When VMA boss trashes you around for an entire day

Megabear

"Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, whats the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu0v81gYQVY

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Made it to stage 9 I see.

supaskrub

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

Made it to stage 9 I see.

haha, ...

MissBizz

YOU CAN DO IT.

Seriously. My first VMA attempt, over the course off all sittings/attempts at the final arena... it took me 17 hours. 17 hours on just the final arena.

Now I do the entire 1-9 arena in 1hr 20minutes ish.

supaskrub

MissBizz wrote: »

YOU CAN DO IT.

Seriously. My first VMA attempt, over the course off all sittings/attempts at the final arena... it took me 17 hours. 17 hours on just the final arena.

Now I do the entire 1-9 arena in 1hr 20minutes ish.

Mine was about the same also... i had all sorts of doubts about my capabilities, hated the place in its entirety and only completed it because it was bugging the hell out of me and i had to prove to myself that I could do it... Its still a pain at times with rng deaths and deaths that are unexplained (frostbite when theres no white ghost around for miles was todays random killer)... but now i actually enjoy and can see improvement everytime i play it...

MilwaukeeScott

Good luck!

GrigorijMalahevich

Oh cmon. When vMA just came out, we were completing it without monster sets or guides in random useless sets...

Seriously...

Put boundless storm on your bar and use on crystal stage...

Use supression field when daedroth spawns on him and boss. Under supression field - daedroth doesn’t use fire breath...

Collect golden ghosts, stop tunner vision. When you get down from crystal stage get shield sigil asap. When you collect three ghosts - daedroth will spawn next to boss, just use it and AOE boss and daedroth...

If this won’t help - gitgud

BrightOblivion

You got this, @Megabear . And it does get easier, definitely. I'm not down to Bizz-level hour-and-twenty-minute clears yet (still two, two and a half hours), but I can see it's getting easier. I actually managed to get past stage 7 with 3 vitality and didn't shatter my armor against Solkyn.

The first clear is the toughest. Afterward, you have a better idea what you're doing, and it becomes more about honing skills that are already in place.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Just think, when VMA launched the arena didnt save progress and there was actually a cap on vitality. I want to say it was something silly like 500 lives, but it definitely became an issue for some on their first clear.

I cleared about a month after launch. My first attempt was to stage 5 boss, second was to stage 6 boss, third was to stage 9 where I immediately DC'ed on the final boss on the first pull (almost uninstalled the game). My fourth run I was able to spend about 2-3 hours on the last boss, no clear. My fifth run and first clear was took about 3 hours total. By my 4th or 5th clear, it was consistently under an hour. It gets easier, but the last boss is very punishing for any mistakes.

I strongly advise not spending more than about 2 hours at a time on him. You will burn out, get upset, and repeat mistakes. The hardest part is figuring out how to get upstairs consistently. I strongly advise learning to do it without sigils or ultimates. You will want the sigils later, and you wont always have the ultimate up after your wipe. Once you get the hang of it, you can go with the Nuke method, but I wouldnt learn that way. Basically, you can ulti bomb him and burn him to 70% and skip the guard phase.

Then you need to master the upstairs. You really need to do 4 things. Do high damage to crystals, dont stand in red circles (meteors), block/roll his skull attack (this is very predictable with practice), dont get knocked off (always circle to the shield counter clockwise). The real trick here is conserving stamina. Tri-pots, and the speed sigil (grab right before you go up) really help. I also strongly advise jumping down voluntarily if you see the third wall. It becomes very hard to keep up with as it moves faster, and you are better of jumping down on purpose to face a guard than getting knocked into the lava to have the guard waiting for you. Guards arent bad if you are ready for them. Dropping down resets the wall timing, but you wont lose the progress on the crystals.

Finally, you need to NOT pee your pants when you get downstairs for the last phase. Until you have a bunch of clears under your belt, your first move should be to go right for the shield sigil and then to the damage sigil. If your DPS is high, you can just stand a nuke him (block heavies and avoid aoe circle). If its on the lower end of things, you need to make gold ghosts your priority so you can stun the guard that spawns and you also need to take out the summoner. I rarely recommend the nuke method on anything for the first clear, but this part might be the exception.

Megabear

Thank you all for the tips. It really is bugging me and I can't quit because it'll hang over me forever if I don't. I HAVE to clear it. I'll try this weekend.

LadyLethalla

I CAN'T do it.

