Last attempt at a vMA loadout.

Bobby_V_Rockit

Hey all, desperate to attempt vMA (out of other stuff to do) but I just have not been able to get past round 2, can get to the bosses easily enough but those damn blades...

ANYWAY! Is this gear and stat setup reasonable to attempt it one last time (been trying various other setups for months now, no dice).

2x Legendary Sharpened Spriggan Daggers (wpn dmg + crusher)
1x sharpened Spriggan bow (poison)
3x Legendary Spriggans armour, divines

3x Legendary VO jellewery (3x 174 wpn dmg glyphs)
2x Legendary VO armour, divines

2x Legendary Kra'gh monster set, 1x heavy 1x medium

18k health
36k stamina
970 stam regen
3088 weapon damage (unbuffed)
72.2% crit (unbuffed)
Stage 3-4 vampirism

DRXHarbinger

That's fine. But what class are you?

oranje_elf

It is an amazingly good setup, almost as good as you could possibly have, and more than enough to beat stage 2 on vMA (presuming you have at least 300cp). If you want BiS, for me Velidreth worked better than Kragh (though, I myself got through stage 2 with Kragh, as I did not have Velidreth back then), but other than that you are more than prepared. (my experience refers to stamina nightblade)

In my case I also have slightly different weapon enchantments (wpn dmg on a bow, and poison+decease on daggers), yours will probably work as good.

For Vampirism I am not sure, I am curious what other people think of it (w.r.t. arena 2).

What helped me to beat stage 2 is understanding that you can only keep 2 bosses spawn at a time. For that, you need to focus on the first boss, and ignore the second until you kill the first. It seems to me that the third boss appears based on the health level of the second one. It is much easier to manage blades when you have only two bosses at the arena. Managing blades per se is easy - you just run in circles ;-), but that advice you probably already got from reading/watching vMA guides.

BNOC

oranje_elf wrote: »

For Vampirism I am not sure, I am curious what other people think of it (w.r.t. arena 2).

What helped me to beat stage 2 is understanding that you can only keep 2 bosses spawn at a time. For that, you need to focus on the first boss, and ignore the second until you kill the first. It seems to me that the third boss appears based on the health level of the second one. It is much easier to manage blades when you have only two bosses at the arena. Managing blades per se is easy - you just run in circles ;-), but that advice you probably already got from reading/watching vMA guides.

I don't think you should be using vampire at all in there, it might not be an issue for you now but as you've never completed it before, it will be an issue later making it very hard for you.

The tactics that Oranje_elf has said is how I used to do my first clears when MSA came out, don't get the second spawn to 70% or whatever it is until the first one is dead, it adds a chunk of time but that's not important.

That way you only have two bosses.

Use the levers if you have to, and sigils.

Bobby_V_Rockit

FlyLionel wrote: »

Whoaaa spriggans and kragh? Get velidreth if you can, it will be more deadly with all the penetration from spriggans. Honestly though that is a beast setup, keep vigor up at all times on the second stage, mechanics mechanics mechanics is all now. Hurry up, Morrowind is coming!

I would run Velidreth, but then it'd be full 7 medium armour (all divines mind you) and I'd lose resources from undaunted mettle. And we all know how easy it is to get those perfect trait shoulder pieces from Undaunted chests...

code65536

Bobby_V_Rockit wrote: »

FlyLionel wrote: »

Whoaaa spriggans and kragh? Get velidreth if you can, it will be more deadly with all the penetration from spriggans. Honestly though that is a beast setup, keep vigor up at all times on the second stage, mechanics mechanics mechanics is all now. Hurry up, Morrowind is coming!

I would run Velidreth, but then it'd be full 7 medium armour (all divines mind you) and I'd lose resources from undaunted mettle. And we all know how easy it is to get those perfect trait shoulder pieces from Undaunted chests...

