NOOB vs Molag Bal...HE'S DOWN!

GreySix · September 2014

AlienSlof wrote: »

What this game really needs is to get rid of the 'forced' solo and group, and make it all optional for one person or more as needed, scaling up and down as required. I'm not asking for a nerf to Mr Bal - oh dear me no, don't nerf the guy - just give us the options to ask for help instead of forcing solo upon us.

Yeah, have beat that particular drum since beta, but it fell on deaf ears.

Merlin13KAGL · September 2014

Syntse wrote: »

MornaBaine wrote: »

Well NOW my problem seems to be not being able to stay out of the way of those damn giant rocks the jerk it hurling at you ON YOUR WAY TO HIM.

Don't give up... there has been many in the same situation as you have and eventually succeeded. It will be most likely the most success feeling for you as for many others it has been bit disappointment. Remember to heal and drink potions and if heavy attacks are too slow then use light attacks. Some people have said that it has taken them over 30mins to fight this one.

You might be similar to my wife who has used to mobs drop in couple of seconds and once fight starts to last over minute she starts to panic and then forget to check health and heal etc. As addition I could say keep the mage shield up too all the time you'll take some less damage. You'll do it!

@MornaBaine‌, as @Syntse‌ said, don't give up. The armor will let you deal with as many mobs as you need to on the way there.

Count on the fact that you're not going to be going in a straight line to get to him.

Zig, zag, double back, pause if you need to. Heal as you go.

You can still use your healing spells/shields on the way there, and that will help.

Take a break from it, if you need to.

Just know you can do this. If you've made it this far, you can do this.

Hardened Ward followed by healing ward...you'll continue to heal yourself enroute. And hit Mutagen regularly. You'll have plenty of time to regen your magicka by the time you get to him.

Venereous44 · September 2014

The biggest thing that helped me was changing perspective. I had played FPV up to that point. Died 5 times in a row on that guy. Switched to 3rd person and beat him right away. I'm running a sorc. You really HAVE to have that wide view to see all the AOE he throws at you and it helps for all the kiting... which was the other trick... kite him around one of the pillars. And block the attacks from the winged things when they come.

wolfydog · September 2014

I just beat him on V1 DK a couple weeks ago. I just used sword and board and dual wield, had some healing pot in case in needed it and my own green dragon healing if I needed it. He was really no challenge at all. Just get out of AOE, had to heal maybe 3 time the whole fight but never had to emergency heal or anything.

GreySix · September 2014

Syntse wrote: »

GreySix wrote: »

Syntse wrote: »

GreySix wrote: »

How would a dual-wielding NB best defeat him?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNgg_RqropE

Ah, so need a bow. My character doesn't have one. He uses dual-wielding daggers and a resto staff.

Should watch it fully... I start with bow but soon notice that it's not going to work and go with dw.

Yeah, saw you swinging the DW, but opening with the bow. Know a lot of folks like to hit MB with the bow.

ferzalrwb17_ESO · September 2014

I did this two days ago with a Templar. I'm going to be dead honest. Here's how I did it:

I was completely naked because I didn't want to pay to repair my level 40ish armor after rushing through questing (really - zero armor though you get the costume).
Resto equipped.
Drooled on the keys and won. (ok.. not deadly honest there but not too far from the truth).
Oh.. I also used a mapped 360 controller whilst laying on my couch half-asleep. I'd recommend it for this boring fight.

Just kite. A bit. If you don't stand in the big fat circle and keep moving it is literally impossible to lose. Sprint away, turn around and headbutt basic attack.

I stood in the big fat red circles a few times out of boredom. They don't hurt that much so you can make plenty of mistakes. Really.. keep moving. That's it.

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO · September 2014

To get through this fight with limited hand dexterity, I would suggest using the S key to run backwards through the entire fight, tab-target Molag Bal to allow for a more sloppy aim with the mouse (it is enough if you keep Moolag Bal in sight, you don't need to keep him in the crosshairs), and fire a mix of light and heavy ranged attacks with a restoration staff. It will probably take a while, but it should work.

