VMA as Stamina without Dual Wield ?

KramUzibra · April 2017

I did it on a stam dk running 7 med, 2h and bow, 5 hundings, 5 marksman and kena helm. It took about an hr and a half.

Upright_man · April 2017

oahaha wrote: »

@Juhasow
1. It's PvE you can play as you like that's why it's PvE, you don't have to play meta (you have to play meta if you go in dungeons and raid content) but solo content should not be about meta builds.
2. I agree with you it's about 1% when it comes to elite content, but the difference it's too high when it comes to loot table, you should allow the rest to have access to that loot table but in time much more time (for example they could add some sort of key on normal arena and at 10 keys you have a chance at a vma weapon, you can get one key per week), this allows elite players to get the items faster by finishing VMA and the not so elite players get that same weapons but much more harder. There is always a way, so I don't agree with you that this should be only for the 1% if it's a solo challenge.
3. Not all content should be for everyone ofc, that's why there are raid challenges, group challenges and solo ones, but when it comes to solo, the content should not be that hard, or it can be but with a alternative for all players.
4. It's true as a tank, I'm not limited to the arena weapons but it would be nice to try and make a build with one hand and shield drops, so if I can't go there as a tank, it's kinda a limitation.
5. It's true, right now as mag sorc I learned it, and know what I have to do, I'll try to learn it as stamina but in time. I know nothing is for free but it's frustrating to know the role you like to play can't do anything in vMA.

@oahaha

Why do you think that because its solo content that everyone should be able to complete it..? Its a solo trial meant to be difficult.. that's why it has a leaderboard like other Trials yes?

Also how does that mindset differ from group content? when your in a group you don't expect to complete things easily but solo content should be easy because you only have yourself to rely on?
It just sounds a bit depressing to me.

"the content should not be that hard" - Why not? Why shouldn't there be a challenge for solo players?
You say "Not all content should be for everyone". Well this is part of that content which isn't for everyone and no one actually needs to complete this for any specific reason. People post parses of 35k+ stam dps with no vma weapons. Sure the weapons help dps reach new heights but its not a necessity and therefore does not need to be complete-able for all eso players or have an alternative handout for people who cant handle the heat in the maelstrom kitchen.

IMO you should put effort into anything you do.. and even more so when your talking about a trial (solo or grouped).

You either have the skills and patience to learn and complete the task at hand in this game or you find something else to do, of which there is plenty right?

Juhasow · April 2017

oahaha wrote: »

@Juhasow
1. It's PvE you can play as you like that's why it's PvE, you don't have to play meta (you have to play meta if you go in dungeons and raid content) but solo content should not be about meta builds.
2. I agree with you it's about 1% when it comes to elite content, but the difference it's too high when it comes to loot table, you should allow the rest to have access to that loot table but in time much more time (for example they could add some sort of key on normal arena and at 10 keys you have a chance at a vma weapon, you can get one key per week), this allows elite players to get the items faster by finishing VMA and the not so elite players get that same weapons but much more harder. There is always a way, so I don't agree with you that this should be only for the 1% if it's a solo challenge.
3. Not all content should be for everyone ofc, that's why there are raid challenges, group challenges and solo ones, but when it comes to solo, the content should not be that hard, or it can be but with a alternative for all players.
4. It's true as a tank, I'm not limited to the arena weapons but it would be nice to try and make a build with one hand and shield drops, so if I can't go there as a tank, it's kinda a limitation.
5. It's true, right now as mag sorc I learned it, and know what I have to do, I'll try to learn it as stamina but in time. I know nothing is for free but it's frustrating to know the role you like to play can't do anything in vMA.

1. Yes it's PvE ou can play as You like same in PvP but noone said playing as You like will be most effective. VMA may be solo content but it's trial that is part of leaderboards same like 4m dragonstar and 12 trials. You want to do this as You like ? Go and do normal mode same like in case of trials and dragonstar. You want to farm best gear there? L2P adapt and practice vet.
2. It's veteran mode which is added to leaderboards. Each veteran mode that is added to leaderboards should be hard and it doesnt matter solo or group one. No optional ways to get best loot by doing normal. Normal mode is way too easy and same like gold jewelery doesnt drop on normal trials weapons shouldnt drop at normal arena. If You want to get weapons then practice vet if You dont want to get this dont go on vet. Differece between setup with or without maelstorm isnt that huge and game changing so I dont get why people doing normal should be rewarded. Elite players should feel the taste of that very slight adventage as reward for their obstinacy adn not elite players dont need to feel worse because they dont have that loot.
3. Leaderboard content should be hard doesnt matter solo or group one. No discussion here. Most funny fact is that vMA atm isnt that hard like people think. When You get practice You can easily finish it ~40 minutes in meta build and ~1 hour in other builds so everyone can fidn best way to finish it and thos doesnt mean BiS or meta builds.
4. You can finish it even in s&b and in heavy armor if You prepare decent setup. Not meta or BiS just decent. Stop dreaming that any game will give solo PvE content for fully defensive tanks that dont do dmg. PvE is all around dmg.
5. Welcome in real world.

Destyran · April 2017

I have finished it with a 2h and bow i jave done it in spell power cure seen a friend finish it on night blade with 2 bows another finish it on his tank spamming burning embers. I also got flawless on my stam sorc when i dropped the controller on the floor. Its easy the first time is hard but after that it just becomes like breathing.

AverageJo3Gam3r · April 2017

You *can* do vMA on any setup. The only hard dps check is the boss of round 5 under 15%. Everything else is a soft check. So if you want to bring your tank into vMA and ransack everything to death and take 5 hours per run, be my guest. You can do it. Me? My time is more valuable than that. I'm going to run it in the fastest way possible, which for stam means DW+bow on a stam sorc. Technically NB is faster but I die less on a stam sorc, so stam sorc is faster for me.

DurganBlodox · April 2017

oahaha wrote: »

It would be nice tho to be able to play as a tank.

My first clear of VMA as a stam DK was with a s&b/bow, this was after months and months of failing to complete with dual wield. I've run s&b in vMA ever since and typically clear it in 60-75 minutes. My burst DPS is usually around 18-19k and I can burn bosses fairly quickly.

I currently run 2x Velidreth (Heavy Divines), 5x VO (3 jewelry, 1 shield, 1 body piece), 4x Advancing Yokeda (All Body Pieces), and 1x Master's Sword (Sharpened). The Master's Sword is kind of the secret to it being such an OP loadout, as the heal from it lets you stand in red/crematorial guard fire and keep dpsing without really losing health.

I used to slot the s&b gap closer on my main bar when I didn't run 5x VO, but once I started using VO I didn't really need it because of the expedition buff and I replaced it with Venomous Claw to add to my DPS for faster boss burns.

My first clear set was 2x Tremorscale, 5x Seventh Legion, 4x DKS or Advancing Yokeda, 1x Master Sword if I'm remembering correctly. I've swapped in different sets over time trying to optimize my DPS as I get more comfortable with the playstyle.

It works incredibly well, it's very rare that my score is below 400k, and I rarely die more than a few times.

As a side note, I've discovered that I can easily tank almost all pledges in this gear (even DLC ones), it's perfectly viable to be a main tank in this setup unless you're tanking extreme endgame content like bosses in vTrials. You can easily tank and pull 10-15k dps with the right gear. As a stam user.