What is the purpose of VMA??

Bigevilpeter · February 2017

R1ckyDaMan wrote: »

They made it as content for the super elite 5% of the playerbase.

Even for the elite 5% of the player base its annoying as hell going though it and getting *** at the end. I think people who can't beat it are better off than entering this tedious grind

raidentenshu_ESO · February 2017

ViciousVamps1 wrote: »

Rng Isn't lazy its lazy players that just want to be given everything without working for it

I would suggest that you go and seek professional help. You seem to suffer from a classic case of Stockholm syndrome.

You can't possible be serious and defend ZOS and their crappy RNG system by calling other players lazy just because they didn't win the RNG lottery, and uses this forum as a venting mechanism to release some steam off of their chest..

I just can't believe that a sane person would even say such a thing like that. How can you sit there and call a frusterated person who has been farming for gear forever lazy?

You know eventually people get fed up with repeating the same content over and over again just to get a single item. This is when people become frustrated and no longer enjoying a game that was meant to be played.

This is how you lose your players.

Surak73 · February 2017

IronCrystal wrote: »

vMA doesn't have any RNG in completing in other than round 7, and maybe round 9 if you count the ghost spawns.

I count them, I assure you... You don't know how many times stupid yellow ghosts spawned just behind boss, and I as ranged dd was at the opposite side of the arena...

Meld777 · February 2017

Surak73 wrote: »

IronCrystal wrote: »

vMA doesn't have any RNG in completing in other than round 7, and maybe round 9 if you count the ghost spawns.

I count them, I assure you... You don't know how many times stupid yellow ghosts spawned just behind boss, and I as ranged dd was at the opposite side of the arena...

Doesn't really matter, since for the average farmer by the time the first ghost hits the boss, the boss is dead. If not, he's dead by the time the 2nd ghost spawns. If he's still not dead, work on your dps. You'll need it to farm this place 1000+ times. Doing 1 run an hour or 2 runs an hour is a huge difference.

Ajaxduo · February 2017

VMA isn't hard, it's the RNG which makes it frustrating. Over a 150 runs and still no sharpened inferno, lightning or bow. All I have to show for my effort so far is a dagger and axe.

Surak73 · February 2017

Meld777 wrote: »

Surak73 wrote: »

IronCrystal wrote: »

vMA doesn't have any RNG in completing in other than round 7, and maybe round 9 if you count the ghost spawns.

I count them, I assure you... You don't know how many times stupid yellow ghosts spawned just behind boss, and I as ranged dd was at the opposite side of the arena...

Doesn't really matter, since for the average farmer by the time the first ghost hits the boss, the boss is dead. If not, he's dead by the time the 2nd ghost spawns. If he's still not dead, work on your dps. You'll need it to farm this place 1000+ times. Doing 1 run an hour or 2 runs an hour is a huge difference.

Probably you're right. I'm not an average farmer: I finished it only +/- fifteen times, and 'till now I have used a more conservative approach. I should try an all dps out approach next time, but after the last four drops (three sword & shield and a charged dagger...) I don't feel in the mood to go in there again very soon...

Clarkieson · February 2017

Maelstrom is fun, but not very rewarding. i only do it now to improve my score not for the weapons as i think rng rewards are not worth worrying about.

you may get what you want or you probably wont get what you and that is just how it is. i spent too long the the arena to care anymore about drops i only loot the gold these days and thats not really worth alot

Didaco · February 2017

RNG aside, vMA is the kind of videogame content that "awakens" your innate nerd skill that you didn't know you actually have.

When I cleared it for the first time everything else seemed so easy.

Ep1kMalware · February 2017

raidentenshu_ESO wrote: »

ViciousVamps1 wrote: »

Rng Isn't lazy its lazy players that just want to be given everything without working for it

I would suggest that you go and seek professional help. You seem to suffer from a classic case of Stockholm syndrome.

You can't possible be serious and defend ZOS and their crappy RNG system by calling other players lazy just because they didn't win the RNG lottery, and uses this forum as a venting mechanism to release some steam off of their chest..

I just can't believe that a sane person would even say such a thing like that. How can you sit there and call a frusterated person who has been farming for gear forever lazy?

You know eventually people get fed up with repeating the same content over and over again just to get a single item. This is when people become frustrated and no longer enjoying a game that was meant to be played.

This is how you lose your players.

Textbook diagnosis sir.

Ep1kMalware · February 2017

Surak73 wrote: »

IronCrystal wrote: »

vMA doesn't have any RNG in completing in other than round 7, and maybe round 9 if you count the ghost spawns.

