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Does anyone enjoy the vVateshran Minotaur boss?

  • fred4
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    @ecru, 35K DPS on what? In the actual fight? On a normal dummy? On a raid dummy? Cause if it's anything but the last one, you way overestimate the damage people like me do. This would confirm the bias of this particular fight towards the rotation heavy playstyle of the high-end PvE DD, rather than the scrappier, less disciplined or less rigid (whichever way you want to put it) playstyle of a PvPer, such as me. I'm just musing here. This isn't meant to be a complaint or devalue your helpful action plan. It's just interesting how high-end content pushes the limits to where "play as you want" isn't really an option anymore. That also shows in the first green fight, which I found super easy on my latest build, but some of the other players in this thread thought it was harder.
  • RavenLake
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    It took me several tries on normal to beat this boss. Not a fan of arenas in general, but this boss guarantees I won't play this one again.
  • ecru
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    fred4 wrote: »
    @ecru, 35K DPS on what? In the actual fight? On a normal dummy? On a raid dummy? Cause if it's anything but the last one, you way overestimate the damage people like me do. This would confirm the bias of this particular fight towards the rotation heavy playstyle of the high-end PvE DD, rather than the scrappier, less disciplined or less rigid (whichever way you want to put it) playstyle of a PvPer, such as me. I'm just musing here. This isn't meant to be a complaint or devalue your helpful action plan. It's just interesting how high-end content pushes the limits to where "play as you want" isn't really an option anymore. That also shows in the first green fight, which I found super easy on my latest build, but some of the other players in this thread thought it was harder.

    about 35k on a dummy (maybe a bit less), with the method i detailed above you have two minutes to finish the fight if you only want to have to interrupt the casters once + avoid all adds, assuming you're doing that instance first. i agree it favors ground aoe, but going from a pvp to pve rotation isn't all that difficult, the only major difference is whether you place ground aoe down or not, since you already know how to weave/refresh dots.
    UrbanMonk wrote: »
    Jaimeh wrote: »
    It's not a difficult fight, but I agree that it's a very tedious one, and you need to manage your stamina well. If you don't have a lot of damage, it will just take longer. Make sure to have a lot of single target damage because besides the jumping/colour change, the boss also moves around with his charging, and the player moves around as well to avoid the charge and heavy attacks, so I find that a lot of (costly) AoE goes wasted. Also, always cast your ulti after his does the colour change.

    Unless you position yourself between boss and on very edge of the platform, that way he has nowhere to go but towards the edge, and we know he can't fall down, so he always stays on ground dots or any Aoe ultimate. His HA block, charge- block or move out of the way.

    this is important too. face your back to the edge of the platform and his charge shouldn't go outside of your ground aoe, and he generally only charges once per transition, so you don't have to chase him around.
    Edited by ecru on November 24, 2020 2:51PM
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  • rrimöykk
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    I found it one of the easiest bosses there. As mag I run green > blue > red.

    On my first try i died once, after second I've never died. It's really simple and fun.
  • r3turn2s3nd3r
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    fred4 wrote: »
    At the same time, as Alcast says, it's also a stamina-intensive fight, which actually suits PvP-derived builds.

    I do this fight consistently without issue on a mag toon with 10k stam. Don't waste time bashing all four of the casters, you only need to bash 2 so that you have 2 platforms to jump between for color mechanic. This will put more time on dpsing boss and less time wasting stam where it's not needed.
  • El_Borracho
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    Only a masochist would enjoy that boss. Super glitchy and annoying
  • AndyMac
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    That whole wing was buggy on PTS which meant a very bad first impression for the grappling mechanic lol. I found some of the grappling bugs got into live - insta dying to fall damage when I grappled to the boss platform.

    So the fight was way behind imo from the beginning lol.

    I do mag - so it's first up for me. It's not in any way hard - the boss mechanics are very simple but the constant grappling and color changes - also throw in some useless, unmoving, almost zero damage adds - just seem like padding for the fight. The mage bash seems a bit glitchy too. It's just a very annoying fight that seems to out to defeat you with boredom and loss of focus rather than actual difficulty.

    Great game design, that ain't. Every single boss in vMA totally WHIPS this boss for interest and challenge - meaning enjoyment.

