Is the veteran Maelstrom Arena much more difficult than the normal one?

fetito666

Hello!

Is the veteran Maelstrom Arena much more difficult than the normal one? I am a stamina DK.

Can I do one part of the arena a day and then continue the next day? Does the game pause my progress?

Thank you!

Viewsfrom6ix

Yes, it is much much more difficult than the normal version

Start the quest in beginning and your progress is saved after finishing each level.

fetito666

Ok and how do I start the veteran version of the quest?

fetito666

And what's the difference between the normal bow that drops and the veteran bow that drops?

waterfairy

yes but also much easier then it was years ago

waterfairy

fetito666 wrote: »

Ok and how do I start the veteran version of the quest?

leave the zone, delete the quest, switch your group dungeon difficulty to vet then travel back to MA

AlnilamE

fetito666 wrote: »

And what's the difference between the normal bow that drops and the veteran bow that drops?

There's one extra stat in it, but you'll have to look up "Perfected Maelstrom Bow" and compare to "Maelstrom Bow" and see if you think it's worth it.

To start it in Veteran, open your group menu (P on PC) and set your group difficulty to Vet.

Oznog666

OP just in case you are not aware of it: the drop of the bow is not guaranteed, neither in normal nor in vet, most of the people had to do 20+ runs to get it. The difference is in the perfected version 526 weapon crit is added.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Yes. It is an absolute joke compared to the difficulty at launch because we are all WAY more powerful, everything from Gear to CP, but it is still a significant step-up in difficulty from Normal. It is as much about learning mechanics as player skill, so even though its easier than it used to be, you are going to have to progress through it the first time.

The good thing is that your progress will save after each stage and the mechanics are essentially the same as normal. The bad is that some of the mechanics might have been missed on Normal if you werent paying attention and they will kill you on vet if ignored.

If you get stuck, please ask for help. Most of us would love to point you in the right direction, talk builds, strats, etc.

Some general advice at the outset (might have got carried away ):

1. No substitute for just jumping in and playing vet.

2. Look at your death recap, you will probably die a lot at first. You cant adapt if you don't know what is killing you.

3. All stages have a unique mechanic, know them and make them your #1 priority. If you cant figure out what it is, look it up or ask.

4. Use a proven Arena build. VMA the first time is not the place to try something way outside the box. Typically, that is a damage build for the most part, maybe with a bit more regen and health. Ring of the Pale Order is certainly not mandatory, but it should make it significantly easier.

5. Magic is generally easier than stamina, that said, play the class/spec you are most comfortable with.

6. USE SIGILS. Make sure you know what each does. They respawn each round of each stage. You wont be going for score the first time, and there is no shame in using them. The Shield is basically a reflect (super useful with any ranged adds as they will kill themselves, most powerful sigil IMO). The weapon sigil is a DPS boost (use on bosses, minibosses). The healing sigil does just that, its a massive HOT (use pretty much any time). The speed sigil also boosts all stat regen (use anytime resources are an issue).

7. Take it slow. Dont play angry or tired. The two biggest problem areas are Stage 5 (ice round) and the Final boss. It's okay to get stuck and take a break.

8. Come prepared. Correct food, potions, Soul gems, build, etc.

9. The best defense is a good offense. Crazy DPS is not required, and there are really no true DPS checks in the arena, but the more damage you do, the easier it will be. If the first boss ports on you more than 2-3 times on vet, your damage is low enough to make your life difficult, but certainly not impossible. You may want to re-evaulte your build at that point.

10. Especially in arenas with portals and known spawn points, practice pre-buffing with self buffs and ground DOTs. Most stages of the arena are best handled by camping one spawn point with ground DOTS, ignoring the add closest too you as your dots kill them, and killing the other adds (typically 3 per waive) as they come to you from range.

