Getting ready for The Witches Festival

LeinadOrarogep

Greetings fellow players,

This year will be my first Witches Festival!
I would like to try farming as many skulls as possible, especially the Dremora Plunder Skulls, to get the motif.
To this end, i tried understanding from the post what would be the easiest and quickest way to do so, considering that you can get up to 7 such skulls each day.
Everything is complicated by the fact that i'm quite a n00b (I don't even weave...).
The easy ones to get are those with the "simpler" activities:

• Dark Anchor and Geyser Bosses
• Delve Bosses
• Final Dungeon Bosses
• World Bosses

I have some reservations about the following, and i'd like to hear some opinions on them:

• Arena Bosses: I've never done an Arena before, but i think that the easiest among them could be Maelstrom Arena - Vale of The Surreal. Maxus the Many should count for dropping the skull, right?
• Public Dungeon and Quest Bosses: first of all, what are "Quest Bosses"? Besides this, what would be in your opinion, the easiest/fastest public dungeon to farm? I don't know many of them, and I've always found them to be quite challenging.
• Final Trial Bosses: this is the big one - i don't think i'm qualified enough to enter a trial. I don't do parses, mannequin tests, don't know my DPS... so i'm out of that part of the game, i guess. Is there such a thing like guilds that organize normal trial (not even veteran) for people who just want to play the content and without the strict DPS requirements required for "pro" trial play? Assuming this is even possible.

Thanks to anyone willing to share its opinion on this topic!

SydneyGrey

The easiest public dungeons in my opinion are Bad Man's Hollows in Glenumbra, just outside of Daggerfall, and Toothmaul Gully on the west coast of Auridon, and Root Sunder Ruins in Grahtwood (south of Elden Root).
I think Bad Man's Hollows is the easiest, and luckily there will be a lot of people there during the event to help kill stuff.

Warning: In the past during events like this, only the top 12 damage dealers were the ones who would get the drops from bosses, and if there were more than 12 people killing a boss, the newer people would get nothing. Make sure to maximize your DPS potential before the event starts so you'll have a chance of getting a drop.

majulook

For Demora Skulls it is the Final Boss in an Arena see here https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/5530935/#Comment_5530935

For Arena Drops in Craglorn Dragonstar Arena should drop and it is a group arena .

Trials in Craglorn should be fine for all players in a group on Normal. They are Aetherian Archive -- Hel Ra Citadel — Sanctum Ophidia

As far as the Fastest Public Dungeon - with this event they will all be packed with players, burning down of the bosses will be quick and easy.

SydneyGrey

The only arena I've done is Maelstrom Arena on normal mode. It's quite an adventure! You need to have a lot of stamina/magicka sustain (high regeneration in whichever one your character specializes in), and some way to heal your character quickly. Also, you'd need to read about the Arena's mechanics online, because there are a few things you'd need to know about it before you start. It's a lot harder than a public dungeon would be, so try some public dungeons first before trying Maelstrom. Basically, if you can't do a public dungeon, then you won't be able to do Maelstrom.

The good news is:
1) If you can finish Maelstrom, it unlocks a nice dye even on normal mode, and
2) If you can't finish it yet, you should eventually be able to buy the motif pages you missed from one of the guild traders in the game, when people start selling them.

Merlin13KAGL

For Arena's, I'm pretty sure it requires the final boss, not just a stage boss. Otherwise everyone would be cheesing these and not really running the content.

nMA isn't rough at all. I completed it on my EU character starting at L6 and ending at L12. I had four functional skills on my bar and no Ult possible until around stage 7. nDSA also will be happening pretty regularly.

If you've never set foot before, they might still give you some trouble, but you can always trade for those drops. Plenty of people will be more interested in doing MA or DSA than chasing down world bosses or delves bosses, for instance. You can also pre-cheese it by being to the final round on multiple characters before the event starts. Then, instead of an hour a piece, it's 10 minutes or less.

