Veteran Vateshran is more frustrating than it's worth.

B0SSzombie

Decided I'd try the Veteran Solo Arenas today, seeing as how I'd played for almost 3 years now.

Maelstrom was no issue. Only died a few times to insta-kill mechanics.

But Vateshran...

Cleared everything without dying, then got to the final boss. Died a Dozen times, each to some mechanic that didn't seem fair. The two best ones were when I got insta-killed by the Tether mechanic despite being like 10 meters away from any of the Enemies, and when I killed the third miniboss and was instantly killed the second I teleported back in. That's not a great experience.

I don't get angry when I have a bad experience in a game, I typically just let it roll off my back. But after that last death, I realized I was getting literal tunnel vision and my head felt like it was going to explode. It felt like I was going to fall down unconscious if I walked around. I had to get up and go lie down for a few hours.

In the end, I decided that I'm done with Vateshran. At least on Veteran. I'll probably go back to farm some stuff later, but Vet is a solid "No."

Moral of the Story? You don't have to complete "harder" content. Especially if it's not well designed!

Vevvev

I remember I got so angry trying to beat veteran Maelstrom Arena that I actually started seeing stars. After I recovered from the "ow I just hurt myself" factor I decided to take a step back and refine my build more. This was over a year ago but after a month or two I returned and was able to beat it. My ace in the hole was DK's old wings I used to make the final boss kill himself.

Basically if you're getting too worked up over something take a break, theorize some build ideas after looking at the game's list of sets, and try again. There is fun in overcoming that difficult hurdle and sometimes it takes distancing yourself away to get a view of the bigger picture. Also asking for advice is always wise

B0SSzombie

Vevvev wrote: »

I remember I got so angry trying to beat veteran Maelstrom Arena that I actually started seeing stars. After I recovered from the "ow I just hurt myself" factor I decided to take a step back and refine my build more. This was over a year ago but after a month or two I returned and was able to beat it. My ace in the hole was DK's old wings I used to make the final boss kill himself.

Basically if you're getting too worked up over something take a break, theorize some build ideas after looking at the game's list of sets, and try again. There is fun in overcoming that difficult hurdle and sometimes it takes distancing yourself away to get a view of the bigger picture. Also asking for advice is always wise

Nah. I'm just not going to do it.

I've gotten the Platinum Trophies in Demon Souls, all 3 Dark Souls, and Bloodborne, and I never experienced anything playing those like what I did today.

Not worth it. I would rather just play another part of the game, or another game entirely, that's actually fun.

Skullstachio

Regarding the tether mechanic, If you maxed out your Psijic order skill line and unlocked “Undo”, consider using undo in the right position to Bypass the tether mechanic entirely as undo reverts you to your previous position prior to 4 seconds ago.
But it’s also a matter of whether the ultimate upkeep is good enough between tether times.

B0SSzombie

Skullstachio wrote: »

Regarding the tether mechanic, If you maxed out your Psijic order skill line and unlocked “Undo”, consider using undo in the right position to Bypass the tether mechanic entirely as undo reverts you to your previous position prior to 4 seconds ago.
But it’s also a matter of whether the ultimate upkeep is good enough between tether times.

Have to play as a Werewolf since my only character is a Tank. Using Ultimates is not an option.

Wolfpaw

B0SSzombie wrote: »

Decided I'd try the Veteran Solo Arenas today, seeing as how I'd played for almost 3 years now.

Maelstrom was no issue. Only died a few times to insta-kill mechanics.

But Vateshran...

Cleared everything without dying, then got to the final boss. Died a Dozen times, each to some mechanic that didn't seem fair. The two best ones were when I got insta-killed by the Tether mechanic despite being like 10 meters away from any of the Enemies, and when I killed the third miniboss and was instantly killed the second I teleported back in. That's not a great experience.

I don't get angry when I have a bad experience in a game, I typically just let it roll off my back. But after that last death, I realized I was getting literal tunnel vision and my head felt like it was going to explode. It felt like I was going to fall down unconscious if I walked around. I had to get up and go lie down for a few hours.

In the end, I decided that I'm done with Vateshran. At least on Veteran. I'll probably go back to farm some stuff later, but Vet is a solid "No."