11. Get a handle on kill priority. I would generally say that it goes Healers> Archers/Mages (range DPS)> 2h/DW (melee DPS)> Sword and boards. Melee adds can be kited. Mini bosses are their own animals. As you get comfortable, you will generally nuke them first, but at the outset, you may want to put them towards the end of your priority. Of course, not everything will fit neatly into that.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

fetito666 wrote: »

And what's the difference between the normal bow that drops and the veteran bow that drops?

The only difference between any normal weapon and a perfected weapon is a random one piece bonus. On the bow, I believe it is weapon crit. On the Fire staff, it is spell pen. These are the two most popular VMA weapons, and the reality is that the extra bonus is only a very minimal DPS gain because both are back bar weapons. A one piece crit chance on your back bar, is probably not worth the effort if that is your only motivation.

That said, Dive in. I promise you will be a better player on the other side of VMA. It is the best training ground in ESO.

colossalvoids

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

fetito666 wrote: »

And what's the difference between the normal bow that drops and the veteran bow that drops?

That said, Dive in. I promise you will be a better player on the other side of VMA. It is the best training ground in ESO.

Can't put it better, it's a challenge worth taking.

Also we all were dying and adjusting, it's not a problem at all as you learn a lot (not just about mechanics in general, but about your play) in return.

El_Borracho

Just to add on to the great advice above, the more you run it, the easier it gets, except for the ####ing poison level and their RNG flowers, but I digress. DEFNITELY look up some guides online, Alcast and Joy's are my 2 favorite. I found a heavy attack petsorc with Undaunted Infiltrator, Infallible Aether, and Maw of the Infernal to be the easiest setup (swap out the Maw for something else on Stage 7). But everyone has their own preference for VMA.

But, above all, pay attention to where adds spawn and when. It is critical for Stage 4 and above. Losing track of important adds (Level 4 Sentries, Level 5 Troll Breaker, Level 6 Hoarvor (EDIT: and Web Spinners), Level 7 Archers, Level 9 Narkynaz) is the easiest way to get overwhelmed and die.

You will hate it more than anything until you beat it. Then you'll keep doing it and wonder why you thought it was impossible.

Veinblood1965

Google deltia's u-tube videos they are awesome on vet,

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Typical Computer Desk after your first clear.

waterfairy

El_Borracho wrote: »

Just to add on to the great advice above, the more you run it, the easier it gets, except for the ####ing poison level and their RNG flowers, but I digress. DEFNITELY look up some guides online, Alcast and Joy's are my 2 favorite. I found a heavy attack petsorc with Undaunted Infiltrator, Infallible Aether, and Maw of the Infernal to be the easiest setup (swap out the Maw for something else on Stage 7). But everyone has their own preference for VMA.

But, above all, pay attention to where adds spawn and when. It is critical for Stage 4 and above. Losing track of important adds (Level 4 Sentries, Level 5 Troll Breaker, Level 6 Hoarvor, Level 7 Archers, Level 9 Narkynaz) is the easiest way to get overwhelmed and die.

You will hate it more than anything until you beat it. Then you'll keep doing it and wonder why you thought it was impossible.

I had a harder time with stage 6 then 7 trying to keep track of everything and getting the boss stun to pop but I play a harder way of being zoomed in close with vanilla red AoEs and whatnot

El_Borracho

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Just to add on to the great advice above, the more you run it, the easier it gets, except for the ####ing poison level and their RNG flowers, but I digress. DEFNITELY look up some guides online, Alcast and Joy's are my 2 favorite. I found a heavy attack petsorc with Undaunted Infiltrator, Infallible Aether, and Maw of the Infernal to be the easiest setup (swap out the Maw for something else on Stage 7). But everyone has their own preference for VMA.

But, above all, pay attention to where adds spawn and when. It is critical for Stage 4 and above. Losing track of important adds (Level 4 Sentries, Level 5 Troll Breaker, Level 6 Hoarvor, Level 7 Archers, Level 9 Narkynaz) is the easiest way to get overwhelmed and die.

