The Medusa problem

couriersix

I have run normal Arx Corinium over 100 times in hopes of an inferno staff with absolutely no luck. With that said, I have a suggestion to ease the pain and potentially increase the drop rate of the most sought after item from Arx- add a named set piece of the inferno staff to the final boss. Medusa can be essential in a number of end game PVE progression runs, so having it be more obtainable to reflect this would be fitting and a huge time saver on the community.

There is absolutely no conceivable reason that I can think of for the drop rate to be as brutal as it is. It's not even difficult to farm, just incredibly annoying and a much larger sink of time than I'm willing to do.

hexnotic

you’re better off running it on vet for the increased quality of drops from the chests. it’s still gunna suck, but this will decrease your time farming.

Dagoth_Rac

couriersix wrote: »

I have run normal Arx Corinium over 100 times in hopes of an inferno staff with absolutely no luck. With that said, I have a proposal to ease the pain and potentially increase the drop rate of the most sought after item from Arx- add a named set piece of the inferno staff to the final boss. Medusa can be essential in a number of end game PVE progression runs, so having it be more obtainable to reflect this would be fitting and a huge time saver on the community.

There is absolutely no conceivable reason that I can think of for the drop rate to be as brutal as it is. It's not even difficult to farm, just incredibly annoying and a much larger sink of time than I'm willing to do.

The problem with this is that meta weapons come and go all the time. ZOS would constantly need to be adding and removing named meta weapons for different bosses. I think veteran hardmode should drop a guaranteed weapon and a guaranteed jewel. Now it is like jewelry 50% of the time, so it essentially doubles the time it takes to get a weapon because half the time, final boss does not drop a weapon.

Also, some people are running non-meta builds, and they will still be in bad shape if only meta weapons have an increased drop chance. Especially since it is hard to even get a group for a dungeon with no meta weapons.

Making advanced and master chests have a guaranteed weapon would be nice, too.

goldenarcher1

Just wondering if all you Medusa inferno staff farmers know that there are 4 chests active in Arx Corinium every time you run it,instead of the usual 2 for some reason.

Thats 5 chances to get the staff with boss drop included.

DarcyMardin

goldenarcher1 wrote: »

Just wondering if all you Medusa inferno staff farmers know that there are 4 chests active in Arx Corinium every time you run it,instead of the usual 2 for some reason.

Thats 5 chances to get the staff with boss drop included.

Is this always the case? Because I just ran it, looking for the 4 chests and only found one. Pretty sure I checked out every corner...

Merforum

goldenarcher1 wrote: »

Just wondering if all you Medusa inferno staff farmers know that there are 4 chests active in Arx Corinium every time you run it,instead of the usual 2 for some reason.

Thats 5 chances to get the staff with boss drop included.

You are exactly right my friend and I found 7 chests in Arx one time. Also I found 2 medusa infernos IN CHESTS. One thing that is so ridiculous, is most times I pug a random and it is Arx and someone asks for medusa inferno, they RUN AS FAST AS THEY CAN ANYWAY. I'm like DUDE there's 4+ chests, RELAX and let's get ALL of them, but NO they have already jumped over waterfall and not waiting for me to tank, while I am opening a chest. The last medusa inferno I got which I already had, I just kept because why should I give it to someone who runs ahead and ruins whole dungeon and leaving everyone behind who are telling the dude over and over, we are LOOKING FOR CHESTS HELLO.

Merforum

Merforum wrote: »

goldenarcher1 wrote: »

Just wondering if all you Medusa inferno staff farmers know that there are 4 chests active in Arx Corinium every time you run it,instead of the usual 2 for some reason.

Thats 5 chances to get the staff with boss drop included.

