Waleed is a Dark Souls fan having spent 800+ hours in the game. You can trust his insights on any Dark Souls related guides!
Pyromancy is the use of spells that cause fire damage and are cast using Flames. Pyromancy levels scale with intelligence and faith weapons, and you need to have both leveled up to at least 25 to use all of the base game’s pyromancy spells. You can acquire/learn Pyromancies from Cornyx or Karla, both of whom can be found in the fireline shrine once you discover them in the world.
In order to learn Pyromancy spells, you have to discover Pyromancy tomes throughout Elden Ring and then bring them to Cornyx or Karla. Karla specializes in Dark Pyromancy, whereas Cornyx is experienced in basic Pyromancy.
Here are some of my favorite Dark Souls 3 Pyromancer builds for Dark Souls 3. These builds help maximize damage and range from Pure Pyromancy builds to Pyromancy/Swordplay hybrid builds.
Pure Pyromancy Build In Dark Souls 3
This build centers on Pyromancy spells, minimizing combat focus. Start as a Pyromancer for this caster build, prioritizing distance from opponents. Aim for Intelligence/Faith levels around 40, with a minimum of 35 for each. Attunement levels should range from 30-40. Equip the Great Swamp Ring and Witch’s Ring for 12% and 20% boosts to pyromancy damage. Though armor doesn’t affect pyromancy, robes like the Robe of Prayer or the Scholar’s Robe add to the pyromancer aesthetic.
Recommended Spells
Spells are the most important part of this build. The spells I recommend for a Pure Pyromancy build are Chaos Bed Vestiges, Great Chaos Fire Orb, Warmth, and the Black Fre Orb.
Chaos Bed Vestiges
You can use the Old Demon King’s soul to acquire Chaos Bed Vestiges. This spell looks similar to Naruto’s Rasengan, except that it is made up of fire and causes insane amounts of damage. I once did an entire playthrough of Elden Ring, only using this spell and the fire orb spell.
Great Chaos Fire Orb
The Great Chaos Fire Orb is just a much bigger version of the Fire Orb that deals massive amounts of damage. It leaves behind some lava for a while, creating a minor area of effect and damaging all enemies within. You can get this spell after giving Cornyx the Izalith Pyromancy Tome, which you can find in the Smouldering Lake.
Warmth
Warmth is one of the more basic pyromancy spells. It lets you heal yourself in exchange for some sp. This spell is especially important for a pure Pyromancy build, for the lack of armor means you’ll be losing health pretty quickly. You receive this spell as a reward for reaching level 2 of the Mound Makers Covenant.
Black Fire Orb
The Black Fire Orb is the dark Pyromancy counterpart of the basic fire orb, which is the starting spell of the Pyromancer class. With a high enough Faith and Intelligence level, this spell will easily one-shot most ads while consuming very little amount of sp. This is the spell you will be using the most, your light attack, so to speak.
With all this in mind, you are all set to make your very own Pure Pyromancy build. I hope you make Cornyx proud!
Pyromancy Melee Hybrid Build In Dark Souls 3
For this build, I recommend Faith and intelligence levels of at least 30. Attunement should also be at least level 30 to increase the number of spells and the total SP. Strength and/or Dexterity should also be at least 20, so you can choose from a number of weapons, which I will get to in a bit.
Recommended spells
For the spells, I recommend Chaos Bed Vestiges, Warmth, Carthus Flame Arc, and Fire Orb. Chaos Bed Vestiges will be your primary spell for this build; it will be the main source of damage along with your weapon.
Warmth
This build does not require any specific armor; anything with less weight and looks apt will suffice. Warmth will make up for the lack of strong armor, and it might also save you in times when you run out of estus flasks and need to heal.
Carthus Flame Arc
Carthus Flame arc will apply a fire buff to your weapon, which will scale with Intelligence and faith, helping maximize damage. You can purchase Carthus Flame Arc from Cornyx for 10,000 souls.
Fire Orb
Fire orb is here mainly to create distance and help escape tough situations. No particular armor is required. Just go with one that helps your character look their best. Again, the Great Swamp ring and Karla’s ring are recommended for they help maximize Pyromancy damage.
For weapons, I recommend starting out with raw-infused weapons, for they do not scale with Dex/Str and only scale with weapon upgrades. You can later infuse your weapons with Chaos or Dark gems. While the fire gem may seem tempting for such a build, I recommend skipping it entirely, for it does not scale with Intelligence or Faith; it just adds fire damage to the weapon. Some weapon recommendations are Zweihander, Claymore, Broadsword, and the Falchion.
Trending: Best Elden Ring Builds
Melee Focused Pyromancy Build In Dark Souls 3
Out of all my Dark Souls 3 playthroughs, I had the most fun with this build. This build emphasizes close-range melee combat with a little Pyromancy on the side for weapon/damage buffs. I recommend a strength level of 40 and intelligence and faith of anywhere between 20 and thirty. You will also need at least at least 5 attunement slots.
Others: Dark Souls 3 Guts Build
Recommended spells
This build leans more towards weapon damage rather than damage caused through Pyromancy spells. It does, however, require pyromancy spells to significantly buff weapon damage. The spells required for this build are Iron Flesh, Power Within, Carthus Flame Arc, and Warmth.
Iron Flesh
Iron Flesh significantly reduces damage absorbed in exchange for weight carried. This build will be sporting a weak armor set, so Iron Flesh will help compensate for that. You can also use it to become a tank and clear ads. You can pick it up from the Farron Keep swamp.
Power Within
This spell increases attack but gradually decreases health. This spell will complement your high strength level. With this, you will be dealing insane amounts of damage. The loss in health will be negated through warmth. You can pick it up from a corpse behind a hidden wall in the Grand Archives.
Warmth
Warmth is also a crucial part of this build, for it will take care of the strength you lose from using Power Within. This build also emphasizes close-range melee combat, so you will probably be running out of estus flasks frequently; warmth will also be covering that up.
Carthus Flame Arc
This spell will add fire damage to your weapon for a limited time, and it is scaled with intelligence and Faith. This, coupled with power within and your high strength level, F, will make you feel almost overpowered in the offense department.
For weapons, you can go with any weapon that scales with strength, but I recommend the Greatsword. The Greatsword goes well with this build and deals very high damage due to your strength level and Pyromancy buffs. No one armor set is required, but I recommend going with anything that looks good and weighs less, for the Greatsword already weighs a lot.
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I’m an avid gamer turned content writer, my hobbies include but are not limited to different forms of content creation. Not a complicated person, I play games and write about them. Currently attending university for Data Sciences. My favorite past-time is trying to different challange runs of Soulsborne and Souls-like games in the goofiest way possible for my own amusement. You can check my Gaming Profile on Steam And Xbox!
