AA Trials and a Legend that happened in our own lives...(SO LONG you will cry when you open it)

Electric Feel

I am seeing people every day both on here and in game who think that trials is just some big dps race for the min/maxers and the elite few who spend months and their lives decoding this mythological beast, if this is you or you know someone like this listen to what I say here next:

Tonight, after being Vet 12 for a few weeks now, I decided if the opportunity presented itself I would go in and check the trials scene out. My gear? Good, not perfect, from what I hear whispered in dark corners Trials is all about DPS, DPS and more DPS. You bring it or you die bottom line. To cut out some of the less than interesting to you parts of this story I will just proceed with the good part, the part you really want to know! I was hanging around in Craglorn actually trying to shore up a hole in one of my armor sets when lo and behold I see someone in zone chat looking for a DPS, specifically an experienced DPS (I do believe a Sorc was asked for by class to keep this post 100) for a AA trials run. Well I want to go but alas I do not fall into the experienced category at this time so I continue my insistent yet unobtrusive zone spam for a couple pieces of armor I am looking to purchase. Pretty shortly afterwards I get a message telling me where I could purchase the stuff I needed blah, blah, blah, and somehow I ended up in a conversation with said good Samaritan. After a few minutes of speaking about armor sets, where I am going with my build and where I see myself in 10 years, Mr.Good Samaritan says F it YOLO you want to come run trials RIGHT NOW with us? Well of course I do, so I say sure putting up front what I consider to be my current weaknesses the foremost of which is that I have never even been inside AA and my gear is less than what I would consider optimal for such an en devour but Mr.GS assures me he will walk me through it and not to take it so seriously,

( actually I just threw that part in for the sake of the story he never said that directly but I could tell from the tone of the conversation it was cool if I totally didnt nail it on my first run EVER, I mean who does that?)

After purchasing some things that were recommended to me, namely Spell Crit pots, I headed in just wanting to give a good showing and maybe show I can be taught enough to get myself a future invite after I have had time to reflect on how bad I screwed this run up.

As I enter AA I get invited to join Vent to make comms easier on this run (this is going be especially rough when I screw these fine peoples Saturday night plans for them. I will actually get to hear the disappointment in everyone's voices first hand..classic. )
This whole band of hearty adventurers actually belong to the same guild and have played together for a while and it just so happens that one of their regs couldn't make it tonight so they are stuck with me the Sorcerer "not feeling so Supreme" Electric Feel. To my suprise this guild had invited not one, not two, but FIVE Trial first timers on this run, THAT'S 1/3 of the whole group folks!!! Well I now know without a doubt this is not gonna be a good night. The Raid leader and guild members there seemed unworried and without a real care in the world. ( I am not naming names here because I do not know if they want to be called out on the forums for this or not) After a quick 5 minute explanation of what we were going to encounter on our trip to certain death we were ready to take off.

The Raid leader knocks out a quick countdown from 5 and we are off!!!! I just don't want to be the first noobie to die today, that is my only goal at this point. Killing anything had not even crossed my mind as a possibility, I mean this was it, the proving grounds, the big leagues, and all I ask is don't be the first one to die.... annnnd exhale. A unexpectedly shorter than I pictured run later, we arrive at the first boss, no one has died at all at this point and I think to myself... beginners luck, this is where it all unravels, and we all die, I am already formulating a blame shifting plan in my head for why it was noobie #2 that is really to blame, screw that guy if he isn't doing the same thing!

