One Bar Easy vMA w/Video MagSorc Build for Summerset(No Trial, Monster set, Maelstrom Weapon needed)

DeadlyPhoenix · August 2018

Ryanman wrote: »

Thank you for posting this thread since I my old eyes and reflexes seem to be too slow to get the BiS set rotations down while also bar switching and trying to stay alive. What are your thoughts on using the extra skill slot for summon winged tormentor or deadric prey?

@Ryanman winged tormentors isn't bad, but you would probably have more luck with the matriarch. Daedric prey is nice for bosses, but not really needed and I prefer to slot crushing shock instead for interrupts. You'd be surprised how often it can save your life at range. Otherwise trying to interrupt targets before they do whatever can be a pain on magsorc.

You can always give them a try though, to each their own.

Enigmatic · August 2018

First off, thank you for sharing this build. I'd been chasing a VMA completion off and on for a long time. Quit the game 2 years ago for a number of reasons with a Stam Sorc stuck at final boss round 9.

Came back to the game a couple of months back and decided to try again with Mag Sorc and used this build and others I found to create something that worked for me. Got to the final round again and got stuck with mechanics but finally got my first clear at the end of last week.

I've now just got my 5th clear and I'm tweaking my build here and there to try and improve.

My question is, why does your build (and to be honest other 1 bar builds I've seen too), not include any points into Master-at-Arms? I got my first clear without points in MAA but as I've looked more into the Blue CP tree, I've seen other builds put points in here and in my testing using the build editor there is a definite increase in tool tip values with MAA.

I've made changes to my char with a mix of points in MAA & Thaumaturge and gained a fair increase in damage. I'm on XBOX so don't have any add-ons that can output a DPS test breakdown but from a tooltip example, the value of Vol Familiar went from 3470 to 3981 and my Destro ULT went from 8613 to 9881.

goldenflameslinger · August 2018

I have been toying with vMA for quite a while. i could breeze through rounds 1-2-3 but was stuck on 4 for literally like a year. I could get to the big spider boss without any issues but the dwarven spheres, mini bosses, etc. would always pile up enough to crush me with AOE before I could finish off the boss. I was running another, popular ESO vMA build until this point, but something you wrote in one of your comments made total sense to me.

You said those builds were made for min/maxers who focus on animation cancelling, etc. That resonated with me because, I don't really do those things. I am 40, past my gaming prime, and my reaction time and focus is not as good as it used to be. I just play for fun, not to be "the greatest". On my best days, I hit between 20-23k solo dps at max. It made me realize I was kind wasting my time following those builds because they do not match my play style. It let me see that there is more to the game than chasing meta!

I made some Torug's and bought some Necro, respec'd and set up the build as you recommended - one bar, one pet, heavy attacks only. I beat the spider boss on the first try! With this build, I was able to focus down the adds a lot quicker so the AOE did not stack up as much. I was elated!

I waited until the next day to try the ice round, I read through all of the comments and picked up on the suggestion of interrupting the trolls with crushing shock. It took me probably ten tries and I beat the level. I could not believe how fast I made it through. The trick was not to focus on the boss at all, the trolls pounding the ice are way more important than the boss...I never would have paid attention to them if you had not pointed them out. I literally ran around interrupting and killing the trolls and let the boss die to my AOE. I honestly don't even remember seeing the boss during my winning run, I was so focused on trolls and adds. He died and I was like WTF? It was almost too easy once I figured it all out.

Tonight I am going to go for level 6. I plan on reading back through the comments, watching the video, and trying to pick up on a few nuggets of wisdom. My goal is to beat vMA before the Orsinium event is over so I can get double weapons - that would be hot! I wouldn't bet my life that I can do it, but I got a lot further in the past two days than I have in the past year. Thanks for your help! Your guide helped me get some of my ESO sanity back.

DeadlyPhoenix · August 2018

@Enigmatic the reason why my build specifically doesn't use Master at Arms, is because it only increases single target damage. This build focus' on Area of Effect (AoE) damage which are mostly all Damge over TIme (DoT) abilities.

The only ability on my bar in the video I posted that is single target would be Crushing Shock. Since we don't really use it that often other than to interrupt, it's a waste of champion points. I would rather place them into increasing my staff damage, critical damage, spell penetration, or overall magic damage and leave Thaumaturge with 75 points to gain the Exploiter passive.

With that being said though, it really depends on the build you're using and what you have on your bar. If you're doing more single target attacks because you're not following this build exactly, then placing points into MAA might benefit that build even more. You'll just have to tamper with it until you find something that you like and works.

@goldenflameslinger I'm glad that this build has helped you!

I know what you mean about age, reflexes, aches and pains, etc haha..... That's another reason I try to keep things simple. This build helps people like us and those with disabilities or horrible lag and ping. It really does allow you to maintain decent DPS, not the best though obviously, with minimal effort.