I count them, I assure you... You don't know how many times stupid yellow ghosts spawned just behind boss, and I as ranged dd was at the opposite side of the arena...

Same. I farm it on my stam templar, lemme tell ya bout rng:

Stg5 boss: super easy, but sometimes he just gets stuck in this loop of spamming fear+shatter fml
Stg7 boss: not so bad, but rng can totally happen
Stg9 boss: the wall for the upstairs phase can spawn in a really lame spot, wasting alot of resources to get behind it, and cutting your dps time short. Not a big deal but sometimes you get unlucky with it.

Ghosts often go from being spread out to highly condensed in the 1 place you dont need them to be. Like next to a daedroth, or in your landing path if you need to jump downstairs.

Gold ghosts, hell sometimes you play it safe and hug the boss, and the jerk just teleports to the ghost. Lame.

Then there's other issues. Occasionally you'll have a round where the bosses attacks are out of sequence, but that's not super common. 1/10 maybe. Honestly what kills me is lag. Lag combined with the above factors can make anyone start chain smoking. Then you loot ur chest, tp out, and do it again.

MakoFore · February 2017

i havent run it since the update- i thought they made changes to the loot system

"Adjusted the distribution of Maelstrom weapons obtained from the Maelstrom Arena via the Leaderboards and drops.
Previously, this was divided evenly by weapon category (Destruction Staff, Two Hand, etc). Now, it is based on the individual item type (Dagger, One Handed Sword, etc), and all damage weapons within the item type have an equal probability to drop.
In addition, when a Dual Wield weapon is awarded, you will receive two Dual Wield weapons.
We also slightly reduced the drop chance for Healing Staves, Bows, and One Hand and Shields."

guess its still not much better... oh well. i ll still run it a couple times a week til i get my sharp daggers and sharp 2h great sword. i got a sharp inferno early on for which I'm happy about- I've heard players like andy s not get it til late- which is incredible. my approach now is to go in with different builds and try and test them out- like yesterday i did it with a 2hand and sword/board build for fun - and not have any expectations- these will always lead to disappointment.

t3hdubzy · February 2017

Its to keep players playing. Regardless of how many complaints we make, their system is working because people keep playing. If players can more easily get all the weapons they want, and you can sell or trade the gear then end game players eventually "complete" the game and either demand more content or more likely move on to another game.

Until you can solve for that, they wouldnt risk losing player base to make the game "better".

I personally boycott rng by only using buyable and craftable sets, and typically only sets that dont use rng as mechanic.

What if forum posts were rng? Only 10 percent of the time you have a 30 percent chance to have your post reviewed by someone at zos, and only 2 percent of the time will they actually care.

Fudly_budly · February 2017

NewBlacksmurf wrote: »

Looong ago people asked for some sort of end game solo only content. Ppl also asked for a solo only instances place to grind and get loot

This came as a result

Thanks for the background info - I did not know.

So now, for the arguably best weapons in an mmo, players must solo play? Must be me but am I missing something?

GreenhaloX · February 2017

I'm sure, legitimately, people suffer through it so they can get the weapon they want. However, for me, the frenzy is not worth it. Really, there are good builds without the need of a Maelstrom weapon. I like the supplementation of having the 2 monster pieces, with two 5-pieces sets on a DW build, or a two 5-pieces with the extra stamina or weapon damage increase from a monster shoulder piece on a 2H build. Slotting a Maelstrom weapon will mess the combo up. On the other note, I'm sure many likes rolling around with the title of Stormproof or the coveted Flawless Conqueror (hey, look at me, I'm very good at playing a video game) title. Ha ha. Joking aside, I do have to give kudos to those who mastered vMA; who can breeze through those 9 rounds and putting themselves through the ringer over and over again. I did it a few times and that was well enough for me. Too many variables to put up with. Less hassle soloing world bosses or solo attempts at vet dungeons.

reiverx · February 2017

VMA puts the best weapons behind a paywall. It should be available without buying the Orsinium DLC.

Meld777 · February 2017

MakoFore wrote: »

I've heard players like andy s not get it til late- which is incredible.

Andy actually got his Sharp Inferno relatively early, in ~100 runs or so. Streak (the number 1 vMA runner on NA), on the other hand, got his first somewhere around 1800 runs. Now that's an extreme worth mentioning. However, he wasn't/isn't actually farming it for the weapon. He honestly enjoys running it over and over again, multiple times a day, since launch.