You will hate it more than anything until you beat it. Then you'll keep doing it and wonder why you thought it was impossible.

I had a harder time with stage 6 then 7 trying to keep track of everything and getting the boss stun to pop but I play a harder way of being zoomed in close with vanilla red AoEs and whatnot

I play 3rd person and turned the "stupid" from red into bright pink. The color change helps immensely.

For a while 6 was my hardest stage until I found kiting adds in the middle, dropping AOEs in the middle and staying on top of the hoarvors was the key. Keeping all but one obelisk clear until the final boss is all you need to do, then burn that spider down as fast as possible.

fetito666

Thank you all!

Is the arena also suitable for grinding XP by using XP-scrolls?

ShawnLaRock

I recommend @doomaflitchy / @thegameroom guide videos to help you get a handle on mechanics. He also has a one bar build, and a literal one-button flawless vMA guide.

S.

Darrett

El_Borracho wrote: »

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Just to add on to the great advice above, the more you run it, the easier it gets, except for the ####ing poison level and their RNG flowers, but I digress. DEFNITELY look up some guides online, Alcast and Joy's are my 2 favorite. I found a heavy attack petsorc with Undaunted Infiltrator, Infallible Aether, and Maw of the Infernal to be the easiest setup (swap out the Maw for something else on Stage 7). But everyone has their own preference for VMA.

But, above all, pay attention to where adds spawn and when. It is critical for Stage 4 and above. Losing track of important adds (Level 4 Sentries, Level 5 Troll Breaker, Level 6 Hoarvor, Level 7 Archers, Level 9 Narkynaz) is the easiest way to get overwhelmed and die.

You will hate it more than anything until you beat it. Then you'll keep doing it and wonder why you thought it was impossible.

I had a harder time with stage 6 then 7 trying to keep track of everything and getting the boss stun to pop but I play a harder way of being zoomed in close with vanilla red AoEs and whatnot

I play 3rd person and turned the "stupid" from red into bright pink. The color change helps immensely.

For a while 6 was my hardest stage until I found kiting adds in the middle, dropping AOEs in the middle and staying on top of the hoarvors was the key. Keeping all but one obelisk clear until the final boss is all you need to do, then burn that spider down as fast as possible.

I found 6 easier when I stopped trying to activate the obelisk stuns; keeping it one away from activating gives you a lot more breathing room so missing a web spinner doesn’t result in an instant death, and the actual stun doesn’t really provide much benefit.

robpr

fetito666 wrote: »

Thank you all!

Is the arena also suitable for grinding XP by using XP-scrolls?

Normal? Yes, but exp is less than on BRP. On vet its not time efficient.

SickleCider

It took me a few months to do my first vMA clear. That was just last year iirc. Now I have Flawless Conquerer, a huge pile of perfected mauls and axes and have the luxury of lamenting the apparent non-existence of any kind of perfected destro staff.

When people say it gets easier it really do be like that.

FrancisCrawford

I've done normal Maelstrom Arena on 15 characters, across 10 class/main-resource combinations, often with with pretty casual strategies and builds.

I've never completed vMA's 5th stage.

BXR_Lonestar

Vet Maelstrom isn't even the same place when compared to normal. I've ONLY done it on vet numerous times before, but decided to try it on normal for s/g's. I strolled through normal in less than 45 minutes and almost no-deathed it (darn that Poison in Round 7). There is an astronomical jump in difficulty between vet and normal maelstrom. Mechanics matter WAY more, and you will be punished severely for not doing them.

waterfairy

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

I've done normal Maelstrom Arena on 15 characters, across 10 class/main-resource combinations, often with with pretty casual strategies and builds.