If you need any specific advice or help on any of the stages or just anything in general, feel free to ask me! I usually try to get back to people within a day or two, just depends on how active I am on forums at the time. I always check back every couple days though.

Keep it up though! You cleared one of the hardest stages no problem, stage 5 Ice Rink.... Gives a lot of people, myself included, problems. So you're doing great so far!

Enigmatic · August 2018

@DeadlyPhoenix I know what you mean about not using Direct Damage attacks hence not putting points into MAA. I wasn't running any points there myself originally to get my VMA completion.

Saying that, using UESP simulator and in game on XBOX, putting points into MAA now (Summerset DLC) does increase the tooltip damage for Volatile Familiar, Liquid Lightning, Blockade of Storms and Destro Ult. Right now I'm trialling a setup with points in MAA and Thaum.

I need to do a proper test on a dummy but my damage definitely feels improved and stuff dies quicker. I'm on console so I don't have access to the great add-ons that would really confirm this though.

rumple9 · August 2018

MAA affects the first hit of those skills as they are direct damage and each subsequent pulse is considered a dot affected by thurmatage. However I agree that for this VMA build MAA is a waste of CP that can be better allocated elsewhere

Enigmatic · August 2018

@rumple9 and @DeadlyPhoenix Got a thread going here where someone on PC has done some testing now and MAA is affecting Mag Sorc despite not being Direct Damage skills:

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/5368367#Comment_5368367

Septimus_Magna · August 2018

A little tip for people struggling, you can bring two infused torugs lightning staves. One with fire enchant and one with prismatic enchant. The prismatic enchant just melts daedra so its really useful on stages 1/6/8/9.

Juju_beans · September 2018

Had to step out of the game for a bit for RL stuff.
But getting back into the swing of it.

I stepped foot into MA today..first time and on normal.
I want to run normal a few times to get the mechanics down.

Necro+Torug's+Llambris Blue food cause it's just normal (health/magicka)..went in with 19K health buffed.
Destro staff + healing staff both Torugs.

With upcoming changes to sorc I had no shields on my bar.
I used some healing and was doing roll/dodge to get out of the way.

1 - no death and everyone was easy to take down.
2 - 2 deaths due to the swirlies..not the mobs.
My pet was a champ with those mobs.

I was ecstatic and woot'ing in guild chat. I'm just your average player here..no vet dungeons/trials under my belt.
I don't min/max and can't figure out animation cancelling to save my life.
Had some defensive skills on backbar but only switched a few times to cast a heal.

The roll dodge was great to evade vs shield. But with only 10K stamina I had to watch myself.

I left after finishing the second arena cause I wanted to make some changes.
I'm going to try 2 prismatic enchants so I get more stamina.
I've noticed there are times where I'll be able to use a shield with the changes in the ptr which would reduce the number of roll dodges.

I know it's only normal but I went in there thinking the first round mobs would wipe me all over the floor.

Donny_Vito · September 2018

Juju_beans wrote: »

I know it's only normal but I went in there thinking the first round mobs would wipe me all over the floor.

I'm not trying to be a Debbie-Downer, but the difficulty level from Normal to Vet is like a speed difference of 15 mph to 115 mph. Good job on completing normal, but be prepared for an awakening on Vet! It's doable, for sure...just quite a bit harder and like 100% more intense. It took me a couple weeks to finally beat Vet, and I breezed through normal with crappy gear. After trying Vet, I really had to rework my gear, skills, and just my overall game-play. But after Vet, I've learned my character so much more and I'm definitely 100% better than I originally was. I hope the same for you.

Skullstachio · September 2018

@DeadlyPhoenix
With the upcoming Champion Cap Increase in the Murkmire Expansion, Might I advise putting points into thaumaturge up to the approximated value of 81 points (24.06%) because I noticed that, true the exploiter passive is important, I can agree, but topping it to 75 is essentially wasting 3 extra points from the 72 point margin. (23.00%) I point this out because I am sure an intellectual such as yourself (Positive Compliment) knows that "any points spent that do not raise a value past the next integer are essentially wasted."

If necessary, I advise using this link to the UESP Online: Champion Article to plan ahead during the mental construction of builds so that each and every point is used in a manner that allows the best possible bonus output.

Note: The bold values in the table represent where actual changes occur. Having any other amount of points spent in the respective ability will have no additional effect.

Uesp online champion article: http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Champion

Thaumaturge champion article: http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Thaumaturge

Hope these Help out. (be sure to check 'em out before rendering proper judgement.)

doc_ketamine · September 2018

DeadlyPhoenix wrote: »

Updated for Summerset

@DeadlyPhoenix - Any planned updates to this with all of the sorc nerfs planned for this week?

