Maelstrom Arena mechanics questions

FrancisCrawford

With the new rewards, Maelstrom Arena may get an uptake in activity. Certainly it has from me (just not on the ninth stage, since Greymoor hasn't quite dropped yet ).

So perhaps it's time to address mechanics questions again. Two come to mind for me. (I'm starting this thread in May 2020.)

1. I always play ranged-mainly characters, so pew-pewing Stage 5 Trollbreakers should be little problem. However, when I have some very large mobs in my face, I occasionally have trouble getting line of sight to the Trollbreakers. And that can be true even when I sidestep the mobs and apparently have a clear shot at the target.

Is there some kind of issue here where the mobs block your LOS across a bigger region than the art seems to indicate?

2. Webbing and dewebbing of Stage 6 obelisks seems pretty straightforward. But I don't know what gets them to transition from a normal, dull webfree state to shiny gold glowingness. Can somebody please explain?

Thanks!

FrancisCrawford

3. Actually, I do have a Stage 6 webbing question. What are the best visual, audio or sequence-of-events "tells" to know when a webbing is about to commence? I always seem to be taken by surprise, while my attention has gone to various other kinds of mobs.

FrancisCrawford

Oh yeah.

4. In the final Stage 7 boss fight, is there a known timer before the scream starts? On regular mode, I usually just burn the boss down before we get that far.

zvavi

1. L2p issue.
2. There is always one glowy pillar, as long as there are two pillars unwebbed. If there is only one pillar unwebbed, it will alternate between glowy and not glowy.
3. None. Pay attention to your surroundings.
4. When you kill the first add spawn(2 spawn, he screams after u kill one).

FrancisCrawford

zvavi wrote: »

4. When you kill the first add spawn(2 spawn, he screams after u kill one).

So in principle one could just leave both adds alive and burn him down? Or is there some mechanic forestalling that?

Taleof2Cities

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

zvavi wrote: »

4. When you kill the first add spawn(2 spawn, he screams after u kill one).

So in principle one could just leave both adds alive and burn him down? Or is there some mechanic forestalling that?

The proper mechanic is to burn one Mage add down and then stand under the other add’s umbrella shield during scream phase. There’s no timer ... the scream starts when one Mage is killed.

Using a lot of AOE can accidentally kill both Mage adds ... so use some care to ensure you only kill one.

Are you burning the boss down on normal mode Maelstrom, @FrancisCrawford?

Because the difficulty gap between normal and vet is enormous.

FrancisCrawford

Taleof2Cities wrote: »

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

zvavi wrote: »

4. When you kill the first add spawn(2 spawn, he screams after u kill one).

So in principle one could just leave both adds alive and burn him down? Or is there some mechanic forestalling that?

The proper mechanic is to burn one Mage add down and then stand under the other add’s umbrella shield during scream phase. There’s no timer ... the scream starts when one Mage is killed.

Using a lot of AOE can accidentally kill both Mage adds ... so use some care to ensure you only kill one.

Are you burning the boss down on normal mode Maelstrom, @FrancisCrawford?

Because the difficulty gap between normal and vet is enormous.

Yes, I'm playing in normal mode. Yes, I know what the standard approach is in vet mode. I'm asking, in effect, WHY it's the standard approachin vet mode. Is it just that having both adds up adds up to too much damage? Or is it some more precise mechanic than that?

In most cases, one sees the same mechanics in normal and vet modes; they just have very different implications. This one is an exception to that rule; I literally don't see the bubble phase, because I just burn the boss.

Taleof2Cities

It’s the standard approach in vet mode because the vast majority of players can’t burn down the boss that fast.

So, following the mechanic is the only option ... since the boss scream means death without the Mage add’s umbrella shield.

If you decide on trying vet mode, you’ll see the difference in boss health.

FrancisCrawford

Taleof2Cities wrote: »

It’s the standard approach in vet mode because the vast majority of players can’t burn down the boss that fast.

So, following the mechanic is the only option ... since the boss scream means death without the Mage add’s umbrella shield.

If you decide on trying vet mode, you’ll see the difference in boss health.

Actually, I'm a bit confused. At first it sounded like you're saying there's no timer; the boss just screams after a mage is killed. Now it sounds like there is a timer.

Is it perhaps the case that he screams after a certain amount of time elapses or a mage is killed, whichever it happens first?

zvavi

In vet mages hit hard. So not killing them theoretically is an option (painful one), but if 2 more spawn u probably gonna get killed.

