Maelstrom Arena Appreciation Thread

siddique

Yesterday was the first time I finished it in one sitting. I hated that place so much it made me anxious like nothing else in any other game. But I cannot appreciate enough the design, the mechanics and the overall awesomeness of this place.

I think it's one of the most brilliant activities in any game. Few things push you that hard.


Maelstrom Arena.., there is nothing like it in all of Oblivion.

Aliyavana

I appreciate that it locks some of the best weapons in the game behind it being earned, I hate that it has rng involved.

AndyMac

It’s an awesome arena - but why does a solo instance lag like Cyro?

max_only

Fa-Nuit-Hen deserves all the praise you give.

idk

I think vMA was a great instance to add to the game. To anyone who is working on their first clear keep up the effort. It is worth it in the end just to say you did it.

Smasherx74

I hate vMA, I also hate the fact ZOS gave us transmutations because all that time and effort I spent grinding the damn thing feels completely pointless since getting that BiS trait is as easy as going to a crafting station to change it.

It's been a while now since CC, but I'm never going to do it again since I have what I need and I can just exchange it across my characters.




To put this into perspective for you newbies, when there was no transmutations and vMA was harder you had to grind it repeatedly to get the specific trait you wanted for the specific weapon you wanted. Resulting in an endless supply of maelstrom bows and staffs that were junked because they were more than useless, that are an infuriating taunt ZOS designed to *** you off even more than you have to sit there and use the *** non-BiS trait you got instead of having the BiS trait you want. Now imagine after junking all those maelstrom drops, you're faced with the fact u can now transmute ***, and if you didn't junk that one staff you could have transmuted and put it n a different character.

siddique

Smasherx74 wrote: »

I hate vMA, I also hate the fact ZOS gave us transmutations because all that time and effort I spent grinding the damn thing feels completely pointless since getting that BiS trait is as easy as going to a crafting station to change it.

It's been a while now since CC, but I'm never going to do it again since I have what I need and I can just exchange it across my characters.




To put this into perspective for you newbies, when there was no transmutations and vMA was harder you had to grind it repeatedly to get the specific trait you wanted for the specific weapon you wanted. Resulting in an endless supply of maelstrom bows and staffs that were junked because they were more than useless, that are an infuriating taunt ZOS designed to *** you off even more than you have to sit there and use the *** non-BiS trait you got instead of having the BiS trait you want. Now imagine after junking all those maelstrom drops, you're faced with the fact u can now transmute ***, and if you didn't junk that one staff you could have transmuted and put it n a different character.

Lol I am aware. I have been in this game since vr14 was the level cap. On PC.

This is my PS4 character which I started November last year. And God bless transmutation

Metafae

Its like a ballet, only with more blood!

Metafae

I like Maelstrom because it's the best place to have someone go if they're serious about doing end game PVE. It really teaches you how to play your character well.

colossalvoids

Beating it for the first time gave one of the best feelings game can invoke, compared with joy of the first months of playing eso when it's still fresh and joyful.

Metafae

No cheating!
Actually, go ahead and cheat!

russelmmendoza

I will never ever appreciate vet maelstrom.
Because I will never ever beat it.
But I will applaude all that beats it.
You are the elite of elder scrolls online.

May you live long and prosper.

And avoid that arrow in the knee.

AbysmalGhul

VMA definitely fine tunes your raid awareness and test your patience.


Lesson learned: If you can dodge what VMA throws at you, you can dodge a dodge ball

mikemacon

Metafae wrote: »

I like Maelstrom because it's the best place to have someone go if they're serious about doing end game PVE. It really teaches you how to play your character well.

Yes and no.

It teaches you how to pay attention to mechanics.

Unfortunately, it also teaches you the “Maelstrom Shuffle”, which can be very counterproductive in group content.

But overall, yes.

Ragged_Claw

I haven't completed Vet yet, but I like that it's there and every so often I throw myself at it to die horribly. I've made it to the final boss, but when I got him down to a sliver of health I made a stupid mistake due to nerves and died. When I was going in there regularly though, I did notice that I got better in terms of situational awareness and which enemies to prioritise. I found vet dungeons easier after this, and that my reactions were (a little bit) sharper. Just getting that far gave me a confidence boost.