The bigger than expected Atronach comes trundling out towards us and does not seem to be happy to see anyone, especially me apparently. The tank engages and I start making small life goals, just live 5 seconds that seems like a semi attainable goal to me so I start with that, approximately 5 seconds later I am now scrambling to come up with a new goal because through some fluke not only am I still alive but although I feel like my eyes have started to glaze over my hands decide to do something and I find myself putting together a few respectable attacks complete with skill cancels and light attack weaves. They are totally gonna believe me when I blame that milk drink Noobie #2 now, I've got 5 seconds worth of street cred. Hands shaking I drop attack after attack and settle in for what is going to be a battle of the ages according to everything I have heard in the seedier taverns around Tamriel. I take right around my 3rd breath and the first boss is dead.... what just happened? Glitch or whatever Ill take it and am not gonna say a damn WORD I just took down the first of the Juggernauts in TRIALS, MOTHER TRUCKING TRIALS! No one else seems to notice that that whole encounter took right around 15 seconds, I am not gonna be the one to bring it up that's for damn sure and, trying to act like I've been here before, I pipe up on vent with a , "Nice, was really hoping to break 10 seconds this time but what can you do when you have to count on a random number generator for your procs?? DAMN RNG screwed us!! (I think everyone is buying it, my voice only sounded a little shaken from the unexpected implosion of the Atronach I just witnessed... I totally sold it, damn it NOOBIE #2 screw something up already! GRRRRR!)

Efficient as a well oiled machine the Raid leader isn't about to waste time and has briefed everyone on the next segment, I assume he doesn't want to waste time complaining about the horrible coding that Zeni has yet again managed to botch and just wants to forget about it and move on. I open my inventory for the 100th time, why I don't know I am not in control of my body anymore and if I can just not puke before I die in some stupid noobie way I am going to call this run a victory and screw you if you say otherwise!!

The raid leader is doing what I assume is called in medical terms, "Coming to his senses" and is just running and pulling every damn thing that moves.. I stopped blinking and most likely peed a little when we get the great news that we are now going to be splitting up and in the most dangerous place in the whole game we are going to split up and go at it with half of out original 1/3 of experienced people. All the noobies get assigned to group A with one "Real Vetren" Things are starting to make real sense now as I put the pieces together, apparently no one tells you that in order to complete the Mythological Trials it requires a sacrifice of blood.... innocent, first time noobie blood and this is where it all goes down, and I didnt even get to say goodbye to my horse Fisheysticks (He named himself don't judge me!) I accept my fate and just pray it is quick and that I don't come back as some Sheogorath amusement torture project.
I step up to the front of the Noob train and bust off a couple sweet spells, everyone is totally impressed and I envy their innocence, I was right there 10 seconds ago, how I wish I could go back to the good old days. Nothing to it but to do it, and a quick 5 count and we are moving out with a purpose to certainly legendary deaths. You were a fine horse Fisheysticks, as fine as a Sorcerer who pretends to have any idea what he is doing at this particular moment, deserves. Ill always remember apples were your favorite.... woops got side tracked, what , wait a minute where are we, where did that other group just show back up from? Are they here to watch the slaughter? Suddenly with a million thoughts still racing through my mind, confusion, fear, and oh WHAT THE [snip] !! I knew that Atronach wasn't dead, and he is back for revenge, he looks a little different, a little more Stone-ish than the last time I saw him. When was that again? I glance down at my clock and am startled by what appears to be a time paradox, only a total of 10 minutes has passed and no one has died. I don't know much but I know that you don't touch anything in