There is a stigma that comes with being a spellcaster in video games. Anybody even loosely connected to the gaming world picture fireballs, turning enemies into frogs, and conjuring magic illusions. The assumptions, while understandable, can sometimes paint an inaccurate picture of what a caster actually is. Anybody who carries any preconceived notions about what a “spellcaster” Technomancer does in Outriders is going to be completely shocked.
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While mortars, mines, miniguns, and rocket launchers might sound like physical damage, they’re actually based on Anomaly Power in Outriders. The Demolisher build focuses on raw numbers that use conjured weapons as a vehicle for these skills to do their damage. If anybody wanted to use “spells” that were targeted just like weapons, this is the right place to be.
Updated on July 28th, 2021 by Hodey Johns: It’s hard to think of any games that have been updated and altered more than Outriders has in the first few months. The relationship between developer and community has been rocky at best, but communication is clear and active. This guide has been updated to reflect the latest balances and a section has been added regarding how to properly play the character in a group.
- Techbond: Activating an Ordinance skill increases Anomaly Power by 50% by ten seconds.
- Absorption: Activating an Ordinance skill increases Skill Leech by 15% for seven seconds.
- Armored Unit: Activating an Ordinance skill increases Armor by 50% for fifteen seconds.
Players that want to learn to play with their friends in Outriders will perhaps find some value in reaching across the nodes and grabbing some Tech Shaman skills, but it comes at a detriment to the Demolisher build.
It’s easier to talk about what not to get in the Demolisher tree than what to get. Get every node except the ones that relate to Toxic and Decay. These are beginner traps. It’s easy to be fooled into trying to get Adrenalizing Antena for the 30% Anomaly Power buff. The problem with doing so is that will come at the expense of the 50% Anomaly Power buff provided by Techbond.
There are only three Ordinance skills and all of them have medium to long cooldowns. In order to get all three buffs from Techbond, Absorption, and Armored Unit permanently in combat, all three of these must be selected. Any Decay skill will cut out Techbond for at least one rotation, and that will cut Anomaly Power by 20% during that time.
- Shrapnel: Throw out a mine that will detonate when in range of an enemy, doing damage and interrupting enemies.
- Pain Launcher: Places a mortar down which launches missiles. Each missile interrupts and deals area of effect damage.
- Tool of Destruction: Press the skill to summon a rocket launcher, hold the skill to summon a minigun. The ordinance from the rocket launcher interrupts opponents on impact.
Yes, it’s all three Ordinance skills that should be rotated by using one every seven seconds to keep all the Demolisher buffs activated. Without any significant debuffs, these might seem hard to synergize, but with each ability able to interrupt, this is completely overpowered against bosses. And each skill has area of effect capabilities, meaning the minions don’t fare much better.
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Shrapnel is a godsend at higher World Tiers when mobs start arriving that don’t get dispersed just by asking nicely. In fights when enemies insist on swarming the Demolisher, throwing Shrapnel down and backing away will keep enemies exposed at medium-range. Even when enemies are ranged, the skill can be placed directly on top of the unit and the mine will detonate instantly.
Pain Launcher is a fantastic tool to set and forget, which can be needed for staying mobile. Unlike the turrets, this mortar is not able to be targeted. Experts enjoy throwing this device into the middle of the fray and watching it blow up enemies well before they are in range of the Demolisher.
Tool of Destruction gives players some much-needed utility by being whatever kind of weapon will help out the most. The minigun setting is the default for standard battles, but clusters of enemies and bosses will not survive long against the rocket launcher.
- Massacre: Each enemy killed by Tool of Destruction’s minigun increases the Technomancer’s Anomaly Power.
- Upgraded Gun: Increases resistance-piercing while Tool of Destruction’s minigun is active.
- Cannonade: Increases the number of rockets fired from Pain Launcher.
- Rain of Pain: Decreases the cooldown of Pain Launcher.
- Trap Cluster: Doubles the number of mines tossed from Shrapnel before going on cooldown.
It’s important to keep in mind that although these skills look physical in nature, they are all based on Anomaly damage, so anything that increases Anomaly Power or resistance-piercing will be immensely helpful.
There are three mods that increase the number of mines from Shrapnel. One of them, Trap Cluster, will double the number of mines thrown. Finding a table and learning how to craft means that a total of six mines can be tossed with all three mods equipped.
- Light Machinegun: Damascus Offering
Don’t even pretend that this build is capable of physical damage. With the right mods and armor set, pro players can play so that Tool of Destruction rarely runs out of ammunition, meaning that the long list of legendary weapons has nothing to offer.
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Even so, for those moments when Tool of Destruction isn’t ready, it’s nice to not be completely useless. Damascus Offering is a gun that converts 30% of the Demolisher’s Anomaly Power into firepower. The other mod on the gun also deals anomaly damage. Lastly, it’s a light machinegun, which is perfect for the range that the Demolisher plays at.
There are two other weapons slots, but these really should be afterthoughts. No physical gun is going to take the place of the Demolisher skills. Shrapnel is even a better option than just firing away.
- Grim Inventor Set: While Tool of Destruction is active, hits from Pain Launcher refill 20% of the ammunition for both the minigun and rocket launcher. This effect can only occur once per Tool of Destruction cycle.
This set really solidifies the Demolisher Ordinance skills working together. The Grim Inventor set gives even more ammo to Tool of Destruction and, better still, nine of the ten mod slots boost the Demolisher’s skills.
Find some room to get the Shrapnel mods in there (using weapon slots is no big deal since weapon mod slots aren’t important to the build). After this, players will be ready to go out and conquer Enoch with a whole bunch of Anomaly-infused explosives with this completed Demolisher that, pardon the pun, demolishes the competition.
To address the elephant in the room, this build is the specialty that doesn’t use the Technomancer’s ammo power. As a result, teams are going to be wary of a teammate that is using the Demolisher build because they assume that the damage isn’t going to add up.
On most maps, the Demolisher is actually the greater of the two damage builds when played correctly. How? Because the build focuses on massive area damage. Though it’s counterintuitive, it’s critical that the Demolisher target the waves of smaller enemies that spawn in every room. Leave the big targets to the ammo-based damage dealers.
After clearing out the mobs, switch the Tool of Destruction from the rocket launcher to the minigun for single target damage. This small change might feel insignificant, but in the long run, it will skyrocket players up the damage charts.
Lastly, barring a dedicated tank, the Demolisher should be on the front line of the attack. If enemies aren’t chasing the Demolisher, odds are good that they won’t trip the Shrapnel and this is a large part of the maximum damage rotation. Stay active and don’t take hits, but keep the enemy’s attention. It’s an active playstyle, but that’s just part of the fun in Outriders.
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