Magicka Sorc Build for vMSA?

Molag_Crow

Does anybody know of a basic build magicka Sorc build in the DB patch that's decent for vMSA?

I'm currently wearing 5 Julianos, 2 Molag Kena and 1 Maelstrom Inferno Staff sharpened. My off bar is... 2 low level swords which I haven't changed yet (since this char was vet 3 before the Dark Brotherhood patch)

Any tips and help would be greatly appreciated.

HoolDog

3 Willpower all spell damage
5 kags divines, heavy chest and Med legs
1 kena divines
1 blood spawn infused
1 sharpened inferno staff

Mundus mag recovery

Spell damage is 2600-2700
Recovery 1500-1600
Magicka 40500

Inferno staff: Frag, elemental ring, crushing shock, Mage light, harden ward, comet

Resto staff: liquid lighting, power surge, healing ward, harness magicka, harden ward, overload

Swap out elemental ring for macka drain skill from destro skill line on last stage for crem guards.

I have done it twice with is build now... Every round except the last is pretty simple. With the decent damage and recovery.

I have not been so lucky to pull a maelstrom staff yet but if I had it would help massively. Especially on last round.

Kammakazi

get good

Jsmalls

Well considering you have the infamous vMA sharpened destro im assuming you are comfortable with vMA in general (I'm over 100 runs and have yet to get the staff so I kind of hate you)

Anyways you listed exactly what you need julianos, Kena, willpower, vMA Staff and dual swords, just replace your back bar with two gold Kag swords, both sharpened.

Front vMA destro bar: Frag, inner light, Wall of elements, force pulse, and bound aegis, Overload ultimate.
Back dual swords bar: Ward (hardened or empowered, I prefer empowered for vMA), inner light, power surge, liquid lightning, and bound aegis, overload ultimate.
Overload bar: inner light, bound aegis, boundless storm, ward, and last is choice but I love streak)

I'm comfortable with vMA and I faceroll it with this setup, 500k plus every run.

tist

Noob to vMSA but I can get over 500k with my setup.

350CP

5 julianos
3 vicious death (4 pc back bar dw)
3 will power

Sharpened inferno
All light
Pretty straight forward

Crushing shock/magelight/frag/ward/wall of elements
Surge/magelight/liquid lightning/mages fury/streak

Not a fan of the bound armor. I like my spells.

X3ina

Nothing changed to sorc vMA setup since last patch

5x Julianos/Twice-Born Star/Scathing mage (divines)
2x Molag Kena (divines)
3x Willpower (arcane with spell damage enchant)
1x sharpened inferno or at least lightning destro staff with spell damage enchant (preferrably Maelstrom of course)
2x sharpened swords (with 2set piece bonus giving spell damage aka: Torugs/Worm/VD etc)

Destro bar: pulse, frag, aegis (extra 8% max magicka), woe, inner... ulti shooting star (extra max magicka + magicka regen from mages guild passive)
Dual bar: liquid, hardened (i use boundless storm instead, but its not easy to play if you're not expienced enough), aegis, surge, inner ... ulti energy overload
Overload bar: liquid, hardened (i use trap here to get my overload crits to really hihg numbers, leads to lack of defence without experience), aegis, surge, inner... ulti overload

How to use: apply surge, put your dots under enemy spawning points they should be hitting as much enemies as possible (extra dps + destro passive will make your pulse an aoe attack). When minibosses spawn use overload to burn them very fast.

How to beat it without shields: recent power surge changes made it very interesting, it heals for 2,5k and more when u crit once in a second. If u're familiar with vMA and know where spawns the high priority/threat mobs and can position yourself in a good place its a source of endless healing. Ex.: u have 2 aoe dots ll and woe if u place it correctly under mobs and don't move them u will be getting heal ticks 24/7, there is an exception at least for me, stage 7 ... if poison hits u you will not be able to get to the cleansing pool.

Small advice: when you're new to vMA start with more defensive setup and change it to more agressive every ~30k points increase. Sigils: its not a shame to use them, with time/effort/practice u will be able to beat it without them anyway.

Molag_Crow

HoolDog wrote: »

3 Willpower all spell damage
5 kags divines, heavy chest and Med legs
1 kena divines
1 blood spawn infused
1 sharpened inferno staff

Mundus mag recovery

Spell damage is 2600-2700
Recovery 1500-1600
Magicka 40500

Inferno staff: Frag, elemental ring, crushing shock, Mage light, harden ward, comet

Resto staff: liquid lighting, power surge, healing ward, harness magicka, harden ward, overload

Swap out elemental ring for macka drain skill from destro skill line on last stage for crem guards.

I have done it twice with is build now... Every round except the last is pretty simple. With the decent damage and recovery.

I have not been so lucky to pull a maelstrom staff yet but if I had it would help massively. Especially on last round.

@HoolDog Thanks a lot man, I'm a noob with Sorcs but I'll definitely give it a go with that setup.

Molag_Crow

Kammakazi wrote: »

get good

Molag_Crow

jyates214b14_ESO wrote: »

Well considering you have the infamous vMA sharpened destro im assuming you are comfortable with vMA in general (I'm over 100 runs and have yet to get the staff so I kind of hate you)

Anyways you listed exactly what you need julianos, Kena, willpower, vMA Staff and dual swords, just replace your back bar with two gold Kag swords, both sharpened.

