My first vMSA experience

Tryxus

Disclaimer: this is not a "nerf"-thread

So with all of my chars done, I decided this weekend to tackle the infamous Veteran Maelstrom Arena for the first time. I had tried the first stage out a few times when Orsinium was released but now I was ready to try and conquer this challenge...

... and I failed...

I took my main, grabbed some gold for repairs, extra soul gems and tri-stat pots and attempted it:

- Stages 1 and 2 were easy
- Stage 3 took some effort on the boss, but otherwise ok
- Stage 4... dat frigging bucket of bolts mini Engine Guardian

Yeah >_> I actually failed on this boss, even when several guides and friends claimed that this is one of the easier bosses in the arena.

So I dropped my quest and took a healthy 2 hour break (food, bio and single games)

When I returned, I decided to prep my char as best as I could for DPS PvE by crafting an all new set of gear for him:

- 5 pcs Light TBS
- 1 pc Med Torug
- 1 pc Heavy Kena

All divines, with a Destro Staff, Resto Staff and 2 Swords, all Torug too

I grabbed the 2 Mundus stones I needed, Thief and Shadow and made another attempt:

- Stages 1 and 2 eezypeezy again
- Stage 3 I had 2 deaths agains the boss
- Stage 4 killed Mini Engine Guardian on the first try
- Stage 5 took some effort, but I noticed I had to try a certain rotation on the islands, as well as focus on the ranged adds while avoiding the giantess
- Stage 6 failed. Damn webspinners show up the exact moment a swarm appears

(Score was about 227k I think, btw. Pretty low right? )

And this is where I quit for this weekend. I honestly had a lot of fun, MSA is quite challenging and even though I failed, I'm not going to give up. I'm going to attempt this next weekend again. I learned a lot about proper MagBlade rotation and PvE in general and I think that so far I managed to get a solid grip on the first 5 stages.

Better luck next week I hope (and some good rewards too )

Anyways, share some of your experiences here: first tries, perfect runs, that moment you got the perfect Maelstrom wep, guides,...

Thx
Tryxus

Dracan_Fontom

Lol, Nice try. My first run I want able to get to the ice round but I couldn't past the boss. In my opinion the easiest round for me was the second one. The darn Mini Engine Guardian took a while for me but I did in time. Just wish I could have done it all.

DRXHarbinger

Keep going. Tip for round 5...clear the posts but leave one covered up, always keep the centre one clear... then just police the spiders that show up. It's hard work if you keep clearing them and have to clear 4 again and again. Then on the boss just boom clear one pillar and trash it to 50% on the first go. Spamming sap when spiders turn up generally keeps you alive for long enough to make it...or cloak and they all freeze still.

DRXHarbinger

For round 6 rather.

Molag_Crow

Yeah it's one of those places that take quite some time to get used to/learn each boss and wave. Once you've got that locked down, you can pretty much walk through it, even though it's still challenging.

Vaoh

My vMSA experience:
First try - failed on Stage 1
Second try - failed on Stage 5
Third try - could not beat Voriak Solkyn
Fourth try - Won
Fifth try - Won
Sixth try - Won
Seventh try - Won
Eighth try - I pushed for Flawless, died at Stage 7
Ninth try - Won
Tenth try - I pushed for Flawless, Won
Eleventh try and beyond - Winning

The point is that as you learn mechnics (and have better gear/more CP) you will get much better. vMA is heavily based on mechanics and timing, so good luck. Voriak Solkyn is also very difficult on your first completion so don't give up when you get there.

dpencil

I worked on my first clear over several days (time is limited with little kiddos and such). I spent a long time, probably an hour just trying to get through the Spider boss. About 2 hours working of Voraik, no win. Came back another day and spent 3 hours, I kid you not, just trying to win the last fight. Finally I won. Opened the chest (I'm a mag sorc), and yeah. It was a Precise Fire Destro. Needless to say, I jumped up and down fist pumping for a few minutes. I was one of the very few lucky ones to feel like all my effort on that first clear was really worth it.

2nd clear still took a while but was much easier overall. Got Helm of the Hunt.

3rd clear I was able to do in one sitting and get on the weekly leaderboard. Got the Greatsword. I don't have a stam char yet but I plan on rolling one eventually, so it will probably be useful some day.

I'll probably try again some time later this week. Personally, I enjoy the experience, though am not looking forward to how much harder it will be for me after DB. I really rely on those big Surge heals.

Joy_Division

Nice that you are looking forward to some more!

Friendly tip: save your soul gems. Just rez at wayshire - the time to walk back is about the same as the ghost form from a gem..