The grind for the vMA sharpened inferno staff is taking up ALL of my ingame time

Joy_Division · December 2016

What's sad is ZoS once recognized there were only a few traits people gave a crap about and restricted the weapons to these (sharpened, precise, defending). Then ZoS "fixed" the traits, making it so there was only 1 that people care about, and decided to flood the loot table with all the ones nobody wants.

It's one thing for ZoS to hold fast on not giving us a token system, fine, but it is unacceptable they continue to hide the only 4 spefic weapons people give a crap about behind 100s of things it knows are decon trash

FleetwoodSmack · December 2016

Joy_Division wrote: »

What's sad is ZoS once recognized there were only a few traits people gave a crap about and restricted the weapons to these (sharpened, precise, defending). Then ZoS "fixed" the traits, making it so there was only 1 that people care about, and decided to flood the loot table with all the ones nobody wants.

It's one thing for ZoS to hold fast on not giving us a token system, fine, but it is unacceptable they continue to hide the only 4 spefic weapons people give a crap about behind 100s of things it knows are decon trash

Pretty much hits the nail on the head. It's not just with vMA now. It's with every bloody thing.

JKith · December 2016

I really feel cheated by vMA.

I invested hours, gold, real dollars, blood, sweat and tears in completing this and basically got no reward. I've only done it once and I'm almost done with my second run and plan on doing it once a day for a while but really,... all that time learning everything and no real reward. Even the title is silly and left me empty,.. Stormproof? Really? And I a type of roofing or something??? Doesn't make sense to me.

Even if I get my drop within the month I'll still feel taken advantage of lol,....

Would be cool if it was like the fighters guild quest line where you choose the weapon. Then what trait drops, drops but at least you'd be able to pick the weapon.

Destyran · December 2016

I have sharpened bow, sharpened maul, sharpened battle axe, sharpened greatsword, precise resto, sharpened ice staff, sharpened lightning, no sharpened dagger axe or inferno.

Run this sooooo many times for nothing good

Lukums1 · December 2016

I have two which I don't use.

Want one ?

code65536 · December 2016

Joy_Division wrote: »

What's sad is ZoS once recognized there were only a few traits people gave a crap about and restricted the weapons to these (sharpened, precise, defending). Then ZoS "fixed" the traits, making it so there was only 1 that people care about, and decided to flood the loot table with all the ones nobody wants.

It's one thing for ZoS to hold fast on not giving us a token system, fine, but it is unacceptable they continue to hide the only 4 spefic weapons people give a crap about behind 100s of things it knows are decon trash

Back when there were only 3 traits available, the weapon drop rate was pretty low, too. Back then, instead of complaining about getting a charged resto from the final chest, complaints were about getting a Helm of Glory from the final chest. I'm not sure what the drop rate for a weapon was, but it was definitely below 50%. Let's just call it 1-in-3. That means the chances of getting a sharpened weapon was 1-in-9: 1-in-3 chance of getting any weapon at all, and then another 1-in-3 chance of getting it in the sharp trait. So the chances of getting a sharp weapon from the final chest is still the same as it was before--maybe even a little bit better.

The real problems, if we are to compare how things are now with how things were pre-DB, are the overbuffing of Sharpened and the pollution of the leaderboard rewards.

Pre-DB, Gold sharpened 2H/bow/staff penetrated 14% of the target's resistance. Against a PvE boss with 18.2K resistance, that was 2548 penetration. The new Sharpened trait now grants 5160 flat penetration. The potency of Sharpened was doubled. So instead of two viable DPS traits--Precise and Sharpened--we now just have Sharpened because the overbuff to Sharpened made all other traits irrelevant. @Wrobel's so-called "re-balance" was an absurd misnomer because it wrecked the trait balance, and this was despite multiple PTS threads pointing out the math to him.
The pollution of the final chest loot take didn't make things any worse for the final chest because it was accompanied by a guaranteed weapon drop rate (though it took an extra update--SotH--before that change went into effect), so in the end, the final chest chances are the same. But it ruined the weekly leaderboard rewards because the leaderboards were already guaranteed weapons prior to DB. The leaderboard rewards was the pressure release valve that made the vMA grind bearable for most players: If you were good enough to place multiple characters on the board each week, it was a guaranteed drop drawing from a pool of just 3 traits. Prior to the DB update, I had gotten just one good weapon from the final chests--everything else came from the weeklies. After DB, the weeklies became just as useless as the final chest.