the middle of a time paradox, I could inadvertently change the course of human history!! Try something new I said, it will be fun I said! Death before I puke and the pee incident never happened, and what kind of weird person even says something like that to another person? This is why gamers have the reputation they do.. geez people lets not live up to every stereotype here.....WAIT THE OHHH WHAT THE [snip] people I thought we were going to do a 5 count, I don't even know what the hell I am supposed to be doing, why would you even attack that thing, this is it, die like a man, no RAGRETS. Again much to my dismay my hands are already at work with not even a single attempt to let me in on the plan I just hope they are going to embarrass me, death comes to us all, and I am going down in a blaze of glory, a sound that surprises me comes erupting out from I believe was my own mouth, it sounded like a laugh but I am too busy realizing I am being evicted from my own body one uncontrollable body part at a time. My ears for the time being are still under my control and I hear words that one time, long ago, in a time before time meant something to me... if I could just remember...there it is again it's so familiar and I feel like I should be acting but "STACK" there it is again, someone said it really loud in my earphones and if I know one thing still it is that loud=important. I am just gonna do what everyone else is doing, Noobie #2 is gonna pay big time if I end up looking like an idiot here. "NEGATE!" before I can put it together that for some reason beyond my understanding I somehow much have volunteered to do something and that something needs to happen right now... a sheen of sweat bursts onto the scene and I am witness to my traitor hands just jamming the number 5 button on my keyboard like a boss. Everything slows to a crawl and I think that whatever just happened at least I will die knowing I just killed everyone else at the same time too, so at least Ill have the guilt to keep me company in some Daedric Hell dimension.... Words are being spoken but they mean nothing to me, I don't remember any pain or even dying for that matter so at least I have that one small mercy. The words which started out sounding like some strange Orcish/Khajit pig latin language, actually start making sense to me, small words at first like Good and then a second later another word I knew in my previous life JOB... I HAD ONE JOB and ... wait a minute, there is no way I just heard what I thought I just heard, and again, a few more words I am vaguely familiar with, Perfect Negate, just like we normally do it. The Raid leader is clearly talking to me, I have to acknowledge life at this point or he is going to be wise to me. Something small, something easy, keep it simple stupid... "Yep , thanks" I say. He moves along, close one but I nailed it. I just need to die and get this over with because I just played me last card and I have got nothing left. The undead Atronoch or at the very least his pissed off older brother is in pieces at my feet, I am about to let these guys down in ways they can't even imagine and I am too exhausted to do anything other than just to follow the crowd of people who now for some reason seem to actually like me. I can just walk away now and they are going to hate me sure but what happens when I get to the crazy stuff people keep talking about and I am exposed for the fraud that I am . Back when I made good decisions I didn't trick 12 unwitting victims into running the biggest Troll Trial run anyone could have ever imagined. This is going to be ugly, and is it too late to pretend I don't speak english? NO, that's crazy talk just sit back relax and kill everyone that has come to count on you, all these people are going to die and they don't even know it, I hope that they don't write Betrayer on my headstone, a time paradox, a horse named FIsheysticks and a whole lot of carnage, I don't know when this crazy train is gonna make it's final tragic stop but it's coming I can feel it in my cold, dark, self entitled heart of darkness. " Let's go finish this guys, I smile to keep from screaming, they buy it and I can't predict how I am going to blow this, but if there is a Deity of any kind up there CRASH THIS SERVER NOW!!!!! How did I not see this coming? The signs were so obvious!!

