@Joy_Division
So I went in on vet for the first time, and on my first attempt I destroyed Boss 1 just by burning him with power overload on a dual wield set up (julianos, 2 TP, 2pc Shard set, 3 WP jewelry). I used tri stat food and I since I was using DW/Resto I found myself running out of majicka a lot. I left arena for 10 mins to allow a reset and recharged my ultimate to enter again (my plan tonight was just to farm the first boss a couple times for gear) and then died twice on the boss before I went to bed and quit.
One of the biggest problems I had with Boss 1 was LOS with my overload light attacks. The stupid ass targeting system (I miss the old one) kept hitting the adds instead of the boss until I ran out of uiltimate and then was pretty much screwed.
I think I messed up burning him off the bat instead of taking out the first two sets of adds then burning, and now I am wondering if I should just try what you posted and just stand still with lightning and mines down so I can better aim at the boss; ditching the DW so I can burn adds in first few rounds easier without running out of majicka. On my first kill attempt I was kind of bouncing around the place to avoid to melee adds and I think I should been more stationary.
So I am guessing you use regen drink then and not tri stat?
Thanks for sharing your feedback and advice
does Crushing Shock interrupt all mob casts or just spell casting as the tooltip states? Some mobs cast also physical attacks and if they are interrupted too by this, it could be useful. Im currently working on my build for vMA.
Hey @Joy_Division thank you very much for this guide. Last week, I got my first clear, and although you had no tips for magicka nightblades, this guide was still quite useful. I have since cleared it a couple more times, and based on my experience, I'd like to offer your readers some magblade-specific tips for getting first clears. (And feel free to add any of this to your main post, if you think it's any good.)
Choice of weapon (front): All of the guides that I've seen for doing VMA on a magicka nightblade call for an inferno staff on the front bar, and many recommend a resto staff with Healing Ward on the back bar. I don't think this is a very good idea. Resto on the back bar works well for someone who is familiar and comfortable with the arena, but if you're looking to get your first clear, you will be running into many chaotic and hectic situations where you really don't want to have to barswap to get to your "oh crap" panic button.
Instead, I prefer to have a resto staff on my front bar for VMA.
- It means that your "oh crap" emergency button (Healing Ward) can be on your front bar.
- If light-weaving on a magicka nightblade, resto staff attacks actually do more damage than inferno staff attacks because resto damage is Magic Damage and is boosted by the Thaumaturge points that magblades have. (Note: This DPS advantage of the resto staff will no longer apply after the Thieves Guild update due to the Magic/Elemental consolidation in CP.)
- The resto staff passives are actually quite useful (particularly the extra healing if you're below 30% health and the magicka return from blocking) and are much better than the destro staff passives, esp. in VMA.
- The main downside to the resto staff is that you can't medium-weave and weaving is more difficult. Practice the weave by using it during pledges and other content; the payoff of having that Healing Ward right there is well worth it.
Choice of weapon (back):
If you have the skill line leveled and points put into the passives, sword-and-shield is an excellent choice for the back bar (since I often tank on my nightblade, I already have that line maxed with all the passives); if you are about to get overrun, you can swap to that and block-cast Sap Essence; the passives in that skill tree makes block-casting much more effective. Dual-wield will give you more DPS on the back bar (particularly when executing), and I've completed VMA with both dual-wield and sword-and-shield back bars, and either one will work, but the latter does make it easier to save yourself in messy situations.
However, for stages 8 and 9, I strongly recommend a destruction staff (of any kind) for your back bar so that you can have Crushing Shock. Particularly for the final boss, a ranged interrupt will make that fight so much easier. You won't use it as your DPS spam; it's just something to save you from having to frantically race up to the boss, hoping you reach there in the two seconds you have and praying that there isn't a white ghost along the way.
Bars:
- Front: Funnel Health (I didn't bother to re-morph it to Swallow Soul for VMA since the things that kill me aren't the kind of things that 8% extra healing could've saved me from), Crippling Grasp, Merciless Resolve, Healing Ward.
- Back: Impale, Sap Essence, Siphoning Attacks, Flexible (Refreshing Path, Agony, and Crushing Shock are the three skills that I've used in this spot).
- Both bars have Inner Light.
Crematorial Guards:
I kept wiping to them because I was trying to kite them. Don't. Throw down your Veil and stand your ground (well, move around to avoid hazards like lich crystals and to circle the daedroth), placing trust in your Funnel's ability to heal you through the damage. If you panic and try to run instead of continuing to Funnel, that's when you die.
Animus Crystals:
Since Crippling Grasp is my main source of Major Expedition and that effect ends if the target dies, I found it better to not focus down on one of them too much. Especially when trying to keep up with the walls, it's nice to not have your source of ME die on you prematurely and it's nice to have a crystal nearby that you can easily target with Crippling Grasp to refresh your ME as needed. So I'll usually damage one crystal as much as I can, and then move onto the next (usually when the movement of the wall moves me closer to another crystal). Usually, by the end of the 2nd wall, all three crystals are still up, but all severely damaged and I usually destroy them quickly from range at that point.
Joy_Division wrote: »If I did not have a veil up, what would I do?
Anyone got tips how to deal with the soul churn? That keeps killing me
501 champion points?
I'm at 421 on ps4. I am debating on wether or not to got back into vet maelstrom today or punch myself in the nuts.
which do you think will be more fun?
OnThaLoose wrote: »I'm in the exact same boat as @SoulKing32 I cannot beat the final boss in stage 9. Kind of embarrassing how many times I've died to him. Hundreds of times.
I'm a magicka Templar and I watch videos of other magplars do this fight and jabs heals them through the guard. Unless I have a nova down I cannot heal through it for some reason. My spell damage is 2867 with 70% crit which should have enough dps to to kill and or heal through it. Nevertheless, if I have a nova at the start I can *usually* make it to the final stage (coming back down) but by this point I'm usually drained of stamina and can't bash the guy or I miss a ghost or a skull hits me and permastuns me. Also if I have to come down during top phase I take digits to be able to kill and get back up, so by the time last phase comes I have no sigils left ugh
I guess I'm not actually asking for advice, I know what needs to be done, I just can't get it done
My build:
High elf Templar
270 champ points (more in blessed maybe?)
64 in mag
5x julianos
3x archmage
1x kena
3x willpower all spell damage (arcane & healthy to switch if needed)
Dw front bar one precise one nirnhoned
Julianos resto back bar
Bar 1: sweeps, spears, radiant dest, inner light, st entropy meteor
Bar 2: chan focus, rapid reg, healing ward, purifying ritual, toppling charge, nova
I use purple food and tripots on final boss.
Sorry for long post aka vent.
OnThaLoose wrote: »Finally beat it in one sitting! 3 hours but still! 140k score PC NA, think it'll stay on the boards joy? I need a maelstrom weapon and I know my score is horrible.