I've never completed vMA's 5th stage.

ha I feel you. That stage was a nightmare for my melee stam build..magic might be easier. I'm guessing you already know the mechs that you have to go after the trolls asap and interrupt them before they smash the ice...just remember the giant lady will smash that same 1 and plan accordingly

El_Borracho

Darrett wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Just to add on to the great advice above, the more you run it, the easier it gets, except for the ####ing poison level and their RNG flowers, but I digress. DEFNITELY look up some guides online, Alcast and Joy's are my 2 favorite. I found a heavy attack petsorc with Undaunted Infiltrator, Infallible Aether, and Maw of the Infernal to be the easiest setup (swap out the Maw for something else on Stage 7). But everyone has their own preference for VMA.

But, above all, pay attention to where adds spawn and when. It is critical for Stage 4 and above. Losing track of important adds (Level 4 Sentries, Level 5 Troll Breaker, Level 6 Hoarvor, Level 7 Archers, Level 9 Narkynaz) is the easiest way to get overwhelmed and die.

You will hate it more than anything until you beat it. Then you'll keep doing it and wonder why you thought it was impossible.

I had a harder time with stage 6 then 7 trying to keep track of everything and getting the boss stun to pop but I play a harder way of being zoomed in close with vanilla red AoEs and whatnot

I play 3rd person and turned the "stupid" from red into bright pink. The color change helps immensely.

For a while 6 was my hardest stage until I found kiting adds in the middle, dropping AOEs in the middle and staying on top of the hoarvors was the key. Keeping all but one obelisk clear until the final boss is all you need to do, then burn that spider down as fast as possible.

I found 6 easier when I stopped trying to activate the obelisk stuns; keeping it one away from activating gives you a lot more breathing room so missing a web spinner doesn’t result in an instant death, and the actual stun doesn’t really provide much benefit.

Agree about the stun being a bit overrated, but it is enough of a breather to drop your ultimate and all of your DOTs to set up for the fight. You can easily kill her without it, its just become part of the routine for me.

waterfairy

El_Borracho wrote: »

Darrett wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Just to add on to the great advice above, the more you run it, the easier it gets, except for the ####ing poison level and their RNG flowers, but I digress. DEFNITELY look up some guides online, Alcast and Joy's are my 2 favorite. I found a heavy attack petsorc with Undaunted Infiltrator, Infallible Aether, and Maw of the Infernal to be the easiest setup (swap out the Maw for something else on Stage 7). But everyone has their own preference for VMA.

But, above all, pay attention to where adds spawn and when. It is critical for Stage 4 and above. Losing track of important adds (Level 4 Sentries, Level 5 Troll Breaker, Level 6 Hoarvor, Level 7 Archers, Level 9 Narkynaz) is the easiest way to get overwhelmed and die.

You will hate it more than anything until you beat it. Then you'll keep doing it and wonder why you thought it was impossible.

I had a harder time with stage 6 then 7 trying to keep track of everything and getting the boss stun to pop but I play a harder way of being zoomed in close with vanilla red AoEs and whatnot

I play 3rd person and turned the "stupid" from red into bright pink. The color change helps immensely.

For a while 6 was my hardest stage until I found kiting adds in the middle, dropping AOEs in the middle and staying on top of the hoarvors was the key. Keeping all but one obelisk clear until the final boss is all you need to do, then burn that spider down as fast as possible.

I found 6 easier when I stopped trying to activate the obelisk stuns; keeping it one away from activating gives you a lot more breathing room so missing a web spinner doesn’t result in an instant death, and the actual stun doesn’t really provide much benefit.

Agree about the stun being a bit overrated, but it is enough of a breather to drop your ultimate and all of your DOTs to set up for the fight. You can easily kill her without it, its just become part of the routine for me.

it's been awhile so correct me if wrong but if you don't activate that stun doesn't she get increasing armor and damage reduction along with increased attack damage? I remember wailing on her armored form just to burn the last bit of hp she had left

El_Borracho

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Darrett wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Just to add on to the great advice above, the more you run it, the easier it gets, except for the ####ing poison level and their RNG flowers, but I digress. DEFNITELY look up some guides online, Alcast and Joy's are my 2 favorite. I found a heavy attack petsorc with Undaunted Infiltrator, Infallible Aether, and Maw of the Infernal to be the easiest setup (swap out the Maw for something else on Stage 7). But everyone has their own preference for VMA.