My prayers went unanswered for what felt like at like 10-11 hours, I will remember each and every one of their names and the look in their eyes as they realize I was the one that obliterated the lives of some too nice for their own good people who took the wrong sorcerer in and I will repeat them every day for all of eternity. " I'll miss you most of all Noobie #2 " I say. "What did you say dude?" "Nothing, nevermind,"I say. " We are at the Mage dude, time to finish this, I reach for my pen to record the exact moment the screaming starts. I don't know when I turned into such a cold monster I was such a good kid way back when, nothing but hopes and dreams when did it all turn to ash? It turns out my memory and my body are back under my control for the moment, I assume it is so I can do something horrible. " Fore score and 30 minutes ago, yep that confirms it, I am 100 percent having a psychotic break, I don't remember any deaths on this journey down the rabbit hole, but there must have been many, how many had to suffer? I can't think about that now, I have a notorious tale to finish and everyone seems to be in a great mood and excited, this is where it all goes down. Before I do whatever it is that will haunt me for the rest of my days I just want to record for posterity that I never wanted this. I just wanted my Trials achievement to link for bragging rights. I should have know it was gonna end like this, but I had pride. So much damn pride!!! Oh look the final fight has begun... goody.


The Mage is everything you have heard, lean mean, a whole lot of hitpoints and I think I saw it wink at me ( I can only assume it's a he and we have at some point I cannot recall planned this whole massacre to the letter, raise them up high so it hurts so much more when then fall, I can almost hear the words in my own head) Whatever reprieve my destroyer of worlds split personality had given me is now over and my hands are once again back to their final great work, let the Great Betrayal begin, I am only a spectator in my own body as the show begins. I hope my cray cray dark traveller at least has the decency to do it fast and they don't see it coming. Those smiles, I can see them now, oh how they haunt my dreams. 29 minutes. "5 new people 0 deaths, middleing gear and we just finished AA in 29 minutes! I am impressed," "I thought this was your first time? " " I know this is some trick, some lull before the joke is revealed his name was Raid Leader and he was a good man. I start to develop the memories I will have to use to explain to so many people how I could just ... Wait, there, something on my screen I mouth the words each one as the dream I dared to dream reveals itself to me like the warmth of the sun after the darkest night, images flash before my eyes, not only did I for the first time EVER set foot in the Unrelenting AA Trials but I rocked it in gear I picked up out of the DIRT SON. Cuz that is what I do, I get in I get it done and I roll out a champion with a Achievement that says, been there , done that, want to see how I roll ? I roll just.like.this. AA can't even hold me right now, just like I thought. GO and get yours, I softened it up for you, AA is beatable, and not only that it is not the 1000 pound gorilla waiting to clean you out for not meeting some unknown persons rules as to what you "have" to do, will following successful peoples road maps help you to become successful as well? Maybe. But maybe you are from a different walk of life, a place where legends run rampant of a Legendary Sorc and his sidekick Noobie #2 who do it their own way and get it done, No deaths, No retreat. No Mercy. It's the only way I know how to live. There are many other stories I could tell you about my life over the next few hours and a place called Hel Ra , depending on who you ask the story may change slightly here or there. But one thing never changes, and if you dare to venture into those dark depths, you will here it too. He was here. He was strong. He could not be stopped.He cannot be stopped. I am that He and I am the 29 minute conqueror, I am the man who tore the Knight of Hel Ra limb from limb, with my bare hands. This is my story and it is 100% true and in no way whatsoever exaggerated. Believe it, there are treasures in those halls, and if you don't go get it I will. ( But seriously how about 1 light armor drop? Kinda of a TROLL Mage and Knight to drop that heavy armor on me all night long.)


Well if you read all this congratulations, you didn't win anything, but you are probably pretty good at reading and I applaud that, me, I kill TRIAL BOSSES at will. Although I am not naming names I do want to thank the guild who took a chance on new sorc, and for showing that there are options out there, listen to the people who have succeeded and adapt that to your own needs. No one knew how to do it until they did it. DPS is a factor I am not going to lie, some bosses more than others. But take your lumps and adjust and regroup, it can be done. I am not saying roll in there with 12 dps templars, but I am not saying don't do that either, play your way and if you believe you can do it then put your plan in action and see if it works. There really is no reason that casuals and harcores alike cannot finish this dungeon. I consider this intro to MMO Raiding 101, things you make expect to learn before you move on are but not limited to:

Standing in Red Circles
(How to NOT do that and how it makes your job of being alive and not getting rezzed easier)

Recognizing basic game mechanics that are there to test basic understanding entry level raiding.

(References include, catching a harmful status and not passing it on to your buddy, we know you are friends, but your not that good of friends)

(See also Stack and basic skills your own class was born to do, don't call it profiling if it's true!)

(Prep for advanced Getting Raid invites and Developing the Intelligent Gamer Reputation That Gets You Noticed!)
-Blocking
-Doing your research before you get there
-Asking the questions the get you the answers that will make you successful

(Extra Credit)

(Advanced Studies In Knowing How to Not Take Everything So Serious and Having Fun, We all were not born to be an Electric Feel but if you shoot for the moon sometimes you can land among the stars)

*If you caught all of the pop culture references I made during this waaaaaay to long and not paragraphed well piece of what can only be described as American Current/Classic Literature then you are a nerd, a huge one, just like me and I support that.

