Need help with my Mag Sorc build, last boss vMA :(

Pontypants

Hi all,

I am stuck on the last boss of vMA, I just can't seem to beat him.

Some basic info:
CP320
Race: Dark Elf
Class Sorcerer (Magicka) - non pet
Server: NA PC

So I have Julianos(5), Rattlecage (5), Iceheart (Monster)

I thought this was a nice combination, Rattlecage gives Major Sorcery, so I grabbed Critical Surge for the extra healing.
Julianos is Julianos.
Iceheart for the extra protection and a bit of nice AOE damage on top of that.

But when I spoke with a more seasoned player he thought my choice of gear was completely off.

I would love it if someone could explain WHY this choice is so bad, to me the numbers look good but clearly I'm missing something here, help me understand please :P

Would this setup be better?

Julianos, Netch's Touch, Ilambris

Before I start farming this stuff it would be great if someone could stop me before I do if it's a bad idea Since it took me ages to get Rattlecage Staves xD

Many thanks!

Thestephenmcraeub17_ESO

Critical surge really won't help you much since it boosts weapon damage, and your skills are going to scale off of spell damage. I'd switch to power surge, ditch rattlecage, and just keep up shields. You can cheese the last boss with overload on the crystals (that's how I did it, anyway) and then just keep up your shields and surge, use all the sigils, and keep your dots down. He doesn't move around too much, just jumps around a few times.

Also, you can do better than iceheart. The idea is to burn that boss as quickly as possible before the adds can stack up and kill you, so I'd go for a damage set. Even slimecraw would probably be better. If you're in all light armor (which you should be), an 8k damage shield and negligible ice damage is far less useful than keeping your damage output higher (plus, hardened ward is basically the only damage shield you'll ever need, and it should definitely be on your bar).

What skills are you using? Mundus stone?

vMA is pain, I've only done it twice and hated it both times. It does take practice, so don't sweat it being difficult now.

Edit: Oh, and for the set to replace rattlecage with, since you aren't a pet build, netch is a good option, but mothers sorrow would also be good to keep your crit chance high and therefore your heals from power surge. You've got a few options, but I'd steer clear of rattlecage. Heavy armor won't help you much as a mag toon in vMA

Pontypants

Thanks for super fast reply and a lot of helpful info

I should have clarified:
My rattlecage consists of - Amulet, Rings and staff (so no heavy armor)
5 piece light Julianos
1medium iceheart
1 heavy iceheart

But yes I totally see your point that I might as well go with Power Surge as it should give me enough heals.

Mundus stone: The Apprentice

Main Bar:
Cystal Frags, Force Pulse, Endless Fury, Inner Light, Bound Aegis

Back Bar:
Liquid Lightning, Elemental Blockade, Critical Surge, Empowered Ward, Bound Aegis


OK, off to farm some stuff

Would you prefer Slimecraw or Ilambris? I'm not a huge fan of these random proc shoot a fireball at random target idea, but maybe I should give it a chance!

Also, I was using a lightning staff on both bars since I couldnt get Rattlecage to drop in flame. But ideally I'd like a flame on main bar.

Thanks again, super helpful!

Asardes

Ditch Rattlecage. It's a garbage set for PvE (and I'd say niche even for PvP). Also you don't really need to be stuck with just 1/2 monster set since as of Summerset staves count as 2 pieces. You can use the whole Iceheart set since it gives you a supplemental shield (might help). Since you most likely have Julianos staves (farming rattlecage ones would be a pain), the set is relatively easy to replace. One set I would suggest replacing it with is Mother's Sorrow, from Deshaan. It's a relatively popular set so it's not hard to find in guild stores, and the armor pieces should be relatively cheap, since it's mostly the weapons and jewelry which are sought after; the latter you can farm yourself if you can't afford the price (rings and necklaces are around 15K on EU-PC) since Deshaan dolmens are relatively quick. Also change from Critical to Power surge since the healing difference is small in practice, only about 400 more health restored per tick. So your final setup should be 5 Julianos (staves, 3 armor) 5 Mother's Sorrow (3 jewels, 2 armor) and 2 monster set. If you don't have full Iceheart you can combo it with a piece from another monster set that gives maximum magicka or spell damage or spell critical. I actually use Ilambris since it's the highest damage. About skills, the setup is pretty standard, and I won't get into details here since they are written down already. This is my actual vMA & dungeon setup (sets are a bit different). As for tactics, there are plenty of videos explaining them in detail.