But, above all, pay attention to where adds spawn and when. It is critical for Stage 4 and above. Losing track of important adds (Level 4 Sentries, Level 5 Troll Breaker, Level 6 Hoarvor, Level 7 Archers, Level 9 Narkynaz) is the easiest way to get overwhelmed and die.

You will hate it more than anything until you beat it. Then you'll keep doing it and wonder why you thought it was impossible.

I had a harder time with stage 6 then 7 trying to keep track of everything and getting the boss stun to pop but I play a harder way of being zoomed in close with vanilla red AoEs and whatnot

I play 3rd person and turned the "stupid" from red into bright pink. The color change helps immensely.

For a while 6 was my hardest stage until I found kiting adds in the middle, dropping AOEs in the middle and staying on top of the hoarvors was the key. Keeping all but one obelisk clear until the final boss is all you need to do, then burn that spider down as fast as possible.

I found 6 easier when I stopped trying to activate the obelisk stuns; keeping it one away from activating gives you a lot more breathing room so missing a web spinner doesn’t result in an instant death, and the actual stun doesn’t really provide much benefit.

Agree about the stun being a bit overrated, but it is enough of a breather to drop your ultimate and all of your DOTs to set up for the fight. You can easily kill her without it, its just become part of the routine for me.

it's been awhile so correct me if wrong but if you don't activate that stun doesn't she get increasing armor and damage reduction along with increased attack damage? I remember wailing on her armored form just to burn the last bit of hp she had left

One of her attacks, I think the spit, increases in strength and slows you down significantly until it kills you or the adds and her kill you. If you have high enough burn, the stun doesn't matter as much. If you have lower burn, you need the stun and the sigil to overcome that timer.

waterfairy

El_Borracho wrote: »

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Darrett wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Just to add on to the great advice above, the more you run it, the easier it gets, except for the ####ing poison level and their RNG flowers, but I digress. DEFNITELY look up some guides online, Alcast and Joy's are my 2 favorite. I found a heavy attack petsorc with Undaunted Infiltrator, Infallible Aether, and Maw of the Infernal to be the easiest setup (swap out the Maw for something else on Stage 7). But everyone has their own preference for VMA.

But, above all, pay attention to where adds spawn and when. It is critical for Stage 4 and above. Losing track of important adds (Level 4 Sentries, Level 5 Troll Breaker, Level 6 Hoarvor, Level 7 Archers, Level 9 Narkynaz) is the easiest way to get overwhelmed and die.

You will hate it more than anything until you beat it. Then you'll keep doing it and wonder why you thought it was impossible.

I had a harder time with stage 6 then 7 trying to keep track of everything and getting the boss stun to pop but I play a harder way of being zoomed in close with vanilla red AoEs and whatnot

I play 3rd person and turned the "stupid" from red into bright pink. The color change helps immensely.

For a while 6 was my hardest stage until I found kiting adds in the middle, dropping AOEs in the middle and staying on top of the hoarvors was the key. Keeping all but one obelisk clear until the final boss is all you need to do, then burn that spider down as fast as possible.

I found 6 easier when I stopped trying to activate the obelisk stuns; keeping it one away from activating gives you a lot more breathing room so missing a web spinner doesn’t result in an instant death, and the actual stun doesn’t really provide much benefit.

Agree about the stun being a bit overrated, but it is enough of a breather to drop your ultimate and all of your DOTs to set up for the fight. You can easily kill her without it, its just become part of the routine for me.

it's been awhile so correct me if wrong but if you don't activate that stun doesn't she get increasing armor and damage reduction along with increased attack damage? I remember wailing on her armored form just to burn the last bit of hp she had left

One of her attacks, I think the spit, increases in strength and slows you down significantly until it kills you or the adds and her kill you. If you have high enough burn, the stun doesn't matter as much. If you have lower burn, you need the stun and the sigil to overcome that timer.

