It's amazing that a game like Outriders has ten legendary rifles and yet only one class specifically suited to long-range combat. Stranger still, only one class build makes the most of using sniper rifles. The Pestilence Technomancer finds itself in a place without any kind of equivalency, even among other Technomancers who deal with Anomaly skills and healing.
Yet too many snipers out there are building their Technomancer without thinking about the long game. Well before the end of the game content in Outriders, it's easy for a Pestilence build to go wrong and suffer from tunnel vision both on the battlefield and with their skill nodes. Thankfully, the experts who are in hot demand for their high-tier damage have shared some of their best secrets with the community.
Updated on July 8th, 2022 by Hodey Johns: Many will look at the new endgame content, new weapons, and additional talent trees and already get a sense of how the builds have updated since Worldslayer. But this is only a fraction of the equation. The new foes and bosses employ different moves and tactics. These types of targets should not be a second-hand consideration. This build has been updated to account for the new opponents, giving players the skills and gear that best counters anything Worldslayer has to throw at them.
Class Points
|
Node |
Points |
Effect Per Point |
|
BR/8 Impact Amplifier |
3 |
+8% Weapon Damage |
|
Suction Module |
1 |
+5% Weapon Leech |
|
Drill Coating |
2 |
+10% Armor Piercing |
|
Sniper Master |
1 |
+20% Sniper Rifle Damage and +20% Sniper Rifle drop rate |
|
BL-STM Havoc Nexus |
1 |
+15% Critical Damage |
|
Nitrogen Capsules |
2 |
Long Range shortened by 3 meters |
|
Exposing Toxin |
1 |
Toxic applies Vulnerable |
|
Purge |
2 |
+10% Damage against Toxic targets |
|
Cannonade |
1 |
+30% Weapon Damage for 10 seconds after using an Ordinance Skill |
|
Sniper Adept |
1 |
+12% Sniper Rifle Weapon Damage |
|
Two Sides Of Power |
1 |
+20% Damage done, but also +15% Damage taken |
|
Sharpshooter |
1 |
+30% Weapon Damage at Long Range |
|
UT-14 Clips |
1 |
+50% Magazine Size |
|
Charged Gunshot |
1 |
+200% Weapon Damage with first shot after reloading every 5 seconds |
|
Empowering Antenna |
1 |
+40% Group Weapon Damage for 10 seconds after using a Decay Skill |
The simple rule of thumb for all of the smaller nodes is that if it helps out the sniper rifle in range, damage, or armor-piercing, take it. This is, after all, the main medium of damage.
The final skill in the tree, the Empowering Antena, is a big one not only because of the damage boost, but because the damage boost will apply to all allies. Groups have a choice of damage dealers when figuring out the higher Apocalypse Tiers, and they could bring in anybody. A sniper without this trait won't be receiving any repeat invites.
Pax Points
|
Node |
Effect |
|
Initial Striker |
Activating skill increases Anomaly power or firepower by 10% for 5 seconds, whichever is higher |
|
Brain Dead |
Increasing Decay or Damage skills increases weapon damage by 15% for 5 seconds |
|
Pain Killer |
Damaging an enemy grants 2% health regeneration for 3 seconds, stacks twice |
|
Necrotic Tissue |
Damage against elite enemies is increased by 20% when using a sniper rifle |
|
Twin Reaper |
Sniper weapon shots have a 75% chance to deal an extra 25% damage |
Although some Pestilence builds may favor the Dissection branch of the Desolation tree for the toxic damage, this build focuses on using the sniper rifle and physical damage. Side-by-side, this is the better damage build, so go with Twin Reaper instead.
The nodes here are easy to explain after checking out the skills and gear for the Pestilence Technomancer. Some of the buffs that sound temporary will be up for 100% of the time when the rotation is done correctly.
Ascension Points
- Most important nodes: Weapon Damage, Long Range Damage, Armor Pierce
- Most important category: Brutality
The nature of Ascension points is that every class and build, given the time to farm, can max out every node. So this build only provides an accurate starting point for gamers. After that, the rest of these points have more to do with luxury than necessity.
The Pestilence build is one of the few that can dependably make use of the Long Range Damage node, along with the entire Brutality category. Don't be afraid to get some Status Power points too after knocking out these nodes for extra Toxic damage.
Skill Selection
|
Scrapnel |
Throw out a mine that will detonate when in range of an enemy, doing damage and interrupting enemies. |
|
Blighted Rounds |
Fill the current weapon's magazine with bullets that inflict Toxic and deal 50% of weapon damage in an area. The effect lasts until the magazine runs out, the gun is reloaded, or the weapon is switched. |
|
Blighted Turret |
Places a turret that applies Toxic to nearby enemies. Its health slowly decreases over time. |
To be clear, Blighted Rounds are what makes this build work. The automatic application of Toxic (and, thereby, Vulnerability) is big, but the area of effect damage is equally important. Snipers will be overwhelmed when trying to stick to single-target damage. By taking out waves of enemies, they are able to thin out the overwhelming hordes of enemies without having to switch weapons.
The difference between the good and the bad builds comes down to synergy. To make the Cannonade and Empowering Antenna nodes both provide their massive weapon damage, players will need a Decay and an Ordinance skill with now cooldowns. Blighted Turrent and Scrapnel fit the bill with a little help from armor mods.
Weapon & Mods
|
Weapon |
Icarus |
|
Mod 1 |
Toxic Lead |
|
Mod 2 |
Brain-Eater |
|
Mod 3 |
High Velocity Bullets |
There is a simple strategy at play here; make a weapon that does not allow Blighted Rounds to ever go on cooldown. There are many great legendary weapon choices. The Icarus is the best choice as it is a sniper rifle with a jaw-dropping 36 shots. Additionally, critical hits refund ammunition thanks to the Brain-Eater second mod that comes with the gun.
Toxic Lead is only a tier-two mod, but it feels like a tier-three mod for the Pestilence Technomancer because it will refill 40% of the weapon's magazine after killing an enemy inflicted with Toxic. That goes a long way in making sure Blighted Rounds never drops off, so put it in the first mod slot.
Armor & Mods
|
Head |
Plague Sower’s Skull |
|
Mod 1 |
Splash Boost |
|
Mod 2 |
Critical Analysis |
|
Torso |
Plague Sower’s Coat |
|
Mod 1 |
To The Bone |
|
Mod 2 |
No Pain, No Gain |
|
Legs |
Plague Sower’s Trousers |
|
Mod 1 |
Med Burst |
|
Mod 2 |
Spare Mag |
|
Hands |
Plague Sower’s Hands |
|
Mod 1 |
Trap Cluster |
|
Mod 2 |
Trick Up The Sleeve |
|
Feet |
Plague Sower’s Boots |
|
Mod 1 |
Enriched Anthrax |
|
Mod 2 |
Better Parts |
Prior to the New Horizon update, the Pestilence build felt the need to invest in a less-than-ideal set of armor because the Plague Sower legendary set reduces damage taken by 5% per enemy with the Toxic debuff, stacking up to five times. Now that there is no reason to sacrifice survivability, it is the undisputed best.
Eight of the ten buffs go toward either Blighted Turret or Blighted Rounds. For one of these slots, plug in Critical Analysis to increase critical damage by another 15%. For the other, get Trap Cluster to increase the Scrapnel charges and allow the Pestilence to get the boost from Cannonade more frequently.
Outriders is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.