Front vMA destro bar: Frag, inner light, Wall of elements, force pulse, and bound aegis, Overload ultimate.
Back dual swords bar: Ward (hardened or empowered, I prefer empowered for vMA), inner light, power surge, liquid lightning, and bound aegis, overload ultimate.
Overload bar: inner light, bound aegis, boundless storm, ward, and last is choice but I love streak)

I'm comfortable with vMA and I faceroll it with this setup, 500k plus every run.

Thanks! wow, this made me realize how bad my Sorc is... I haven't even unlocked most morphs like Bound Aegis lol

heyewe

Thank you for this thread and the comments everyone shared. I've been wondering if I should change anything to begin my long journey toward this achievement with my Sorc since giving her a long break.

@HoolDog or @X3ina would you be willing to share where your CP are allocated with this set up? And mundus stone?

Thank you for any help you can give

cschwingeb14_ESO

tist wrote: »

Crushing shock/magelight/frag/ward/wall of elements
Surge/magelight/liquid lightning/mages fury/streak

Not a fan of the bound armor. I like my spells.

You could remove mage light from the back bar and add something. My setup is similar and I use lightning form. The DoT ticks and protection are both good

X3ina

heyewe wrote: »

Thank you for this thread and the comments everyone shared. I've been wondering if I should change anything to begin my long journey toward this achievement with my Sorc since giving her a long break.

@HoolDog or @X3ina would you be willing to share where your CP are allocated with this set up? And mundus stone?

Thank you for any help you can give

You don't really need something extra for it xD
My CP allocation: 100 in elemental expert, 46 in elfborn, 1 in penetration, in staff attacks, rest in thaumaturge.
100 in reduce magicka cost, rest in magicka recovery.
80 in hardy, 80 in elemental defender, 7 in dot resist.
Mundus: if you're using TBS - thief+shadow, if another sets - thief.

Feel free to use sigils if you're new to vMA or trying to get a flawless run achievement until you get the mechanics and improve your dps. If you lack sustain you can enchant 1 or more pieces of jewelry with magicka recovery. Good luck btw

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Lots of good advice here already. I think the Meta for gear right now is 5 Julianos, 2 Kena, 5 elegant (with sharpened weapons on back bar), and a sharpened VMA Destro, but your setup will work just fine. A couple of things. First, TBS is a solid alternative to Julianos. I think your overload is actually a touch better, and while you lose a bit of DPS when on your staff, the extra stats are really handy. I think it is better unless really trying to push score.

I think the Meta bars are as follows for a nice smooth clear:

Destro: Crushing Shock, frags, Blockade, Bound Aegis, Inner Light, Overload
DW: Power Surge, liquid Lightening, Hardened Ward, Bound Aegis, Inner Light, Overload
Overload: Power Surge, liquid Lightening, Hardened Ward, Bound Aegis, Inner Light, Overload

A few thoughts:
- First, nothing wrong with front baring your shield. Pre DB, I would have dropped Blockade, post DB, I would prob drop frags. Obviously, its less DPS, but it makes it easier when learning. It is very comforting to have your shield in the same spot on 3 bars.

- Second, your inner light on your DW bar can be a flex spot. Only downside is your shield wont be as big. Dark Conversion is a great skill here because it solves any sustain issues you might have and is an excellent burst heal since it was buffed. Prolonged Suffering is also really useful here for a stun, especially on round 9. I run DC from 1-8 and PS in 9.

- Third, on your overload bar, you could certainly drop surge and your shield for more DPS, but I dont think its necessary. Especially if you have elegant, it already hits really hard. When I overload, I only worry about keeping up Surge and LL.

- Forth, you might do a touch better in terms of passives with meteor on your front bar, but once you get a little lag and accidentally cast your meteor when you have full ulti, you will switch and never go back. haha.

- Fifth, you can go with force pulse for more DPS, but you need to be comfortable with bashing to interrupt. I dont think its worth the hassle.

sluice

Reviving this thread as I'm in the same situation as the OP.

@Oreyn_Bearclaw , @HoolDog, @X3ina

I struggled greatly to get to stage 3 with my sorc, while it was somewhat of a breeze with my templar to get to stage 5. One of the main difference between the two is my Sorc has 15.8k health (with no Undaunted) and my templar has 20k (Undaunted 9) and I struggled with ressources management a bit more on the Sorc for keeping up Hardened Ward all the time..

Although, I have to say that the bosses were dropping so much faster with my sorc (thanks to overload).
For this reason and because I have other plans for my templar, I wish to make my magsorc my vMA farmer.

A few questions...

I have 15.8k health. Do I need more? How much is considered "good" for a magsorc attempting vMA?
I can change an Arcane Willpower Ring for Healthy.
Or going with a difference set (Kagrenac's or a Engine Guardian...)

How can I better manage my ressources
With having to continuously keep Hardened Ward up, I run out of Magicka eventually...
I was thinking of replacing my 2x Molag Kena with 2x Engine Guardian, viable?