I remember the enraged 1 shot mech but I could've sworn she had super armor too during that phase unless they changed it. I gotta run it soon to see...maybe it's even easier now and I've been avoiding it for no reason

Oreyn_Bearclaw

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

I've done normal Maelstrom Arena on 15 characters, across 10 class/main-resource combinations, often with with pretty casual strategies and builds.

I've never completed vMA's 5th stage.

It really is the first stage that can overwhelm you with adds. It was the first stage that I got stuck back in the day. People love to complain about stage 7 RNG, but that really isnt that hard to deal with once you get a feel for it. As others have said, change your "Stupid" (enemy ground AOE) color from the soft red to something like a hard pink. Mine is a lovely shade of magenta and it trippled my survivability over night across all content once I changed it (immersion be damned).

Stage 5 ruins more Flawless/Score runs than all the others put together among the best players (or at least that is what Streak/Jace told me back in the day when he had the WR on every darn class, haha).

Few pieces of advice for stage 5:

First, the shield sigil is insanely strong in stage 5. If I had to get flawless with a gun to my head, and I could only use one sigil in the whole arena, it would be a shield sigil in either round 3 or 4 of stage 5 (good thing you can use for both as they respawn). Half the adds will just kill themselves. If you are going to camp one island (not the worst way to learn), camp the island with the shield and power sigils.

Second, Roll Dodge is life. Other than the shield sigil, it is the most powerful defensive tool in the game. I am not suggesting you roll dodge spam your way through it, but once everything spawns, and begin to attack, tap roll dodge once, and stay on the attack. It will basically buy you 2 seconds of invulnerability to ranged attacks. If you watch score pushers that dont even slot a shield, you will notice they use roll dodge, sparingly but deliberately, in the same handful of spots. It is a much better option than turtling and shield spamming, which is ultimately self defeating.

Third, Trolls really only matter for the final boss where a smashed island is a wipe. Sure, you should pay attention and take them out, but in the early stages, don't get two risky trying to kill them. Losing one island here and there really isnt a massive deal. Every class is different, but work to figure out what it takes to kill them. Often one good ground DOT, a few weaves with your spam, and you can turn your back, trusting they will go down.

Forth, a Destro ult (obviously doesnt work for stam) is basically a free island clear. If you have more than 3-4 adds on an island, drop a destro and they are dead.

Fifth, The last boss is NOT a DPS race. It really is the only boss in the arena that you can't just Nuke where they stand. Learn the percentages as to what triggers adds and island destruction, and take the boss slow. That way you only deal with one mechanic at a time. It's been a while, but I think adds are at something like 90, 60 30, and island smashes are like 75 45 and 5 (the last island smash is largely irrelevant, as they should be dead). All mechanics other than the troll are based on the bosses health. Trolls are on a timer and they have to be killed. Only time it make sense to try to nuke when first learning is when you get to the last island, I try to save my ult for that. Island 2 nukes are doable, but highly risky and require a lot of DPS. If possible, try to make the second island the one with the shield sigil and power sigil, grab both, and its pretty easy to finish. Always take out the neried/ghost (Whatever its called) that spawns with each island smash first.

fetito666 wrote: »

Thank you all!

Is the arena also suitable for grinding XP by using XP-scrolls?

Not really. You have to be insanely good at it. Normal is not bad, and if you find your self grinding weapons, certainly use an XP scroll when running, but they aren't even close to BRP grinds (which frankly blow skyreach out of the water).