I also remember a forum post about a guy with limited use of one arm who managed to beat MB with one hand, literally, so there should be a way to get through this fight without a ton of jumping and running.

Merlin13KAGL · September 2014

ferzalrwb17_ESO wrote: »

I did this two days ago with a Templar. I'm going to be dead honest. Here's how I did it:

I was completely naked because I didn't want to pay to repair my level 40ish armor after rushing through questing

Two things:

What was your character wearing though? (Ba dump bump)

Templar has a skill for that, don't they? "Blazing Glory," or something

ferzalrwb17_ESO · September 2014

Merlin13KAGL wrote: »

ferzalrwb17_ESO wrote: »

I did this two days ago with a Templar. I'm going to be dead honest. Here's how I did it:

I was completely naked because I didn't want to pay to repair my level 40ish armor after rushing through questing

Two things:

What was your character wearing though? (Ba dump bump)

Templar has a skill for that, don't they? "Blazing Glory," or something

As I said I was lazing on the couch so.. pants off baby!

MornaBaine · September 2014

Merlin13KAGL wrote: »

MornaBaine wrote: »

So I posted this on the Player Guide forum but only received one response so far. Being the impatient type, I'm going to also share it here in hopes of more help.

Okay...Vet 1 vampire Sorc. 5 pieces Vampire's Kiss Set, 3 Song of Lamae. All purples and blues. Light Armor, Resto Staff and Destruction Staff of Flames.
Bar 1 I have Crystal Blast IV, Elusive Mist IV, Invigorating Drain IV, Silver Shards III, Unstable Clanfear IV, and for my Ult: Devouring Swarm IV. This is all with my Dest. Staff.
Bar 2 I have Blessing of Protection IV, Bound Armor II, Healing Springs I, Mutagen I, and Silver Shards III and again my Ult is Devouring Swarm IV.

@MornaBaine‌, might be information overload here, but here are my suggestions from what you probably have available to you at Vet 1:

A few suggestions... I was at Vet 1 Vamp Sorc also when I finished him off.

Switch to an Ice staff with a secondary enchant, if you can. Absorb health would be a good one, as it will give you free regen since your Vamp regen is nonexistant. You can have this secondary enchant on both staves.

Daedra are generally resistant to fire, and since you aren't using Destro Touch for the knockback, ice would be a better way to go. (knock back wouldn't do anything for you on the final fight, anyway)

Crystal Blast leaves you vulnerable for almost 2 seconds. Switch to Force Shock. It hits like a truck, with all three elements, and it's an instant cast.

Skip the Mist and go for Lightning armor. You'll get increased Armor/Spell resist and do a little damage in the process. Morphed right, you'll also get the speed increase to help avoid things.

You're gonna take damage, and you can't fight back when in Mistform. A lotta movement happening here. Never stand still.

Take Drain off, at least for the final. It's powerful, but it's a one shot deal. Replace it with Entropy/Degeneration (Mage's Guild) and you also get heal + dmg.

The DoT on that one isn't grand but it will help chip away and it's a free 300 or so HP's without having to think about it. You can always recast if needing quick 100 HP heal if you cannot switch to the other bar at the moment.

Other option, if you don't have that one is Conjured Ward from the Summoning line. Morphed, you'll get almost a free 1000 HP shield.

Personally, I'd be careful with Silver Shards, as you want your stamina to be able to roll dodge when needed. Replace with Dark Exchange (Dark Magic line) for better use of your stamina in a pinch. Gives you a heal on your DPS bar, basially, plus some magicka return.

Remember, you can Block to interrupt Exchange if you need to end it early.

Unstable Clanfear is expensive for the damage it does, and since you do not have it on both bars, if you have to switch do heal, you've just lost that cast.

Conjured Ward, in place of clanfear, should go here if you've placed Drain Magicka as indicated above. Surge/Critical Surge is another possibility giving you increased damage and potential heals.

