Maelstrom Arena Appreciation Thread

Nevasca

siddique wrote: »

But I cannot appreciate enough the design, the mechanics and the overall awesomeness of this place..

Except the 7th arena (poison). That arena is a piece of *** of design, *** those RNG poisons that ruins everyone's flawless for no reason .

f047ys3v3n

Metafae wrote: »

No cheating!
Actually, go ahead and cheat!

I have run vMA countless times and heard that but seeing it here is the first time I have ever realized that it's actually the dev teams motto. I guess it is sort of an Easter egg. Perhaps getting flawless should award you a filehost download location for the software that a few notable guilds use. I'm sure more people would grind it for that award. Hell of a lot bigger boost than the vMA staff.

MLGProPlayer

The dungeon team in this game is fantastic.

But all this content would be even more enjoyable with a tighter combat system.

SidraWillowsky

What's the "Maelstrom Shuffle"?

I don't know how I feel about it- I don't like the way things are headed for me... I never thought that I'd ever try it, let alone beat it, and I never imagined that I'd want to do what I seem to be doing now, which is going for higher scores. I died roughly 8 billion times and took probably 5 hours on my first clear; finished my eighth run a few days ago with 4 deaths and in an hour. And now I want to do even better...

StormChaser3000

For me personally it's only good for build testing. I got maelstrom bow from my first run and othervise I don't see why should I go back there. The damage difference isn't that great. Staves.. but all overtime aoe are going to be nerfed next patch anyway so...

LukosCreyden

I hope we get a new "Maelstrom Arena" one day. Not just for new gear, but for a new solo challenge to overcome. The devs know how to make this stuff and can use their experiences with MSA to make something even better.

TheUndeadAmulet

I beat it on my first try in 2 hours.

While having Alcast's written guide sit next to me.

Honestly, I was expecting it to be a little harder, especially with all the people that complain its too hard.

IMO though, I hated it and still hate it. I only had to do it 10 times to get the weapon I wanted (bow) but I hated every second of it. I honestly can't imagine the pain people must have gone through before transmutation.

Also, screw the 7th Arena flowers.

zvavi

Thumbs up for vMA

Saril_Durzam

I must say i love vMA. It toned up my ESO playing skill by a lot. Once i finished it, i noticed every content suddenly was much easier, i was much more aware of the things happening, etc.

i also have to say that in 4 rounds (3 of them with extra loot due getting into the scoreboard) has given me 2 fire destro (my 2 first runs; one being precise btw), 1 DW and 1 infused bow, so the rng has been good to me so it satisfies much more. Now i just need to get for the Ligthing staff once Orsinium even hits, and i will be done.

Okay, maybe i´ll go for the Flawless title as i just died 5 times on my last try, but i dunno, it takes me 1 hour totally concentred, i doubt it´s worth the pay. Futhermore, is going to be harder after patch so probably wont push more. Or maybe i will try it with my stamden...

kylewwefan

Xaramasa wrote: »

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.

When I was more heavily focused on going Flawless I got a few tips I can share.

1.) Know where your problem areas are at. Camp out a sigil when you know they’re coming. They can seriously trivialize tough parts, if you know when to use them right.

2.) Support skill ultimate “ Barrier” is really good. You do enough damage without ultimates, just sit on a defensive Ult for in case you need it times. Even on Stam toons. Especially on Stam toons.

3.) Iceheart Monster Set is really good. I don’t even need to slot a shield anymore because of it.

4.) Champion Point Tree Bastion, affects Barrier and Iceheart Shields. That made all the difference in the world for me.

5.) this may be over the top, but there is also enchants that can give you a Damage shield.

Nevasca

TheUndeadAmulet wrote: »

I beat it on my first try in 2 hours.

While having Alcast's written guide sit next to me.

Honestly, I was expecting it to be a little harder, especially with all the people that complain its too hard.

IMO though, I hated it and still hate it. I only had to do it 10 times to get the weapon I wanted (bow) but I hated every second of it. I honestly can't imagine the pain people must have gone through before transmutation.

Also, screw the 7th Arena flowers.