El_Borracho wrote: »

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Just to add on to the great advice above, the more you run it, the easier it gets, except for the ####ing poison level and their RNG flowers, but I digress. DEFNITELY look up some guides online, Alcast and Joy's are my 2 favorite. I found a heavy attack petsorc with Undaunted Infiltrator, Infallible Aether, and Maw of the Infernal to be the easiest setup (swap out the Maw for something else on Stage 7). But everyone has their own preference for VMA.

But, above all, pay attention to where adds spawn and when. It is critical for Stage 4 and above. Losing track of important adds (Level 4 Sentries, Level 5 Troll Breaker, Level 6 Hoarvor, Level 7 Archers, Level 9 Narkynaz) is the easiest way to get overwhelmed and die.

You will hate it more than anything until you beat it. Then you'll keep doing it and wonder why you thought it was impossible.

I had a harder time with stage 6 then 7 trying to keep track of everything and getting the boss stun to pop but I play a harder way of being zoomed in close with vanilla red AoEs and whatnot

I play 3rd person and turned the "stupid" from red into bright pink. The color change helps immensely.

For a while 6 was my hardest stage until I found kiting adds in the middle, dropping AOEs in the middle and staying on top of the hoarvors was the key. Keeping all but one obelisk clear until the final boss is all you need to do, then burn that spider down as fast as possible.

100% on the bright AOE. When going for flawless, I agree the best strat is to simply try to keep 4/5 uncovered so you get some breathing room. Good DPS and a stun and you can just burn the last boss. When going for score, there are a few places that it makes sense to trigger it.

El_Borracho

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Darrett wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Just to add on to the great advice above, the more you run it, the easier it gets, except for the ####ing poison level and their RNG flowers, but I digress. DEFNITELY look up some guides online, Alcast and Joy's are my 2 favorite. I found a heavy attack petsorc with Undaunted Infiltrator, Infallible Aether, and Maw of the Infernal to be the easiest setup (swap out the Maw for something else on Stage 7). But everyone has their own preference for VMA.

But, above all, pay attention to where adds spawn and when. It is critical for Stage 4 and above. Losing track of important adds (Level 4 Sentries, Level 5 Troll Breaker, Level 6 Hoarvor, Level 7 Archers, Level 9 Narkynaz) is the easiest way to get overwhelmed and die.

You will hate it more than anything until you beat it. Then you'll keep doing it and wonder why you thought it was impossible.

I had a harder time with stage 6 then 7 trying to keep track of everything and getting the boss stun to pop but I play a harder way of being zoomed in close with vanilla red AoEs and whatnot

I play 3rd person and turned the "stupid" from red into bright pink. The color change helps immensely.

For a while 6 was my hardest stage until I found kiting adds in the middle, dropping AOEs in the middle and staying on top of the hoarvors was the key. Keeping all but one obelisk clear until the final boss is all you need to do, then burn that spider down as fast as possible.

I found 6 easier when I stopped trying to activate the obelisk stuns; keeping it one away from activating gives you a lot more breathing room so missing a web spinner doesn’t result in an instant death, and the actual stun doesn’t really provide much benefit.

Agree about the stun being a bit overrated, but it is enough of a breather to drop your ultimate and all of your DOTs to set up for the fight. You can easily kill her without it, its just become part of the routine for me.

it's been awhile so correct me if wrong but if you don't activate that stun doesn't she get increasing armor and damage reduction along with increased attack damage? I remember wailing on her armored form just to burn the last bit of hp she had left

One of her attacks, I think the spit, increases in strength and slows you down significantly until it kills you or the adds and her kill you. If you have high enough burn, the stun doesn't matter as much. If you have lower burn, you need the stun and the sigil to overcome that timer.

I remember the enraged 1 shot mech but I could've sworn she had super armor too during that phase unless they changed it. I gotta run it soon to see...maybe it's even easier now and I've been avoiding it for no reason

I think you're right. Haven't made it to the enraged in a while. I'll also have to go back and see.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

El_Borracho wrote: »

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Darrett wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Vigarr wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Just to add on to the great advice above, the more you run it, the easier it gets, except for the ####ing poison level and their RNG flowers, but I digress. DEFNITELY look up some guides online, Alcast and Joy's are my 2 favorite. I found a heavy attack petsorc with Undaunted Infiltrator, Infallible Aether, and Maw of the Infernal to be the easiest setup (swap out the Maw for something else on Stage 7). But everyone has their own preference for VMA.