Thestephenmcraeub17_ESO

Pontypants wrote: »

Would you prefer Slimecraw or Ilambris? I'm not a huge fan of these random proc shoot a fireball at random target idea, but maybe I should give it a chance!

Slimecraw passively grants minor berserk at all times, increasing your damage done by 8%. There is no proc chance, just 8% more damage. And since as a sorc you don't already proc minor berserk (or at least off the top of my head, I can't think of how you would...), it wouldn't be wasted. Or if you prefer a proc set, ilambris is good, but the dot it drops is stationary, which is alright, but in vMA, mobility is key. if ilambris procs and an enemy moves, then the damage is wasted. Grothdarr might not be a bad choice, but it is melee range so you might not want that. But your skill setup looks good. I might switch from apprentice to thief, cause again, more crit = more healing. If you can, put ele drain on for boss, or run lover mundus. But I'd honestly go thief with ele drain (a bit more sustain, and more damage through penetration).

Septimus_Magna

Personally I dont like Ilambris in vMA because the dmg doesnt always hit.
Slimclaw, Infernal Guardian, Skoria or Zaan all work pretty good.

If you have trouble with sustain I would recommend a heavy attack pet build, its a good mix of offense, defense and sustain.
My current vMA setup is 5x Necropotence, 5x Infallible Aether and 2x Slimclaw with Lover mundus.

All enemies take 5+8=13% more dmg and after a heavy attack they take 21% more dmg.
Heavy attack before dropping destro ult and watch the bosses melt.

In vMA you have to shield a lot so its a massive advantage if you deal good dmg with dots.
Especially in the final stage, just lay down dots on the crystals and heavy attack/shield in between dodging skulls.
Save your destro ult for the phase after you destroy the crystals, once the boss teleports drop you ult and melt him.

blunned

Pontypants wrote: »

Hi all,

I am stuck on the last boss of vMA, I just can't seem to beat him.

Some basic info:
CP320
Race: Dark Elf
Class Sorcerer (Magicka) - non pet
Server: NA PC

So I have Julianos(5), Rattlecage (5), Iceheart (Monster)

I thought this was a nice combination, Rattlecage gives Major Sorcery, so I grabbed Critical Surge for the extra healing.
Julianos is Julianos.
Iceheart for the extra protection and a bit of nice AOE damage on top of that.

But when I spoke with a more seasoned player he thought my choice of gear was completely off.

I would love it if someone could explain WHY this choice is so bad, to me the numbers look good but clearly I'm missing something here, help me understand please :P

Would this setup be better?

Julianos, Netch's Touch, Ilambris

Before I start farming this stuff it would be great if someone could stop me before I do if it's a bad idea Since it took me ages to get Rattlecage Staves xD

Many thanks!

Which parts are you having trouble with? It seems the posts above have handled the gear choices well but are there any mechanics you are having trouble with? You

Pontypants

Thanks all for your replies, really helpful!

My main problem with vMA really are the crystals - I get up to the balcony 95% of the tries but then screw it up down there, I really think a bit more dps up there would help as it's mainly the DOT up there that kills me cause I'm taking too long.

I've decided to keep Julianos, try Netch's as the second set and Slimecraw for monster.

You guys agree?

Also, I will be buying Julianos Staves - Should I go with Sharpened or Infused? If infused, which enchantment would be a good one?