SGT_Wolfe101st · February 2017

O_LYKOS wrote: »

To find the best of the best of the best, Sir!

With honors...

jakeedmundson · February 2017

Lukums1 wrote: »

Yeah yeah, cry about rng system we all sat there hundreds of runs if not thousands. If you're not prepared to do the grind why even start? You already know it's terrible let it go.

^^^^ Your words....

using the word "terrible" to describe something... while defending it at the same time?

I don't understand. Why can't people get behind an itemization change for something that obviously doesn't work well.
They moved in the right direction with the homestead patch... but its still pretty awful.

Only a small percentage of us have actually beaten the arena on vet..
An even smaller percentage of us actually farmed it dozens of times...
Why is it necessary in any way... to put that terrible wall of RNG in place? I'm not saying let us choose the exact item... but give us SOME choice. Choose the weapon type? even choose between 1h and 2h? ANYTHING would be better than the random garbage we have now.

Surak73 · February 2017

Ep1kMalware wrote: »

Then there's other issues. Occasionally you'll have a round where the bosses attacks are out of sequence, but that's not super common. 1/10 maybe

Yep, there are. At least two times, Solkyin has thrown me two skulls instead of one just after I teleported above. Obviously, after the first skull I wasn't paying any attention to him, so the second skull and the subsequent comet killed me on the spot...

EldritchPenguin · February 2017

reiverx wrote: »

VMA puts the best weapons behind a paywall. It should be available without buying the Orsinium DLC.

And amazingly, that's not even the biggest problem. The overwhelming majority of the people who pay for the content will never see that BiS item. So not only is it stuck behind a paywall, but it's also stuck behind the most mind-boggling timewall in the game.

soll · February 2017

yea, they reduced chance of trash shields.

after patch 40% of my drop are shields. remove them finally, ZOS!
I wouldn't mind getting restos or what so ever other weapon in trash items, but not that dammit shields.

deleted ESO in rage after getting one more shield. This game doesn't worth of time.
#VMAtokensystem

Ep1kMalware · February 2017

Surak73 wrote: »

Ep1kMalware wrote: »

Then there's other issues. Occasionally you'll have a round where the bosses attacks are out of sequence, but that's not super common. 1/10 maybe

Yep, there are. At least two times, Solkyin has thrown me two skulls instead of one just after I teleported above. Obviously, after the first skull I wasn't paying any attention to him, so the second skull and the subsequent comet killed me on the spot...

Hhha yeah damn! That situation exactly! I go up, turn left, toss caltrops, trap beast, poison injection, arrow barrage, roll dodge, power of the light, jabs *POW* dead.

Sometimes he uses the wrong moves when grabbing 3rd ghost too.

Troneon · February 2017

The luck and RNG in VMA makes it the worst solo content I have ever played...

You can do everything perfect and still get completely screwed only to not get the gear you were looking for and get screwed twice....

It's awfully designed and it's not even challenging, it's just pattern repetition and then get lucky...

LZH · February 2017

The purpose of vMA is the exact same as all of the other trial content in this game. The purpose is to run it for loot and/or to compete with other players.

Preyfar · February 2017

R1ckyDaMan wrote: »

They made it as content for the super elite 5% of the playerbase.

If *any* of the drop sets from VMA were remotely good running VMA on normal would be worth it for regular players. But as it is, the best argument you can make for most of those sets is "Well, it's not the worst I've seen..."

ZOS keeps adding sets to the game but doesn't seem to ask important design questions like "Who is this set for?" and "What makes it desirable?" Most of the sets have a unique concept but are otherwise next to useless. Sets like Kvatch Gladiator are neat in theory but nobody would run it when they could run Hunding's.

With VMA, most of the sets have some interesting concepts (like the Hunt Leader set) but make no sense in the execution. A stamina set that benefits pets? Awesome idea, except... Stamina classes don't have pets. Maw of the Infernal? The proc doesn't last long enough to be worthwhile. You can make a case for the Werewolf, but the wolf pets are a recent development, and didn't exist when this set came out. It's literally a set for a class that doesn't exist in ESO. It has no purpose in ESO currently.

Winterborn is the only interesting VMA drop set, but that's hobbled by the fact that ice staff has always under performed, and now is (apparently) a tanking weapon. For some reason.

ZOS needs to revisit these sets and give them purpose. Buff them, tweak them, improve them. Make them (and VMA) worth it for the general population other than us end gamers who NEED to have Maelstrom gear to compete.