Molag Kena VS Nerien'eth VS Engine Guardian
Molag Kena definitly is great in overload mode, but not usable (for me, at least) before overload because of lack of ressources management. Would Nerien'eth increase my DPS overall and make the runs easier?

Is going with a destro/resto viable?
Or is Healing Ward and Rapid Regen considered useless, since Hardened Ward should keep you alive?

How much CP should I put into Bastion? Should I change anything to my red tree?
Bastion: 60 (Should I have 100 here?)
Elemental Defender: 60
Hardy: 50
Quick Recovery: 1
Thick Skinned: 6

Anything I should change in my skills or gear? (gear below)
Crafting divines Julianos or TBS is out of the question..
But I have a Kagrenac's set in Divines sleeping in my bank.


Gear

Gear
2x Molag gold
5x Julianos (Impen mainly...) purple
3x Willpower with spell damage glyph

1x Old crafter Kag's Hope Inferno staff gold (Until I get some Maelstrom staff... knock on wood)
2x Vicious Death Sharpened Swords gold

Mundus
Thief

Skills
1st: Force Pulse / Blockade / Hardened Ward / C-Frag / Inner Light / Meteor (haven't mis-cast it yet.. lol)
2nd: Liquid Lightning / Hardened Ward/ Power Surge / Daedric Mines / Inner Light / Energy Overload
3rd : Liquid Lightning / Hardened Ward / Power Surge / Mage Wrath / Inner Light


TL;DR
I'm struggling more in vMA with my Sorc than with my templar, because of less health, poor ressources management.

PS: I know that the main reason for me struggling, is not knowing the mechanics enough yet. I just want to make sure I have the odds by my side nonetheless.

HoolDog

@sluice

I have 15.8k health. Do I need more? How much is considered "good" for a magsorc attempting vMA?
I can change an Arcane Willpower Ring for Healthy.
Or going with a difference set (Kagrenac's or a Engine Guardian...)

I have 18.5k... Used to complete it with 17.5k before I added in a monster set giving the 1k health. I would aim for 17k. I have undaunted mettle and use Max tri stat food. My rings are all arcane also but you will see that in the gear reply further on.

How can I better manage my ressources
With having to continuously keep Hardened Ward up, I run out of Magicka eventually...
I was thinking of replacing my 2x Molag Kena with 2x Engine Guardian, viable?

First off I try to medium/heavey weave attacks between skills, light weaves do not allow my to regen enough at all.

I run pretty much all out damage to a degree... I get by with 1.1k regen... I manage my magicka by using kuta Magic damage weapon glyphs that restore magicka... On bigger level mobs and bosses I tend to put on elemental drain also which restores magicka. Elemental drain is on my main bar and I try to use it all the time for regen but sometimes the smaller trash mobs don't need it.

Use potions and Max out your alchemy, the 20% extra regen is nearly always up with max alchemy skill.

Lastly never go to low with your magicka, when it looks grim... Pop your overload on and get refilling your magicka till its at a better level. The fighters guild passive helps a lot with this... Extra ultimate gain from deadra kills.

Molag Kena VS Nerien'eth VS Engine Guardian
Molag Kena definitly is great in overload mode, but not usable (for me, at least) before overload because of lack of ressources management. Would Nerien'eth increase my DPS overall and make the runs easier?

My first clears came using 1 bloodspawn and 1 kena.

I have used all three... Kena is great in overload but eats magicka to fast when you weave attacks and provide it a lot.

Engine guardian was a favoured set but ever since Thieves guild or dark brotherhood it seems to have a poor proc rate for me... Plus it is random regen which can be frustrating when it's giving you the least needed resource.

I use nerien'eth... Ever since I added this to my gear i started getting on the board it helped me so much... Great set... Free hits of up to 15k to anything on the lich crystal.

Is going with a destro/resto viable?
Or is Healing Ward and Rapid Regen considered useless, since Hardened Ward should keep you alive?

I use destro resto... Resto staff is only for healing ward... Life save to put on the hardened ward over the top and you will be at full health in 6 seconds as long as you protect the healing ward with hardened for the 6 seconds... Otherwise after a big hit spam healing ward a few times to fully heal from the initial heals it gives you on each use. Otherwise resto bar is buff bar.

How much CP should I put into Bastion? Should I change anything to my red tree?
Bastion: 60 (Should I have 100 here?)
Elemental Defender: 60
Hardy: 50
Quick Recovery: 1
Thick Skinned: 6

I am not at my game so can't give you exact figures but I think I run...

Hardy: 28
El defender: 80
Bastion:48
Thick skinned:11

Can't remember what I did after the update... Looking at it I probably put the points into hardy and maybe thick skinned.

Anything I should change in my skills or gear? (gear below)
Crafting divines Julianos or TBS is out of the question..
But I have a Kagrenac's set in Divines sleeping in my bank.

Hear and skills are a play style choice but I will tell you what I use. Some of the skills took time to get used to using... Mainly elemental drain.

Gear:

nerien'eth head heavy shoulders medium
Both divines

5x light kags all divines

3x willpower all arcane with spell power

Staff is viscous death sharpened inferno with magicka damage/recovery enchant

Resto is a maelstrom one but this weapon is irrelevant

All armour is magicka enchant and all items that can be legendary are legendary(gold)
All enchants are legendary (gold)
Mundus is spell power.