Thanks!

SirDuckman

I’m not as experienced and many others in these forums. But hopefully my advice will help.

First, morph your force pulse to crushing shock. The boss needs interrupted. When I ran this with my sorc, I did use the twilight JUST for healing especially upstairs.

At the start of the fight, do your aoe’s, dodge his skull, and get ready for his teleport. Once he does and summons his daedra, drop your destro ult and use your harness magicka for those couple seconds the daedra is still alive. Shortly, he will go to center, find the platform, kill the puppy and go up.

At top, have your shields up all the time and use that twilight to help. I dropped my AOE’s on the first crystal and then ran counter clockwise to start working on that one. Watch the dodge for the skulls and look for that wall. The important thing to remember is that it goes faster the longer you’re up. If it gets to much, just jump down, deal with the daedra and go back up and you’ll find the speed has reset.

One you destroy all the crystals, try to jump in the center. Don’t wait or you’ll get knock to the edge. Here it becomes a race. Grab the Power and Defense sigal as fast as you can and run to the back of the boss where the first gold ghost will appear. Using that defesne sigal will cause damage to himself. Kill the ghost and do your normal damage to him and WAIT for him to teleport. Once he does, then drop your ULTS and everything you have. Ignore all center mechanics and everything else.

I did it on plain ole’ Juliana’s, IA, and Ilambris. The speed sigal is okay to use after the boss goes to it’s first center phase before you go up but I find having the speed up top, makes it hard to navigate. Practice makes perfect though.

Hope that helps a little.

blunned

Pontypants wrote: »

Thanks all for your replies, really helpful!

My main problem with vMA really are the crystals - I get up to the balcony 95% of the tries but then screw it up down there, I really think a bit more dps up there would help as it's mainly the DOT up there that kills me cause I'm taking too long.

I've decided to keep Julianos, try Netch's as the second set and Slimecraw for monster.

You guys agree?

Also, I will be buying Julianos Staves - Should I go with Sharpened or Infused? If infused, which enchantment would be a good one?

Thanks!

My first vMA clear I had the same problem as you. I found that intentionally dropping down after I had almost 2 of the crystals down completely and dealing with the Daedra (would usually grab the haste and healing sigil then as well) and then heading back up to deal with the rest of the crystal health was my best option. It also allows you to mainly heavy attack the crystals on the second go up there to really get your magicka pool back up so you can burn the boss down at the end. I found I could reliably destroy all three crystals in one go but it would leave me without enough magicka to comfortably heal and burn the boss in stage 3.

TL;DR: You don’t have to destroy all three crystals in one go. Intentionally drop down after close to 2 of the crystals are down.

As to your staff question, I think the current meta is both staves infused with fire enchant front bar and weapon/spell damage enchant on backbar.

Kingslayer513

Pontypants wrote: »

Thanks all for your replies, really helpful!

My main problem with vMA really are the crystals - I get up to the balcony 95% of the tries but then screw it up down there, I really think a bit more dps up there would help as it's mainly the DOT up there that kills me cause I'm taking too long.

I've decided to keep Julianos, try Netch's as the second set and Slimecraw for monster.

You guys agree?

Also, I will be buying Julianos Staves - Should I go with Sharpened or Infused? If infused, which enchantment would be a good one?

Thanks!

Netches Touch means you'll be needing two shock staves to be worth it, but inferno staves are king in Summerset. I really wouldn't recommend that, you'll be better off with two inferno staves using Burning Spellweave or Mother's Sorrow. You'll have way higher single target dmg using inferno staves, which is perfect for burning down (pun intended) the boss and those pesky crystals.

Joy_Division

Pontypants wrote: »

Thanks all for your replies, really helpful!

My main problem with vMA really are the crystals - I get up to the balcony 95% of the tries but then screw it up down there, I really think a bit more dps up there would help as it's mainly the DOT up there that kills me cause I'm taking too long.

