vMA for Stam DK

RABIDxWOLVERINE

To start I have never beaten vMA and I really want to. I was hoping I could get some hints and tips to completing this challenge. So far I have only gotten to Round 6 Boss and have come close to beating it but ultimately got frustrated and havent been back in months. I want to change that and finally defeat this arena without having to make some cheese sorc build to do so (it is plan B though lol).

My Build is Stam DK obviously and I play as an Imperial, Front bar dual wield and back bar bow. I am CP 735ish (at work so cant remember exactly). My gear is 5x Hundings, 5x VO, 2x Selenes currently but I had a few questions regarding gear set up. First should I use Briarheart over Hundings? If so should I gold out the gear(I have plenty of gold temps to do so) or just my weapons? Next, which monster set should I use, Velidreth, Selenes, Iceheart, or something else? I have Veli and Selenes Gold but again I can gold out Iceheart/other if needed.

Which food should I use, my options are pretty much unlimited but I think my best bets are either Braised Rabbit (stam+health Blue food), Artaeum Takeaway Broth (gold health+stam and stam/health rec) or Dubious Camoran Throne (Purple stam+health and stam rec)? Any others I should look at?

I really want to conquer this arena so if you have any other suggestions, tips, or tricks I would really appreciate the help. Im currenty reading everything I can on vMA but the more opinions the better I think.

Thank you!

r3turn2s3nd3r

Everything you basically need to know...

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/381682/joys-new-and-improved-guide-to-beating-maelstrom-arena/p1

GlorphNoldorin

I suggest you research as many strategies for how to beat each round as you can as knowing what adds and which mechanics to prioritize is the key for vma.

I suggest using a tankier build as dps requirement isnt all that high.

I have pretty bad ping, (greater than 300+) and have flawless on all classes.

I used Vicious Ophidian paired with either Hundings Automaton Night mothers gaze with 2 Mighty chudan

Stam dk has the advantage of the corrosive ult which makes you nearly immortal for 8 sec or so.....learning when to time that ult really helps.

I used dual wield with vma bow and flying daggers as my spammable so as to group and range adds for a bit more safety.

I tried 2 hander the other day on my last character(15 toons flawless) to get flawless [a Nord stam dk I use to dlc hm tank with]. It was so much fun and with the brawler shield by far my easiest stam clear. I really recommend 2 hander.

RABIDxWOLVERINE

@r3turn2s3nd3r I will definitely check that out, thank you!

@GlorphNoldorin how tanky would you recommend? I currently have 20K health with all 64 points in stam, do you think I should balance that more for vMA? Any suggestions?

GlorphNoldorin

You need Stam attributes for damage. So no need to add attributes for health.

Mitigation is greatly increased with chudan (20+ Resists) you could try saltrice Stam Stam recovery and put some points in health If sustain is troubling but dubious was fine for me.

Health level is very much up to you but the health from chudan and resists should be enough. If not try a health glyph on big piece,

The extra health and resists with chudan and the brawler shield and corrosive really helps survivabilty

Davadin

stamDK here. my first succesful run took 5 hours even after reading some guides online, because i was too squishy. DW and 2H medium. and mostly impenetrable trait coz hey it was my PvP setup lol....

my only tips are: bring a shield. heavy armor would be even better.

by slotting the xbow from fighter's guild, u'll have some range, and with FOO ur fireballs deliver bonus pain. so as beginner, no need to bring bow. use a DPS (2H, DW, whatever ur comfortable), and 1HS on back bar. be tanky on ur first run, but keep 64 point into stamina.

once uve completed it 3x or so, then u can experiment with harder hitting DPS build.

RABIDxWOLVERINE

Davadin wrote: »

stamDK here. my first succesful run took 5 hours even after reading some guides online, because i was too squishy. DW and 2H medium. and mostly impenetrable trait coz hey it was my PvP setup lol....

my only tips are: bring a shield. heavy armor would be even better.

by slotting the xbow from fighter's guild, u'll have some range, and with FOO ur fireballs deliver bonus pain. so as beginner, no need to bring bow. use a DPS (2H, DW, whatever ur comfortable), and 1HS on back bar. be tanky on ur first run, but keep 64 point into stamina.

once uve completed it 3x or so, then u can experiment with harder hitting DPS build.

I know nothing about 1h and shield any tips or abilities I should slot?

DocFrost72

The first run I did was 5 vo, 5 fort brass, 2 1 piece monster sets with resistance.

Honestly until you get the hang of each individual arena and the strategy, mob priority order, and mechanics for them it'll do more to help your success if you can survive.

Round six is about managing the obelisks. You're not going to burn the boss your first time in there. Kill the web spooders, drag hoarvers to the covered obelisks, bring swarms to a lit obelisk. Staying alive through adds will make this job 10x easier.

Use hardened armor, then two one piece resistance pieces with your hunding's and VO. If you're feeling adventurous, use 2h for brawler. It may save your life, but it'll lower damage a touch compared to using dual wield.

I run bi stat food, but I heavy attack often. Dubious combined with red diamond wold be really strong for recovery, but will lower hp. I prefer the beef especially for flawless runs.

Purple armor is just fine. Gold weapons help damage a lot, however. Maybe not the bow if you are strapped for mats, but you said you're fine.

Good luck, @ me if you need more, but definitely do look at the linked guide from joy too!

RABIDxWOLVERINE

@DocFrost72 Thank you I will look into it. I plan on beating it in 2020 regardless of how long it takes. My next try I will be running 5x VO, 5x Briarheart and 2x Iceheart. Im just going to have as many heals as possible to try and counteract the damage taken and hope like hell the iceheart shield combined with heals and my DPS will pull me through. If not I just created a magsorc to try since Ive heard that is really easy just until I get the hang of the arena then try again on my StamDK. One way or another I will conquer this challenge.

Mariusghost84

RABIDxWOLVERINE wrote: »

@DocFrost72 Thank you I will look into it. I plan on beating it in 2020 regardless of how long it takes. My next try I will be running 5x VO, 5x Briarheart and 2x Iceheart. Im just going to have as many heals as possible to try and counteract the damage taken and hope like hell the iceheart shield combined with heals and my DPS will pull me through. If not I just created a magsorc to try since Ive heard that is really easy just until I get the hang of the arena then try again on my StamDK. One way or another I will conquer this challenge.

Bro. I was in your shoes once. At cp 300 with my stam dk it took me around 1400 deaths to do vma the first time. Yeah you read that right. Then it took me a year to get flawless. Your gear is fine, its all about knowing the fights and spawns. Just keep at it and you Will get there! Joys guide helped me a lot. Keep us updated!

TeamSeinfeld

Have same setup as you (except I used Veledreth) and I couldn’t clear the last stage until someone recommended the Corrosive Armor ultimate. I never use it anywhere else in the game, but to this day, I still can’t finish VMA without slotting it.