Soul trap, if you don't have either of the two above will also let you chip away at relatively low spell cost and frequency.

Bat Swarm, unless you have it morphed to Devouring Swarm, probably isn't doing you any favors either. You don't want to be that close, if you can help it.

Go for Storm Atronach if you have it, Overload if you don't. If you do have Devouring Swarm, the only benefit is that it will recharge quickly and give you some healing back. Even if you keep swarm on one bar, I'd add one of these to the other. Atronach can keep things busy while you back away, heal, and regroup. I'd probably change this on bar 2, though, if you do have Devouring (again, makes it a heal on DPS bar)

Bar two, lose the bound armor. You don't have on bar one, so everytime your switch, you lose it anyway. It's only good against physical attacks - does nothing for spells, so the benefit vs cost for you here is minor.

Healing ward would do better for you here. Cast after Conjured Ward and you'll get a nice heal every 6 seconds that Conjured holds. If Conjured breaks, you'll have an extra 300+ damage you can take without getting hit, giving you time to re-cast Conjured.

Harness Magicka from the Light Armor would also be good - gives you 50% spell protection, flat out if they other two wards break.

Mutagen and Spings are good, just don't overcast unnecessarily and eat your magicka pool. At the same time, Mutagen will give you an instant heal if you do fall below 20% I'd take Blessing off in favor of Healing ward as indicated above. You'll get the same return from Mutagen if your health falls that low.

Silver Shards not needed on both bars. Switch it with Velocious Curse if you have it, Daedric Curse if you don't. It's a fire and forget that will chip away without leaving you in limbo.

This gives you some damage on your heal bar and heals on your damage bar, so you'll never be caught in an oh **** situation.

Use heavy restro attacks when you can for free magicka return (10% each complete heavy) and interchange between your other skills to get better resource management.

ANY time you're not casting something else or blocking, a heavy Restro attack should be taking place. If your passives are set right, you'll also get some free heal from this as well.

Keep your shields up, always, as they're get-outta-damage free cards that give you time to heal underneath.

Listen for the explosion of Curse and cast again. Block as you go, you won't save much damage with the staff, but you'll save some.

Bar 1: Force Shock, Lightning Armor, Degeneration, Dark Exchange, Conjured Ward / Critical Surge / Soul Trap ULT Batswarm

Bar 2: Healing Ward, Mutagen, Healing Springs, Harness Magicka, Velocious Curse ULT Storm Atronach or Overload

If you do not harness Magicka and/or Curse, you can add Blessing back, Soul trap (if not on bar one), or Mage's Fury.

Drink health or magicka potions before you're low (Quickslotted) and you'll be regenning as you're taking damage and your cooldown will be over before you need the next one.

If you do have Degeneration/Entropy, you can fire it on Molag and each add for +100 health per enemy every 10 or so seconds. That's a huge return.

Mutagen, Conjured Ward, Healing Ward, Harness Magicka before you even get started. Gets already regenning health and shielded from the first 1000 damage easily.

Use Curse periodically, heavy Restro when lower on Magicka or opportunity arrises, hit with Force Shock when he's away and you have plenty of resources.

Keep Entropy/Degen going, Soul trap for irony and easy damage over time.

Every little bit helps.

Always be on the move, and spend your Ultimates the moment they're ready. They'll always recharge. He'll always come find you.

Lastly, if at all possible, since your Vamp skills are not on the bar (with the exception of Ult), try to be as close to Stage 1 as you can, before you start.

Use Restro as your primary bar, adding damage when you can.

This is not a 60 second fight. Concentrate first on survival, second on damage. Curse, Restro hits, and Degen will do the trick - it will just take a while.

You've got this.

Good luck, and let us know how you fare.