DeadlyPhoenix · September 2018

@Alpha-Lupi @doc_ketamine
I apologize for the late reply. Have been extremely busy and I also just noticed that my phone had signed me out of the forums

Alpha-Lupi wrote: »

@DeadlyPhoenix
With the upcoming Champion Cap Increase in the Murkmire Expansion, Might I advise putting points into thaumaturge up to the approximated value of 81 points (24.06%) because I noticed that, true the exploiter passive is important, I can agree, but topping it to 75 is essentially wasting 3 extra points from the 72 point margin. (23.00%) I point this out because I am sure an intellectual such as yourself (Positive Compliment) knows that "any points spent that do not raise a value past the next integer are essentially wasted."

If necessary, I advise using this link to the UESP Online: Champion Article to plan ahead during the mental construction of builds so that each and every point is used in a manner that allows the best possible bonus output.

Note: The bold values in the table represent where actual changes occur. Having any other amount of points spent in the respective ability will have no additional effect.

Uesp online champion article: http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Champion

Thaumaturge champion article: http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Thaumaturge

Hope these Help out. (be sure to check 'em out before rendering proper judgement.)

You are definitely correct on the wasted points put into it. With the further CP increase it might be beneficial to finish that last 1% on Thaumaturge. I've never used one of those calculators but I should give it a try. I just build based on what gives the most increase % wise relative to the amount of CP needed to invest.

What I mean by that is its 6 points for 1% where if I place that 6 points elsewhere I might get 2% or 1% in overall damage as opposed to just abilities effected by thaumaturge.

I'm sure there are better CP allotment setups you could go with, I'm still messing around with them myself to find what really works best for the way I play.

Thank you for the compliment, advice and feedback!

doc_ketamine wrote: »

DeadlyPhoenix wrote: »

Updated for Summerset

@DeadlyPhoenix - Any planned updates to this with all of the sorc nerfs planned for this week?

I do plan on updating this build for Murkmire once it is released on console. As I said before, I haven't been able to login much lately, so haven't been able to watch what all changes are coming our way. I know they are adding a cast time to our shields, but I still think while using this build, they will still remain viable. The one second cast time is going to hurt vMA builds for sure, but ultimately I think it will just require a little more focus on maintaining them.

This build is relatively mindless anyway, which allows you to pay closer attention to the mechanics. We will see how it works out though. If shields are truly ruined as some people believe, then I may have to rethink this build entirely.

silvereyes · October 2018

DeadlyPhoenix wrote: »

I know they are adding a cast time to our shields, but I still think while using this build, they will still remain viable.

ZOS has actually backpedaled on the cast time. See below.

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

We’ve had a lot of discussions over the past week, and after digesting everything we’ve seen and read, in addition to talking with the Class Reps, we’re making the decision to revert the cast time for both of these shield abilities. In one of the upcoming PTS patches, Annulment and Conjured Ward will now be instant-cast abilities that scale off your maximum Magicka (as they do on live currently), but cap the total shield amount to 40% of your character’s maximum health. Our goal with the damage shield changes has been to address the fact that you can create builds that maximize damage while ignoring defense. We think it’s great some players want to play like a glass cannon, but those builds should have tradeoffs in reduced survivability. By limiting damage shield strength on max health, it makes the health stat much more attractive than it was previously for damage shield users.

sync · October 2018

I haven't played ESO in quite a while. I was thinking of playing again if I can find a decent one bar build.

Is this build still viable?

DeadlyPhoenix · October 2018

sync wrote: »

I haven't played ESO in quite a while. I was thinking of playing again if I can find a decent one bar build.

Is this build still viable?

@sync I'm actually not sure if it will still be viable or not. There have been a lot of changes and I won't be able to test them out for myself until Murkmire is released on console. Theoretically it's still viable though.

silvereyes · October 2018

I haven't done vMA since Murkmire, but I've been soloing world bosses and 4 man content with a variation of this build in Murkmire, and I can report that it still works well enough for that. I honestly haven't noticed my gameplay suffering so far. Shields are still strong, if not quite so strong as before, but with Power Surge healing, it doesn't seem to matter too much.

goldenflameslinger · November 2018

@DeadlyPhoenix Anxious to hear your thoughts since Murkmire hit.

Sixsixsix161 · February 2019

@DeadlyPhoenix

Thank you for this setup.

Is everything still valid/correct?

6

thedude33 · March 2019

I'm looking for a good video series that explains each encounter..... and explain it like I'm a 5-year-old. I've watched a couple of videos while people play. I can't imagine how hard that is to do both play and talk. Which is likely the reason the descriptions suffer.

drakeos99 · March 2019

Has this been updated ?

phobi · March 2019

I finally cleared VMA with this build, thanks! Gear was Necropotence, Plague Doctor and Iceheart. Normally my ward is on key '5', but I changed it to "mouse wheel up/down", makes it much easier to recast!