Bar1

Frag - elemental drain - crushing shock- inner light - hardened ward - ice comet

Bar2
Liquid lightning - power surge - inner light - healing ward - hardened ward - overload

Overload

Liquid lightning - power surge - mages wrath- inner light - hardened ward.

Weave medium / heavey attacks with crushing shock... Use frags in this weave when proced... Shield, shield and shield some more.

Keep up liquid lightning all the time and make sure you keep up you power surge, I use it as rounds are starting.

I hope this helps you figure this out... I tried watching videos galore and studied builds... In the end I took bits and bobs of all different bits of help and found my own happy place where I can get through it with a decent score in a ok time 1hr 18mins I think was my best.

HoolDog

All attributes are also in magicka

With this set up I have

40k+ magicka and 18.5k health
Not sure about the rest without seeing my character.

Once you get your build and abilities set this arena is just repetition and practice will get you farming it eventually... Also a little luck helps... I saw this when I managed to back into two crossing ghosts on the final stage with all 15 lives in tact and I was on for flawless lol

sluice

@HoolDog,

Many thanks for the tips, I'm going to try nerien'eth and will switch an arcane ring for a healthy one. I'll also go with restoration staff.

Gradually, I will add more DPS. But right now DPS is somewhat irrelevant if I die too quickly

Izaki

Don't run resto staff, surge + hardened ward = full hp even against crem guards.
Run as much crit as possible = Thief mundus
Run a Minor Slayer bonus instead of Kena = 3 Aether + 3 Willpower + 5 Scathing Mage/Twice-born Star/Julianos. You'll get the same DPS, if not more.
Be offensive.

HoolDog

@sluice

I really wouldn't worry to much about your health the hits are so hard in the arena an extra healthy ring can't be to much.

With undaunted mettle 2, purple cp 150 tri stat food that should put you to 17k ish

X3ina

@sluice Are u aiming to make vMA farmbot sorc ? If yes: remember your surge is a source of almost guaranteed heals if combined with liquid lightning and placed correctly. Learn to keep it up 100% and use it under most fat (hp) monsters and learn how to keep them static while killing other trash. This requires more practise so don't worry if something goes wrong Hardened ward is your "oh ***" button, don't get used to it. Use it when your health is ~20% only.

About health, undaunted matter but not gamechanging unless you're aiming for leaderboards. Usually I only do gold key while keep doing 1-2 runs in arena per day (used to be so). If you have serious problems with health use 1 healthy willpower jewelry (same spell damage glyph).

Use medium attacks via inferno staff. Try to keep elemental blockade/unstable wall under your current aim so when u kill it u'll get some magicka back. Place yourself correctly, it should hit as much enemies as possible.

Kena is the "key" factor to relatively quick and successfull vMA run on a sorcerer, but don't try to keep it uptime. Mostly needed only for boss fights. Rest of the time use medium attacks via inferno staff, they hit pretty hard. Your main goal as a sorcerer is to make your overload to hit like a truck (energy overload !!!).

Destro/resto is a big dps loss, big = huuuge.

Put your points from bastion to something else, for ex. i have 80/80 in elemental defender and hardy rest in thick skinned.
Your shield lasts only 6 seconds and it has zero resistance to anything, so no point in buffing it.

Julianos for arena, in divines.

Gearwise: divines matter... it's not a pvp (and in pvp u loose 2 bonuses from julianos (spell crit)so its useless everywhere), personally I would recraft it.

Skillwise:
Staff bar: 1. Force pulse - main spammable (no options).
2. C-frags - 20k+ damage when procs + heal + crit (only option is elemental drain, but its a lackluster option).
3. Bound Aegis - minor something^^ and exta max magicka (no option)(toggle).
4. Blockade - no options really.
5. Inner light - mandatory.
6. Energy Overload - why this over meteor ? Fights are shorter, so you don't really that need that 2% extra regen from it + decreases the chance of missclicks by 100% (guaranteed), while adds about 1k pure damage/cast to all your skills on main bar.
Dual Bar: 1. Liquid Lightning - main dot and main source of heals. Ticks once in 0,5 sec??? almost guaranteed crit per second.
2. Hardened Ward - main lifeguard (don't even try to keep this up 24/7, rely more on surge and crit heals).
3. Bound Aegis - same as bar 1.
4. Power Surge - minor buffs + crit healing (important one).
5. Boundless Storm - minor resistance buffs + movement speed (4sec) + free damage + free desintegration procs.
6. Energy Overload - use it from this bar, so u can get the extra setpiece bonus.
Overload Bar: Almost same as dual just replace boundless with inner light.

People can tell u to replace ward with trap on overload bar, but u will face some troubles with staying alive.

P.s.: If sorc is mainly for vMA farm then its better to gear him/her up (willpower + vicious death < elegance). Or try a different combo with infallible/moondancer jewelry to get slayer buff (if you have them of course). Don't be shy and use sigils, they are designed not for their cool look (try to avoid using them if aiming for weeklies/leaderboards). Watch some vids from Youtube to know how people deal with mechanics that u're struggling with.