Honestly it's a breeze nowadays compared to release. Especially with red cp buffs after morrowind, made it much easier. You also have a lot more damage, for example, the daedroth on the last arena actually did a lot of damage, before you couldn't face tank him, you had to burst him really hard with your ult (and he pretty much always enraged instead of dying in like 2s)

MilwaukeeScott

It almost broke me as a gamer. That's why I love it now.

beadabow

Wayyyy better than target skeletons for stress testing theory crafted builds! Except for the "no cheating" part. So it "goes ahead and cheats!" Helps me keep my inventory clean, as sets that aren't very helpful for my playing style in vMA go to the scrap heap, or to the guild store for people who might want the pieces for their builds.

fossoyer

I love the last stage of VMA.

I did it for 2 years as stam dd.
Now I do it as magika....it's much easier than stam.

rumple9

How is VMA on stam necro?

Darkdex

TheUndeadAmulet wrote: »

I beat it on my first try in 2 hours.

While having Alcast's written guide sit next to me.

Honestly, I was expecting it to be a little harder, especially with all the people that complain its too hard.

IMO though, I hated it and still hate it. I only had to do it 10 times to get the weapon I wanted (bow) but I hated every second of it. I honestly can't imagine the pain people must have gone through before transmutation.

Also, screw the 7th Arena flowers.

Did you complete it on a mag chat? Petsorc?

I completed It back in the day when there was only 300 CP on a stamina NB, it was about 2 months of trying, and the sense of achievement when finally beated it was amazing. Then i just wanted to be better at it and improve as a player.

I guess the power creep is too damn high right now, and people only does it for the weapons and they dont care about becoming better ESO PvE players.

As from my experience, the Maelstrom shuffle is real, but it's a consequence of being actively aware and moving to avoid damage and staying out of red. As a raid leader, when I see somebody "shuffling" i just laugh and remember my experiences in that arena. Totally worth it.

Grandchamp1989

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.

Finishing it the first time around on vet was a royal pain in the rear
But I can appreciate it after doing it.
It made me a better DPS player by far. Yes you can block, roll dodge and avoid red circles as a DD player! Amazing..

taugrim

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.

Interestingly, I had never run a group dungeon with other(s) prior to finishing VMA.

Now I've been soloing some Vet dungeons and some DLC dungeons on normal.

I did have to get help for the Engine Guardian in Vet Darkshade Caverns II and Captain Blackheart in Blackheart Haven (curse mechanic).

cyclonus11

Recapitated

I really wish there was more content like it. I like PvE group content but when 11 people can res you or be the reason you wipe, it's not the same. With solo content, either you got it or you don't.

I do dislike the RNG. I got really lucky with every arena drop I've wanted, so I have pretty fond memories of vMA. If I had to do it more than 20 times things might be different.

WaywardArgonian

Beating VMA for the first time is a watershed moment for a lot of players, including myself. You can get carried through pretty much all other difficult content, but if you beat Maelstrom Arena that's 100% you, and it shows that you have a baseline understanding of how the game works. Of course, it became a lot easier with 1-bar petsorc and werewolf cheese builds, but I still recommend newer players in my guild to go into VMA when they want to get serious about things.

If I disregard the stupid weapon RNG and the random addition of perfected weapons, and just focus on the mechanics and design, I'd say that Maelstrom Arena still is some of the very best content in the game. Granted, I haven't really touched the place since accomplishing my long-time goal of getting a Flawless run on every class/spec, so I'm glad there's new challenging solo content coming out soon.

Recapitated

Xaramasa wrote: »

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.

Now that's the attitude I look for in a guild. Nothing but building each other down.

UppGRAYxDD

I would appreciate it if ZoS would given perfected weapons to ppl who already earned them through veteran completions...

Tenthirty2

Banana wrote: »

I went through 2 keyboards in that place.

Zombie thread caught my eye cuz I'm currently struggling learning to finish the arena.

Wanted to say this is the most honest, accurate and real comment I've read about that miserable place

SgtNuttzmeg

Man I can't wait for the new one man arena!