Quest bosses are going to be any Names boss you kill as part of a quest. These will be a little trickier, as they're not repeatable, unless you intend to cycle through characters.

Public's have multiple bosses, so you have more options here. Just get 3% of the total damage in and you should get the drop. You won't have to worry about farmers messing this up, because once they have theirs, there's no reason to stick around any longer. You can go to common ones where salable gear drops and possibly get double duty (motif page + that 250k gold elusive item) or go where no gear is worthwhile and not have to fight the crowds.

Guilds will do normal Trial Speed/Carry runs all day long. Jump in one and you'll have no trouble getting/trading what you need by day 2.

In short, Named bosses will be what you're looking for.

LeinadOrarogep

majulook wrote: »

For Demora Skulls it is the Final Boss in an Arena see here https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/5530935/#Comment_5530935

Well that excludes Arena for me, i'll never be able to finish one. The first level, i could maybe manage, but the whole thing is a no-no.

Anyway, thank you all for the precious input: it seems that doing Public Dungeons will be fairly easy, i just need to get in the top 12 DPS (with a magsorc that should be doable).

As for Arena and Trials pages, i just it will be shopping time.

Pyr0xyrecuprotite

LeinadOrarogep,

1. for the Arena dremora plunderskull, you have to kill the final boss of an Arena (in normal or vet). Maelstrom (Wrothgar), Dragonstar (Craglorn), or the new Black Rose Prison (Murkmire, soon) all count. All are fairly tough for n00bs in normal and can take more than an hour to complete. Maelstrom normal is worth trying if you can do at least 15k dps and have good self heals/sustain on your toon. Otherwise, during the event, there will be a lot of people farming for plunderskulls, so it is worth checking in Craglorn zone chat if anyone needs a 4th for normal Dragonstar Arena and can teach you the mechanics. It should be easy enough if the other 3 people know their stuff. The arena in Murkmire will be too new for the elites to want to carry a n00b - they will still be learning the mechanics themselves.
2. For the Trials dremora plunderskull, hang around in Craglorn and there will be a lot of people forming trials groups via zone chat. You need to get through the entire trial (kill the last boss), but many trials are fairly easy on normal as long as at least SOME people (and the tank) know what they are doing. Atherian Archives, Hel Ra Citadel (go bottom/left), and Asylum Sanctorum +0 are the easiest. Some Trials require DLC/paid content or ESO Plus to access. Make sure that you have Teamspeak or can use Discord; and budget at least 1.5hours for most trial runs where there are new people. Don't even respond if someone is looking for people for vet trials - you have to be very good to get through those.
3. For the Public Dungeon or quest boss skulls - if you have not completed any zones yet, do a quest or two to get this skull each day, and work on getting your skill points. Quest bosses are designed to be easy to solo. If you have completed Cadwell's Gold and the DLC zones, any public dungeon will do, but you may as well go for one that you have NOT done yet, to get the achievements, skyshard and skill point from the group event boss.. Make sure to have a lot of self-heals and AOE skills to deal with the trash mobs - the bosses will be easy enough to kill with all the other people who will also be there.

LadyNalcarya

LeinadOrarogep wrote: »

majulook wrote: »

For Demora Skulls it is the Final Boss in an Arena see here https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/5530935/#Comment_5530935

Well that excludes Arena for me, i'll never be able to finish one. The first level, i could maybe manage, but the whole thing is a no-no.

Anyway, thank you all for the precious input: it seems that doing Public Dungeons will be fairly easy, i just need to get in the top 12 DPS (with a magsorc that should be doable).

As for Arena and Trials pages, i just it will be shopping time.

It doesnt.
You dont have to do it on veteran difficulty and even if you're struggling with Maelstrom, you can still find people for Dragonstar... There will be a lot of people farming it during the event and it's pretty easy on normal.

therift

If you don't belong to a guild, now would be a good time to join one, preferably a social or PvE questing guild.