Wow! I can't thank you enough for all the work you've put into this! There is definitely a respec in my future before I go up against Bal again though. Sadly I fear my speccing strategy is of the, "Oh I haz a skill point! What looks fun?" school. LOL So now I have to figure out how to scrape up the gold for that as I am also far too fond of shopping to have the insane amount ZoS requires for that AND work on using some of these abilities to get them up where they need to be to be truly effective. But at least I have a plan now that doesn't involve hurling my keyboard out the window! LOL

So thank you! Again.

MornaBaine · September 2014

And I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone who took the time to respond...and were actually nice about it! LOL Lots of food for thought here and I DO feel better about this so thanks for the encouragement. You guys are great!

Nestor · September 2014

MornaBaine wrote: »

Well NOW my problem seems to be not being able to stay out of the way of those damn giant rocks the jerk it hurling at you ON YOUR WAY TO HIM.

I had the same issue with my Sorcerer, which is why I used Boundless Storm. It increases movement speed 30% and that really really helps. Zoom way out in third person to see the whole layout to avoid the rocks, but you can pretty much kite him if you stick to the path you want.

I think the biggest hurdle to over come is, your not going to take him out in a few minutes like other Bosses. You have to accept that a few hundred points of damage on each light attack (your damage is boosted so light attacks hit like Heavy attacks). Don't do Heavy Attacks, they slow you down while you are moving and he will hit you every time. Just do the light attacks, keep moving and 10 to 20 minutes later, he will be dead, or something close to it. In fact, when his health is getting low, don't get cocky and try to dump some heavy attacks to end the battle, that will backfire on you. Just keep the light attacks going so you can keep moving.

Also, you can run through the Titans that don't do anything. IIRC, I only had to kill about 3 of them, the rest just stood there doing nothing, even if I attacked. So, I would spam a shot at one, no reaction I ignored it. But I never worried about running through them. In fact Molag Bal would have to go around them.

There is an Escape Passive with Bow that can help too.

Syntse · September 2014

MornaBaine wrote: »

There is definitely a respec in my future before I go up against Bal again though. LOL So now I have to figure out how to scrape up the gold for that as I am also far too fond of shopping to have the insane amount ZoS requires for that AND work on using some of these abilities to get them up where they need to be to be truly effective.

You are able to respec only morphs now. No need to respec everything for it, saves you loads of gold.

starkerealm · September 2014

MornaBaine wrote: »

Sadly I fear my speccing strategy is of the, "Oh I haz a skill point! What looks fun?" school. LOL

As someone who is actually prone to this, my recommendation is: always keep a backlog of unspent skill points. Don't even acknowledge that they exist. You'll always pick up a few skill points over time that you don't notice. Either from quests, skyshards, dungeons, or PvP. Save them.

Spend a point or two on stuff you want, but save the extra points. Then when you run into a situation like this, put a few points places you need.

If you need more skill points right now, my recomendation would be go back and hit the first six group dungeons, if you skipped those. You should be strong enough, at this point, to knock them out solo if you want, and you can 2 man them with another high level buddy. You won't get XP but each dungeon gives you a skill point for completing it's quest. There are also group challenges in each of the public dungeons. Again, for a VR1, most of the early ones are going to be trivially easy alone.

Check your achievements, and run down any skyshards you missed. If all else fails, sign into Cyrodil and screw around for a bit. There's skyshards in there, and you get a skill point every time your alliance rank goes up. Getting two or three should go pretty quickly if you hook up with a major push in your alliance.

Tavore1138 · September 2014

Fwiw, when the titans are down and he starts spamming meteors at you... stay in close if you can sustain it as he will not fire at himself... This worked for me as NB and my wife as Sorc. Also he can be interupted so using that can help.

purple-magicb16_ESO · September 2014

You don't have to be a 'build' to beat him. Lots of aoe and ranged for him and his minions. Keep moving. Try to stay behind him. Light attacks are better than heavy. My DK used crit charge, that works too but then its guerilla warfare (stick and move/hit and run). Experiment until you get what works for you. Whatever you do, just never go toe-to-toe and always keep moving. I didn't put nearly as much thought into it as some and I beat him on my third or fourth try so I would say don't overthink it and get bogged down with details (i.e. What's my dps etc). It can be done. Good luck!
[img][/img]