I've decided to keep Julianos, try Netch's as the second set and Slimecraw for monster.

You guys agree?

Also, I will be buying Julianos Staves - Should I go with Sharpened or Infused? If infused, which enchantment would be a good one?

Thanks!

You need healing / mitigation for the crystal phase because of the constant soul churn DoT. Harness Magicka is better than Hardened Ward for this phase because it will give you sustain and the shield is more than good enough. Critical surge is very helpful for the heals.

I don't like any of the "add 400 spell damage to a few skill bonuses" because they are way too narrow. you are using Frags and crushing shock which are not lightning damage and you are double barring a lightning staff when an inferno on your front bar will give you 8% more damage. Go with Mother's Sorrow. Hell, Kagernac's Hope is a better all around set than Netch.

Difference between sharp and infused isn't much, especial since you are solo and have no raid buffs. Inferno will parse higher on single target, sharpened is better for AoE.

Asardes

But the basics of rotation are simple, keep your DoTs up with light attacks in between, and heavy attack with a spammable skill. Sorcerer rotation is as simple at it can be, probably the easiest one of any class. Static, only 4 skills (5 with Mages Wrath), and a single buff to keep track of:

Buff: Power Surge
Haunting Curse -> Light Attack -> Liquid Lightning -> Light Attack -> Elemental Blockade -> Bar Swap -> Force Pulse -> Heavy Attack -> Force Pulse -> Heavy Attack -> Force Pulse. Repeat, recast Power Surge every 3rd rotation. When the enemy drops under < 25% just do Mages Wrath -> Light Attack 4x instead of 3x Force Pulse part of the rotation.

As for tactics you only need to interrupt the boss once before he goes up and you can do that by simply bashing once from melee range, then retreating a bit to be out of the AoE. Move more to the edge so the healer also stacks with him and gets hit by AoE. The Crematorial Guard (Daedroth) should die fast too. The best is to simply save an ultimate and burn all, Elemental Rage is quite good for this purpose as the adds will melt right away and the boss will go up.

Once he goes down simply kill the ghost clannfear close to the portal, go up, and start moving counterclockwise and damaging the crystals - since the wall moves clockwise and you'll have an easier time getting to it when the boss is about to blow up. The idea is to damage them equally, since if some are down the wall starts moving faster. Ideally you should leave all 3 with very little health, kill the first 2 fast, put Liquid Lightning under the 3rd then when it's about to shatter jump down and grab the defense sigil (shield); if you jump down before the last crystal shatters you'll avoid the stun and be able to get on the boss faster.

Once you do that don't interrupt the boss anymore since the reflected damage from the sigil will help kill him faster. Put Liquid Lighting and Blockade on boss, grab the ghost, kill the summoner, put those DoTs again at the new boss location, grab the 2nd ghost, keep the damage up, then grab the 3rd ghost, press the synergy when the Crematorial Guard starts spawning, stun that and the boss, drop DoTs and ultimate and execute. That's the cleanest strategy, and works well even at low DPS since you do all the mechanics.

At high DPS it's possible to skip most of them but I don't recommend trying to do that on your first completions, at least not till you learned them well and sorted out the rotation.

Hadn't run vMA in about 4-5 months, today out of the blue I decided to run it on my Magicka DK to see how it is. 10/15 Vitality 506K score. Close to what I was getting on my Sorcerer a few weeks after I had just started running it, but Mag DK is much harder, since you need to stay melee, you get more incoming damage and also the shield is only ~70% of what a Sorcerer gets and most of the healing comes from hitting stuff in melee range.

s7732425ub17_ESO

Honestly, if you can get to the last boss, you can beat the last boss. Sure, changing up gear and skills might help a bit, but it's not going to magically get you the clear.

If you are struggling with crystal phase, you can just jump down early (after killing 2 crystals), kill the daedroth, regen some resources, and get back up to the top and finish it. As long as you have Power Surge up 100% of the time, you shouldn't need any other healing.