But if I ever get the chance to Blade of Woe 'Fruit Hen' then he'd better watch his back, is all I'm saying.

ATomiX96

yep, agree, maelstrom arena was one of the most fun things to do, but once I had multiple of all weapons I just didnt feel like running the arena anymore, hope they introduce some new solo arena harder than maelstrom.

Mariusghost84

mikemacon wrote: »

Metafae wrote: »

I like Maelstrom because it's the best place to have someone go if they're serious about doing end game PVE. It really teaches you how to play your character well.

Yes and no.

It teaches you how to pay attention to mechanics.

Unfortunately, it also teaches you the “Maelstrom Shuffle”, which can be very counterproductive in group content.

But overall, yes.

what do you mean by maelstrom shuffle?

Mariusghost84

siddique wrote: »

Yesterday was the first time I finished it in one sitting. I hated that place so much it made me anxious like nothing else in any other game. But I cannot appreciate enough the design, the mechanics and the overall awesomeness of this place.

I think it's one of the most brilliant activities in any game. Few things push you that hard.


Maelstrom Arena.., there is nothing like it in all of Oblivion.

Vet Maelstrom Arena is the most difficult piece of solo content i have ever encountered in any game. I spent months going for the first clear and it made me dig deep into setup of my character, all from CP allocation, rotation, buffs to armor and of course mechanics. Ever since it has been my goal to get the "Flawless conqueror" , i havent got it yet but i am working on it. I will wear that title proudly!

Yeah, its pretty much amazing. Awsome thread

mairwen85

Mariusghost84 wrote: »

mikemacon wrote: »

Metafae wrote: »

I like Maelstrom because it's the best place to have someone go if they're serious about doing end game PVE. It really teaches you how to play your character well.

Yes and no.

It teaches you how to pay attention to mechanics.

Unfortunately, it also teaches you the “Maelstrom Shuffle”, which can be very counterproductive in group content.

But overall, yes.

what do you mean by maelstrom shuffle?

https://youtu.be/-Troxkaz-Ls



Just kidding, it's a way of moving around to preserve individual life and control the flow/movement of adds.

Banana

I went through 2 keyboards in that place.

Emma_Overload

mairwen85 wrote: »

Mariusghost84 wrote: »

mikemacon wrote: »

Metafae wrote: »

I like Maelstrom because it's the best place to have someone go if they're serious about doing end game PVE. It really teaches you how to play your character well.

Yes and no.

It teaches you how to pay attention to mechanics.

Unfortunately, it also teaches you the “Maelstrom Shuffle”, which can be very counterproductive in group content.

But overall, yes.

what do you mean by maelstrom shuffle?

https://youtu.be/-Troxkaz-Ls



Just kidding, it's a way of moving around to preserve individual life and control the flow/movement of adds.

PvP players do this kind of thing, too. I'm sure healers hate it when I'm always moving around, trying to LOS the boss.

WolfingHour

mairwen85 wrote: »

Mariusghost84 wrote: »

mikemacon wrote: »

Metafae wrote: »

I like Maelstrom because it's the best place to have someone go if they're serious about doing end game PVE. It really teaches you how to play your character well.

Yes and no.

It teaches you how to pay attention to mechanics.

Unfortunately, it also teaches you the “Maelstrom Shuffle”, which can be very counterproductive in group content.

But overall, yes.

what do you mean by maelstrom shuffle?

https://youtu.be/-Troxkaz-Ls



Just kidding, it's a way of moving around to preserve individual life and control the flow/movement of adds.

Oh jeez, it really make me wish for a reaming trap that works on team mates when I'm on a healer.

kylewwefan

Maelstrom helped make me a better player. I still enjoy it probably more than most other content in the game.

mairwen85

WolfingHour wrote: »

mairwen85 wrote: »

Mariusghost84 wrote: »

mikemacon wrote: »

Metafae wrote: »

I like Maelstrom because it's the best place to have someone go if they're serious about doing end game PVE. It really teaches you how to play your character well.

Yes and no.