At the very least, in order for us to return to what things used to be (but really, we should want things to be better than what they used to be), ZOS needs to:

Halve the penetration of Sharpened and give Nirnhoned a slight buff. That would give us 3 out of 8 viable DPS traits instead of just 1 out of 8.
Restrict the traits available from the weeklies--weeklies are harder to farm because of the score requirement and because you can get at most one weekly reward per character per week. They should be more rewarding as a result.

@ZOS_RichLambert

Qbiken · December 2016

When it comes to vma drop rate:

* The droprate when it comes t which traits you get is actually kind of even distributed (with sharpened as the most common, believe it or not)

* When it comes to what kind of weapon that drops, the droprate is scewed (with healingstaff being the most common and daggers the least common)

Source: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/302229/answered-vmsa-double-loot-trying-to-prove-that-the-rnjesus-is-skewed/p3
Scroll down a bit an you´ll see a summarize of about 1500 runs in maelstrom

Meld777 · December 2016

JKith wrote: »

plan on doing it once a day for a while but really,...
[...]
Even if I get my drop within the month I'll still feel taken advantage of lol,....

Nice joke!

If you just wanna run it once a day, you'll need years.

Close to 500 runs here, no Sharpened or Precise Inferno. Not even Nirnhoned.

Qbiken wrote: »

* When it comes to what kind of weapon that drops, the droprate is scewed (with healingstaff being the most common and daggers the least common)

Source: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/302229/answered-vmsa-double-loot-trying-to-prove-that-the-rnjesus-is-skewed/p3
Scroll down a bit an you´ll see a summarize of about 1500 runs in maelstrom

You're wrong. The 1h (no shield) category has only 2 items: Dagger and Axe, making the chance of a Dagger drop 1/6 * 1/2 = 1/12, an the chance of a specific Dagger drop, e.g. Sharpened Dagger, 1/6 * 1/2 * 1/8 = 1/96. However, the Destro category has 3 items (Ice, Fire, Lightning), making the chance of a random Inferno 1/6 * 1/3 = 1/18 and the chance of a specific Inferno, e.g. Sharpened Inferno, 1/6 * 1/3 * 1/8 = 1/144, which is a lot lower than the chance of a Sharpened Dagger.

This is also represented in the 1500 vMA runs data: 143 Dagger drops vs 88 Inferno drops, and 34 Sharpened Daggers vs 13 Sharpened Inferno Staffs.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/306445/1-5k-vmsa-runs-loot-distribution-waiting-for-acknowledgement/p1

Tyrion87 · December 2016

If you want to maintain your sanity, just give up and enjoy the other aspects of the game. vMA weapons are not necessary for any content in this game and the dps difference is not that big. And definitely not worth your nerves and time.

The recent Orsinium event (double loot) showed how broken the RNG is right now. It needs a "fix" asap but until then just don't go to maelstrom. If you do this countless times just to get your desired weapon, you just give a clear signal to ZOS that they reached their goal - they keep you playing the game.

Happy holidays

Neophyte · December 2016

Different if your farming overland world bosses for an item but vma is too long just to let let down. I'm happy with my precise 2H

LadyNalcarya · December 2016

Tyrion87 wrote: »

If you do this countless times just to get your desired weapon, you just give a clear signal to ZOS that they reached their goal - they keep you playing the game.