    I've cleared vet and got the skin - this fight is a good reason just to leave it at that.
    Andymac - Magicka DK - EP Grand Overlord - Flawless Conqueror
  • Hexvaldr
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    Personally, I found it fun on a melee dps because it required a lot of movement, dodging, bash interrupting, and grappling, so it felt like a high-stakes action scene. Like a fun rather than torturous version of the poison stage from VMA lol.
  • zvavi
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    Only a masochist would enjoy that boss. Super glitchy and annoying

    the boss did not glitch for me yet, and i did find it enjoying, and no, i am not m.
  • Oreyn_Bearclaw
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    I dont hate the fight in theory.

    In practice, I have 3 issues with it. Boss has a bit too much HP, the grappling hook is super buggy (not sure it should be part of combat in its current state), the color change mechanic is a little too fast (lengthening this might solve the high HP issue).

    I do see why a PVPer is going to gravitate toward the VMA over VVH. VMA is more conducive to a PVP 1vX build whereas VVH is more conducive to a trials build. I too prefer VMA to VVH, but I like that both exist.
  • Kwoung
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    Maybe my eyes, computer or something else, but I do not seem to be able to see his color changes at all, making him basically impossible for me. Not to mention the stupid grappling thing and other mechanics all happening at once. The other 2 areas were fine, but I did not find this mechanic laden encounter enjoyable at all, and probably will not be returning to VH.
  • spartaxoxo
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    ecru wrote: »
    when i see people do this fight the biggest mistake they seem to be making is not realizing that they can jump diagonally. .

    Oh man that's a game changing tip right there. I will have to try this the next time I go in there.
  • WeerW3ir
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    Nope nope nope
  • El_Borracho
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    zvavi wrote: »
    Only a masochist would enjoy that boss. Super glitchy and annoying

    the boss did not glitch for me yet, and i did find it enjoying, and no, i am not m.

    LOL. Lucky. Its okay if it doesn't glitch. When it does its frustrating
  • SickleCider
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    It's fine, just a bit tedious. I appreciate what they were trying to do but it drags on a little too long. It's better than the last boss, or the optional boss in green that makes you chase it everywhere, or that first boss in red as your last level that just has too many fireballs.
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  • ecru
    ecru
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    spartaxoxo wrote: »
    ecru wrote: »
    when i see people do this fight the biggest mistake they seem to be making is not realizing that they can jump diagonally. .

    Oh man that's a game changing tip right there. I will have to try this the next time I go in there.

    yep, it makes everything much easier. if you're on red, he switches blue, you interrupt on the platform you're on, jump horizontal to blue and interrupt again, and then you just jump diagonally to the other blue platform giving you a large window to dps him before he switches again, so it's always dps+interrupt on color switch -> jump horizontal/interrupt -> jump diagonal+dps. you have an opportunity to cast a few buffs after your first jump before you jump diagonally too so that should give you a bit more time to dps.
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  • spartaxoxo
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    It's fine, just a bit tedious. I appreciate what they were trying to do but it drags on a little too long. It's better than the last boss, or the optional boss in green that makes you chase it everywhere, or that first boss in red as your last level that just has too many fireballs.

    @Versispellis

    On the first boss in red, just fight the boss at the scamp portal. They melt easy and only dangerous when you let then build up. Also don't forget to synergy the iron atro to turn off volcanos.
  • Ringing_Nirnroot
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    I love the Minotaur boss, i died so much the first time but now that I know the timing it’s one of the easiest bosses in the arena :)
  • Tsar_Gekkou
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    Stahlor wrote: »
    It's just completely buuged.
    - As soon as you land on the next platform, you get knocked down by the boss, although it hasn't even arrived yet on your platform.

    This is the main problem. Half the time when you jump to a platform, if you don't still have cc immunity from knocked down before, he'll knock you down the second you land when he hasn't even started jumping yet.
    Xbox NA healer main
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  • Jeremy
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    fred4 wrote: »
    It's the second boss in the green section. For what it's worth, I think that fight is an ill-conceived pile of garbage, because the boss constantly changes color and you barely get any damage in. Feels like a fight designed for a group - the kind that stops you from soloing a dungeon or world boss not because it can't be done, but because it's just so tedious. I got Flawless on vMA by the way - a place I quite enjoy.