1) 7M isn't bad. It's actually slightly better than 5M/1H/1L for stamina builds because the extra crit chance slightly outweigh the extra resources. Plus you get better resource sustain. That having been said, the extra max resources (particularly health) are a bit better for vMA, but in the end, the difference isn't that significant. It will not make the difference between completion and non-completion, and, most importantly, the difference is not as significant as the Kragh-vs-Velidreth difference (Velidreth is much more suited for vMA than Kragh). Also, if you were using NMG instead of Spriggan, you'd have better control over your weight distribution since NMG is crafted. Plus, NMG is a slightly better set for vMA than Spriggan.

2) Who cares about the trait? Missing one divines piece is losing 0.8% crit chance. It's insignificant. To say that you'd rather run Kragh instead of Velidreth because you don't have Velidreth in a good trait is like saying that you'd rather drive a Toyota instead of a Lexus because the Lexus has a scratch on the hood. There are places where the trait matters--like sharp weapons--but when it comes to armor pieces, you absolutely will not notice the difference if you're missing divines on one or two pieces.


And even though Velidreth is noticeably better than Kragh for vMA, it's still not going to make the difference between completion and non-completion. Stop spending your time fussing over gear and setup. vMA is about practice, practice, and practice, and if you think that getting best-in-slot gold gear is magically make the difference between being able to complete vMA, you will be sorely disappointed--I guarantee it.

code65536

Bobby_V_Rockit wrote: »

Two more questions then I'm done (and will go for it):

1) What's a good mininum HP to go for a first run? eg. 18k, 18.5k, 19k, etc.

2) Why is NMG better than Spriggans? Spriggan offers about 3k more stamina, more penetration and exactly the same weapon damage.

You should be fine with anywhere from 17 to 19. Where you fall within that range doesn't really matter too much and is partly a matter of personal comfort and preference.

The crit chance from NMG is very strong, particularly since as stamina you'll be running Trap Beast and gaining Minor Force.

WarpigFunk

Bobby_V_Rockit wrote: »

Two more questions then I'm done (and will go for it):

1) What's a good mininum HP to go for a first run? eg. 18k, 18.5k, 19k, etc.

2) Why is NMG better than Spriggans? Spriggan offers about 3k more stamina, more penetration and exactly the same weapon damage.

NMG is not better than Spriggan... they're both fine.

My stamsorc completed VMA with NMG/ VO/ Kragh's ... with like 2800 weapon damage, 62% crit, and 16k hp.
Your setup is very good for VMA.

If it's your first time through it you will die alot, regardless of your setup. Be prepared... getting VMA on <1 hour farm takes commitment.

Lukums1

Hello,

First drop spriggens in the deepest hole reason? You're trying for a complete not a speed run NMG will offer import crit for healing which you are completely missing out on. Just go craft NMG it will help 100%.

Run 7 Medium, the extra 6% of cost reduction is too much NOT to have end of story.

If you run low on HP i use even to this day 2 tri enchant glyphs suit/legs to put me around the 18k HP mark with 7 medium.

Now let's talk about round 2.

Round 2 is easy.

When you teleport in plant your feet firmly around that spot don't run around the arena this will get you killed.
Pull out your bow and ONLY go dual weild when the mini bosses come up. Heavy/poison inject for spiders, poison inject for little balls and endless + poison injection for spheres.

You also will have defensive sigil on your right hand side which will 100% protect you for 30 seconds.

I also suggest in later rounds to drop vamp for the extra incoming fire damage.

If you want to list your skills/cp I can better show you different tactics to help.

Luke

Lukums1

Bobby_V_Rockit wrote: »

Lukums1 wrote: »

Hello,

First drop spriggens in the deepest hole reason? You're trying for a complete not a speed run NMG will offer import crit for healing which you are completely missing out on. Just go craft NMG it will help 100%.

Run 7 Medium, the extra 6% of cost reduction is too much NOT to have end of story.

If you run low on HP i use even to this day 2 tri enchant glyphs suit/legs to put me around the 18k HP mark with 7 medium.

Now let's talk about round 2.

Round 2 is easy.

When you teleport in plant your feet firmly around that spot don't run around the arena this will get you killed.
Pull out your bow and ONLY go dual weild when the mini bosses come up. Heavy/poison inject for spiders, poison inject for little balls and endless + poison injection for spheres.