I have two guilds which will be running a lot of activity around the Witches Festival, especially Dragon Star Arena and Trials, for members who need help completing the content, and to swap duplicate Witches Festival items.

Salvas_Aren

Oh my, I read too fast over the title and it said (to me)

Getting nerfs for The Witches Festival

There is something wrong with my expectations, or attitude, or ... so ... well ... maybe the game?

Well, I know where I will farm my batch of skulls.

jaws343

One note, if you have alts, now would be a good time to get them all to the final stage of normal Maelstrom. And then just complete the final round on 1 character per day.

mreisse

So this means I can finally go into public dungeons and grab those shards? I don't even care about the skulls, I just need help killing everything for my crafter.

ArchMikem

I thought the plunder skulls had no daily limit.

Androconium

Salvas_Aren wrote: »

There is something wrong with my expectations, or attitude, or ... so ... well ... maybe the game?

Very likely.

zaria

SydneyGrey wrote: »

The easiest public dungeons in my opinion are Bad Man's Hollows in Glenumbra, just outside of Daggerfall, and Toothmaul Gully on the west coast of Auridon, and Root Sunder Ruins in Grahtwood (south of Elden Root).
I think Bad Man's Hollows is the easiest, and luckily there will be a lot of people there during the event to help kill stuff.

Warning: In the past during events like this, only the top 12 damage dealers were the ones who would get the drops from bosses, and if there were more than 12 people killing a boss, the newer people would get nothing. Make sure to maximize your DPS potential before the event starts so you'll have a chance of getting a drop.

Yes, I say public dungeons is way easier than world bosses, as they has around 250K health rather than the 1.5M for world boss. Lots of people will also combine killing public dungeon bosses with grinding in public dungeons to level up.

Trials, normal craglorn trials are pretty easy, however they are mostly done by cp160+, know some low level runs who has been hard. However during the event it will be far more runs this includes nDSA who is easy but very long.

max_only

Merlin13KAGL wrote: »

Public's have multiple bosses, so you have more options here. Just get 3% of the total damage in and you should get the drop. You won't have to worry about farmers messing this up, because once they have theirs, there's no reason to stick around any longer.

Farmers will run between 2 or 3 bosses in public dungeons because plunder skulls have a 3 minute timer on them. So Kill Boss A get a skull, then Boss B (no skull) then boss C (if it’s been 3 minutes since last skull then you get another). If you kill boss A get a skull, then B then C, if it has been less than 3 minutes you won’t get a Plunder Skull. You can sit at one boss and kill it every 3 minutes, but that would waste the bonus exp you could be earning.

SydneyGrey

ArchMikem wrote: »

I thought the plunder skulls had no daily limit.

Regular plunder skulls don't have a limit, but the special ones with the dremora motifs in them are limited in how many you can get per day. You might want to read the official news page about the event.
https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/54933

Recremen

As others have said, normal mode dungeons, trials, and arenas are very casual-friendly. You should be able to make it through with some effort.

But really, if you're looking to get this into the Witches Festival, take it as an opportunity to improve your DPS! You're clearly motivated, give it a shot and see what happens.

Merlin13KAGL

max_only wrote: »

Merlin13KAGL wrote: »

Public's have multiple bosses, so you have more options here. Just get 3% of the total damage in and you should get the drop. You won't have to worry about farmers messing this up, because once they have theirs, there's no reason to stick around any longer.

Farmers will run between 2 or 3 bosses in public dungeons because plunder skulls have a 3 minute timer on them. So Kill Boss A get a skull, then Boss B (no skull) then boss C (if it’s been 3 minutes since last skull then you get another). If you kill boss A get a skull, then B then C, if it has been less than 3 minutes you won’t get a Plunder Skull. You can sit at one boss and kill it every 3 minutes, but that would waste the bonus exp you could be earning.