It teaches you how to pay attention to mechanics.

Unfortunately, it also teaches you the “Maelstrom Shuffle”, which can be very counterproductive in group content.

But overall, yes.

what do you mean by maelstrom shuffle?

https://youtu.be/-Troxkaz-Ls



Just kidding, it's a way of moving around to preserve individual life and control the flow/movement of adds.

Oh jeez, it really make me wish for a reaming trap that works on team mates when I'm on a healer.

It's learned behaviour -- when mobs and bosses have a turning circle and have to follow a script, they're easy to manipulate. If you do a lot of solo content, or (especially) group content solo, you learn quickly how to control them. It's harder to unlearn

Katahdin

I hate it.

Even the damage has too much RNG at times

RodneyRegis

If anything it teaches you to keep attacking, especially on a character with a healing attack like siphoning, jabs or surge

RodneyRegis

Oh, and if you can't complete it then cheese a 1 bar petsorc or a fortified brass werewolf. ANYONE can learn to beat it on that setup, using sigils.

BNOC

Smasherx74 wrote: »

I hate vMA, I also hate the fact ZOS gave us transmutations because all that time and effort I spent grinding the damn thing feels completely pointless since getting that BiS trait is as easy as going to a crafting station to change it.

It's been a while now since CC, but I'm never going to do it again since I have what I need and I can just exchange it across my characters.




To put this into perspective for you newbies, when there was no transmutations and vMA was harder you had to grind it repeatedly to get the specific trait you wanted for the specific weapon you wanted. Resulting in an endless supply of maelstrom bows and staffs that were junked because they were more than useless, that are an infuriating taunt ZOS designed to *** you off even more than you have to sit there and use the *** non-BiS trait you got instead of having the BiS trait you want. Now imagine after junking all those maelstrom drops, you're faced with the fact u can now transmute ***, and if you didn't junk that one staff you could have transmuted and put it n a different character.

I can almost guarantee you're a stronger player for doing all those runs though, on all classes but especially on whatever class you were playing for those runs.

DocFrost72

mikemacon wrote: »

Metafae wrote: »

I like Maelstrom because it's the best place to have someone go if they're serious about doing end game PVE. It really teaches you how to play your character well.

Yes and no.

It teaches you how to pay attention to mechanics.

Unfortunately, it also teaches you the “Maelstrom Shuffle”, which can be very counterproductive in group content.

But overall, yes.

Maelstrom shuffle is definitely real, but mine came from soloing long before maelstrom. I think I shortened my old raid leader's life by a tenth, and I know for sure I gave her a half dozen aneurysms because of the shuffle.

beadabow

The fun and the challenge is trying to figure out how to complete vMA on every type of character. I have been running vMA for the past few weeks. I now have some (5) stormproof characters, and a lot of fresh meat untested ones. I have put many hours and resources into vMA, and can make it through consistently (though by no means is anything in vMA easy!) on some characters, but not at all on others (or I, at the very least, have to stop for awhile and do something else). My stam DK (non ww) rolled right through it. My stamplar (ww) and stamblade (ww) can complete it consistently as well, but I doubt I'll see Flawless Conqueror for a good while still.

The characters I had more difficulty with completion are my magicka based characters. This tells me my magicka builds, rotations and my playing style are weaker in the magic suite. Yet, still I find myself trotting up those cold snow-covered stone stairs into that eerie basement in Wrothgar to test yet another timid arcanist in its masochistic depths...Oh, and yes, I was able to complete it on my Pet Sorc build, but it took awhile, and a lot of soul gems! Lol!

Xaramasa

I love Maelstrom Arena. When I was starting out and planning out my long-term build, it was discouraging cause I tried and tried and couldn't do it at all. It was even more discouraging when an ex guild member of mine told me that only the best of the best could finish it. That it was an impossible undertaking and shouldn't bother with it.

I didn't give up and I eventually beat it. It felt so great beating it the first time, and I even got an infused inferno staff for it! I couldn't believe it cause I died so many times on my first run.

I still can't get Flawless Conqueror, but Maelstrom Arena is one of the places I regularly visit now and I just love running it.