I spent probably 3 days getting through stage 5, and another 2-3 getting through stage 6. Tried stage 7 again on the weekend for 4 hours and couldn't get through round 4.
Was going to keep at it, until I was standing right next to a green pool, a poison plant exploded near me and even though I went straight to the pool (like it was 2 steps away), I died from 2 ticks of poison damage. 2. Ticks.

Now, maybe it's that I suck. Maybe it's that my stupid Australian internet has way too much lag. Maybe it's that I'm too old that my reflexes just aren't good enough. idk and at this point I'm going to leave it for another 6 months at least. Even then, I think I could only do it on a weekday when no one else is home.


*******Sigh*******

FinneganFroth

Best of luck man. I'm a dual wield/bow stamblade and first time I cleared it it took a while. Second time I cleared it, I got to the final boss in 45 minutes and the final boss took me two hours because I kept doing stupid stuff. Now I just take my time and don't worry about a score.

Also, not sure if they changed graphic requirements recently but I've been having bad fps lag. Today I died 10 times on level 7 because of fps lag (i.e., my block canceling wasn't working because of lag). I switched to medium graphics and never died...lol.

nolangrady

LadyLethalla wrote: »

I CAN'T do it.

I spent probably 3 days getting through stage 5, and another 2-3 getting through stage 6. Tried stage 7 again on the weekend for 4 hours and couldn't get through round 4.
Was going to keep at it, until I was standing right next to a green pool, a poison plant exploded near me and even though I went straight to the pool (like it was 2 steps away), I died from 2 ticks of poison damage. 2. Ticks.

Now, maybe it's that I suck. Maybe it's that my stupid Australian internet has way too much lag. Maybe it's that I'm too old that my reflexes just aren't good enough. idk and at this point I'm going to leave it for another 6 months at least. Even then, I think I could only do it on a weekday when no one else is home.


*******Sigh*******

Stage 7 was the worst for me. I tried vMA earlier this year and got to stage 7 but stopped trying. About 45 days ago I picked it up and was determined to clear. The way I approached vMA the second time around was one stage at a time. It took me two weeks to clear stage 7... 2 WEEKS. You have to know when to take a break otherwise you will find yourself agonizing for hours and hours. Once you hit a wall take a break. Come back and try again. Each time you try you will see improvements. You will start to remember what spawns where and when. You will start to remember the timing of mechanics and when to use sigils. Watch plenty of YouTube videos which you can find for every level and study them instead of banging your head against the wall. You will eventually clear and I can attest that once you beat it you will faceroll the arena on later attempts. I am now gunning for flawless and I only just cleared in October. PM if you need any tips. You can do it

Tannus15

LadyLethalla wrote: »

I CAN'T do it.

I spent probably 3 days getting through stage 5, and another 2-3 getting through stage 6. Tried stage 7 again on the weekend for 4 hours and couldn't get through round 4.
Was going to keep at it, until I was standing right next to a green pool, a poison plant exploded near me and even though I went straight to the pool (like it was 2 steps away), I died from 2 ticks of poison damage. 2. Ticks.

Now, maybe it's that I suck. Maybe it's that my stupid Australian internet has way too much lag. Maybe it's that I'm too old that my reflexes just aren't good enough. idk and at this point I'm going to leave it for another 6 months at least. Even then, I think I could only do it on a weekday when no one else is home.


*******Sigh*******

Australian internet here, you can do it. I'm usually on 320 ping.

Stage 7, round 4 is all about the defence sigil.

Burn the first north archer, ignore the adds and move to the south, lay down your aoe dots where it spawns and kill off the adds. As soon as the 2nd archer dies grab the defence sigil for the 3 archer spawn. Don't interrupt their aimed shot, since that reflects and they pretty much 1 shot themselves.
As soon as the 2 trolls spawn grab the damage sigil and Ulti the south troll and watch for the poison summoner. Kill it, finish the wounded troll, and then tear down the last troll. easy from there.

It's all about learning the spawns and the strategy to deal with them.

Morbash

LadyLethalla wrote: »

I CAN'T do it.

I spent probably 3 days getting through stage 5, and another 2-3 getting through stage 6. Tried stage 7 again on the weekend for 4 hours and couldn't get through round 4.
Was going to keep at it, until I was standing right next to a green pool, a poison plant exploded near me and even though I went straight to the pool (like it was 2 steps away), I died from 2 ticks of poison damage. 2. Ticks.

