This Guide is Finished!
After taking the time to further play test the build and ponder over what I've written, I've made a few edits and added a couple sections. I accept any and all criticism, and I'm actively trying to improve my ability to write guides, so any recommendations are welcome. Thanks!
The basic idea for this build is to lean into what [Ember] does best: arson.
Immolation needs to be managed, since the energy drain has no upper limit. Left unattended, Immolation will drain your entire pool in seconds. This is perfectly fine, because you'll be spamming abilities like a spaz. Inferno is your primary damage dealer and proc spreader, which is key. More soon-to-be-dead things on fire equals more power. Fire Blast strips armor by 100% at full gauge, so ditch [Corrosive Projection].
The subsumed ability is Sickening Pulse. This has unique interactions with Heat procs in that it will only add one refreshed stack, BUT it will have the combined damage of all the other stacks on that enemy.
Keep Immolation managed, spread heat procs as much as possible, strip armor with Fire Blast, and feed the flames with Sickening Pulse. Enjoy*.
*Experience may be enhanced if played while listening to "Possessed by Fire" by Exumer. Results may vary.
Beginner Friendly Version
This build includes some pretty hefty, hard to acquire mods. [Adaptation] and [Primed Sure Footed] in particular can be annoying to get your hands on. For a "beginner friendly" version that focuses on low resource investment while retaining the intended feel and functionality, as well as a few tips for newbies, you can check it out here:
https://overframe.gg/build/525012/
Heat Status
Because of the changes to heat procs, heat is great for crowd control and armor stripping in general, which is another reason why I ditched Corrosive Projection. I understand the utility and general love for it, but between Fire Blast and mad Heat procs, it is - in my humble opinion and through playtesting - entirely unnecessary. You have to remember, Heat procs also strip armor up to 50%, with the other half easily attainable with Fire Blast. And that's before you consider the exponential damage from Sickening Pulse. I tested this build on Netracells. Very little survives past the first cast of Sickening Pulse.
[Archon Vitality]
I mean...come on. It was built for [Ember]. I know there are more efficient mods, but a mod that upgrades arson into arson 2 is just stupid and fun and too ridiculous for me to pass on. Plus, more health simply means slightly more wiggle room when enemies get tougher.
Immolation
[Ember] isn't a tank, but she can take at least a few punches. What I've noticed while playing is that you can easily keep Immolation up by absolutely spamming Inferno. This can get you from 0% to 100% in less than a second with a handful of casts. The energy cost can be heavy, but [Exothermic] and Energize should help mitigate it. If anything, it isn't something you can sustain for a long period, but is useful in instances like Steel Path where you want high heat gauge for survivability.
Alternative Arcanes
Depending on the particular composition of your squad or just personal preference, you may decide to change the Arcanes setup.
Without a reliable way to regain health in this build outside of orbs, I chose Reconstruct. With the amount of casting you do, you'll be constantly replenishing health to you and teammates in affinity range. I think it's a neat arcane since it can turn a caster frame into a healer, but it's certainly not required. If energy is a greater concern, swap Reconstruct for Steadfast. Between Steadfast and Energize, energy shouldn't be a problem.
Another option is Arcane Eruption. With the increased energy orb drops, Eruption becomes a CC nightmare for anything without Overshields. This acts as an alternative to healing by consistently knocking down any enemy even remotely close to you.
Duration
Duration is very useful, since it helps with drain as well as Inferno's rings. That being said, duration is less necessary overall. You could certainly dump it in exchange for more range, strength, energy, whatever you want.
Strength
You don't need it.
Now that I have your attention, I'll explain why. [Ember]'s passive ability gives her virtually unlimited ability strength. Is it on fire? +5% strength. That means that every enemy with a heat proc now contributes to your power. With a single group of 5 enemies, you max out the Damage Reduction of Immolation. Sickening Pulse doesn't use strength, Fire Blast scales with Immolation, [Exothermic] is unaffected, leaving the pure damage of Inferno, which isn't her main source of damage. Sickening Pulse's mechanics do the heavy lifting here.
Yes, strength increases her damage.
And also,
she provides her own power through her passive.
Miscellaneous Notes
At first glance, this build is lackluster. But the synergy that [Ember] brings to the battlefield easily overcomes that limitation. And there are plenty of synergies not covered in this guide. My personal favorite:
- Adding faction mods to your [Ignis] is a great start, since faction damage gets calculated twice for Heat procs. You effectively need to simply tag an enemy with a faction damage heat proc and the next Sickening Pulse cast will annihilate them.
- Mecha Set. I may be incorrect, but it seems like this set doesn't get enough attention. It requires a Kubrow or a Predasite, limiting your companion choices and preventing your from using something such as [Duplex Bond] for Energy Orbs, but the sheer damage potential cannot be understated. Even before you consider faction damage or Sickening Pulse, Mecha is capable of getting applied 5+ times over to damage instances. This puts [Ember] up with a select few frames such as [Mag] who can literally math the enemy to death.
Your modding flexibility is also quite high with [Ember]. Her passive provides plenty of power strength just by playing the frame, and her efficiency is fairly easy to manage. Along with the myriad of team support augments, I find myself increasingly playing with exilus mods on [Ember] simply because I can do so without sacrificing her play style.
Sure, you can add more power, you can make her more efficient, you can even put Nourish on her, but you simply don't need to. Very few frames in this game are capable of exponential damage, and [Ember] can easily do it without a single ability mod.
This is not a meta build. This is just fun for me to play. If you have any tips, tricks, or simply enjoy [Ember], please feel free to share in the comments. If you like this build, give it a thumbs up. Or don't. Just stop reading this a go burn Grineer. Thank you for reading, and I sincerely hope you have a wonderful day.