Moral of the Story? You don't have to complete "harder" content. Especially if it's not well designed!

I can tell you normal is stress free. Farmed all the weapons and 3 style pages in a weekend, & never went back.

It's already a pain as a pvp player to have to pve, but vet, no thank you.

B0SSzombie

Wolfpaw wrote: »

B0SSzombie wrote: »

Decided I'd try the Veteran Solo Arenas today, seeing as how I'd played for almost 3 years now.

Maelstrom was no issue. Only died a few times to insta-kill mechanics.

But Vateshran...

Cleared everything without dying, then got to the final boss. Died a Dozen times, each to some mechanic that didn't seem fair. The two best ones were when I got insta-killed by the Tether mechanic despite being like 10 meters away from any of the Enemies, and when I killed the third miniboss and was instantly killed the second I teleported back in. That's not a great experience.

I don't get angry when I have a bad experience in a game, I typically just let it roll off my back. But after that last death, I realized I was getting literal tunnel vision and my head felt like it was going to explode. It felt like I was going to fall down unconscious if I walked around. I had to get up and go lie down for a few hours.

In the end, I decided that I'm done with Vateshran. At least on Veteran. I'll probably go back to farm some stuff later, but Vet is a solid "No."

Moral of the Story? You don't have to complete "harder" content. Especially if it's not well designed!

I can tell you normal is stress free. Farmed all the weapons and 3 style pages in a weekend, & never went back.

It's already a pain as a pvp player to have to pve, but vet, no thank you.

I suspect after having little problem with Vet Vateshran (Besides the poor mechanics of the last boss), I'll have a great time Tear-assing my way through it on normal.

Probably farm some Explosive Rebuke for goofs and then bye-bye Vateshran!

zvavi

I actually like the last boss... While it was very hard the first time, it was mainly because I didn't take any buffs, cause I was doing it blind

Vanya

Needless torture, Tis why when Arena type of content should be solo-encouraged. One of the things players do also is forceful nature to complete something that is intended for a party

tsaescishoeshiner

No need to take rage out on the arena—it is meant to test combatants. The tether thing sounds like desync/lag, but I'm not sure about your other deaths. I find the last fight pretty stable and consistent, but that could be due to my build. I only parse around 70k (magden) but got no death, no sigil, speedrun on my second and third runs on two classes after bashing my head against the last boss fight for a good while lol. Now I actually look forward to it during the rest of the arena ... until the Dagon miniboss starts his fire spinny >_>

Getting so angry at content that you come to the forums to flame it is definitely a good reason to disengage from it. Dying to stuff I know I can beat frustrates me sometimes

It's a tough yet learnable boss fight, but far from an RNG-ridden one IMO. Now, Fang Lair Hardmode, on the other hand ...

LashanW

B0SSzombie wrote: »

I've gotten the Platinum Trophies in Demon Souls, all 3 Dark Souls, and Bloodborne, and I never experienced anything playing those like what I did today.

Lag, desync and bugs (generally) don't screw you over in those games. But even in those games sometimes you can hit a brick wall and the best solution is to take a break. Don't ever let any gaming experience become stressful and frustrating for too long, always take breaks.

Integral1900

I took one look at them going through that with that giggling sadist designer of theirs and thought oh no, hell no, not under any circumstances and not for any amount of reward.

I’m not going to be the victim of that thing just because some masochist developer wants to get his giggles

I learned my lesson from maelstrom arena, you can keep your funky weapons thank you very much

Misty

If a game makes a carm person mad, then the game has failed in it's job.

mickeyx

Games are supossed to be fun. If it makes you feel anxious and so frustrated that you have to actually go lie down from passing out then game has failed at its job of providing you with escapism from *** world outside.