Now, maybe it's that I suck. Maybe it's that my stupid Australian internet has way too much lag. Maybe it's that I'm too old that my reflexes just aren't good enough. idk and at this point I'm going to leave it for another 6 months at least. Even then, I think I could only do it on a weekday when no one else is home.


*******Sigh*******

If it makes you feel any better, I know exactly how you feel and can confirm that your internet connection plays a vital role in how you personally perform in ESO. I went from averaging 200-250ms ping to around 100-140ms. No idea how this happened. I just logged in one day and found this pleasant surprise. Not only did I notice a massive difference in my game's performance, but my personal performance increased dramatically as well.

If you made it as far as stage 7 with your aussie internet, I'm certain your personal skill has nothing to do with being unable to complete the arena.

Keep at it and good luck. Also, occasional breaks from the arena are good. Don't let it burn you out. If you notice you're becoming excessively frustrated, it's time for a break. When I started mumbling odd combinations of expletives at my monitor, I knew it was time to call it quits and do something else.

LadyLethalla

Nawww thanks guys, for your encouragement; much appreciated.

One thing I did try on the weekend was using my phone as a WiFi hotspot, in an effort to improve the lag... but when the console tested the internet connection it was worse than through my ADSL2. So I switched back.

But as I said, when you have lag that lets you die to two full poison ticks even though you were IN the pool from the get-go... then it's time to give it up. I knew it wouldn't have gotten any better if I'd continued.

Oh and incidentally... I definitely don't have the reflexes for Bloodborne...

Runefang

Tannus15 wrote: »

LadyLethalla wrote: »

I CAN'T do it.

I spent probably 3 days getting through stage 5, and another 2-3 getting through stage 6. Tried stage 7 again on the weekend for 4 hours and couldn't get through round 4.
Was going to keep at it, until I was standing right next to a green pool, a poison plant exploded near me and even though I went straight to the pool (like it was 2 steps away), I died from 2 ticks of poison damage. 2. Ticks.

Now, maybe it's that I suck. Maybe it's that my stupid Australian internet has way too much lag. Maybe it's that I'm too old that my reflexes just aren't good enough. idk and at this point I'm going to leave it for another 6 months at least. Even then, I think I could only do it on a weekday when no one else is home.


*******Sigh*******

Australian internet here, you can do it. I'm usually on 320 ping.

Stage 7, round 4 is all about the defence sigil.

Burn the first north archer, ignore the adds and move to the south, lay down your aoe dots where it spawns and kill off the adds. As soon as the 2nd archer dies grab the defence sigil for the 3 archer spawn. Don't interrupt their aimed shot, since that reflects and they pretty much 1 shot themselves.
As soon as the 2 trolls spawn grab the damage sigil and Ulti the south troll and watch for the poison summoner. Kill it, finish the wounded troll, and then tear down the last troll. easy from there.

It's all about learning the spawns and the strategy to deal with them.

Any tips on the round 9 for an Aussie? My mate has been trying for around 6 months without any success.

monktoasty

Started normal and uh..it's boring to me. Rugs should not be twitch games..whole screen loaded up with crap and you gotta somehow survive and kill everything then a spongy boss. They have to just make sure they throw in enough annoyING elements like orbs chasing you it's just boring and stupid to me

I rather fight a well developed single boss than just a room full of mechanics that you have to memorize

To top it all off..you get rewarded with some lame rng loot.

It's the peak of the solo challange..extreme in its difficulty and you get crap for rewards..lol no thanks.

Feanor

Stage 9 is one of the easiest once you get the hang of it. What’s killing me is stage 7 and the godawful lag in there. I just want to get Flawless once and never look back dammit!

Joy_Division

LadyLethalla wrote: »

I CAN'T do it.

I spent probably 3 days getting through stage 5, and another 2-3 getting through stage 6. Tried stage 7 again on the weekend for 4 hours and couldn't get through round 4.
Was going to keep at it, until I was standing right next to a green pool, a poison plant exploded near me and even though I went straight to the pool (like it was 2 steps away), I died from 2 ticks of poison damage. 2. Ticks.

Now, maybe it's that I suck. Maybe it's that my stupid Australian internet has way too much lag. Maybe it's that I'm too old that my reflexes just aren't good enough. idk and at this point I'm going to leave it for another 6 months at least. Even then, I think I could only do it on a weekday when no one else is home.