But, above all, pay attention to where adds spawn and when. It is critical for Stage 4 and above. Losing track of important adds (Level 4 Sentries, Level 5 Troll Breaker, Level 6 Hoarvor, Level 7 Archers, Level 9 Narkynaz) is the easiest way to get overwhelmed and die.

You will hate it more than anything until you beat it. Then you'll keep doing it and wonder why you thought it was impossible.

I had a harder time with stage 6 then 7 trying to keep track of everything and getting the boss stun to pop but I play a harder way of being zoomed in close with vanilla red AoEs and whatnot

I play 3rd person and turned the "stupid" from red into bright pink. The color change helps immensely.

For a while 6 was my hardest stage until I found kiting adds in the middle, dropping AOEs in the middle and staying on top of the hoarvors was the key. Keeping all but one obelisk clear until the final boss is all you need to do, then burn that spider down as fast as possible.

I found 6 easier when I stopped trying to activate the obelisk stuns; keeping it one away from activating gives you a lot more breathing room so missing a web spinner doesn’t result in an instant death, and the actual stun doesn’t really provide much benefit.

Agree about the stun being a bit overrated, but it is enough of a breather to drop your ultimate and all of your DOTs to set up for the fight. You can easily kill her without it, its just become part of the routine for me.

it's been awhile so correct me if wrong but if you don't activate that stun doesn't she get increasing armor and damage reduction along with increased attack damage? I remember wailing on her armored form just to burn the last bit of hp she had left

One of her attacks, I think the spit, increases in strength and slows you down significantly until it kills you or the adds and her kill you. If you have high enough burn, the stun doesn't matter as much. If you have lower burn, you need the stun and the sigil to overcome that timer.

I remember the enraged 1 shot mech but I could've sworn she had super armor too during that phase unless they changed it. I gotta run it soon to see...maybe it's even easier now and I've been avoiding it for no reason

I think you're right. Haven't made it to the enraged in a while. I'll also have to go back and see.

@Vigarr @El_Borracho

The spider daedra that she spawns spit at you and are the source of the snare, which can get pretty nasty, making it hard to play the hoarvor mechanic. If not going for a nuke, these need to be taken out.

She also does enrage as you suggested. Her personal spit which does damage will get stronger and stronger (eventually a one shot), and I believe her resistances go up as well. She flashes red as her enrage status increases. The hoarvor stun mechanic will reset her enraged status back to baseline.

So theatrically, if you follow the mechanics, you can play the fight indefinitely. If you dont play the mechanic and go for a straight burn, it does become a true DPS check because she will ultimately one shot you with her spit. You can certainly just nuke her without stunning her, its decent amount of time before she will one shot you, and a good nuke can kill her while stunned.

That boss fight played perfectly goes something like this:

1. Start with 4/5 uncovered. Usually there is a hoarver that spawns between each round.

2. Light attack the hoarvor to bring it close to you without killing it (careful, they are squishy), and position yourself near the last statue.

3. As portal spawns, load with ground DOTs, and drop ultimate right as she spawns.

4. Kill Hoarvor either on top of last statue, or kill and throw it to the last one, she will immediately be stunned.

5. Nuke your face off, and you should be able to kill before the stun wears off.

If it doesnt, you probably have a lurcher you need to deal with, spawns at 50%, kill it and execute boss. If boss is not in execute range, play it safe. Kill lurcher, and follow the hoarver mechanic and repeat.

Sure you both know that, but OP is about to enter a world of suck. haha.

Also, now I want to go run VMA for the first time in like 2 years.