While there are many possible builds in Dark Souls 3, few of them provide the flexibility a good Pyromancer build does. This is because there are numerous Pyromancies that can serve you in a specific situation. Although it is mostly centered on AOE and huge damage, Pyromancies provide good buffs, utility, and different ways to damage your enemies.
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Like with all Dark Souls games, many powerful Pyromancies become accessible later in the game. But, unlike Sorceries and Miracles, many powerful Pyromancies are present early in the game as well. Furthermore, Pyromancies scale with Intelligence and Faith, allowing you to use Miracles and Sorceries as backup spells, which is always a plus. Having said that, these are the most powerful and efficient Pyromancies.
10 Toxic Mist
This is not your usual Pyromancy. Toxic Mist is an excellent spell for poisoning bosses and larger NPCs. It essentially creates a poison cloud, which can be catastrophic if the enemy doesn't have appropriate poison resistance.
While it can be effective at times, it will require you to know or estimate if your opponent is poison resistant or not. One further downside is that more mobile foes will simply escape the cloud, neutralizing the threat in an instant. Nevertheless, Toxic Mist can be a very powerful Pyromancy in certain situations.
9 Profaned Flame
Profaned Flame has a decent damage output, good range, and big AoE capability. While at a glance it may seem it's the same as other similar Pyromancies like Fire Orb, Profaned Flame has one distinct feature — it can even hit enemies through walls.
If you position yourself correctly, you can even cheese your way though some enemies while hitting them behind walls. To make things even more interesting, it has a deep lore and a lot of theories behind the history of this Pyromancy.
8 Great Combustion
While it is true that range is your friend as a Pyromancer, there are occasions when you are forced to be in close combat. This is where Great Combustion enters the picture. It can almost mimic a powerful melee weapon that provides AOE fire damage due to its exceptionally fast cast time and extremely high damage.
Furthermore, the staggering effect it produces can break through enemy defenses and break through difficult situations. Spamming this spell on incoming enemies in melee range will devastate anyone who dares to come close.
7 Carthus Flame Arc
While there are other weapon buffs in the game, none of them provide the 90-second duration that Carthus Flame Arc does. There are many Consumables that deal nearly the same damage as the Carthus Flame Arc, but they all last 60 seconds.
It may be undesirable to have this buff when you have fewer attunement slots. On the other hand, it could be a decent choice if you have empty attunement space and a very strong weapon that you find using it more often than not.
6 Fire Surge
There aren't many drawbacks to a Pyromancy that mimics a flamethrower. Fire Surge melts anyone who gets too close and keeps firing flames at your opponents as long as you have enough FP to keep it going.
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While it may not be the best choice for PvE, Fire Surge can put a lot of pressure on other players. If you're having trouble with invaders, try using Fire Surge on them and seeing how they react. Often times, opponents will panic and be forced to make a mistake.
5 Black Serpent
Black Serpent does not have the highest damage or the fastest cast speed, but it specializes in homing capabilities with its built-in tracking feature. This Pyromancy can travel across floors, obstacles and walls while chasing your enemy.
Similarly to Fire Surge, it's mediocre against NPCs, and its true power is against other players. Spamming Black Serpent against enemy players can be extremely annoying to deal with since it has a good homing mechanic that travels long ranges.
4 Black Flame
Because this spell works similarly to Great Combustion, it is natural to compare the two. In close range, Black Flame causes massive amounts of damage and is quite effective against stacks of enemies. In practically every way, it outperforms Great Combustion.
One thing to keep in mind regarding Black Flame is that it deals Dark damage (the same as Black Serpent), as opposed to the standard Fire damage seen in most Pyromancies. This is beneficial if you are fighting enemies who are immune to fire. If it looks like it's resistant to fire (Old Demon King), it probably is.
3 Rapport
One of the game's most intriguing spells. Rapport allows you to "befriend" enemy creatures. The most challenging part of this spell is that it has a two-second cast time, which can make you vulnerable to attacks.
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While it cannot affect enemies such as the Black Knight or Pontiff Knight, it can affect some very powerful NPCs such as the Winged Knight or Demon. This leads to some amusing interactions and can make some aspects of the game almost trivial.
2 Great Chaos Fire Orb
While Chaos Bed Vestiges is considered a better Pyromancy in terms of direct impact damage, Great Chaos Fire Orb can be argued to be better in many situations because it leaves a pool of lava behind. In addition, Great Chaos Fire Orb can be obtained much earlier in the game.
This Pyromancy is most useful when dealing with slow enemies. Moreover, it is handy when you find yourself in a narrow road or hallway. The lava that this spell leaves behind can deal a lot of damage for enemies that step on it, pursuing you.
1 Chaos Bed Vestige
Overall the best Pyromancy you can have. It offers very high damage, a long range for a Pyromancy, and reasonable cast time. Of course, this comes at a cost because it requires a significant amount of Stamina and FP, but it is well worth it.
This Pyromancy will be your bread and butter once you have it. You can easily spam it and melt some of the hardest bosses in the game, as long as you have the FP and Stamina to sustain it. When combined with Rapport and a fast melee weapon enhanced with Carthus Flame Arc, you have a devastating Pyromancy trio that can carry you through almost any situation.
Next: Dark Souls 3: Every Starting Class, Ranked