Asardes

Vatershran Hollows is not hard if you do the wings in the right order and pick the relevant buffs:

For stamina
Blue: unlock the wounding portal mechanic
Red: take HP buffs using the wounding portal mechanic unlocked earlier and the lava walk mechanic you unlock here
Green: take Stamina buffs using the lava walk you unlocked earlier and the grappling bow you unlock here

For magicka
Green: unlock the grappling bow mechanic
Blue: take magicka buffs using the grappling bow mechanic you unlocked earlier and the wounding portal mechanic you unlock here
Red: take HP buffs using the wounding portal mechanic unlocked earlier and the lava walk mechanic you unlock here

Final boss
Don't rush DPS on the boss, focus archer and mage, then colossus, since they actually do the most damage, build up ultimate before you push the boss under 10% then grapple to the platforms, teleport to the shadow realm and burn mini-bosses fast using the ultimate - the more time you spend there the more the boss heals up and spawns additional adds.

rumple9

Judging by the comments, most (including me) don't like solo arenas

Asardes

Solo arenas are good because they train players to keep up their buffs & healing, sustain resources and avoid incoming damage, which is good for group content as well. I've rarely seen people with the respective titles get rekt hard in dungeons or trials. Also many PvPers, including myself, enjoy them

hexnotic

Asardes wrote: »

Vatershran Hollows is not hard if you do the wings in the right order and pick the relevant buffs:

For stamina
Blue: unlock the wounding portal mechanic
Red: take HP buffs using the wounding portal mechanic unlocked earlier and the lava walk mechanic you unlock here
Green: take Stamina buffs using the lava walk you unlocked earlier and the grappling bow you unlock here

For magicka
Green: unlock the grappling bow mechanic
Blue: take magicka buffs using the grappling bow mechanic you unlocked earlier and the wounding portal mechanic you unlock here
Red: take HP buffs using the wounding portal mechanic unlocked earlier and the lava walk mechanic you unlock here

Final boss
Don't rush DPS on the boss, focus archer and mage, then colossus, since they actually do the most damage, build up ultimate before you push the boss under 10% then grapple to the platforms, teleport to the shadow realm and burn mini-bosses fast using the ultimate - the more time you spend there the more the boss heals up and spawns additional adds.

if you do all of these things and get ring of the pale order then vet is a lot easier. it also helps to run the arena multiple times so that you are aware of every single mech that can be a threat.

B0SSzombie

Looking back, I think the issue I had (and what frustrated me the most) is the departure of focus for the Final Boss in Vateshran.

In all of Maelstrom and the rest of Vateshran, the focus is sustainability. You need to focus on staying alive and paying attention to mechanics. You have all the time in the world, so long as you stay alive.

The Void Lich, on the other hand, is almost strictly a DPS burn. The longer that fight takes, the less likely you are to survive. You need to be able to kill the adds fast, or you'll have 2 Void Archers, 2 Void Flameshapers, and a few Shade Colossi chasing you. You need to be able to kill the tether wall enemies fast, or it's insta-death. You need to kill the Minibosses fast, or Maebroogha will fully heal.

That's not approachable by every class, like my Warden Tank Werewolf. You need specific builds to have the burn to win. Arena-centric builds should make the content easier, not just possible. And that kind of lazy approach to design is what irked me the most.

Asardes

B0SSzombie wrote: »

The Void Lich, on the other hand, is almost strictly a DPS burn. The longer that fight takes, the less likely you are to survive. You need to be able to kill the adds fast, or you'll have 2 Void Archers, 2 Void Flameshapers, and a few Shade Colossi chasing you. You need to be able to kill the tether wall enemies fast, or it's insta-death. You need to kill the Minibosses fast, or Maebroogha will fully heal.

Just like many other fights the add spawns are linked to the boss % HP. I don't remember the exact percentages for each add, but as I said they hit way harder than the actual boss. So if you only focus the boss, but not clear the adds, the damage will be overwhelming at some point, unless you can push is straight to execute, which is hard. You can actually pre-clear the colossi if you hit them before hand. On some runs I just light attacked them, stacked all 4 on the boss, dropped all my DoTs Standard of Might (I'm Stamina DK) and then spammed Whirling Blades 3-5x, roll dodged, all were dead, boss at 50% already and my ultimate at 100 alread, then I burned the ghost circle and the archers & mages, and only after that I pushed the boss to execute.