    Part of this may be due to being a PvPer. I will never get the highest scores in vMA, because I don't have the DPS nor am I interested in honing that. These days I go to test out my latest PvP builds, usually with only minor changes, against something consistent. As I play light / medium, fairly high damage characters, that works. I typically get a vMA score in the 400K to 450K range.

    This fight seems to be designed for laying down ground DOTs in advance and doing as much DPS as possible, the kind of thing true endgame PvEers do. At the same time, as Alcast says, it's also a stamina-intensive fight, which actually suits PvP-derived builds. It's a pain in the behind for both types of players, the squishy high-damage PvEer and the somewhat tankier PvPer who brings some stamina sustain, even on a magicka build. At any rate, if you don't bring the damage, the fight is interminable. I hate how high-end content tends to be a DPS race. This is not a DPS check as such, but the longer the fight goes on, the more likely you slip up from sheer boredom.

    He can be a bit tedious. But I was honestly just delighted to have a boss that didn't require a certain DPS threshold forcing me to play offensive. So I won't go out of my way to criticize this boss.

    What helped me was to grapple around and interrupt all four mages when they started to channel. This made it a lot easier for me to switch to the right platforms when I went to damage the boss.
    Edited by Jeremy on November 27, 2020 7:09PM
  • fred4
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    I have completed the arena on my magplar now. In retrospect, the things that I needed to know are:

    (1) Do the arenas in the order Alcast describes and get the stat buffs suitable for your class.

    (2) You can block his heavy attack with a lightning staff. You don't need 1H+S or be particularly tanky.

    (3) His colour change is random. This is the thing that probably confused me the most, because I thought "What am I doing wrong? What do I have to do to stop him from doing that?". I don't think I articulated that clearly before, because by the time I wrote the post I'd more or less concluded the fight was stupid or broken. In reality you just keep changing platforms until his colour sticks for a while and you have a window to do damage on him. Being a higher damage, more PvE-centric character on my templar also helped.

    (4) The adds are pointless and can be ignored. Initially I had thought they must have something to do with his colour change.
  • zvavi
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    fred4 wrote: »
    I have completed the arena on my magplar now. In retrospect, the things that I needed to know are:

    (1) Do the arenas in the order Alcast describes and get the stat buffs suitable for your class.

    (2) You can block his heavy attack with a lightning staff. You don't need 1H+S or be particularly tanky.

    (3) His colour change is random. This is the thing that probably confused me the most, because I thought "What am I doing wrong? What do I have to do to stop him from doing that?". I don't think I articulated that clearly before, because by the time I wrote the post I'd more or less concluded the fight was stupid or broken. In reality you just keep changing platforms until his colour sticks for a while and you have a window to do damage on him. Being a higher damage, more PvE-centric character on my templar also helped.

    (4) The adds are pointless and can be ignored. Initially I had thought they must have something to do with his colour change.

    color change is obvious... first color swap is i think 80%, then he changes colors every x time (idk how long, maybe 30 seconds? maybe 60? didnt count), to the color of the arena he is on, if it changes (u can drag him in his immune arena for a good minute, and see that when u jump to the non immune, he will swap right away). in reality u just jump a platform when he changes color, and keep damaging him till he is down..
    Edited by zvavi on December 19, 2020 4:01AM
  • Vevvev
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    Its the first boss I do since I run mag builds, and honestly he's a push over because when he goes invincible I just kite with the grapple hooks. He's never killed me and is more of a giant damage sponge that just wastes your time.
    PC NA - Ceyanna Ashton - Breton Vampire MagDK
  • Kwoung
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    It is very hard (read impossible) for me to se what color the boss is for some reason, so I basically haven't been able to complete this encounter at all. It is the dumbest mechanic in the game IMHO. Had no issues at all clearing the other 2 areas.
  • zvavi
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    Kwoung wrote: »
    It is very hard (read impossible) for me to se what color the boss is for some reason, so I basically haven't been able to complete this encounter at all. It is the dumbest mechanic in the game IMHO. Had no issues at all clearing the other 2 areas.