You are exactly right my friend and I found 7 chests in Arx one time. Also I found 2 medusa infernos IN CHESTS. One thing that is so ridiculous, is most times I pug a random and it is Arx and someone asks for medusa inferno, they RUN AS FAST AS THEY CAN ANYWAY. I'm like DUDE there's 4+ chests, RELAX and let's get ALL of them, but NO they have already jumped over waterfall and not waiting for me to tank, while I am opening a chest. The last medusa inferno I got which I already had, I just kept because why should I give it to someone who runs ahead and ruins whole dungeon and leaving everyone behind who are telling the dude over and over, we are LOOKING FOR CHESTS HELLO.

BTW there is about 50% of time 1 chest AFTER final boss ON THE STAIR towards exit. I can't believe how many times I write 'CHEST' just as 2-3 people have already left group.

WrathOfInnos

I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Medusa on front bar staff always loses a lot of damage from back bar skills, and bar swapped projectiles. That being said, Medusa on armor jewelry is also in a pretty bad spot, and about to get worse with the upcoming Piercing nerf (1400 to 700, meaning you need to wear more Light Armor). I’d just skip the set entirely and replace it with the new mythic, Harpooner’s Wading Kilt (which also gives 10% crit damage, as a unique buff, and 5.7% crit chance) in a few weeks.

El_Borracho

I know its not meta, but you can still run the old 2 pieces of Medusa heavy armor with 3 jewelry and 3 pieces of Mother's Sorrow with the MS staff. Your damage will go down slightly, but its still a viable DPS build and it removes the Medusa "problem" of trying to get the inferno staff. And your become a little tankier against melee attacks.

Merforum

WrathOfInnos wrote: »

I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Medusa on front bar staff always loses a lot of damage from back bar skills, and bar swapped projectiles. That being said, Medusa on armor jewelry is also in a pretty bad spot, and about to get worse with the upcoming Piercing nerf (1400 to 700, meaning you need to wear more Light Armor). I’d just skip the set entirely and replace it with the new mythic, Harpooner’s Wading Kilt (which also gives 10% crit damage, as a unique buff, and 5.7% crit chance) in a few weeks.

People will be wearing MS/medusa AND HW KILT, all 3 so will still have to get medusa weapon, since KILT is medium. Because crit is so overtuned that stacking it as much as possible is no-brainer.

WrathOfInnos

Merforum wrote: »

WrathOfInnos wrote: »

I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Medusa on front bar staff always loses a lot of damage from back bar skills, and bar swapped projectiles. That being said, Medusa on armor jewelry is also in a pretty bad spot, and about to get worse with the upcoming Piercing nerf (1400 to 700, meaning you need to wear more Light Armor). I’d just skip the set entirely and replace it with the new mythic, Harpooner’s Wading Kilt (which also gives 10% crit damage, as a unique buff, and 5.7% crit chance) in a few weeks.

People will be wearing MS/medusa AND HW KILT, all 3 so will still have to get medusa weapon, since KILT is medium. Because crit is so overtuned that stacking it as much as possible is no-brainer.

If that build becomes meta then it would definitely use daggers, so OP still doesn’t need the inferno staff. I don’t think it’s a very good combination though, neither set works well on front bar (carries over to back, like Siroria, BSW, Spell Strat, Acuity, Architect, etc.). Crits still need damage behind them, and that build lacks Spell Damage and Minor Slayer. Minor Force is weaker than it has ever been, and even if you want it there are easier ways to get the buff. The death of Simmering Frenzy means everyone has bar space for Barbed Trap again (maybe even Guard on fights that don’t require cleave damage from the nerfed Orb), and the changes to synergies make Twilight Remedy a real option for groupwide Minor Force.

There are a lot of possibilities to play with, but I don’t see any of them pointing to Medusa Inferno being mandatory. It’s not terrible if you want to use it, but don’t kill yourself farming something that doesn’t even look great.