B0SSzombie

Asardes wrote: »

B0SSzombie wrote: »

The Void Lich, on the other hand, is almost strictly a DPS burn. The longer that fight takes, the less likely you are to survive. You need to be able to kill the adds fast, or you'll have 2 Void Archers, 2 Void Flameshapers, and a few Shade Colossi chasing you. You need to be able to kill the tether wall enemies fast, or it's insta-death. You need to kill the Minibosses fast, or Maebroogha will fully heal.

Just like many other fights the add spawns are linked to the boss % HP. I don't remember the exact percentages for each add, but as I said they hit way harder than the actual boss. So if you only focus the boss, but not clear the adds, the damage will be overwhelming at some point, unless you can push is straight to execute, which is hard. You can actually pre-clear the colossi if you hit them before hand. On some runs I just light attacked them, stacked all 4 on the boss, dropped all my DoTs Standard of Might (I'm Stamina DK) and then spammed Whirling Blades 3-5x, roll dodged, all were dead, boss at 50% already and my ultimate at 100 alread, then I burned the ghost circle and the archers & mages, and only after that I pushed the boss to execute.

As per my point, I cannot do that with my character. I would have to completely respec everything, at which point I'd be better off just making a new character just to clear Vet Vat.

Even as a Werewolf with gear just for the Arena, my Tank isn't going to burn adds that fast. Towards the end of the fight, by time I killed one enemy, two more would have spawned to take it's place. This is a fight that needs AoE and DoT attacks by the boatload. Besides inflicting a little Disease Damage over time, I cannot do that with this character.

Maebroogha is designed like a Trial Boss, not a Solo Arena boss. No other boss in Maelstrom or Vateshran has the issues that she has.

Raideen

PVP does the same thing to me in this game. I can feel my heart freaking out with this past event. There is absolutely zero semblance of balance in this game.

In fact, ima play on and off through the tribunal event (I love Sotha Sil), after that I think I am done. This game causes more stress then a game should, any game. This is why it is important for developers to do their jobs and balance things. It does not matter what class anyone chooses, they should be able to compete with their build....this is not even remotely the case in ESO.

Raideen

Misty wrote: »

If a game makes a carm person mad, then the game has failed in it's job.

Could have not said this better.

worrallj

Make sure you get all the resource buffs- I banged my head against that boss for like 2 weeks thinking I sucked. Then I realized there are buffs you can get that boost max health and max magicka by 10k! That makes a huge difference! And like others said ring of the pale order is the ultimate solo gear.

If maelstrom is really no trouble for you, I actually think you should be up to vateshran.

I now can beat vet reliably and pretty easily.

Asardes

B0SSzombie wrote: »

Asardes wrote: »

B0SSzombie wrote: »

The Void Lich, on the other hand, is almost strictly a DPS burn. The longer that fight takes, the less likely you are to survive. You need to be able to kill the adds fast, or you'll have 2 Void Archers, 2 Void Flameshapers, and a few Shade Colossi chasing you. You need to be able to kill the tether wall enemies fast, or it's insta-death. You need to kill the Minibosses fast, or Maebroogha will fully heal.

Just like many other fights the add spawns are linked to the boss % HP. I don't remember the exact percentages for each add, but as I said they hit way harder than the actual boss. So if you only focus the boss, but not clear the adds, the damage will be overwhelming at some point, unless you can push is straight to execute, which is hard. You can actually pre-clear the colossi if you hit them before hand. On some runs I just light attacked them, stacked all 4 on the boss, dropped all my DoTs Standard of Might (I'm Stamina DK) and then spammed Whirling Blades 3-5x, roll dodged, all were dead, boss at 50% already and my ultimate at 100 alread, then I burned the ghost circle and the archers & mages, and only after that I pushed the boss to execute.

As per my point, I cannot do that with my character. I would have to completely respec everything, at which point I'd be better off just making a new character just to clear Vet Vat.

Even as a Werewolf with gear just for the Arena, my Tank isn't going to burn adds that fast. Towards the end of the fight, by time I killed one enemy, two more would have spawned to take it's place. This is a fight that needs AoE and DoT attacks by the boatload. Besides inflicting a little Disease Damage over time, I cannot do that with this character.