    Ways to know u need to change platform:
    1. His strengthening up animation.
    2. He summoned adds.
    3. He became immune.
    4. The NPC are *** talking you.
    5. He has a different colour than the platform you are on.

    I mean. Do you need more signs (there are 2 fire and 2 ice platforms)
    Edited by zvavi on December 19, 2020 4:14AM
  • Kwoung
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    zvavi wrote: »
    Kwoung wrote: »
    It is very hard (read impossible) for me to se what color the boss is for some reason, so I basically haven't been able to complete this encounter at all. It is the dumbest mechanic in the game IMHO. Had no issues at all clearing the other 2 areas.

    Ways to know u need to change platform:
    1. His strengthening up animation.
    2. He summoned adds.
    3. He became immune.
    4. The NPC are *** talking you.
    5. He has a different colour than the platform you are on.

    I mean. Do you need more signs (there are 2 fire and 2 ice platforms)

    Yeah, I figured out the immune part, I have never seen the color change on the boss or the platform. Makes it kinda a PITA and waste of time when you are wasting your magicka then realize he is immune and have to change platforms. Add in the dudes you need to interrupt and you basically have little time left for DPSing the stupid boss.

    But yeah, you're l33t and pown this game, I get it.
  • fred4
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    I actually find the colour change hard to see as well. Not impossible, but hard. I find it easier to keep an eye on when he's turning.

    Of course it would also be nice, if any of that made sense. In typical ZOS fashion it's just pattern recognition and experience. There is IMO only a tenuous link as to why he should be vulnerable when he's the opposite colour of the platform. It's lazy art design.

    I prefer enjoying new content without reading Alcast in detail or watching a YouTube video. Such an attitude comes to bite you.
  • ccfeeling
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    VH, boring arena,I got all weapons and wont go back.

    I ran VMA over 400 times.
  • CrashTest
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    zvavi wrote: »
    I mean. With enough damage, on the mag rout, you see him change colour only twice (once getting his first color, second time changing that color once).
    I'd be fine with him if he didn't knock you down when landing anywhere near you after you grapple.

    block.

    That costs stam, and interrupting all four of the casters means grappling and blocking three times in a row, and then chances are that he'll change color immediately after all the interrupts which means another grapple and another block. I know I shouldn't need to interrupt all of the casters, but with how buggy this game is, I don't take chances.

    You can also strafe as soon as you land on a platform. Strafing puts you out of knockdown range if you are fast enough, and no stamina wasted on blocking.

    So the idea is to grapple, bash, strafe, then grapple quickly to the next platform while you're still strafing - rinse repeat until all four are bashed. You can be midair between platforms before the minotaur even lands on the platform you were just standing on if you're fast enough.
  • zvavi
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    Kwoung wrote: »
    zvavi wrote: »
    Kwoung wrote: »
    It is very hard (read impossible) for me to se what color the boss is for some reason, so I basically haven't been able to complete this encounter at all. It is the dumbest mechanic in the game IMHO. Had no issues at all clearing the other 2 areas.

    Ways to know u need to change platform:
    1. His strengthening up animation.
    2. He summoned adds.
    3. He became immune.
    4. The NPC are *** talking you.
    5. He has a different colour than the platform you are on.

    I mean. Do you need more signs (there are 2 fire and 2 ice platforms)

    Yeah, I figured out the immune part, I have never seen the color change on the boss or the platform. Makes it kinda a PITA and waste of time when you are wasting your magicka then realize he is immune and have to change platforms. Add in the dudes you need to interrupt and you basically have little time left for DPSing the stupid boss.

    But yeah, you're l33t and pown this game, I get it.

    To be fair the color change is the least visible, I don't see it either, I wrote the signs in the order I notice them usually, the animation is one of the biggest signs for me because it is like 5 seconds he is not trying to hit me. And if I was by any chance dance bashing and don't see his change or the adds (and if I am tired and can't see the bar is greyed out) the *** talk from the NPC's make me notice (there are 2 lines they keep saying when it happens, and if you are on the wrong platform they just won't stop talking, they might start the line when you are already at the right island though, cause boss was on the wrong one)
    Edited by zvavi on December 19, 2020 7:08AM
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