You also will have defensive sigil on your right hand side which will 100% protect you for 30 seconds.

I also suggest in later rounds to drop vamp for the extra incoming fire damage.

If you want to list your skills/cp I can better show you different tactics to help.

Luke

Thank you kindly, I run at 82% crit (with health/stam/crit chance pots (columbine, dragonthorn and water hyacinth)), so crit heals are pretty well constant anyways, will definately put on 2 prismatic glyphs.

Cheers!

You're welcome basically what Im saying is no need to run weapon pots especially while you're learning.

Np need help shout out.

Bobby_V_Rockit

A dozen wipes on stage 2 boss. 1 wipe on stage 2, currently on 9 deaths against Control Guardian. Seems I just cannot beat this guy (57k one shots?!).

DRXHarbinger

BNOC wrote: »

oranje_elf wrote: »

For Vampirism I am not sure, I am curious what other people think of it (w.r.t. arena 2).

What helped me to beat stage 2 is understanding that you can only keep 2 bosses spawn at a time. For that, you need to focus on the first boss, and ignore the second until you kill the first. It seems to me that the third boss appears based on the health level of the second one. It is much easier to manage blades when you have only two bosses at the arena. Managing blades per se is easy - you just run in circles ;-), but that advice you probably already got from reading/watching vMA guides.

I don't think you should be using vampire at all in there, it might not be an issue for you now but as you've never completed it before, it will be an issue later making it very hard for you.

The tactics that Oranje_elf has said is how I used to do my first clears when MSA came out, don't get the second spawn to 70% or whatever it is until the first one is dead, it adds a chunk of time but that's not important.

That way you only have two bosses.

Use the levers if you have to, and sigils.

For the bosses just jump on them ASAP, 1st one can be nuked to at least 50% with a mediocre effort, they go to toilet mode every 30% or so. you shouldn't get this issue now with the huge damage you are probably doing.

For the previous waves, best strategy for stam and quickest IMO is just use a Bow, wait for spawns with a heavy and poison injection and it'll kill the Spheres instantly and just move from the centre outwards to avoid the blade, going round and round will make you take 10x the damage. on my Stam builds my main weapons don't come out until the bosses. Boss rounds just camp the 1st spawn with trap and hail, stand back ( if you wait too close they will melee straight away and not do the stupid aim in the air AOE. just jump it and in 5s it'll be in toilet mode. Just repeat and DO NOT get the levels on Boss wave, they'll go to the centre and heal themselves.

code65536

Legendary armor/jewelry give you maybe 1% extra power. Weapons should be gold, though, but that's the only exception. If you can't beat it in purple, you definitely can't beat it in gold.

Similarly, Spriggan's is not that much better than crafted gear like Hunding's Rage or Night Mother's Gaze. If you can't beat it using HR or NMG, you definitely can't beat it with Spriggan's. (Actually, NMG is better than Spriggan--the world's first 600K vMA score was done with NMG.)

Practice, time, and experience matter above all else. Too many people fuss over gear and builds when any competent build will work. If you can't beat it, a change of gear won't be some magical pixie dust that fixes your issues and is instead just a waste of resources and time.

If you want to beat vMA, your time is better spent in the arena dying and learning from those deaths, rather than chasing after an extra percentage of power that will ultimately disappoint you.

FlyLionel

Whoaaa spriggans and kragh? Get velidreth if you can, it will be more deadly with all the penetration from spriggans. Honestly though that is a beast setup, keep vigor up at all times on the second stage, mechanics mechanics mechanics is all now. Hurry up, Morrowind is coming!

Bobby_V_Rockit

Two more questions then I'm done (and will go for it):

1) What's a good mininum HP to go for a first run? eg. 18k, 18.5k, 19k, etc.

2) Why is NMG better than Spriggans? Spriggan offers about 3k more stamina, more penetration and exactly the same weapon damage.

Bobby_V_Rockit

Lukums1 wrote: »

Hello,

First drop spriggens in the deepest hole reason? You're trying for a complete not a speed run NMG will offer import crit for healing which you are completely missing out on. Just go craft NMG it will help 100%.

