The penalty for being attacked is a temporary banishment from the court for a few seconds, which can leave your own goal open to attack. In process, that player is vulnerable to attack from the other team.

Shooting the orb rather than carrying it comes with its own risks, as the shooter must charge up an arc according to the distance to the goal. This can be negated, however: you need only throw the orb into the goal instead. Should you physically carry the orb into their goal, the character who scores will have to sit out until the next goal. One rule in particular pushes you to consider all of your options when it comes to scoring against the other team. When Pyre hits its stride, rites become fast-paced mind games that call upon your ability to turn on a dime and come up with new strategies under tense circumstances. You only control one character at a time, and will frequently switch control among your triumvirate to jockey for position on the field, or to take advantage of the nine classes' unique offensive and defensive maneuvers. If a team's pyre is depleted, they've lost the match. Run it in, throw it in, or jump overhead into the goal to douse the opposing team's pyre and reduce its energy. Your basic objective during a rite is to maintain possession of an orb while sprinting, dodging, and leaping towards your opponent's goal on the opposite end of the court. Your journey to build a team of champions takes you across the Downside and back in search of challengers and new skills, with each match bringing you closer to understanding your allies' and enemies' motivations.

You are one of many exiles unjustly trapped in the purgatory-like Downside for crimes against the Commonwealth, but exiles that manage to win enough competitions known as 'rites'-3v3 matches that incorporate elements of football and basketball-have a chance at redemption. That isn't to take away from Pyre's unlikely mix of fantasy RPG elements and-of all things-sport.

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