Seravi · September 2014

I had a very hard time the first time as a DK using dual wield swords and a bow. After much research and chatting with others I decided to up the levels on my restro and destruction staffs. I used both of those so I could do damage yet not be near him. Restro staff gave me health should I need it. Also I used the Whitestrake armor that gives you a much needed shield of protection if your health gets into trouble. Using the two staffs, Whitstrake and blocking non stop to shoot it all back at him and the titans, it was a piece of cake the second time.

Tatuaje · September 2014

Great thread with a lot of good advice.... In short terms what most are saying is this is not a DPS race, go slow and pace your self. Chip away and heal as required.

Srugzal · September 2014

Just did MB for the third time the other day (on my 3rd alt), and noticed a couple of things. MB, in spite of his enormous mana pool (something approaching 351k) he's still only a one-pip boss. This means that he doesn't even hit as hard as many world bosses. Because of that mana pool, it just takes a while. He has a forehand, a backhand, an arcane fire boulder thing, maybe a stomp. All can be blocked, all are telegraphed so clearly and for so long that if you're paying attention and staying away from using abilities with long cast times, you very seldom will get hit.

The other thing is that, because of the Amulet of Kings, you produce a sustained DPS of between 1.2 and 3.5 K. Your critical chance goes way, way up, and you vaporize most enemies with one hit. Your shield, if you have one, reflects and absorbs nearly everything. Crits of 2500 are common. Also, you only need to get him to about 8% before you administer the coup de grace.

My latest character beat him with an axe and a shield, a few Templar skills, and Silver Leash. Lots of dodgeroll out of the red. I could post the video, but, you know what? It's completely boring, mostly me forgetting to dodge or forgetting to block. It took 6 minutes from the time he says "Do you care nothing for your own existence?" My first trip through Mannimarco took waaaay longer than that.

I'm sorry that there are still some who can't seem to get past this battle, for whatever reason. I don't think that there's one build that will guarantee success, or one build that will prevent it. In my opinion, standard attacks and movement are all that is required, with a self heal thrown in for good measure, a food buff for stamina.

I've posted to threads like this one before, and, as I've said elsewhere, I think that ZOS should create the equivalent of the "designated hitter" rule for cases such as being prevented from finishing the battle due to physical handicap. I think that many of us would sign up to help out with this.

See, instead of building more castles in the air for VR 2 million characters, why not address more of the needs of the ordinary player? Those with special needs? Would that be so hard? I'm not talking about nerfing it to the ground, just providing assistance where there is a genuine need.

GreySix · September 2014

Srugzal wrote: »

I've posted to threads like this one before, and, as I've said elsewhere, I think that ZOS should create the equivalent of the "designated hitter" rule for cases such as being prevented from finishing the battle due to physical handicap. I think that many of us would sign up to help out with this.

Excellent suggestion.

purple-magicb16_ESO · September 2014

wolfydog wrote: »

I just beat him on V1 DK a couple weeks ago. I just used sword and board and dual wield, had some healing pot in case in needed it and my own green dragon healing if I needed it. He was really no challenge at all. Just get out of AOE, had to heal maybe 3 time the whole fight but never had to emergency heal or anything.

"Healing pot"? Awesome! Do you have glaucoma or something? I'm with ya dude! Legalize it!

Lol!

Venereous44 · September 2014

+1 Healing Pot

Merlin13KAGL · September 2014

Nestor wrote: »

I think the biggest hurdle to over come is, your not going to take him out in a few minutes like other Bosses. You have to accept that a few hundred points of damage on each light attack (your damage is boosted so light attacks hit like Heavy attacks). Don't do Heavy Attacks, they slow you down while you are moving and he will hit you every time. Just do the light attacks, keep moving and 10 to 20 minutes later, he will be dead, or something close to it

purple-magicb16_ESO wrote: »

You don't have to be a 'build' to beat him. Lots of aoe and ranged for him and his minions. Keep moving. Try to stay behind him. Light attacks are better than heavy.