Run 7 Medium, the extra 6% of cost reduction is too much NOT to have end of story.

If you run low on HP i use even to this day 2 tri enchant glyphs suit/legs to put me around the 18k HP mark with 7 medium.

Now let's talk about round 2.

Round 2 is easy.

When you teleport in plant your feet firmly around that spot don't run around the arena this will get you killed.
Pull out your bow and ONLY go dual weild when the mini bosses come up. Heavy/poison inject for spiders, poison inject for little balls and endless + poison injection for spheres.

You also will have defensive sigil on your right hand side which will 100% protect you for 30 seconds.

I also suggest in later rounds to drop vamp for the extra incoming fire damage.

If you want to list your skills/cp I can better show you different tactics to help.

Luke

Thank you kindly, I run at 82% crit (with health/stam/crit chance pots (columbine, dragonthorn and water hyacinth)), so crit heals are pretty well constant anyways, will definately put on 2 prismatic glyphs.

Cheers!

Bobby_V_Rockit

Alrighty, added the prismatic glyphs (although one health + one stamina would have exact same values but why not get an extra 850 magicka for free). Weapons are sharpened and enchanted with weapon damage, poison and damage (dagger, dagger, bow).

Onward and upward!! Thanks for all your advice guys, wish me luck!

MCBIZZLE300

What you want to do is level up a mag sorc, craft julianos with grothdar and 3 piece willpower jewelry, that's what I did and now I have all the desired weapons after about 120 runs including the sharpened inferno. It's so easy on a mag sorc.

Bobby_V_Rockit

Cant beat stage 5. Lost count of attempts but yeah, for my skill level it seems impossible. I guess everyone has a different skill capacity and this is mine. Ah well!

Danksta

Bobby_V_Rockit wrote: »

Cant beat stage 5. Lost count of attempts but yeah, for my skill level it seems impossible. I guess everyone has a different skill capacity and this is mine. Ah well!

Are you using the defensive sigil? You should be using it each round. In my opinion it's the strongest one and even more so for stage 5 because of all the ranged adds. You can just let the ranged adds kill themselves as their attacks are reflected back at them. Also a well timed roll dodge can avoid a lot of damage.

Beardimus

Dude look up Lukums guide. It will help you, don't dispair.

Stage 5 is the first big step up in difficulty, you just need to learn the mechanics and you will smash it.

Early rounds stage 5 use that defence sigil for the big mobs, makes it a cakewalk.

Final boss It's NOT a DPS race. The opposite, the adds spawn and island break up on boss health % so ensure you clear adds each wave and get things under control before you get back on boss.

What round you study on?

Zarrakon

Bobby_V_Rockit wrote: »

Two more questions then I'm done (and will go for it):

1) What's a good mininum HP to go for a first run? eg. 18k, 18.5k, 19k, etc.

2) Why is NMG better than Spriggans? Spriggan offers about 3k more stamina, more penetration and exactly the same weapon damage.

Vigor and deadly cloak is a good HP for a first run. If you have a class source of major resolve/major ward (and/or minor), make sure to use those too (e.g. on a sorcerer, you have bound armaments and hurricane) and you'll see a huge increase in survivability.

And make sure you have all or almost all of your points split roughly evenly in the red CP tree among the damage reduction stars (direct damage/damage over time/magicka damage/stamina damage).

Merlin13KAGL

How many rounds in do you get? What is the thing that finishes you off the most?

Each Stage has it's own little *** mechanic that seems quite impossible for the longest time, but eventually is manageable. Odds are better than not, your skill level is just fine.

When you're first clearing, focus more on surviving than killing. I realize there's a direct correlation there, obviously, but if you can first learn to stay alive, you can then learn what to kill and when to kill it.