Nightzerk

Its a lot easier if you use nerien'eth. at least for me. Im pulling 520k~ each run with: 5 julianos, 2 nerien'eth, 3 willpower, 2 torugs pact swords sharpened and wait for it...

a defending MA ice staff lol. its actually not too bad, at least not for my play style.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

sluice wrote: »

Reviving this thread as I'm in the same situation as the OP.

@Oreyn_Bearclaw , @HoolDog, @X3ina

I struggled greatly to get to stage 3 with my sorc, while it was somewhat of a breeze with my templar to get to stage 5. One of the main difference between the two is my Sorc has 15.8k health (with no Undaunted) and my templar has 20k (Undaunted 9) and I struggled with ressources management a bit more on the Sorc for keeping up Hardened Ward all the time..

Although, I have to say that the bosses were dropping so much faster with my sorc (thanks to overload).
For this reason and because I have other plans for my templar, I wish to make my magsorc my vMA farmer.

A few questions...

I have 15.8k health. Do I need more? How much is considered "good" for a magsorc attempting vMA?
I can change an Arcane Willpower Ring for Healthy.
Or going with a difference set (Kagrenac's or a Engine Guardian...)

How can I better manage my ressources
With having to continuously keep Hardened Ward up, I run out of Magicka eventually...
I was thinking of replacing my 2x Molag Kena with 2x Engine Guardian, viable?

Molag Kena VS Nerien'eth VS Engine Guardian
Molag Kena definitly is great in overload mode, but not usable (for me, at least) before overload because of lack of ressources management. Would Nerien'eth increase my DPS overall and make the runs easier?

Is going with a destro/resto viable?
Or is Healing Ward and Rapid Regen considered useless, since Hardened Ward should keep you alive?

How much CP should I put into Bastion? Should I change anything to my red tree?
Bastion: 60 (Should I have 100 here?)
Elemental Defender: 60
Hardy: 50
Quick Recovery: 1
Thick Skinned: 6

Anything I should change in my skills or gear? (gear below)
Crafting divines Julianos or TBS is out of the question..
But I have a Kagrenac's set in Divines sleeping in my bank.


Gear

Gear
2x Molag gold
5x Julianos (Impen mainly...) purple
3x Willpower with spell damage glyph

1x Old crafter Kag's Hope Inferno staff gold (Until I get some Maelstrom staff... knock on wood)
2x Vicious Death Sharpened Swords gold

Mundus
Thief

Skills
1st: Force Pulse / Blockade / Hardened Ward / C-Frag / Inner Light / Meteor (haven't mis-cast it yet.. lol)
2nd: Liquid Lightning / Hardened Ward/ Power Surge / Daedric Mines / Inner Light / Energy Overload
3rd : Liquid Lightning / Hardened Ward / Power Surge / Mage Wrath / Inner Light


TL;DR
I'm struggling more in vMA with my Sorc than with my templar, because of less health, poor ressources management.

PS: I know that the main reason for me struggling, is not knowing the mechanics enough yet. I just want to make sure I have the odds by my side nonetheless.

I will try to take these in turn. I too am in the same boat, where I need to go all in on a farming Toon. I was all set in here until they changed sharpened. It is now better across the board, so I need to go back.

I have 15.8k health. Do I need more? How much is considered "good" for a magsorc attempting vMA?

I think it can be done, but that is pretty darn low. I have two magic sorcs, but one doesnt have undaunted. It is noticable. I would max your undaunted and probably run a healthy ring in the meantime. Another option is to go Twice born Star, with Thief and Shadow. I did that for a while. You are definitely a little tankier, but its a bit of a DPS loss. I think Undaunted passives would solve your issue. I dont run anything into health at this point.

How can I better manage my ressources

2 Things, first run cheap magic pots. Keep them up, even before you have issues. The second trick is Dark Conversion. You dont need innerlight on your back bar (you do need it on overload bar). You just use it to buff, and you should never be on it for more than a second or two. Because IL is no longer a toggle, we get a flex spot. Pop Dark conversion a few times between rounds and you will never have an issue. It is also a really nice heal in an emergency. Pop ward, then hit dark conversion, and you will be full. Otherwise, you need to learn to adjust your weaves. When you are full magic, light weave and proc kena as you see fit. When you get low, work on increasing the length of your heavy attack weave.


Molag Kena VS Nerien'eth VS Engine Guardian

I go Kena. Nerien'eth is probably a touch better for most people on non-boss rounds, but kena and elegant are what make sorcs shine in here. Some classes definitely make easier work of the non-boss rounds, but sorcs are king at taking out the bosses. Play to your strength. Engine Guardian is not good IMO. Maybe not bad while learning, but there are better ways to manage your resources.


Is going with a destro/resto viable?

Absolutely, but I do not like it. One of the nice things about sorc is the simplicity. This introduces more button pressing and really kills your overload DPS. I tried it once and couldnt drop it fast enough.

How much CP should I put into Bastion? Should I change anything to my red tree?