@Nestor, @purple-magicb16_ESO‌, all good suggestions.

Restro is a slightly different world, though.

The Heavy's do slow you down, yes, but with the shields and Lightning Form in place, it can be mitigated.

You'll get the magicka return from a completed Heavy - none from light. Also, if the passives are set, there is also free healing at the completion of a heavy attack.

As this is not a quick fight, I felt keeping the Magicka reserve alive and well was the key here - the other spells could take care of damage, healing as needed, and if the occasional Heavy had to be cut short to roll dodge, it was okay.

Light's require targeting in an already hectic situation.

Once a heavy is started, one no longer needs to even be facing his enemy. The channel will still complete.

You're not going to out DPS Molag Bal, and especially as a vampire, Magicka = Health.

Only reason I reccomended Heavy attacks with Restoration staff only. Regarding light attacks from Destro between other casts, I would agree.

Tenofas · September 2014

I want MornaBaine to come back to the forum and post about him defeating Molag Bal!
If he will refuse to try and will not succeed I will unsub from the game and never ever look back!!!
MornaBaine, you better beat that horned-clown now!!!!

Nestor · September 2014

Since I was only using Magic for Surge (every 30 seconds) and Lightening Form (every 6? seconds) I did not worry about my magic pool, it was always regen'd. Which is also why I only worried about having a health potion quickslotted. By moving constantly, I don't even think I needed any health potions on the last fight, but I still quaffed one whenever I could just in case.

MornaBaine · September 2014

Tenofas wrote: »

I want MornaBaine to come back to the forum and post about him defeating Molag Bal!
If he will refuse to try and will not succeed I will unsub from the game and never ever look back!!!
MornaBaine, you better beat that horned-clown now!!!!

My next attempt will likely be tomorrow with my morning coffee. Stay tuned! LOL

Srugzal · September 2014

MornaBaine wrote: »

Tenofas wrote: »

I want MornaBaine to come back to the forum and post about him defeating Molag Bal!
If he will refuse to try and will not succeed I will unsub from the game and never ever look back!!!
MornaBaine, you better beat that horned-clown now!!!!

My next attempt will likely be tomorrow with my morning coffee. Stay tuned! LOL

Kick his a$$, @MornaBlaine!

Syntse · September 2014

MornaBaine wrote: »

Tenofas wrote: »

I want MornaBaine to come back to the forum and post about him defeating Molag Bal!
If he will refuse to try and will not succeed I will unsub from the game and never ever look back!!!
MornaBaine, you better beat that horned-clown now!!!!

My next attempt will likely be tomorrow with my morning coffee. Stay tuned! LOL

You know many people are now anxiously following you to see that you make it, no pressure. You cannot let them down, you have to make it.

MornaBaine · September 2014

UPDATE: So what it really comes down to IS movement...which frankly, I rather suck at. I can COMPLETELY understand why people with limited mobility in their hands find this fight near-impossible. Thank goodness for my extremely patient husband. I have to get through this fight on at least 2 more Mages (altoholic who LOVES mages and since there's soooo many ways to build them I can't resist!) who has taught me what I need to know. Now to go out and practice, practice, practice! And thank you again everyone who was so incredibly helpful here!

Srugzal · September 2014

MornaBaine wrote: »

UPDATE: So what it really comes down to IS movement...which frankly, I rather suck at. I can COMPLETELY understand why people with limited mobility in their hands find this fight near-impossible. Thank goodness for my extremely patient husband. I have to get through this fight on at least 2 more Mages (altoholic who LOVES mages and since there's soooo many ways to build them I can't resist!) who has taught me what I need to know. Now to go out and practice, practice, practice! And thank you again everyone who was so incredibly helpful here!

Like a BOSS.... congratulations!