Happy holidays

They might as well add token system and coffers with crafting mats or something so people would be motivated to do vMA again.
Something like theyve already added to IC sewers.

Bonzodog01 · December 2016

I think I'll stick with my Sharpened Julianos crafted staff that even looks how I want it to. It might not be the absolute top option, but its not far from the best.

Jaronking · December 2016

Kingbawsack wrote: »

Different if your farming overland world bosses for an item but vma is too long just to let let down. I'm happy with my precise 2H

Nahh I have multiple Nirn precise and defending 2h not 1 sharpened and am not content until I get it.Plus I have only done 2 runs of VMa this week so yea am probably about to burn out after 350+ runs.

ericprydz82ub17_ESO · December 2016

People aren't really going to care about vMA weapons once Homestead gets released. With 2handers counting as 2 set pieces people will run twiceborn and their best dropped sets along with a 2pc monster set. The only way vMA weapons will be viable at that point is if they buff them even further which I highly doubt.

Jaronking · December 2016

ericprydz82ub17_ESO wrote: »

People aren't really going to care about vMA weapons once Homestead gets released. With 2handers counting as 2 set pieces people will run twiceborn and their best dropped sets along with a 2pc monster set. The only way vMA weapons will be viable at that point is if they buff them even further which I highly doubt.

Wait did they say they were going to do this?Qoute

ericprydz82ub17_ESO · December 2016

Next to no info is out about Homestead but we do know they are going to rebalance things, buff MagDK somehow, and make 2handers count as 2 slots. With that little bit of info we can theorycraft a hell of a lot to see what will be the new BiS for each dps class and it isn't going to be Maelstrom weps.

Izaki · December 2016

Yeah the drop rate is terrible.

Jaronking · December 2016

ericprydz82ub17_ESO wrote: »

Next to no info is out about Homestead but we do know they are going to rebalance things, buff MagDK somehow, and make 2handers count as 2 slots. With that little bit of info we can theorycraft a hell of a lot to see what will be the new BiS for each dps class and it isn't going to be Maelstrom weps.

When did they say they were going make 2h count as 2 slots?Also for stam DW weapons are still going to give you more damage then any crafted weapon set.For farming VMA you can argue you can run 2h if your going for scores but even then that's a stretch.

ericprydz82ub17_ESO · December 2016

I am sure someone can dig up the little snippet of info about the 2hander change. I am on my laptop atm and don't have it saved on this.

Gothren · December 2016

Molec wrote: »

The drop rate on this piece is so abysmal that on a regular days gaming I'm running time after time after time after time until the hour becomes utterly unsociable, I go to bed and awake ready for another day only to be faced with the same old BS. This has been the case for over 1 year now and it has totally consumed ESO for me and many others that I know, it's absurd! Was this content supposed to be genuine eCrack? Did the ZOS staff responsible for the arena and it's loot really think forcing people to grind for 100s of hours in a single player instance was appropriate in this MMO? Is RNG "working as intended" when you have people close to 200 runs (90 minute time trial) without the sharp inferno staff? Somebody should be held accountable as collectively there are a lifetimes worth of hours being wasted chasing this damned weapon when peoples valuable time could be invested elsewhere in the game actually having fun!!!

@ZOS_GinaBruno

wait until the gear level increases

Sasyk · December 2016

Gothren wrote: »

wait until the gear level increases

That'll be the day ESO plunges into obscurity and everyone forgets about it.

Jaronking · December 2016

ericprydz82ub17_ESO wrote: »

I am sure someone can dig up the little snippet of info about the 2hander change. I am on my laptop atm and don't have it saved on this.

Well let me know if you can find it I don't remember every hearing this .That could change a lot of builds in PvP.

TreeHugger1 · December 2016

Zos thinks we are their employees,they believe we must run the same dungeons,trials,arenas again and again and again....from dusk till dawn.
They obviously think we must sweat to get what we want and work very very hard to "earn it",apparently one must not do content from curiosity nor desire,he needs a big carrot and a stick.