*******Sigh*******

You CAN.

Use shield sigil when 3 archers spawn. Use heal sigil to deal with two trolls.

First time I got the stage 9, I whispered my best guildmate who was probably one of the best players out there and told him I had this. He whispered me and said something to the effect that he couldn't do it on the first shot and not to be disappointed if I couldn't.

Final boss killed me 100s and 100s of times. Got rekt. More than humbled. Humiliated. Now? I laugh in his face and I can beat him with a 300 CP build.

vMA is all about knowing the mechanics. Once you know them, the arena becomes like 1000 times easier. Just can't get too mad or despondent. If you sense you do, simply log out and do something else and come back later.

Recremen

I just beat it for the first time tonight, I think literally two years after starting (never seemed worth finishing before retraiting). If a PvP nerdscrub can do it, you can too!!!!

nnargun

It's weird. I just finished vMA for the first time on Sunday. Took me more than 120 deaths on the last stage. Then went back in on Monday and cleared it pretty okay, like 20 deaths on last stage.
Then third attempt yesterday. Went flawless until stage 7, died there like 15 times, flawless through stage 8, then tried to get through stage 9 for 3 hours and finally gave up because I ran out of potions and gold. I will beat it today I'm sure. But if this happens on your third clear you really start raging.

edit: btw also only died once in the first 5 rounds of stage 9. Still wasn't able to beat boss round yesterday. Maybe I was too tired. Worst thing is it made me feel like I was almost ready for flawless. After 2 clears and with only a bit more than 300 CP. But yeah, no.

Flameheart

My experience in vMA was optimistic and successful at first, I did stage 1 to 4 with just one or two deaths in the first try as far as I remember. Nowadays stage 1 to 4 is a guaranteed no death thing.

Then I entered stage 5.

I am sure my neighbours still wonder where that mad guy has gone, who was shouting at and insulting some unknown persons and throwing things (mouse) at the wall.

Worst stages for me are 5 (Frozen Lake) and 9 (final boss). Stage 5 is an eye opener when you experience the inc damage the first time, worst trash ever and the last boss has an indirect enrage timer (3 ice floes, that's it). Due to the necessity to deliver some remarkable dps on the boss you can't build for too much healing/selfprotection and the sustain nerfes in Morrowind made it even tougher.

Stage 9...I don't remember how many attempts I needed to master the mechanics there (this stage has the longest learning curve for me), but if you have practiced them and killed the boss, you will probably do it any time again, while you are still able to die silly deaths in stage 5.

I cleared vMA the first time by using another mouse and keyboard as I started it with. The replacement did not occur because of natural deterioration...

Taleof2Cities

You will soon see this screen ... I just know it.

Best of luck!

nnargun

My biggest problem on stage 9 are sustain issues after crystal phase. I don't really find the time to do any heavy attacks because there is so much mechanics going on. So after destroying crystals I either forget to immediately interrupt the boss or I run out of magicka. Both is pretty deadly. First two phases are getting easy though.

Maybe I should try with Elemtal Drain instead of Inner Light?

Jaimeh

nnargun wrote: »

My biggest problem on stage 9 are sustain issues after crystal phase. I don't really find the time to do any heavy attacks because there is so much mechanics going on. So after destroying crystals I either forget to immediately interrupt the boss or I run out of magicka. Both is pretty deadly. First two phases are getting easy though.

Maybe I should try with Elemtal Drain instead of Inner Light?

Before you go upstairs take the haste and healing sigils (and the power, if you can get it), they help a lot with the DOT and sustain. I also switch to health/magicka/stamina tripots for the crystals, so I don't spend magicka on self-heals too much. As soon as you come back down, grab the defensive sigil so you don't have to worry about missing an interrupt. I've never used elementai drain, but a lot of people recommend it for this round (and indeed all of the arena).

@Megabear Hang in there! Like everyone said, the first clear is really tough, and can take a toll on one's nerves, but eventually it will happen, and then each successive time will be lot easier!

nnargun

Jaimeh wrote: »

nnargun wrote: »

My biggest problem on stage 9 are sustain issues after crystal phase. I don't really find the time to do any heavy attacks because there is so much mechanics going on. So after destroying crystals I either forget to immediately interrupt the boss or I run out of magicka. Both is pretty deadly. First two phases are getting easy though.

