellent teammates in PvP aspects of the game.

Pairs Best With

Elementalist

An easy pairing choice to make, the Elementalist offers huge upside for very little investment. The biggest obvious enhancement to a deep spec Pyro is the addition of a combat pet. While the pet may not succeed in completely keeping aggro off of the Mage, it will slow it enough that most enemies will wilt before ever reaching the caster. At a mere 6 points the player gains an armor buff, a damage shield, a mana regen ability and 5% crit – a true bargain.

Archon

While the Chloromancer may add the most survivability of all the souls, the Archon will be the preferred pairing at level cap and can even make the leveling process a much quicker affair. The Archon tree and branch system offers a lot of synergy with the Pyromancer due to both being built around a common elemental theme; fire. In addition to a huge increase in fire damage done there is a heap of survivability and utility to be found here, including but not limited to a castable ally damage shield, extra mana regeneration and the ability to remove curses.