Maebroogha is designed like a Trial Boss, not a Solo Arena boss. No other boss in Maelstrom or Vateshran has the issues that she has.

On Warden you have for sure other tactics you can use to the same effect. If not just burn then 2 by 2. Also you don't need to be WW to finish the arena, you can just go in normal form with stamina DPS gear.

Malkiv

This doesn’t entirely sound like an issue with the game. You should have stepped back long before the headache and tunnel vision set in. There’s no reason to let a game affect you like that to begin with. Sorry you had a bad time.

B0SSzombie

Asardes wrote: »

B0SSzombie wrote: »

Asardes wrote: »

B0SSzombie wrote: »

The Void Lich, on the other hand, is almost strictly a DPS burn. The longer that fight takes, the less likely you are to survive. You need to be able to kill the adds fast, or you'll have 2 Void Archers, 2 Void Flameshapers, and a few Shade Colossi chasing you. You need to be able to kill the tether wall enemies fast, or it's insta-death. You need to kill the Minibosses fast, or Maebroogha will fully heal.

Just like many other fights the add spawns are linked to the boss % HP. I don't remember the exact percentages for each add, but as I said they hit way harder than the actual boss. So if you only focus the boss, but not clear the adds, the damage will be overwhelming at some point, unless you can push is straight to execute, which is hard. You can actually pre-clear the colossi if you hit them before hand. On some runs I just light attacked them, stacked all 4 on the boss, dropped all my DoTs Standard of Might (I'm Stamina DK) and then spammed Whirling Blades 3-5x, roll dodged, all were dead, boss at 50% already and my ultimate at 100 alread, then I burned the ghost circle and the archers & mages, and only after that I pushed the boss to execute.

As per my point, I cannot do that with my character. I would have to completely respec everything, at which point I'd be better off just making a new character just to clear Vet Vat.

Even as a Werewolf with gear just for the Arena, my Tank isn't going to burn adds that fast. Towards the end of the fight, by time I killed one enemy, two more would have spawned to take it's place. This is a fight that needs AoE and DoT attacks by the boatload. Besides inflicting a little Disease Damage over time, I cannot do that with this character.

Maebroogha is designed like a Trial Boss, not a Solo Arena boss. No other boss in Maelstrom or Vateshran has the issues that she has.

On Warden you have for sure other tactics you can use to the same effect. If not just burn then 2 by 2. Also you don't need to be WW to finish the arena, you can just go in normal form with stamina DPS gear.

Again. And once again.

I can put DPS gear on, but I would need to completely change my Skill and Champion point distribution.

Because I. Am. A. Tank.

And I didn't have to do that for any other part of either Arena.

You keep missing my point dude.

tsaescishoeshiner

B0SSzombie wrote: »

Looking back, I think the issue I had (and what frustrated me the most) is the departure of focus for the Final Boss in Vateshran.

In all of Maelstrom and the rest of Vateshran, the focus is sustainability. You need to focus on staying alive and paying attention to mechanics. You have all the time in the world, so long as you stay alive.

The Void Lich, on the other hand, is almost strictly a DPS burn. The longer that fight takes, the less likely you are to survive. You need to be able to kill the adds fast, or you'll have 2 Void Archers, 2 Void Flameshapers, and a few Shade Colossi chasing you. You need to be able to kill the tether wall enemies fast, or it's insta-death. You need to kill the Minibosses fast, or Maebroogha will fully heal.

That's not approachable by every class, like my Warden Tank Werewolf. You need specific builds to have the burn to win. Arena-centric builds should make the content easier, not just possible. And that kind of lazy approach to design is what irked me the most.

I think it's a very fair critique that the Maebroogha fight is very DPS-intensive, compared to Maelstrom, which you can take slower. That's sort of what makes it a rewarding arena for me as a DPS, but I hadn't considered a tank perspective. I have 10k less parse dps on my mag necro than mag warden, and it's definitely way hairier for me on that character

Hopefully you're able to figure it out or they can make it a bit more accessible for tank builds, maybe like not summoning certain adds if there's already a certain number of adds of that name up? Maybe dealing with one flame-shaper is enough incentive to try and kill it fast

B0SSzombie

Malkiv wrote: »

This doesn’t entirely sound like an issue with the game. You should have stepped back long before the headache and tunnel vision set in. There’s no reason to let a game affect you like that to begin with. Sorry you had a bad time.