JKith · December 2016

Meld777 wrote: »

JKith wrote: »

plan on doing it once a day for a while but really,...
[...]
Even if I get my drop within the month I'll still feel taken advantage of lol,....

Nice joke! If you just wanna run it once a day, you'll need years.

Close to 500 runs here, no Sharpened or Precise Inferno. Not even Nirnhoned.

Ouch,.. 500 runs really? God!!! @ZOS PLEASE FIX!!! THIS IS INSANE!!!

My first run I got Sword and Shield
My second run i got one dagger with the powered trait.

i thought i was supposed to get two weapons each run, is this so or not?

code65536 · December 2016

JKith wrote: »

Meld777 wrote: »

JKith wrote: »

plan on doing it once a day for a while but really,...
[...]
Even if I get my drop within the month I'll still feel taken advantage of lol,....

Nice joke! If you just wanna run it once a day, you'll need years.

Close to 500 runs here, no Sharpened or Precise Inferno. Not even Nirnhoned.

Ouch,.. 500 runs really? God!!! @ZOS PLEASE FIX!!! THIS IS INSANE!!!

My first run I got Sword and Shield
My second run i got one dagger with the powered trait.

i thought i was supposed to get two weapons each run, is this so or not?

Aside from the special Anniversary event, you only get one weapon per run. The exception is if you get a 1H mace or a sword, in which case, you'll always get a free shield along with the mace or sword.

bottleofsyrup · December 2016

ericprydz82ub17_ESO wrote: »

I am sure someone can dig up the little snippet of info about the 2hander change. I am on my laptop atm and don't have it saved on this.

Never saw them say anything to indicate that, so until you pull up this magical proof, I call BS.

LadyNalcarya · December 2016

@JKith wrote: »

Meld777 wrote: »

JKith wrote: »

plan on doing it once a day for a while but really,...
[...]
Even if I get my drop within the month I'll still feel taken advantage of lol,....

Nice joke! If you just wanna run it once a day, you'll need years.

Close to 500 runs here, no Sharpened or Precise Inferno. Not even Nirnhoned.

Ouch,.. 500 runs really? God!!! @ZOS PLEASE FIX!!! THIS IS INSANE!!!

My first run I got Sword and Shield
My second run i got one dagger with the powered trait.

i thought i was supposed to get two weapons each run, is this so or not?

I know a few people who farm this arena since Orsinium release and put multiple characters on leaderboard... And have 0 sharpened inferno staves.
And yes, this is insane and this is why it needs to be fixed. Some guys in ZOS just like to troll us it seems.
Of course there are people who claim that "you dont really need these weapons blah blah" but what about people who already invested a lot of time into vMA? Imo they deserve their rewards, and being screwed by rng sucks big time.

P.S. My own sharp destro took me ~100 runs which seemed like forever. I feel bad for people who did 500 or more without good drops.

code65536 · December 2016

KoshkaMurka wrote: »

Of course there are people who claim that "you dont really need these weapons blah blah" but what about people who already invested a lot of time into vMA? Imo they deserve their rewards, and being screwed by rng sucks big time.

They do, and it's why I hope for a solution that's retroactive--something like deconning an unwanted weapon to get a token, so that people who have mules full of them will get what they deserve without any more runs.

But until there is a fix for this loot system, if people don't enjoy running vMA hundreds of times, and it's taking away from their enjoyment of the game, then they really should stop. The "you don't really need these weapons" isn't just a statement of fact, but also a reminder to those for whom this is not fun of what the bigger picture is.

Plus, when ZOS looks at their metrics and sees that people are running vMA multiple times a day, that's likely to signal to them, "This content is a success--look at how much people love repeating this thing!"

Doctordarkspawn · December 2016

Maelstrom arena: The only thing it offers is regret.

Fodore · December 2016

Pfffft, God still haven't got one... Really??? Is it only me that got it on my 5th run?