Taleof2Cities

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

Is it perhaps the case that he screams after a certain amount of time elapses or a mage is killed, whichever it happens first?

No, it's always after one of the mages is killed.

FrancisCrawford

The other bit about Stage 6 webbing seems to be that there's some kind of reset between rounds, in which things get spontaneously webbed. Am I seeing that correctly? Is it known exactly what does or doesn't happen?

zvavi

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

The other bit about Stage 6 webbing seems to be that there's some kind of reset between rounds, in which things get spontaneously webbed. Am I seeing that correctly? Is it known exactly what does or doesn't happen?

When you start you have 1 unwebbed pillar. When you start after death you have 1 unwebbed pillar. Once in a while you will have a killable webweaver spawning and trying to web one of your unwebbed pillars. Nothing more nothing less.

FrancisCrawford

zvavi wrote: »

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

The other bit about Stage 6 webbing seems to be that there's some kind of reset between rounds, in which things get spontaneously webbed. Am I seeing that correctly? Is it known exactly what does or doesn't happen?

When you start you have 1 unwebbed pillar. When you start after death you have 1 unwebbed pillar. Once in a while you will have a killable webweaver spawning and trying to web one of your unwebbed pillars. Nothing more nothing less.

Then I had an optical illusion of some kind. Thanks!

zvavi

Happy to help, if you have more questions feel free to post.

El_Borracho

Just to add to what the others have said:

1. Stage 5 can get you in trouble if you burn adds too quickly. Burn them in order to avoid getting surrounded. Check out Joy's VMA Guide or Alcast's VMA guide for the best order to kill adds and from what platform.
2. Its a mechanic. It will glow gold when the spider swarm comes out. You will be prompted that a swarm is coming. Run to the gold obelisk to get rid of the tiny, deadly, hard-to-kill spiders. Which is why you should keep at least 2-3 free.
3. Always keep an eye out for the Webspinner add. It looks like a medium-sized spider. That is what webs up the obelisk. It is not the spider daedra. There is no real prompt, but they seem to regularly appear maybe every 10 seconds or so. That and the hoarvar are the two most important adds on that level. Losing sight of either will end your round.
4. You have to kill one mage and keep the other alive or you will die. Then once the shield wears off, you have to kill that mage or it will kill you. Then keep an eye out for the venomcaller and flowers. Its not a hard final level. In fact, I feel like the ones before it with the archers are harder. But it is the level in VMA where luck plays the biggest role.

Danksta

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

zvavi wrote: »

4. When you kill the first add spawn(2 spawn, he screams after u kill one).

So in principle one could just leave both adds alive and burn him down? Or is there some mechanic forestalling that?

I'm pretty sure the adds damage ramps up the longer you leave them up. I know sometimes if I don't kill the boss fast enough that the damage becomes too much when I was easily out-healing the damage at the beginning of the fight.

FrancisCrawford

Danksta wrote: »

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

zvavi wrote: »

4. When you kill the first add spawn(2 spawn, he screams after u kill one).

So in principle one could just leave both adds alive and burn him down? Or is there some mechanic forestalling that?

I'm pretty sure the adds damage ramps up the longer you leave them up. I know sometimes if I don't kill the boss fast enough that the damage becomes too much when I was easily out-healing the damage at the beginning of the fight.

Good theory. That could be the missing piece explaining why in vMA you have to actually follow the mechanics.

tsaescishoeshiner

Just to add,

1. It helps to tab target the trolls, but yes you'll still need proper LoS. On that whole stage, it's best to fight the mobs while standing on the back of the ice flow (to draw enemies towards you). You can then step/roll past them for a clearer shot at the trolls.

FrancisCrawford

tsaescishoeshiner wrote: »

Just to add,

1. It helps to tab target the trolls, but yes you'll still need proper LoS. On that whole stage, it's best to fight the mobs while standing on the back of the ice flow (to draw enemies towards you). You can then step/roll past them for a clearer shot at the trolls.

Good thought. I doubt I gain much in AoE coverage from being in the midde of the platform, especially given that on most characters I'm running a couple of forward-only AoE attacks (Wall of Elements plus Sweeps/Engulfing/Shalks/Path/Blastbones).

tsaescishoeshiner

Yeah, and it pulls in those ranged adds that have like 5,000 weapon range for some reason >_>