Merforum

WrathOfInnos wrote: »

Merforum wrote: »

WrathOfInnos wrote: »

I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Medusa on front bar staff always loses a lot of damage from back bar skills, and bar swapped projectiles. That being said, Medusa on armor jewelry is also in a pretty bad spot, and about to get worse with the upcoming Piercing nerf (1400 to 700, meaning you need to wear more Light Armor). I’d just skip the set entirely and replace it with the new mythic, Harpooner’s Wading Kilt (which also gives 10% crit damage, as a unique buff, and 5.7% crit chance) in a few weeks.

People will be wearing MS/medusa AND HW KILT, all 3 so will still have to get medusa weapon, since KILT is medium. Because crit is so overtuned that stacking it as much as possible is no-brainer.

If that build becomes meta then it would definitely use daggers, so OP still doesn’t need the inferno staff. I don’t think it’s a very good combination though, neither set works well on front bar (carries over to back, like Siroria, BSW, Spell Strat, Acuity, Architect, etc.). Crits still need damage behind them, and that build lacks Spell Damage and Minor Slayer. Minor Force is weaker than it has ever been, and even if you want it there are easier ways to get the buff. The death of Simmering Frenzy means everyone has bar space for Barbed Trap again (maybe even Guard on fights that don’t require cleave damage from the nerfed Orb), and the changes to synergies make Twilight Remedy a real option for groupwide Minor Force.

There are a lot of possibilities to play with, but I don’t see any of them pointing to Medusa Inferno being mandatory. It’s not terrible if you want to use it, but don’t kill yourself farming something that doesn’t even look great.

I agree with the point about not spending too much time chasing gear, but if people were going to use medusa daggers instead of inferno then everyone would be looking for those, right? And my point is that just because there is a KILT doesn't mean no one wants medusa, they might want both. I never said it will be best build or mandatory.

couriersix

goldenarcher1 wrote: »

Just wondering if all you Medusa inferno staff farmers know that there are 4 chests active in Arx Corinium every time you run it,instead of the usual 2 for some reason.

Thats 5 chances to get the staff with boss drop included.

Yes, I gather from all chests. Still no luck.

As for the set not being 'required' - it can depend on the guild. I've seen required builds for certain trials and groups, especially in the end game PVE scene and a number of times, Medusa is a necessary set. The problem with using daggers over the inferno staff is also situational. For example, in vAS+2 you want to have all ranged characters- so a dagger wouldn't work, especially if you're stacking it with Mother's Sorrow.

On a second note, another thing ZOS could add that would affect all dungeons and farming efficiency is for each dungeon run to guarantee a new set drop on the final boss which you don't have in your sticker book yet. This would help with it's completion all together given the sheer amount of sets, and would help encourage items with low drop rates to eventually show up on top make farming significantly less tedious.

Amottica

couriersix wrote: »

I have a proposal to ease the pain and potentially increase the drop rate of the most sought after item from Arx- add a named set piece of the inferno staff to the final boss.

As someone who is farming the same weapon, I am interested in what the proposal is. It seems to have been left out of the OP.

couriersix

Amottica wrote: »

couriersix wrote: »

I have a proposal to ease the pain and potentially increase the drop rate of the most sought after item from Arx- add a named set piece of the inferno staff to the final boss.

As someone who is farming the same weapon, I am interested in what the proposal is. It seems to have been left out of the OP.

My suggestion was to add a named set piece of the inferno staff to the final boss, though I realize I may have misused the word proposal. Named set pieces tend to have a higher drop rate which would help alleviate grinding to an extent. My other suggestion in a separate reply would be for ZOS to guarantee a new stickerbook piece with each separate dungeon run on the final boss, which I believe would also help.

Viewsfrom6ix

I know the feel, I just ended up using lightning medusa instead. Luckily I'm a sorc so the dps loss is insignificant

Reeb

I've just got my Medusa inferno staff after some 30 runs While the RND is indeed infavourable for this one, I don't think it's the single rarest drop in Arx Corinium. Ok, I've got maybe 10 resto staves as well as 5 ice and lightning ones each, but I still haven't completely filled out my sticker books for the Medusa, Lamia and Undaunted Infiltrator sets. I still have 2 Medusa weapons missing in the collection.