[Moderator Note: Edited per our rules on Cursing & Profanity]

Hypertionb14_ESO

DPS just helps... ideally if the group is averaging 700+ for each member that first boss should die in just a few seconds..

the biggest issue people have in trials is timing and AOE avoidance.. and of course listening to raid leader, when raid leader knows what they are doing^^

Electric Feel

This whole thing was just for a laugh, that being said I also believe in the idea of everything I wrote, it just takes a few good people and a little patience and we could have a much better community than some of what I see here on a daily basis, I have been marathon gaming this weekend and when I do that I am hilarious if you dont believe me just ask me Ive know me my whole life.

ers101284b14_ESO

I gave you an awesome but I call BS on all of it. We all know noobie #2 carried you the whole way. And you where going to throw him under the bus. Tsk Tsk.

Vahrokh

My guild, starting from zero and with people below VR12 took 6 attempts to clear AA.

It speaks more about how super easy ESO is than about the players doing trials.

Electric Feel

Noobie #2 wasnt bad, he just wanted to do his job and go home, those who are not willing to strive for glory do not deserve glory to be thrust upon them, therefore he pretty much gave me a signed affidavit begging me to end his tortured existance, I can only hope that I would be that brave in his place. A moment of silence for Noobie #2 he was here and no one noticed and now hes gone and will be immortalized for all of eternity, I am if I do say so myself a selfless Sorc

like1tiger

Epic story haha made me laugh. There should be more of this on the forums

Phinix1

And the award for most melodrama in a forum post goes to...

Seriously though, a sporadically amusing pose which I actually felt compelled to read through to the bottom of the entire wall of text just to see if your protagonist had a nervous breakdown in the end.

So you and Newbie #2 instead sail off into "a whole new world" the way it was "once upon a dream."

What is this, a Disney MMO?

Sharee

This must be the first wall of text on this forum that i actually read, and had fun doing so. Good job!

timidobserver

The biggest issues I've seen with pug trials groups is wading through RPers that care more about using the particular type of gear/weapon/skills they have decided that their character must use at all times as opposed to coming up with a viable trials setup that they only need to use for the 15-30 minutes they are in trials and wading through people that have 20 reasons for not being able to get into TS.

Trials themselves aren't that hard. The difficult part is usually the people.

Scaesar

That story was the literary equivalent of consummate fishy sticks marinated in epicness and prepared by a bickering duo of James Cameron and Michael Bay.

Well done sir, a pleasant read indeed.

Stratti

I want to make two comments

1. As a wannabe writer that never pursued it (in my 30s now) your writing is fantastic and engaging OP . I thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts

2. As a Raid Officer in a guild this story warms my heart - too many are elitist in the trials space and particularly if you have a few really good dps the rest can be good and get it done. I applaud unnamed guild and hope we too can live up to this lofty standard

renton1x1x1

awesome post - paragraph's plz i keep losing my place

Cogo

Sharee wrote: »

This must be the first wall of text on this forum that i actually read, and had fun doing so. Good job!

What about mine? I think I got some sort of achievement for wall of text.....

Draxuul

I can`t believe i actually went through this entire Post-Zilla. But i kinda had to , i`ve written some pretty long ones myself and a few people have done me the honor of actually reading them so i felt compelled to do the same for a fellow ( I can`t stop my fingers ) kinda poster hehe.

I do have to say , i had a hell of a good laugh reading this . And yeah untill i read this i was one to think that Trials was Elitist haven and that anyone who didn`t build pure dedicated builds had no place even considering it.

Now i think i might try it if i find some group who`s willing to give me a chance to prove myself. But i don`t even know why i bother with this right now . My highest toon is only V3 and i only play for about 3 hours a day lol which isn`t even enough to get 1 V rank a day hehe. I won`t be vr12 untill next month at this rate .