This is a good question, I used to go 100 points before they changed shields. I would keep it up 100% of the time. Now I run 30 pts, and I might even go lower. You can't keep your shield up 100%. You will run out of resources. You need to trust your Crit surge, and only use your shields in emergencies. You are better off buffing your hardy and ele defender to take less overall damage.

Anything I should change in my skills or gear? (gear below)

Your gear works, but your really want to get Divines pieces. As a sorc, we heal when we crit, so you want to push it as high as possible. Enemies do not crit in PVE, so Impen is completely worthless. You would actually be better running training or prosperous than Impen in VMA.

Meta Gear: 5 Julianos, 2 Kena, 3 Elegant Jewelry (all divines and spell damage), Sharpened VMA Inferno, 2 sharpened Elegant weapons (sword, axe, mace, dagger, doesnt matter). If you do not have a Sharpened Inferno, then this is what I recommend (no other trait on VMA staff is worth running anymore, you are better off with crafted and a spell damage glyph):

Armor: 2 Kena, 4 Julianos, 1 elegant (all Divines, 5/1/1)
Jewelry: All Elegant (all spell damage)
Weapons: Julianos Staff in sharpened (spell power enchant), 1 Julianos Sword sharpened, 1 Elegant Sharpened weapon.

This looks weird at first, but you will get your 2 Kena, 5 elegant, and 5 julianos on overload bar, and 2 Kena, 5 julianos and 4 elegant on main bar (with meteor I have 45K magic on main bar). Sharpened is just too good since they changed it. My precise VMA inferno staff is collecting dust. It is not worth running.

Otherwise, your gear will work, just get divines pieces. Elegant is definitely expensive, but purple rings and one divines piece arent too bar. The one think you will need to spend gold on is one sharpened weapon, but you can use another trait to tide you over. Elegant and Overload are so good that you really should really try to get it.

Skills

I run close to what you do. I dont tempt fate with meteor on my front bar in VMA, but it is more damage for sure. I drop Ward (Front), Mines (Back), Mages Wrath (overload) so I can triple bar Bound Aegis. More magic and more resistance is better IMO. Nothing wrong with keeping a shield on front bar when learning. I find an execute to be pretty worthless. I just keep overloading the boss until they are dead. In the middle of normal rounds, by the time you get to your overload bar to execute, you could have already killed them.

sluice

@X3ina, @Nightzerk, @Oreyn_Bearclaw,

Thank you all for the tips

I've finally managed to finish vMA...

The modification, I've made:

-Re-crafted my impen Julianos piece into divines.
(So I have 3x Infused and 4 divines currently)

-Bought Prismatic Armor glyphs to put on the big pieces. This gives me a considerably higher health (and stamina) which is useful versus the last boss.

And the biggest difference was:
-Getting 3x Elegance Jewelry (w/ spell damage glyph) and 2x Elegance Mace.

It makes my Overload crit for up to 50k.


I've managed to get to stage 9, in under 1.5 hours, without even dying once in the first 4 stages.
Then I struggled at stage 5 a bit (~5-6 deaths), to run through stage 6 without a death.

Considering how much I struggled through stage 3, 5 and 6 previously... it's amazing.

Next step is getting my undaunted to 9. It''s currently sitting at 7.

X3ina

Gratz, soon will cya on the leaderboards xD

Oreyn_Bearclaw

sluice wrote: »

@X3ina, @Nightzerk, @Oreyn_Bearclaw,

Thank you all for the tips

I've finally managed to finish vMA...

The modification, I've made:

-Re-crafted my impen Julianos piece into divines.
(So I have 3x Infused and 4 divines currently)

-Bought Prismatic Armor glyphs to put on the big pieces. This gives me a considerably higher health (and stamina) which is useful versus the last boss.

And the biggest difference was:
-Getting 3x Elegance Jewelry (w/ spell damage glyph) and 2x Elegance Mace.

It makes my Overload crit for up to 50k.


I've managed to get to stage 9, in under 1.5 hours, without even dying once in the first 4 stages.
Then I struggled at stage 5 a bit (~5-6 deaths), to run through stage 6 without a death.

Considering how much I struggled through stage 3, 5 and 6 previously... it's amazing.

Next step is getting my undaunted to 9. It''s currently sitting at 7.

That was a good plan on the armor since you dont have undaunted. Once you get it to 9 and you are a little more comfortable, you could move to 7/7 divines and go straight magic enchants for more DPS. That being said, do what works and makes you comfortable.

Also, elegant is OP. haha If you check out my post above, I am trying something that I really like. Craft 1 julianos staff and 1 julianos sword in sharpened, and get 1 elegant piece of armor in divines ( I use a belt). Then you get the best of both worlds: 5 julianos 5 Elegant 2 Kena on back bar, and 5 Julianos 4 elegant and 2 kena on your front bar. This means you dont have a dead spot on your staff, and you get extra magic on front bar with the 4th piece of elegant for a little more DPS. I think this is officially BIS if you dont have a sharpened VMA staff.

sluice

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

sluice wrote: »

@X3ina, @Nightzerk, @Oreyn_Bearclaw,

Thank you all for the tips

I've finally managed to finish vMA...

