Pyre – FAQ/Strategy Guide

Characters

The Crone

Basic Controls

Cast: throws aura out in a fan shape in front of itself

Jump: more of a pounce, very quick with good distance but little control after initial leap

Sprint: a rapid slithering movement as long as you hold the button; harder to control on turns

Strengths: unique aura cast, very fast sprint ability

Weaknesses: slow walking speed, harder to control when using sprint ability, non-standard aura shape; long respawn time

Masteries

Passions of the Wild Witch

Tier 1

Hex of Defeat: While the Crone’s Pyre has less health than the adversary’s, she deals an additional 5 damage.

Tier 2

Greater Blast: The Crone’s Aura Blast arcs at a wide angle, banishing adversaries in a larger area.

Sudden Blast: The charge-up time before the Crone can use her Aura Blast is greatly reduced.

Tier 3

Stubborn Flame: When the Crone’s Pyre has less health than the adversary’s, her adversaries deal -10 damage to her Pyre.

Sorceries of the Southern Bogs

Tier 1

Hex of Victory: While the Crone’s Pyre has more health than the adversary’s, she deals an additional 5 damage.

Tier 2

Vital Pounce: After the Crone pounces at an adversary, she instantly recovers all her Stamina.

Serpent Swiftness: While slithering, the Crone uses 50% less Stamina and moves +30% more quickly.

Tier 3

Feral Curse: Once per Rite, after saluting adversaries, the Crone turns them into fast-moving Howlers.

Summary

The Crone is an excellent anti-enemy character who can also score when needed. The fan-shaped aura cast makes banishing enemy characters much easier, especially if you can get down the timing for speed-casting it. The slithering dash is tough to control, but it is remarkably fast, allowing the Crone to easily sprint past slower characters as long as it has stamina. The jump is probably my least favorite feature, it’s very fast up and down, but that means you have little ability to control the Crone in the air and have to aim just right to land in a pyre or hit an airborne orb carrier. The pounce is also pretty stamina-intensive. The Crone’s other weakness is its odd aura. Crones have a tight, cloud-like aura that doesn’t extend very far from them even with higher Presence. It’s not a small aura or a small character, but it doesn’t spread out in a big circle like the Demon’s, meaning that you have to actively control the Crone and cast its aura at opponents to make it a good defensive character. As such, I prefer her more defensive tree. Her tier three ability that cuts damage to your Pyre while you're behind is especially useful.