Ice round was a brick wall for me for a long time too. Far from a pro, but I'll offer up:

• Take your time - even on the last round, her % health determines when she breaks platforms, so you pick the pace.
• Stay out of the water as much as possible. Focus archers and distant mages, and of course, platform breaking trolls. If you must relocate (too many adds, whatever), use your speed boost from the bow line and get to the next platform asap.
• Focus on getting to the last round, then focus on how to complete it.
• While not going for leaderboard speed runs, it does get easier as you learn where the trouble creatures spawn and can either focus them down or keep your distance.

Your skill level isn't in question - if you made it to this round, you can make is past this round.

Good luck, and hope this helps a bit.

Lukums1

Beardimus wrote: »

Dude look up Lukums guide. It will help you, don't dispair.

Stage 5 is the first big step up in difficulty, you just need to learn the mechanics and you will smash it.

Early rounds stage 5 use that defence sigil for the big mobs, makes it a cakewalk.

Final boss It's NOT a DPS race. The opposite, the adds spawn and island break up on boss health % so ensure you clear adds each wave and get things under control before you get back on boss.

What round you study on?

Yes, yes it would.

sickboy2808

Grrrr i struggled on round 2 for quite a while but TRUST me if i can do it, you can too. I thought round 3 was much much easier but nows im stuck on round 4. I have tried about 50 - 70 times and just cant beat it

Forsakiin

If you were having trouble pre-Morrowind, I sympathize with you now. I used to be able to comfortably go in and blitz vMA with my stam DK, but I went in for the first time today since Morrowind released and I'll admit I struggled a bit. With the big sustain nerfs and vigor costing a lot more, doing vMA with that setup is a lot harder now, despite having 5x VO.

sickboy2808

Its just toooooo difficult. Having to watch out for everything, i spend most of my stam on Vigour just trying to stay alive. I can get to round 4 boss no probs but then it just gets crazy

Bobby_V_Rockit

I gave up on Stage 5. I watched the videos, read the guides, watched WHILE I played it and its no good. can't beat round 1. I'm out.

Shivvies

sickboy2808 wrote: »

Its just toooooo difficult. Having to watch out for everything, i spend most of my stam on Vigour just trying to stay alive. I can get to round 4 boss no probs but then it just gets crazy

I'm THE Scrubby McCasualton. I am a 25K dps. This is considered "nope, not going to be running vet trials with you" - and I have been playing for a loooong time.

First time I tried vMA, I was 200ish CP. I died hundreds of times. I gave up when I ran out of repair gold. I kid you not.

Then I thought if I get good gear, I'd be able to do it - because skill or experience is not imortant, right?

So dead wrong. I tried with all gold gear, good setup, nada...

So I watched and read guides, spent like an hour in there every day.

Suddenly I was killing first round without so much as a drop to low HP. Then second round was "impossible" - for a few days. Then I got its rythm and started to kill it consistently. Then third, then fourth...

Longest stretches I had were on Arena 5 and Arena 7 aside from the final boss.

Now, I still don't have a clear let alone "farmage" of vMA but I can honestly go in and reach 5th on the worst day, 7th on the average day and final boss on a good day without much frustration.

This clearly means if I keep practicing I will kill the final boss eventually and it wiell become rote maybe much later but still eventually.

What I said here boils down to this:

Trust me, if I can beat Arena 7, ANYONE can beat vMA eventually.

Cheers...

Qbiken

WarpigFunk wrote: »

Bobby_V_Rockit wrote: »

Two more questions then I'm done (and will go for it):

1) What's a good mininum HP to go for a first run? eg. 18k, 18.5k, 19k, etc.

2) Why is NMG better than Spriggans? Spriggan offers about 3k more stamina, more penetration and exactly the same weapon damage.

NMG is not better than Spriggan... they're both fine.

My stamsorc completed VMA with NMG/ VO/ Kragh's ... with like 2800 weapon damage, 62% crit, and 16k hp.
Your setup is very good for VMA.

If it's your first time through it you will die alot, regardless of your setup. Be prepared... getting VMA on <1 hour farm takes commitment.

NMG is better if you don´t have 2 sharpened Spriggan daggers (which OP seems to have).

sickboy2808

I dont even think i can do 25k dps so that shows im really terrible at the game. Ive given up for now but i will go back and i will BEAT round 4