Here are some tips I think can help everyone to make their farming efficient:

• Do it on veteran because on normal most chests are simple, which means that even with Treasure Hunter you may not get any set piece from them.
• You can do the dungeon solo, but ideally, try to run with people looking for other items than you (e.g. jewelry). Obviously, they are not easy to find but I myself ran several times with guildmates looking for the Medusa necklace which is also rare. Having a group also makes resetting the dungeon quicker.
• Focus on finding all chests - there is always 4 of them and soon you will learn all their possible spawn locations.
• Remember to have your Treasure Hunter perk slotted in the Craft CP tree. The Keen Eye: Treasure Chests passive from the Excavation skill line helps to spot the chests.
• Having the Locksmith passive from the Legerdemain skill line allows you to force loks quickly without playing the locpicking minigame every time.
• Avoid trash mob and optional boss fights which on solo vet can take a while - don't hesitate to just die strategically to make them stop following you. There are 2 bosses that can't be skipped: the big lizard and the lamia with a pet snake.
• When soloing on vet, you can skip the last boss because killing her takes a lot of time, almost as much as running the whole dungeon again and finding your 4 chests.
  

Good luck!

ThePianist

What’s the world record for farming arx and still not getting inferno staff? 1,000 attempts?

You guys are doing it wrong. Go to a different toon then farm it. Baby toon tanks are the fastest way, especially when you have double xp events like the one we have now.

I got inferno Medusa drop when I ran with my lvl 35 baby toon tank. At lvl 48, I went to Imperial city prison and Sword and Board leeching finally dropped.

When a baby toon binds and collects an equipment, it is account wide. Deconstruct that lvl 35-50 inferno Medusa then reconstruct it to a lvl 160cp weapon on your main crafter.

Andre_Noir

Both Medusa and Rattlecage have to be changed to light long ago. And dont even try to start pointless speech about heavy/medium/light rule because half of bloated light sets are support sets but stamina no-no only damage options and selfish sets. And even when mDD gets new sets most of them looks like a mockery - just compare unhallowed grave or castle thorn sets

mr_coops

Reeb wrote: »

[*] Avoid trash mob and optional boss fights which on solo vet can take a while - don't hesitate to just die strategically to make them stop following you. There are 2 bosses that can't be skipped: the big lizard and the lamia with a pet snake.
[/list]

Good luck!

Mobs also have a chance to drop set gear, it's a very low chance but is there so my advice is do not skip anything
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Dungeon_Sets#:~:text=Bosses will drop either a,will drop weapons or jewelry.

Amottica

Reeb wrote: »

I've just got my Medusa inferno staff after some 30 runs While the RND is indeed infavourable for this one, I don't think it's the single rarest drop in Arx Corinium. Ok, I've got maybe 10 resto staves as well as 5 ice and lightning ones each, but I still haven't completely filled out my sticker books for the Medusa, Lamia and Undaunted Infiltrator sets. I still have 2 Medusa weapons missing in the collection.

Here are some tips I think can help everyone to make their farming efficient:

• Do it on veteran because on normal most chests are simple, which means that even with Treasure Hunter you may not get any set piece from them.
• You can do the dungeon solo, but ideally, try to run with people looking for other items than you (e.g. jewelry). Obviously, they are not easy to find but I myself ran several times with guildmates looking for the Medusa necklace which is also rare. Having a group also makes resetting the dungeon quicker.
• Focus on finding all chests - there is always 4 of them and soon you will learn all their possible spawn locations.
• Remember to have your Treasure Hunter perk slotted in the Craft CP tree. The Keen Eye: Treasure Chests passive from the Excavation skill line helps to spot the chests.
• Having the Locksmith passive from the Legerdemain skill line allows you to force loks quickly without playing the locpicking minigame every time.
• Avoid trash mob and optional boss fights which on solo vet can take a while - don't hesitate to just die strategically to make them stop following you. There are 2 bosses that can't be skipped: the big lizard and the lamia with a pet snake.
• When soloing on vet, you can skip the last boss because killing her takes a lot of time, almost as much as running the whole dungeon again and finding your 4 chests.
  