FrancisCrawford

Pontypants wrote: »

Thanks for super fast reply and a lot of helpful info

I should have clarified:
My rattlecage consists of - Amulet, Rings and staff (so no heavy armor)
5 piece light Julianos
1medium iceheart
1 heavy iceheart

But yes I totally see your point that I might as well go with Power Surge as it should give me enough heals.

Mundus stone: The Apprentice

Main Bar:
Cystal Frags, Force Pulse, Endless Fury, Inner Light, Bound Aegis

Back Bar:
Liquid Lightning, Elemental Blockade, Critical Surge, Empowered Ward, Bound Aegis


OK, off to farm some stuff

Would you prefer Slimecraw or Ilambris? I'm not a huge fan of these random proc shoot a fireball at random target idea, but maybe I should give it a chance!

Also, I was using a lightning staff on both bars since I couldnt get Rattlecage to drop in flame. But ideally I'd like a flame on main bar.

Thanks again, super helpful!

Unless you have Undaunted rank at least 7 -- and preferably 9 -- there's little benefit to going 5-1-1 on your armor weights.

FrancisCrawford

Thestephenmcraeub17_ESO wrote: »

Pontypants wrote: »

Would you prefer Slimecraw or Ilambris? I'm not a huge fan of these random proc shoot a fireball at random target idea, but maybe I should give it a chance!

Slimecraw passively grants minor berserk at all times, increasing your damage done by 8%. There is no proc chance, just 8% more damage. And since as a sorc you don't already proc minor berserk (or at least off the top of my head, I can't think of how you would...), it wouldn't be wasted. Or if you prefer a proc set, ilambris is good, but the dot it drops is stationary, which is alright, but in vMA, mobility is key. if ilambris procs and an enemy moves, then the damage is wasted. Grothdarr might not be a bad choice, but it is melee range so you might not want that. But your skill setup looks good. I might switch from apprentice to thief, cause again, more crit = more healing. If you can, put ele drain on for boss, or run lover mundus. But I'd honestly go thief with ele drain (a bit more sustain, and more damage through penetration).

That nominal 8% winds up at 5-6% in practice -- because it's additive rather than multiplicative to other bonsues -- which isn't bad. Ilambris can wind up contributing more, if you have plenty each of lightning and fire damage. I rarely get Valkyn Skoria to do as well for me as Ilambris, alas, and that's in a pet/heavy attack build with more DoTs than yours seems to have, so I probably wouldn't focus on that option.

Asardes

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

Pontypants wrote: »

Thanks for super fast reply and a lot of helpful info

I should have clarified:
My rattlecage consists of - Amulet, Rings and staff (so no heavy armor)
5 piece light Julianos
1medium iceheart
1 heavy iceheart

But yes I totally see your point that I might as well go with Power Surge as it should give me enough heals.

Mundus stone: The Apprentice

Main Bar:
Cystal Frags, Force Pulse, Endless Fury, Inner Light, Bound Aegis

Back Bar:
Liquid Lightning, Elemental Blockade, Critical Surge, Empowered Ward, Bound Aegis


OK, off to farm some stuff

Would you prefer Slimecraw or Ilambris? I'm not a huge fan of these random proc shoot a fireball at random target idea, but maybe I should give it a chance!

Also, I was using a lightning staff on both bars since I couldnt get Rattlecage to drop in flame. But ideally I'd like a flame on main bar.

Thanks again, super helpful!

Unless you have Undaunted rank at least 7 -- and preferably 9 -- there's little benefit to going 5-1-1 on your armor weights.

I always gear up my characters like that since getting undaunted 10 is trivial. I don't like to optimize my gear for the week it takes me to get there, then change. When I make something legendary, I ensure it serves for months, if not years

Brrrofski

I'd swap rattlecage for mother's sorrow. Nice and easy to buy/farm. Crit damage is so powerful in pve. Also, more chance of healing through surge.