The modification, I've made:

-Re-crafted my impen Julianos piece into divines.
(So I have 3x Infused and 4 divines currently)

-Bought Prismatic Armor glyphs to put on the big pieces. This gives me a considerably higher health (and stamina) which is useful versus the last boss.

And the biggest difference was:
-Getting 3x Elegance Jewelry (w/ spell damage glyph) and 2x Elegance Mace.

It makes my Overload crit for up to 50k.


I've managed to get to stage 9, in under 1.5 hours, without even dying once in the first 4 stages.
Then I struggled at stage 5 a bit (~5-6 deaths), to run through stage 6 without a death.

Considering how much I struggled through stage 3, 5 and 6 previously... it's amazing.

Next step is getting my undaunted to 9. It''s currently sitting at 7.

That was a good plan on the armor since you dont have undaunted. Once you get it to 9 and you are a little more comfortable, you could move to 7/7 divines and go straight magic enchants for more DPS. That being said, do what works and makes you comfortable.

Also, elegant is OP. haha If you check out my post above, I am trying something that I really like. Craft 1 julianos staff and 1 julianos sword in sharpened, and get 1 elegant piece of armor in divines ( I use a belt). Then you get the best of both worlds: 5 julianos 5 Elegant 2 Kena on back bar, and 5 Julianos 4 elegant and 2 kena on your front bar. This means you dont have a dead spot on your staff, and you get extra magic on front bar with the 4th piece of elegant for a little more DPS. I think this is officially BIS if you dont have a sharpened VMA staff.

Yeah, I wished I would of thought of that before purchasing my 2x Elegance Mace sharpened for 160k a pop... lol
Anyway, not to worry, I will have that Maelstrom destro staff eventually!

It's funny that people are trying to sell the swords and daggers for 1m + (I've see a sword as high as 2.4m) while the passives from DW don't count in overload..

X3ina

Truly to say i think that Scathing is better than Julianos, even for a sorc. Cause my combat metric says that i have about 70% crit on LL which is always up. The trick is I gave up grinding xD I'll start grinding again only after Zos raises a cap on a gear.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

X3ina wrote: »

Truly to say i think that Scathing is better than Julianos, even for a sorc. Cause my combat metric says that i have about 70% crit on LL which is always up. The trick is I gave up grinding xD I'll start grinding again only after Zos raises a cap on a gear.

I think on a static boss, Scathing becomes viable, certainly on NBs and perhaps on Sorcs. The best sorcs I know run TBS in trials for what it's worth. In VMA, my guess is that Scathing is not up 70% of the time, but I havent actually tried. Burst is actually really important, and Julianos wins in that scenario. Also, all my good kena pieces are either Light or Heavy, so I cant go 5/1/1 with perfect traits, making it tough to compare.

sluice wrote: »

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

sluice wrote: »

@X3ina, @Nightzerk, @Oreyn_Bearclaw,

Thank you all for the tips

I've finally managed to finish vMA...

The modification, I've made:

-Re-crafted my impen Julianos piece into divines.
(So I have 3x Infused and 4 divines currently)

-Bought Prismatic Armor glyphs to put on the big pieces. This gives me a considerably higher health (and stamina) which is useful versus the last boss.

And the biggest difference was:
-Getting 3x Elegance Jewelry (w/ spell damage glyph) and 2x Elegance Mace.

It makes my Overload crit for up to 50k.


I've managed to get to stage 9, in under 1.5 hours, without even dying once in the first 4 stages.
Then I struggled at stage 5 a bit (~5-6 deaths), to run through stage 6 without a death.

Considering how much I struggled through stage 3, 5 and 6 previously... it's amazing.

Next step is getting my undaunted to 9. It''s currently sitting at 7.

That was a good plan on the armor since you dont have undaunted. Once you get it to 9 and you are a little more comfortable, you could move to 7/7 divines and go straight magic enchants for more DPS. That being said, do what works and makes you comfortable.

Also, elegant is OP. haha If you check out my post above, I am trying something that I really like. Craft 1 julianos staff and 1 julianos sword in sharpened, and get 1 elegant piece of armor in divines ( I use a belt). Then you get the best of both worlds: 5 julianos 5 Elegant 2 Kena on back bar, and 5 Julianos 4 elegant and 2 kena on your front bar. This means you dont have a dead spot on your staff, and you get extra magic on front bar with the 4th piece of elegant for a little more DPS. I think this is officially BIS if you dont have a sharpened VMA staff.

Yeah, I wished I would of thought of that before purchasing my 2x Elegance Mace sharpened for 160k a pop... lol
Anyway, not to worry, I will have that Maelstrom destro staff eventually!

It's funny that people are trying to sell the swords and daggers for 1m + (I've see a sword as high as 2.4m) while the passives from DW don't count in overload..

I just spent 150k for a sharp axe, so I feel your pain. What's worse, I have three gold elegant swords (defending, charged, precise). Haha. You didnt waste your money, as they will be BIS when you get the staff, but in the meantime, you could theoretically push the DPS a little higher. Basically, you get 1k more magic on your front bar, which is not a huge difference. The beauty of that build is you only need to buy one sharpened piece, but that is no longer relevant. Glad you got your sharpened pieces and glad its working for you. In a week or two, you will be doing this place in an hour tops.

sluice

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

X3ina wrote: »

Truly to say i think that Scathing is better than Julianos, even for a sorc. Cause my combat metric says that i have about 70% crit on LL which is always up. The trick is I gave up grinding xD I'll start grinding again only after Zos raises a cap on a gear.