Good luck!

Thank you for this information. I do not know all the ins and outs of ESO since I am new.

Though I will point out someone noted trash can drop set gear and I have seen that. But the other points make sense.

WrathOfInnos

Andre_Noir wrote: »

Both Medusa and Rattlecage have to be changed to light long ago. And dont even try to start pointless speech about heavy/medium/light rule because half of bloated light sets are support sets but stamina no-no only damage options and selfish sets. And even when mDD gets new sets most of them looks like a mockery - just compare unhallowed grave or castle thorn sets

Yeah, they probably should be light, but this would cause an issue with dungeon sets. Every dungeon drops a light, medium, and heavy set, and both Arx and Vaults would lose their heavy set and have 2 lights if this change happened. Not a massive issue, but I doubt we’ll see them change for this reason.

Also add Elf Bane and Advancing Yokeda to the list, they would be much better suited to Light and Medium armor.

Personally I’d rather see a Magicka version of Tzogvin’s introduced than a change to Medusa. We need something that can be front-barred and carry over to back bar for up to 5s. Both sets give Minor Force, but Tzog also gives 14% crit + 1487 Penetration. Medusa only has 13% crit and zero penetration. Better weight, better stats, better single bar, just a better set in every way.

oterWitz

Reeb wrote: »

Here are some tips I think can help everyone to make their farming efficient:

• Do it on veteran because on normal most chests are simple, which means that even with Treasure Hunter you may not get any set piece from them.
• You can do the dungeon solo, but ideally, try to run with people looking for other items than you (e.g. jewelry). Obviously, they are not easy to find but I myself ran several times with guildmates looking for the Medusa necklace which is also rare. Having a group also makes resetting the dungeon quicker.
• Focus on finding all chests - there is always 4 of them and soon you will learn all their possible spawn locations.
• Remember to have your Treasure Hunter perk slotted in the Craft CP tree. The Keen Eye: Treasure Chests passive from the Excavation skill line helps to spot the chests.
• Having the Locksmith passive from the Legerdemain skill line allows you to force loks quickly without playing the locpicking minigame every time.
• Avoid trash mob and optional boss fights which on solo vet can take a while - don't hesitate to just die strategically to make them stop following you. There are 2 bosses that can't be skipped: the big lizard and the lamia with a pet snake.
• When soloing on vet, you can skip the last boss because killing her takes a lot of time, almost as much as running the whole dungeon again and finding your 4 chests.

This post is worth like a hundred insightfuls. Is the rule of four chests applicable in every dungeon? If so, I can't believe I've gone years farming sets without realizing it or seeing it mentioned.

And for those talking about killing every mob because they have a chance to drop a set piece, I think the suggestion to skip them comes from a time/ease perspective. If you only chase chests, you are guaranteed four chances at the staff. If you take the time to kill the boss that's a fifth chance, but it's faster to skip when soloing on vet and just stick to runs that are twice as fast for four chances only. Killing all mobs also takes a longer time on vet, and comes with <1% chance per mob that you'll even get a chance at the staff. Unless I'm missing/forgetting something, it's far more efficient to farm by killing only necessary mobs to reach chests.

Artemis_X_

mr_coops wrote: »

Reeb wrote: »

[*] Avoid trash mob and optional boss fights which on solo vet can take a while - don't hesitate to just die strategically to make them stop following you. There are 2 bosses that can't be skipped: the big lizard and the lamia with a pet snake.
[/list]

Good luck!

Mobs also have a chance to drop set gear, it's a very low chance but is there so my advice is do not skip anything
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Dungeon_Sets#:~:text=Bosses will drop either a,will drop weapons or jewelry.

Correct here, I got my Bsw inferno Staff from a trash mob