Anyways, please have mercy on me next time you post something and cut your own fingers off

Draxuul

Electric Feel

This post started harmless, I just wanted people to know there is an endgame for everyone and it is fun, I can guarantee had I not lucked into not only running it my first time with a handful of people that knew their characters from top to bottom but also were able to communicate their knowledge and give direction in real time, had I not met those exact people then my story may have went much differently. Will everyone be able to just stroll in there and take what they want like a boss and walk out? Odds are not good that will happen. But they are out there and I just wanted to in a more serious way so thanks to all of them. I enjoyed it thoroughly and I am in no way a RPer or a writer I just have a pretty damn epic sense of humor and for the one of the first times since I bought this game I really felt like it has a great community. Be patient, take your failures, learn from them and come back with a bigger stick next time. That is all that I can tell you, will you be the next Electric Feel? No. I am SORRY but I am one of a kind, but you can be the next Wrothgar, or Billytwonips or whatever you want because as long as you have fun its your story so tell it how you want, I did, and I would do it again!

Thanks to everyone who read this I had no idea I was gonna write that monster but I had to know how it ended so I just kept going. [snip] it YOLO, I ll be in Tamriel looking for a story.

[Moderator Note: Edited per our rules on Cursing & Profanity]

Electric Feel

renton1x1x1 wrote: »

awesome post - paragraph's plz i keep losing my place

Sorry! I thought about it, I was even gonna spell check it, but things just can't be that simple now a days, I mean where do I start? If I go with MLA format the APA format crew isnt even gonna read that mess and Im gonna get flames. I put a lot of thought into and I could come up with no better ideas than this. It is what it is, I attempted some fairly pathetic paragraphing but it looked desperate and was drawing a lot of attention away from the story so I just let it go and live just like it was born, free and a little crazy.

Electric Feel

Draxuul wrote: »

I can`t believe i actually went through this entire Post-Zilla. But i kinda had to , i`ve written some pretty long ones myself and a few people have done me the honor of actually reading them so i felt compelled to do the same for a fellow ( I can`t stop my fingers ) kinda poster hehe.

I do have to say , i had a hell of a good laugh reading this . And yeah untill i read this i was one to think that Trials was Elitist haven and that anyone who didn`t build pure dedicated builds had no place even considering it.

Now i think i might try it if i find some group who`s willing to give me a chance to prove myself. But i don`t even know why i bother with this right now . My highest toon is only V3 and i only play for about 3 hours a day lol which isn`t even enough to get 1 V rank a day hehe. I won`t be vr12 untill next month at this rate .

Anyways, please have mercy on me next time you post something and cut your own fingers off

Draxuul

You cant trust him, but Cadwell will show you the way to V12, just dont let him get drunk around your friends he is a horrible liar and does some messed up crap.

lathbury

Draxuul wrote: »

I can`t believe i actually went through this entire Post-Zilla. But i kinda had to , i`ve written some pretty long ones myself and a few people have done me the honor of actually reading them so i felt compelled to do the same for a fellow ( I can`t stop my fingers ) kinda poster hehe.

I do have to say , i had a hell of a good laugh reading this . And yeah untill i read this i was one to think that Trials was Elitist haven and that anyone who didn`t build pure dedicated builds had no place even considering it.

Now i think i might try it if i find some group who`s willing to give me a chance to prove myself. But i don`t even know why i bother with this right now . My highest toon is only V3 and i only play for about 3 hours a day lol which isn`t even enough to get 1 V rank a day hehe. I won`t be vr12 untill next month at this rate .

Anyways, please have mercy on me next time you post something and cut your own fingers off

Draxuul

If your ad on EU server we would.

Nestor

My Question about Trials is, does anyone stop and read the books?

I am referring to the one that is in a library.

Electric Feel

Reading while your raid group is battling for their right to claim fat stacks of armor and weapons that probably in no way will benefit them is semi faux pas is I remember right, better to single a song of battle, victory and death to your enemies, can NEVER go wrong with a good battle hymn. Anything will do just nothing by Coldplay, the reasons for this are long but just trust me, I know its catchy but it just doesn't translate well.