TL;DR - VMA would have a great purpose if the basic drop sets were even remotely decent. As it stands they're lackluster, and only people banging their heads against the wall for Sharpened weapons have a real reason to run it.

Izaki · February 2017

Guys if you go in there just to farm 1 weapon you'll always be disappointed. If you have several weapons that you want you already have a much higher chance of coming out of there happy. I have heaps of good weapons already for each of my characters, just missing the inferno staff, but at that point its better to go for a score rather than a weapon. At least my only motivation for going in there isn't a staff, its my score.

Pallio · February 2017

Push us to our limits of patience and make us understand our class / game mechanics.

But, mostly just to test our patience.

Artis · February 2017

MLGProPlayer wrote: »

A token system requiring 100 completions (or any arbitrary number) to get whatever weapon you want would be a perfect solution. Everyone would have to work hard for their weapon, but everyone would be assured that they receive a reward in the end.

The current system is like going to work and being told you might get paid.

That's right, so that within finite and pretty short amount of time - couple of months tops - everyone in the endgame will have exactly the same setup and there will literally be nothing to hope to loot in the game. Why have rare gear that only X% of players will have? No, let's give it to 100% of those who want it, everyone should get a trophy for participation.

But why stop there? Would you say a person with all maxed crafts and motifs is lazy? Of course not. Let's make vMA weapons or those tokens drop from crafting writs, too.

raidentenshu_ESO wrote: »

You can't possible be serious and defend ZOS and their crappy RNG system by calling other players lazy just because they didn't win the RNG lottery, and uses this forum as a venting mechanism to release some steam off of their chest..

It's crappy, but still much better than the system that gives BiS gear for token resulting in everyone having BiS gear very soon. That will lead to the situation where there's no rare gear. ANd this will inflate the damage requirements for any group content including dungeon finder. Don't remember all those "elitists kicked me" threads? Oh there would be many many more.

Integral1900 · February 2017

The purpose is simple, to keep grind addicts playing and to drive the rest of us totally insane

jakeedmundson · February 2017

Artis wrote: »

MLGProPlayer wrote: »

A token system requiring 100 completions (or any arbitrary number) to get whatever weapon you want would be a perfect solution. Everyone would have to work hard for their weapon, but everyone would be assured that they receive a reward in the end.

The current system is like going to work and being told you might get paid.

That's right, so that within finite and pretty short amount of time - couple of months tops - everyone in the endgame will have exactly the same setup and there will literally be nothing to hope to loot in the game. Why have rare gear that only X% of players will have? No, let's give it to 100% of those who want it, everyone should get a trophy for participation.

But why stop there? Would you say a person with all maxed crafts and motifs is lazy? Of course not. Let's make vMA weapons or those tokens drop from crafting writs, too.

raidentenshu_ESO wrote: »

You can't possible be serious and defend ZOS and their crappy RNG system by calling other players lazy just because they didn't win the RNG lottery, and uses this forum as a venting mechanism to release some steam off of their chest..

It's crappy, but still much better than the system that gives BiS gear for token resulting in everyone having BiS gear very soon. That will lead to the situation where there's no rare gear. ANd this will inflate the damage requirements for any group content including dungeon finder. Don't remember all those "elitists kicked me" threads? Oh there would be many many more.

Definition of a "snowflake"....

"I need special things to make me feel better and unique"
Who cares if everyone that runs VMA has the items they're after?? (which is what?... like 15% of everyone that plays eso?) WHO CARES!? Stop this garbage - "i won't feel unique if other people have what i was lucky enough to find..."
And participation trophy??? are you kidding??? anyone that runs this place more than 25 times SHOULD get a reward... not his/her 13th shield drop!

i'm pretty sure we've had this conversation many times... and i can't believe you're still trying argue your terrible point.

The bottom line is.... VMA chest rewards are terrible.
Why is it Ok for someone to run it one time and get a sharpened inferno/lightning/etc. and someone else has to run it 300 times for the same result?
Short answer - It's not. This stupid system needs to change. Make the items trade-able with others that completed vma, put in a token system, reduce the friggin trait pool... ANYTHING. I. can. not. understand.... why ZOS keeps this crap in place. Not one bit.

It would be JUST like if they added all traits for VO or IA jewelry in trials... people would be running trials for a year + just to get one jewelry set with perfect traits - oh and you couldn't trade/sell them to anyone... would that fly? highly doubt it. But for some reason, it's ok for VMA? give me a break.