I think on a static boss, Scathing becomes viable, certainly on NBs and perhaps on Sorcs. The best sorcs I know run TBS in trials for what it's worth. In VMA, my guess is that Scathing is not up 70% of the time, but I havent actually tried. Burst is actually really important, and Julianos wins in that scenario. Also, all my good kena pieces are either Light or Heavy, so I cant go 5/1/1 with perfect traits, making it tough to compare.

sluice wrote: »

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

sluice wrote: »

@X3ina, @Nightzerk, @Oreyn_Bearclaw,

Thank you all for the tips

I've finally managed to finish vMA...

The modification, I've made:

-Re-crafted my impen Julianos piece into divines.
(So I have 3x Infused and 4 divines currently)

-Bought Prismatic Armor glyphs to put on the big pieces. This gives me a considerably higher health (and stamina) which is useful versus the last boss.

And the biggest difference was:
-Getting 3x Elegance Jewelry (w/ spell damage glyph) and 2x Elegance Mace.

It makes my Overload crit for up to 50k.


I've managed to get to stage 9, in under 1.5 hours, without even dying once in the first 4 stages.
Then I struggled at stage 5 a bit (~5-6 deaths), to run through stage 6 without a death.

Considering how much I struggled through stage 3, 5 and 6 previously... it's amazing.

Next step is getting my undaunted to 9. It''s currently sitting at 7.

That was a good plan on the armor since you dont have undaunted. Once you get it to 9 and you are a little more comfortable, you could move to 7/7 divines and go straight magic enchants for more DPS. That being said, do what works and makes you comfortable.

Also, elegant is OP. haha If you check out my post above, I am trying something that I really like. Craft 1 julianos staff and 1 julianos sword in sharpened, and get 1 elegant piece of armor in divines ( I use a belt). Then you get the best of both worlds: 5 julianos 5 Elegant 2 Kena on back bar, and 5 Julianos 4 elegant and 2 kena on your front bar. This means you dont have a dead spot on your staff, and you get extra magic on front bar with the 4th piece of elegant for a little more DPS. I think this is officially BIS if you dont have a sharpened VMA staff.

Yeah, I wished I would of thought of that before purchasing my 2x Elegance Mace sharpened for 160k a pop... lol
Anyway, not to worry, I will have that Maelstrom destro staff eventually!

It's funny that people are trying to sell the swords and daggers for 1m + (I've see a sword as high as 2.4m) while the passives from DW don't count in overload..

I just spent 150k for a sharp axe, so I feel your pain. What's worse, I have three gold elegant swords (defending, charged, precise). Haha. You didnt waste your money, as they will be BIS when you get the staff, but in the meantime, you could theoretically push the DPS a little higher. Basically, you get 1k more magic on your front bar, which is not a huge difference. The beauty of that build is you only need to buy one sharpened piece, but that is no longer relevant. Glad you got your sharpened pieces and glad its working for you. In a week or two, you will be doing this place in an hour tops.

Yeah... Right now, I can get to the last boss in about 1 hour to 1h15min....
Now, one of my favorite and easiest stage for me is one where I struggled the most : Stage 6 (Spiders).

Still struggling agains't the last boss though : I wiped 20 times at least before having to stop...

The good thing is I can get to the second phase of the fight at least 90% of the times, and I to the final phase most of the time as well... I just seem to screw up what is supposed to be the easy part of the fight. I get overwhelmed with the gold ghost, the caster, the boss interrupt and finally the Crem guard.... I just have to get my routine down!

X3ina

Now, I advise you to try it on a magicka templar just to feel the difference xD

All trash is not a problem, but mechanics where u must move alot is a pain^^ At least they are healed as long as they are dpsing.

sluice

X3ina wrote: »

Now, I advise you to try it on a magicka templar just to feel the difference xD

All trash is not a problem, but mechanics where u must move alot is a pain^^ At least they are healed as long as they are dpsing.

Yeah, I already got my Magplar to stage 5 before finishing it with my Sorc. It felt safer (for when I didn't know all the mechanics since the self healing was so good).. but the boss fights took forever compared to Sorc.

Any trash mobs shouldn't be a problem once you are familiar with the stage and rounds... So all in all, the advantage of killing boss much quicker makes the sorc a clear winner between the two, in my opinion.

Your tip to go "all offensive" was actually what made the biggest difference.. The key is to KNOW what is going to happe, use that to your advantage and go full out offensive in those key moments. I just laugh at pretty much all bosses and mini bosses now.. well except the last boss which I'm still a little bit struggling.

I would still advise that going with a resto staff is not a bad idea until you get a better feel of the Stages and Round.. but once you start knowing them a little : going offensive does such a HUGE difference.

Now I keep hearing that Magblade are "the best" for vMA... why? Constant Self Healing? Ok.. but I don't see them being able to pull 50k+ DPS on bosses...