I liked infernal guardian on my sorc in vma. Really help with annoying archers and other ranged build. When I did it, it started damaging the crystals when the fight starts as it counted them as furthest away enemy. I know they fixed it LOSing in PvP, so might not work no longer like that in VMA. Still, it's a solid choice. Just don't use it on the argonian round...

There's a lot of good choices for monster sets though. Slimecraw is solid. Illambris is ok but things move a lot so meh. Again, valkyb is meh because stuff will move out of your dots often. To be honest, a defensive set is not a bad choice. Chudan gives you health and a lot of resists. Even chokethorn might be ok (assuming it procs off surge which I imagine it will).

Also, I ran crushing shock instead of force pulse. I found that really helpful to interrupt the boss from range without wasting Stam and running into white ghosts. Just my preference but may help. I preferred harness magica as my shield too. It's big enough and helped sustain. Again, may be worth a try if sustain is an issue.

As far as the last stage goes there is certain mechanics. It's been a while do don't quote me on this...

When you go up, start damaging crystals but always keep an eye on the boss. You need to dodge his attacks. I think he will do two before the next mechanic - get behind the wall before he smashes his staff into the ground to knock you down. Then dodge two attacks and then get behind wall. If you can't burn all three crystals before he finishes his second slam, I think you're better off jumping down so the dot goes.

Don't use any sigils until the crystals are gone. The way I did it was to then grab them all and nuke the boss. I ignored the mechanics completely and just went full damage mode.

Again, not sure exactly if that's what happens (it might be 3 attacks to dodge instead of 2) but it's something like that. Maybe watch a youtube video to see how they do it?

This thread has really made me want to do vma again. Been a long long time so might do it on classes I didn't do it on before. PvP is broken so may as well!

gabriebe

Gear aside, use crushing shock and save your destro ult for the Crematorium Guards if you have issues on the crystal phase. You dont have to get all 3 at once. You can go top, hit the crystals a bit, build your ult back up, dump it on the guards, spam harness magica and go back up as often as you want. Ilambris is pretty nice on that phase because it always hits the crystals directly.

Massive_Stain

Run lover. Replace rattlecage with mothers sorrow or Necropotence. Run power surge and either clench for heavy attack build or force pulse for spam build. As for a,monster set, infernal guardian works well, and ilambris also works well.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Not to beat a dead horse, but ditch Rattlecage and run Power surge. Are you running a pet? And if not, are you opposed to it? If you made it to the last boss, he is beatable with whatever you used to get there, and I would hate to tell you to re-invent you build, but a few pets make this place a breeze.

If going that route, i would go 5 Julianos, 5 Necopotence, 2 Ilambris. If no pets, I would probably go 5 Julianos, 5 Mother's Sorrow, 2 Slimecraw.

Pets are great on your first few clears because they can draw aggro, continue to damage while you focus on mechanics, and they have a great burst heal built in just in case you need it. They also allow for a tankier bar/rotation setup that shouldnt have sustain issues.

The idiot proof way to handle the last boss:

Phase 1: Begin by DPSing the boss as he spawns. I would hold your ultimate, unless you are confident that you can nuke him to 70%, which I am guessing is not an option yet. Not the worst idea to camp the healing sigil. When the guard spawns, Drop a destro ult and grab the healing sigil. Then push the boss to 70% and then make sure you finish of the mage/healer that spawns if he didnt die to your ulti already. Then grab the speed sigil and go upstairs.