The bonus XP buff has unlimited refreshes and you'll get more XP from trash adds during your wait than the remaining bosses that won't drop anything.

The only ones really farming bosses in Public's will be those that do anyway, collecting desired gear for themselves or for sale. This is why I suggested potentially picking a public with no desirable gear. Once people get their first Dremora skull for the day, there's no longer any point in lingering in the Public for bosses. If they're intent on farming regular plunder skulls, they can do so much easier an any of 100 delves with even less competition.

Even then, each Public usually has at least 5 mini-bosses, a couple of which are out of the useful path. Pick one of those and you should be fine.

PSA: If you can't crank out some DPS then heal the heck out of everyone. Spam a HoT (Mutagen works great), throw down a long lasting AoE (Fire Rune from MG, Mines if Sorc, Trap from FG, etc) and HoT for the win. If you heal the equivalent of the 3% on those that massacre the boss, you should also get credit.

SantieClaws

Khajiit she plans to take one of her little apprentices out and about doing Jee Lar's quests and do any delves or dolmens or things that are nearby as she goes. Thus combining two things and making the best of the XP buff.

Will probably also get in some Alinor dallies.

A little variety does not hurt and probably saves the lizard boy from becoming a nice handbag yes.

Yours with paws
Santie Claws

LeinadOrarogep

A question regarding the XP buff during the event: will it stack with other XP buffs - namely, ESO+ and XP Scrolls?
I would say yes, but i'm not entirely sure.

As for cranking out the DPS or HOT... the main points of difficulty are the coordination and timing required for handling a proper rotation (but i know i just takes a lot of practice), and the total ignorance about theorycrafting and game mechanics.

Does anyone have a suggestion about good theorycrafting reads? Not build guides, like Deltia's or similar... those are pre-made solutions which do not let me understand the underlying mechanics... more like the articles on Tamriel Foundry.

Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions!

SantieClaws

LeinadOrarogep wrote: »

A question regarding the XP buff during the event: will it stack with other XP buffs - namely, ESO+ and XP Scrolls?
I would say yes, but i'm not entirely sure.

As for cranking out the DPS or HOT... the main points of difficulty are the coordination and timing required for handling a proper rotation (but i know i just takes a lot of practice), and the total ignorance about theorycrafting and game mechanics.

Does anyone have a suggestion about good theorycrafting reads? Not build guides, like Deltia's or similar... those are pre-made solutions which do not let me understand the underlying mechanics... more like the articles on Tamriel Foundry.

Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions!

The festival buff does traditionally stack with a scroll or a potion - but only one of them. This is why this one she saves her login reward scrolls for now.

As the ESO Plus bonus is always there and cannot be changed this one she assumes it also must stack.

Yours with paws
Santie Claws

JamieAubrey

Just chuck down a load of AOE on the boss pawn point

mague

LeinadOrarogep wrote: »

A question regarding the XP buff during the event: will it stack with other XP buffs - namely, ESO+ and XP Scrolls?
I would say yes, but i'm not entirely sure.

As for cranking out the DPS or HOT... the main points of difficulty are the coordination and timing required for handling a proper rotation (but i know i just takes a lot of practice), and the total ignorance about theorycrafting and game mechanics.

Does anyone have a suggestion about good theorycrafting reads? Not build guides, like Deltia's or similar... those are pre-made solutions which do not let me understand the underlying mechanics... more like the articles on Tamriel Foundry.

Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions!

- Spec yourself as what you regard a healer.
- There is shield, big filler and small health filler
- There is buff and damage

I am far from perfect, but try this.

Go out to Geysiers or overland bosses and heal them. They dont really need you but they take damage. It might even happen that someone is thanking your for the heal.