Maybe I should try with Elemtal Drain instead of Inner Light?

Before you go upstairs take the haste and healing sigils (and the power, if you can get it), they help a lot with the DOT and sustain. I also switch to health/magicka/stamina tripots for the crystals, so I don't spend magicka on self-heals too much. As soon as you come back down, grab the defensive sigil so you don't have to worry about missing an interrupt. I've never used elementai drain, but a lot of people recommend it for this round (and indeed all of the arena).

@Megabear Hang in there! Like everyone said, the first clear is really tough, and can take a toll on one's nerves, but eventually it will happen, and then each successive time will be lot easier!

Thanks for the advice. I will try to grab the sigils as you suggest as I also don't really like the idea of slotting Elemental Drain. I can flawless most stages without already so it seems like a waste.

ArchMikem

Megabear wrote: »

Thank you all for the tips. It really is bugging me and I can't quit because it'll hang over me forever if I don't. I HAVE to clear it. I'll try this weekend.

My Sorc's cleared every boss on Vet but final. Got him down to like just 6k Health then wiped cause I was desperately spamming Mage's Wrath trying to execute but it wasn't doing enough damage and I was taking hits. After that I couldn't even get him past 50% and I rage quit and never went back.



I share my Character's expression about vMA.

nnargun

ArchMikem wrote: »

Megabear wrote: »

Thank you all for the tips. It really is bugging me and I can't quit because it'll hang over me forever if I don't. I HAVE to clear it. I'll try this weekend.

My Sorc's cleared every boss on Vet but final. Got him down to like just 6k Health then wiped cause I was desperately spamming Mage's Wrath trying to execute but it wasn't doing enough damage and I was taking hits. After that I couldn't even get him past 50% and I rage quit and never went back.



I share my Character's expression about vMA.

In those situations where boss is almost down I prefer to place a DOT or two and then spam shields until the boss dies. What's your problem exactly in phase 3? If it's not sustain you should be able to chill after first interrupt. Elemental Rage should be ready after crystal phase. Just use it to burn the Daedroth when it spawns and you won't even need the golden ghosts. In my experience it's very beneficial to have Elemental Rage ready two times during the fight. First time is after first interrupt in phase 1 to burn down Daedroth and get boss to 75 %, second time is in phase 3 when Daedroth spawns.

Nuntjako

You can do it, just keep at it! Took me forever the first time, but it gets easier after that first clear.

BUT, try to do your runs outside of your servers primetime. Even though my internet connection is good, maelstrom is really laggy and buggy in the evening.

I do leaderboard runs on several toons at the moment, and doing it in the evening can cost me a good score, because of several deaths. A few days a go I was doing my magplar run in the evening and it was buggy and laggy as hell. When the boss on umbrage started to scream, the remaining mender did not put up a shield. This happened several times. On the last stage, no gold ghost appeared at all up until I bluescreened on the last boss. Some times wayshrining after a death helps on bugs like that. But the lag is pretty much constant.

ArchMikem

nnargun wrote: »

ArchMikem wrote: »

Megabear wrote: »

Thank you all for the tips. It really is bugging me and I can't quit because it'll hang over me forever if I don't. I HAVE to clear it. I'll try this weekend.

My Sorc's cleared every boss on Vet but final. Got him down to like just 6k Health then wiped cause I was desperately spamming Mage's Wrath trying to execute but it wasn't doing enough damage and I was taking hits. After that I couldn't even get him past 50% and I rage quit and never went back.



I share my Character's expression about vMA.

In those situations where boss is almost down I prefer to place a DOT or two and then spam shields until the boss dies. What's your problem exactly in phase 3? If it's not sustain you should be able to chill after first interrupt. Elemental Rage should be ready after crystal phase. Just use it to burn the Daedroth when it spawns and you won't even need the golden ghosts. In my experience it's very beneficial to have Elemental Rage ready two times during the fight. First time is after first interrupt in phase 1 to burn down Daedroth and get boss to 75 %, second time is in phase 3 when Daedroth spawns.

Sustain was a good part of it. With Mag Recovery at 700 I rely on Heavy weaving and Potions, and it was just really chaotic, not to mention getting knocked off the platform into Lava while already hurt basically ended me quite a few times, and without Hardened Ward up I'm incredibly squishy. But the gist of it was I got careless. Got desperate to finish it and just kept spamming Execute when I should have kept popping my shield to stay safe.