Thankfully in the world of Dark Souls, there are no laws, and thus harnessing fire is a proven effective tactic! Contrary to pyromancies in Dark Souls 1, the pyros in DS3 have dual scaling – their damage increasing with both intelligence and faith. This makes them function the same as dark sorceries and miracles in terms of build, and often pyromancy builds are seen as a more jack-of-all-trades magic caster, with access to everything. For this list, however, we’ll exclusively be looking at pyromancies – spells that can be cast with pyro catalysts, as well as pyro-boosting gear.
Catalysts
Pyromancy Flame
Unlike miracles and sorceries, there isn’t a ton of variation for pyro catalysts, so babies first pyro flame is often the best choice for most scenarios! It sports the highest spellbuff of the bunch and is available right from the start of the game. No bells or whistles, just fire. This catalyst is going to be your go-to most of the time. How to get: Starting gear for the pyromancer class, or given by Cornyx once freed from the undead settlement.
Pyromancer’s Parting Flame
A surprising addition from the painted world DLC, the parting flame is a neat little side-grade to the default pyro flame. It has a slightly lower spellbuff but has some cool tricks up its sleeve – namely a passive effect that leaves a damaging trail when casting pyromancies. This damage can make up for the lower spellbuff and also makes certain spells much harder to dodge! But it doesn’t end there- its unique skill ‘parting flame’ can be activated after 12 enemy kills to grant a free estus flask use! This makes it especially awesome for farming routes. How to get: In a secret ruined tower- through an illusory wall in the fly-filled crypt below the painted world chapel.
Demon’s Scar
The demon’s scar is arguably the most interesting catalyst, being a catalyst/scimitar hybrid. Similar to weapons like the immolation tinder or the rose of Ariandel, this sword trades its heavy attack for the ability to cast your selected spell. It can be used as a main-hand weapon for pyros, but sees most of its use still in the off-hand slot, where its fast high-damage attacks compliment slower weapons for close-range combat. Thanks to this, it shines brightest in PvP, with most players opting for one of the other flames for general gameplay. How to get: Transposed from the demon prince soul from the ringed city DLC.
Weapons
Witch’s Locks
The sleeper-hit witch’s locks is a whip made of woven hair, which is a bit weird. It is an extremely good weapon for pyromancers thanks to its absolutely nuts B/B int/faith scaling. It’s especially fantastic for PvP – its range is crazy, it has a stun-lock weapon skill that is both fast and devastating, and whips cannot be parried, meaning you can spam attacks to your heart’s content! How to get: In a secret area of the grand archives, behind a wall in the first dark room.
Onyx Blade
The onyx blade is quickly becoming my favorite greatsword in DS3. It’s the longest greatsword in the game, boasts a C/C scaling in int/faith (and D/D in strength/dex), and, in my opinion, looks even cooler than the moonlight greatsword! (Just don’t tell any hardcore Dark Souls fan that I said that…) The flair comes in when you use its unique skill- ‘Elfriede’s flame’, which wreathes the sword in a black fire buff, adding a nice big chunk of fire damage, and looking so badass in the process. How to get: Dropped by Vilhelm in the painted world DLC.
Pyromancies
Flame Fan
Now, onto the spells. Kicking off with the often-overlooked flame fan, one of the pyro’s from the ringed city DLC. The flame fan is a stand-out for PvP, as the close-range attack will stagger point-blank foes, causing the incoming fire attack to be a critical hit, dealing insane damage. It can be heavily spammed thanks to its low focus cost, and interestingly reflects arrows, however useful that is… How to get: Dropped by desert pyromancer Zoey in the ringed city DLC, just before the demon prince boss arena.
Black Flame
Speaking of point-blank spells, the Dark Souls classic black flame is back in DS3. Black flame is a go-to pyromancy, thanks to its crazy damage against melee-range targets. It also synergizes nicely with the parting flame catalyst, as the flame trail occurs during the casting animation, dealing a bunch of extra damage! And if an enemy tries to roll through the trail, they’ll often be met with a flame to the face! How to get: Sold by Karla after giving her the grave warden pyromancy tome.
Profaned Flame
Profaned flame has become something of a niche spell, but will always remain one of my favorites. Using it conjures an unassuming little point in mid-air, which will then explode in a massive radius for huge damage after a short delay. The sheer cool factor of this pyro is enough to make the list alone, but the crowd-clearing swathe of damage this spell dishes out makes it one of the best for general gameplay. How to get: Found on a body in the profaned capital, at the feet of the giant in the enclosed pit.
Chaos Bed Vestiges
Generally seen as the best ranged pyromancy for direct damage. Vestiges hurls an easy-to-aim fireball in a straight line at your targets, that travels a decent distance and deals a bit of AoE damage to enemies it passes. It’s especially great in PvP for roll-catching foes, and its huge size means it basically has to be dodged unless your opponent wants to take the hit. Outside of PvP, vestiges is great against tough enemies you come across in the world, though its single-target nature leaves it lacking against clumps of foes. How to get: Transposition with the old demon king soul.
Great Chaos Fire Orb
A ‘hot’ contender for the best ranged pyro, chaos fireball excels in general gameplay for crowd control. It deals huge damage, staggers all but the largest of foes, and leaves behind a lingering pool of lava that repeatedly damages enemies standing within it. Thanks to its large size and aforementioned pooling magma, it’s often considered superior to the vestiges against groups, but can also 2-to-3-shot most of the scarier enemies you encounter! How to get: Sold by Cornyx after giving him the Izalith pyromancy tome.
Carthus Flame Arc
No school of magic would be complete without a weapon buff. And for pyromancers, we have flame arc. While the dual-scaling nature of pyromancy builds allows for access to basically every weapon buff in the game, flame arc is one of the best ones if you increase intelligence and faith equally! Slap this on a buffable weapon to add faith/int scaling to it, and start dishing out the mad DPS. How to get: Sold by Cornyx after giving him the Carthus pyromancy tome.
Accessories
Witch’s Ring
Every magic class has a damage-buffing ring, and pyromancy is no different. The witch’s ring boosts pyromancy damage by a whopping 25%, and is be a staple on any pyro-heavy build. No if’s or but’s – this ring goes on your pyromancers. It even stacks with the great swamp ring multiplicatively, giving a huge 40% damage increase – if you have the ring slots! How to get: On a corpse by the very first bonfire of the smouldering lake.
Sage Ring
I’m pretty sure I’ve put this ring on every list regarding magics or rings. But for good reason – the sage ring should not be overlooked under any circumstances. If you didn’t know, spell casting speed scales with dexterity, capping at 50 dex. But if you’re not building dex, don’t fear! The sage ring (at its max level of +2) gives 40 virtual dex- granting the bonuses of the dexterity without giving you the actual stat points themselves. Casting speed is so important- especially in PvP, and can spell the difference between a win or a loss. How to get: Base version found in the crab-infested waters of the road of sacrifices, in a ruined room to the left. +2 version is on the broken staircase in the consumed kings garden (requires NG++).
Fire Clutch Ring
Similar to the magic clutch ring from our top mage gear list, the fire clutch is an interesting contender. It boosts all fire damage by 15% in exchange for -10% physical absorptions. I’d say this one is very situational, as pyromancers tend to be closer-range than sorcerers, meaning chances are you’ll feel the effects of the negative physical defenses a lot more. But if you’re confident in your dodging skills or want to limit test the most fire damage you can deal, the fire clutch is a great choice for mix-maxing! How to get: In the undead settlement near the cliff underside bonfire, at the end of a long planked walkway.