Phase 2: First, remember that this phase can be repeated as often as you need to. You will not lose progress on the crystals, but the wall (which gets faster and faster) will reset. I dont advise waiting for the third wall. When you get up top, put all your DOTs on the first crystal and focus it. You should be able to kill at least one before the shield spawns, but if not, get to the shield when you see it. It moves clockwise, so usually you are best going counter clockwise to catch up to it. Once safe, lay all your DOTs on what ever crystal is closest and continue to DPS. Kill priority is irrelevant, even if you do a little damage to each, you can finsih them your next time up. Repeat this until the third shiled spawns. At that point, simply jump down and destro ult the guard that will be waiting for you. Go back up and repeat until you get them all. The speed sigil is really helpful up hear both for the movement buff and the resource buff (it boosts all stat regen). Tri pots are useful here as well. Really you just need to stay out of red circles, and dodgeroll his Skill attack. You can block them, but I find that because it slows you, it not only hurts DPS, but also makes it more likely that you get hit by a meteor. The window to dodge roll the skull is quite large.

Phase 3: As soon as you get the last crystal dead, make sure you reapply your shields as you will be knocked into the lava. When you get up, get to the shield sigil as fast as you can. You can also grab the weapon sigil at this point. I prefer to focus the boss, but killing the first summoner is probably not the worst Idea. You can use Trap or Rune Cage to buy you some time if you want to ignore it. Keep damage on the boss, but be sure to get the gold ghosts. If you get to three ghosts, use the stun to kill the guard. If the guard is up, that is your priority. With a little practice, you should be able to nuke and not see one.

This is certainly the long version. It will likely have you fighting a guard in each phase. At some point, you wont see any guards. You simply nuke the boss to 70% and kill the healer, go upstairs and kill all three crystals, come back down and nuke the boss (ignoring everything else), but that takes pretty high damage and frankly a little confidence that only comes with half a dozen clears.

Surge and Ward are life. If I die in VMA on a sorc, good chance I let Surge Drop off. In you first few clears, treat your shield like your health bar. At some point you will learn when and where you need it, but for now, keep it up 100%.

rosendoichinoveb17_ESO

For monster helm definitely go Infernal Guardian it makes stages super easy since unlike other trials here you use shields more often.

Pontypants

I did it!!!!

Thank you all for your help!

Solution for me was:

Switch Rattlecage to Mother's sorrow as many of you suggested.

Swapped some abilities out;

Switched Empowered Ward to Hardened Ward (It really helped with mitigation a lot)

Removed Bound Aegis from both bars and added:

Haunting Curse and Elemental Drain


I also got a flame staff for my front bar and Lightning for back.


Not sure which was the biggest contributor but killing the crystals was a lot faster which made the whole thing a lot easier.



Thanks again for all your help

Ponty

Soleya

How I beat it on mag sorc the first time was focusing on a simple build with easy rotation. Put down Liquid LIghting and Elemental Blockade whenever it goes out. Then Hardened Ward, Heavy Attack, Heavy Attack, repeate. Lightning form for up top for speed boost to keep up with walls.

It doesn't get you any high speed score run, but it's the easy way to survive first time through.

I also suggest using sigils (ALL OF THEM). First clear won't be a good score, so using sigils will help a lot.

Typically I would do the top crystals going clockwise (if looking down), so I end up at the crystal on the right of where you start. This would make me drop down to where the speed sigil is, grab that then run straight across for the defense sigil. Don't have to worry about interrupting the boss then. Overload or destro ult is useful, just make sure you use destro ult after boss ports so they won't port out before its over. I would usually wait to grab power and healing sigils in case I miss gold ghosts. After 3rd ghost you get another cremetorial guard, so you want all 3 for that stun.

I also recommend blocking the skulls up top instead of dodging on mag builds. Even if your nearly out of stamina you won't get knocked back.

As for potions, restore mag/health+immovable can be useful in oh-crap moments. With all the heavy attacks you won't need potions up all the time.

One strategy that never worked for me was dropping down from the top. I died way too often to the guard, lich crystal, etc. I stopped doing that and told myself I'm staying up top till I do it or die and was able to complete it.

Last tip. Never, ever dodge roll out of the red from the lich crystal. You'll be completely outside of it and still die to it.