Thing is, I didn't even realize it was happening. Since it never had before. Only reason it hit me was because I put my controller down to take a breather.

Were I even more stubborn, I might have had a serious issue.

GreenHere

B0SSzombie wrote: »

Decided I'd try the Veteran Solo Arenas today, seeing as how I'd played for almost 3 years now.

Maelstrom was no issue. Only died a few times to insta-kill mechanics.

But Vateshran...

Cleared everything without dying, then got to the final boss. Died a Dozen times, each to some mechanic that didn't seem fair. The two best ones were when I got insta-killed by the Tether mechanic despite being like 10 meters away from any of the Enemies, and when I killed the third miniboss and was instantly killed the second I teleported back in. That's not a great experience.

I don't get angry when I have a bad experience in a game, I typically just let it roll off my back. But after that last death, I realized I was getting literal tunnel vision and my head felt like it was going to explode. It felt like I was going to fall down unconscious if I walked around. I had to get up and go lie down for a few hours.

In the end, I decided that I'm done with Vateshran. At least on Veteran. I'll probably go back to farm some stuff later, but Vet is a solid "No."

Moral of the Story? You don't have to complete "harder" content. Especially if it's not well designed!

Hey @B0SSzombie , uh... not sure how much of that is hyperbole, and I'm not a medical professional or anything, but... I'm gonna go ahead and put that in the "NOT GOOD" category! I know this is a game forum and everything, so this might be out of place -- but screw it.

If you're seriously getting such severe effects from gaming-induced stress, there might be a serious medical issue underlying that. Sweaty hands and heart pounding aren't anything to worry about, but narrowing vision and feeling faint are not-so-insignificant side effects.

No joke, you might wanna check into this with a doctor, friend! Most things are better caught earlier than later, and often they're only caught at all (you know, before the person dies) because of looking into odd little warning signs like this. I'm being 100% serious.

Stay safe!


All this is assuming you literally mean "literally", and not the "modern version" of literally (which seems to mean "lol, not really")

B0SSzombie

GreenHere wrote: »

B0SSzombie wrote: »

Decided I'd try the Veteran Solo Arenas today, seeing as how I'd played for almost 3 years now.

Maelstrom was no issue. Only died a few times to insta-kill mechanics.

But Vateshran...

Cleared everything without dying, then got to the final boss. Died a Dozen times, each to some mechanic that didn't seem fair. The two best ones were when I got insta-killed by the Tether mechanic despite being like 10 meters away from any of the Enemies, and when I killed the third miniboss and was instantly killed the second I teleported back in. That's not a great experience.

I don't get angry when I have a bad experience in a game, I typically just let it roll off my back. But after that last death, I realized I was getting literal tunnel vision and my head felt like it was going to explode. It felt like I was going to fall down unconscious if I walked around. I had to get up and go lie down for a few hours.

In the end, I decided that I'm done with Vateshran. At least on Veteran. I'll probably go back to farm some stuff later, but Vet is a solid "No."

Moral of the Story? You don't have to complete "harder" content. Especially if it's not well designed!

Hey @B0SSzombie , uh... not sure how much of that is hyperbole, and I'm not a medical professional or anything, but... I'm gonna go ahead and put that in the "NOT GOOD" category! I know this is a game forum and everything, so this might be out of place -- but screw it.

If you're seriously getting such severe effects from gaming-induced stress, there might be a serious medical issue underlying that. Sweaty hands and heart pounding aren't anything to worry about, but narrowing vision and feeling faint are not-so-insignificant side effects.

No joke, you might wanna check into this with a doctor, friend! Most things are better caught earlier than later, and often they're only caught at all (you know, before the person dies) because of looking into odd little warning signs like this. I'm being 100% serious.

Stay safe!


All this is assuming you literally mean "literally", and not the "modern version" of literally (which seems to mean "lol, not really")

No no, it was very much the actual "literally" and not the figurative.

It's certainly a new development. It's just strange because I've definitely done far harder things in games.