- Big ups = shield the guy(s) followed by a big refill. On the Resto it might be Shiled Ally followed by Mutagen
- Little fillers usually are ground based. On the Resto it is like Grand Healing
- If everyone is well you might buff them instead of Little filler. On the Resto it is Combat Prayer
- If all are buffed and healthy you might do some damage. Heavy attacks at least to get magicka back. Otherwise some sort of ground AoE dot

Thats the Resto, some classes have their own buffs and skills. Templer does damage and little filler with Ritual, Wardens share Ice Fortress as buff etc.

Try that on geysiers and overland bosses and you will get it fast.

Merlin13KAGL

LeinadOrarogep wrote: »

A question regarding the XP buff during the event: will it stack with other XP buffs - namely, ESO+ and XP Scrolls?
I would say yes, but i'm not entirely sure.

As for cranking out the DPS or HOT... the main points of difficulty are the coordination and timing required for handling a proper rotation (but i know i just takes a lot of practice), and the total ignorance about theorycrafting and game mechanics.

Does anyone have a suggestion about good theorycrafting reads? Not build guides, like Deltia's or similar... those are pre-made solutions which do not let me understand the underlying mechanics... more like the articles on Tamriel Foundry.

Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions!

Event buff, ESO+ buff, Mara buff, Training trait buffs, and Group buff all stack.

As Santie mentioned, you can also have one additional buff in the form of either Ambrosia or an XP scroll, but not both. One will replace the other, so make sure your first wears off completely before taking a new one.

For purposes of the event, you don't need a rotation (you likely won't have time to complete it.

Have some group HoTs going (2nd Restro skill works well and can be active on multiple people), a long lasting DoT, as mentioned earlier (this kind of helps you get a jump on the boss as soon as it spawns, and then spam your highest tooltip DPS skill.

You won't need regen or high stat pool, as the fight will be over long before you run out of anything.

Girl_Number8

SantieClaws wrote: »

Khajiit she plans to take one of her little apprentices out and about doing Jee Lar's quests and do any delves or dolmens or things that are nearby as she goes. Thus combining two things and making the best of the XP buff.

Will probably also get in some Alinor dallies.

A little variety does not hurt and probably saves the lizard boy from becoming a nice handbag yes.

Yours with paws
Santie Claws

Santie Claws, always brings a smile to everyone. Nice to see you're still posting!!

What_In_Tarnation

Just wondering does the daily quest from huntmaster Sorim-Nakar in Morrowind counted as quest bosses?

Since that daily quest npc gives you a quest that required you to hunt down a named boss and it's a quest, too. So, I'm thinking maybe it should be the case that counted as quest bosses as well.

neverwalk

Time zone Pacific: I'll start playing at about 10 p.m. Pacific- as all of NA server is in bed, not many players in game then.

albesca

What_In_Tarnation wrote: »

Just wondering does the daily quest from huntmaster Sorim-Nakar in Morrowind counted as quest bosses?

Since that daily quest npc gives you a quest that required you to hunt down a named boss and it's a quest, too. So, I'm thinking maybe it should be the case that counted as quest bosses as well.

That would be great as I regularly do his quests to get ashlander motifs

Kanar

So every day you need to do these:
1. Run vMA
2. Run veteran HM trial
3. Kill that deshaan guar world boss
4. Run vet HM MoS
5. Solo a geyser in summerset
6. Random delve
7. Random public dung

That would be the easiest way to get 7 dremora skulls every day.
Get crackin'!

jaws343

Kanar wrote: »

So every day you need to do these:
1. Run vMA
2. Run veteran HM trial
3. Kill that deshaan guar world boss
4. Run vet HM MoS
5. Solo a geyser in summerset
6. Random delve
7. Random public dung

That would be the easiest way to get 7 dremora skulls every day.
Get crackin'!

You don't have to run anything in Vet mode.

And you don't have to run each of those every day. 2 motifs drop from each type of dungeon/boss. So, at a minimum if you have perfect RNG, you only have to kill each boss type twice. So 2 days worth of doing this at best to get every motif chapter. Then, for the rest of the event, you can farm whatever boss type you want.