FrancisCrawford

Asardes wrote: »

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

Pontypants wrote: »

Thanks for super fast reply and a lot of helpful info

I should have clarified:
My rattlecage consists of - Amulet, Rings and staff (so no heavy armor)
5 piece light Julianos
1medium iceheart
1 heavy iceheart

But yes I totally see your point that I might as well go with Power Surge as it should give me enough heals.

Mundus stone: The Apprentice

Main Bar:
Cystal Frags, Force Pulse, Endless Fury, Inner Light, Bound Aegis

Back Bar:
Liquid Lightning, Elemental Blockade, Critical Surge, Empowered Ward, Bound Aegis


OK, off to farm some stuff

Would you prefer Slimecraw or Ilambris? I'm not a huge fan of these random proc shoot a fireball at random target idea, but maybe I should give it a chance!

Also, I was using a lightning staff on both bars since I couldnt get Rattlecage to drop in flame. But ideally I'd like a flame on main bar.

Thanks again, super helpful!

Unless you have Undaunted rank at least 7 -- and preferably 9 -- there's little benefit to going 5-1-1 on your armor weights.

I always gear up my characters like that since getting undaunted 10 is trivial. I don't like to optimize my gear for the week it takes me to get there, then change. When I make something legendary, I ensure it serves for months, if not years

Getting to Undaunted 10 is far from trivial, if one is new at running dungeons. In fact, I haven't done it yet on any character, although I do have one at 9 -- which is the important cut-off -- and several others in the 6-8 range.

Ender1310

Ditch Rattlecage use Skoria/Illambris or infernal Guardian. Yes infernal guardian. Get your max magicka up as high as you can to feed your shield strength. Mag sorc is easiest VMA class for beginners.

remilafo

Pontypants wrote: »

Hi all,

I am stuck on the last boss of vMA, I just can't seem to beat him.

Some basic info:
CP320
Race: Dark Elf
Class Sorcerer (Magicka) - non pet
Server: NA PC

So I have Julianos(5), Rattlecage (5), Iceheart (Monster)

I thought this was a nice combination, Rattlecage gives Major Sorcery, so I grabbed Critical Surge for the extra healing.
Julianos is Julianos.
Iceheart for the extra protection and a bit of nice AOE damage on top of that.

But when I spoke with a more seasoned player he thought my choice of gear was completely off.

I would love it if someone could explain WHY this choice is so bad, to me the numbers look good but clearly I'm missing something here, help me understand please :P

Would this setup be better?

Julianos, Netch's Touch, Ilambris

Before I start farming this stuff it would be great if someone could stop me before I do if it's a bad idea Since it took me ages to get Rattlecage Staves xD

Many thanks!

Honestly you are probably missing a mechanic.

Stage 9 aka the last boss is far easier then some of the previous levels.

for example stage (vault of umbrage) with it's rng BS is alot harder, also stage 5 (rink of frozen blood) also imo is harder cause rng.

Last boss doesn't have any RNG to him aside from the trajectory of the ghosts. IMO if you have managed to make it this far i suspect you are missing a mechanic and it's not your gear.

rumple9

I feel your pain op. Been wiping for weeks on this

lardvader

Gratz op! What did you get in the last chest btw?

paulychan

There is a good build hiding in this thread for vMA.
JuliaIno/IA/Slime
I had issues with a pet in vma on my sorc. User issues, I’m sure. Rolling queens elegance with ia and slime moved me forward and I’m now learning mechanics. The burn for last phase should be good if you use a HA rotation and save Ultimate for the burn phase, utilizing the old overcharge/empower trick. Less ulti these days though, so save it for crystals or burn.

CompM4s

Vna is mostly about mechanics, but netches touch/ julianos/ ilambris would be way better than your current set up. You could swap netches touch with infallible aether or moon dancer. Infal for more crit. Plenty of choices