Maintenance for the week of September 29:
• PC/Mac: NA and EU megaservers for patch maintenance – September 29, 4:00AM EDT (8:00 UTC) - 9:00AM EDT (13:00 UTC)
• Xbox: NA and EU megaservers for patch maintenance – October 1, 8:00 UTC (4:00AM EDT) - 16:00 UTC (12:00PM EDT)
• PlayStation®: NA and EU megaservers for patch maintenance – October 1, 8:00 UTC (4:00AM EDT) - 16:00 UTC (12:00PM EDT)

Hardest round in VMA?

  • xeNNNNN
    xeNNNNN
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 7 – Vault of Umbrage
    Poison round for magicka users due to the RNG of plants not so bad on stam because you can roll dodge all day lol, I wanted to vote twice though because the igneous cistern is BS mostly because of how buggy that stage always is for me.

    Teleporting fire spinners that cannot be bashed even when you have stable 60 ms is kinda ridiculous. I was told it wasn't due to ms as well by a few others who've completed it frequently on EU.

    There are also bashing issues throughout the entire arena tbh. Not as frequent as the cistern stage but they're still there.

    kinda ridiculous tbh.
    Edited by xeNNNNN on April 24, 2017 1:54PM
    Ah, e-communities - the "pinnacle" of the internet............yeah, right.
  • code65536
    code65536
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
    Good to see I may have FINALLY gotten past the hardest round yesterday. That being said, I'm under no illusions that I'm in the clear yet.

    I just want to clear VMA once. Just once.

    Wait till you get to stage 9. ;)
    Nightfighters ― PC/NA and PC/EU

    Dungeons and Trials:
    Personal best scores:
    Dungeon trifectas:
    PC/Console Add-Ons: Combat AlertsGroup Buff Panels
    Media: YouTubeTwitch
  • Zinaroth
    Zinaroth
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
    Round 5 because *** melee...
  • MissBizz
    MissBizz
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 9 – Theater of Despair
    code65536 wrote: »
    Good to see I may have FINALLY gotten past the hardest round yesterday. That being said, I'm under no illusions that I'm in the clear yet.

    I just want to clear VMA once. Just once.

    Wait till you get to stage 9. ;)

    Agreed. I'm sure multiple times I said "NONE OF THE OTHER ROUNDS PREPARED ME FOR THIS" Screaming. Angry. Rage. Almost lost a mouse to that round.
    Lone Wolf HelpFor the solo players who know, sometimes you just need a hand.PC | NA | AD-DC-EP | Discord
  • Glass
    Glass
    ✭✭✭
    Round 9 – Theater of Despair
    I think it would be good to make a difference between hardest going for a flawless/score run or hardest in the learning curve.

    By far, I think last boss is the hardest in the learning curve, I don't know anyone that didn't die several times on this boss as you need to learn his mechanics and the moment he executes them, but all of this changes one you get experience, personally if I get to last boss with 15 lives I know I'm getting flawless but that it is now when I have hundreds of runs in and i don't even look at the boss when he is up with the crystals because I know perfectly when to roll dodge.

    Going for flawless/score runs, defo round 7 for me. Simply because the rng that comes with it like everyone was saying, if you get a plant under your feet on last boss on shield phase being mag, is all good just spam shields till you can purge, you will lose a few seconds but not big of a deal. On the other hand being stam you cant heal through it and you can say goodbye to the flawless run.
  • onemoredragon
    onemoredragon
    ✭✭✭
    Still yet to complete VMA
    Ugh.. got stuck at stage 5, had the final boss down to 1% HP at one of the 1st attempts, and then got stuck with it completely and enraged pretty hard. Because, you know, 1% and it would be done >.< Stopped doing it for a while :)
    MissBizz wrote: »

    On my first attempt/clear I only did 1 round per week. Seriously. Went in, completed round one, and logged off. Next weekend... Round 2. I think only once or twice I did two rounds in one weekend. I felt that way I didn't bring the frustration forward, rounds seemed easier with a bright fresh mind :)

    This actually might be a thing and I'll try something like this as well. Clear a round, get some break, go back.
    PC EU @OneMoreDragon

    Rakshasi Raijina, khajiit sorceror, adventurer and crafter
    Keel-Neesha, argonian dragonknight tank
    Asharlys, orc templar tank
    Wanheda Praimfaya, nord necromancer tank
    Alessia Whitegold, redguard templar 2h/bow DD
    Mitsuro Naztharune, khajiit dragonknight dw/bow DD
    Viannereth, bosmer warden bow/bow DD
    Moraelyn of Ra'athim, dunmer necromancer magicka DD

    So long as the dragonfires shall burn, to you, and to all generations, I swear that my Hearts blood shall hold fast the Gates of Oblivion.
  • Dark_Aether
    Dark_Aether
    ✭✭✭✭
    Round 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
    MissBizz wrote: »
    code65536 wrote: »
    Good to see I may have FINALLY gotten past the hardest round yesterday. That being said, I'm under no illusions that I'm in the clear yet.

    I just want to clear VMA once. Just once.

    Wait till you get to stage 9. ;)

    Agreed. I'm sure multiple times I said "NONE OF THE OTHER ROUNDS PREPARED ME FOR THIS" Screaming. Angry. Rage. Almost lost a mouse to that round.

    Stage 9 is just a matter of pressuring you by throwing 10 mechanics at you. Once you get enough damage to burn the boss, you can ignore pretty much all of them.
  • Luigi_Vampa
    Luigi_Vampa
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭
    Round 9 – Theater of Despair
    Round 9 is the worst for me. It has the most mechanics going on at once and if you *** up a little it can be hard to recover. A lot of different things to keep watch for. Ghost, Crem Guards, Summoner guys, the stupid skull thing. It gets easier the more I do it, but compared to the other rounds it has the most mechanics.

    Round 5 I only die if I get hit by a bunch of the adds at the same time. The trolls and the bosses are easy to handle. It is just the stupid archers and cryomancer guys.

    Round 7 is only a problem because of shrooms under shields. If they would not let shrooms hurt you under the shield it is an easy round.

    All the other rounds are pretty simple and straightforward. Round 6 is annoying, and I hate the stupid spider swarms, but it is not that difficult.
    PC/EU DC
  • code65536
    code65536
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
    Glass wrote: »
    I think it would be good to make a difference between hardest going for a flawless/score run or hardest in the learning curve.

    By far, I think last boss is the hardest in the learning curve, I don't know anyone that didn't die several times on this boss as you need to learn his mechanics and the moment he executes them, but all of this changes one you get experience, personally if I get to last boss with 15 lives I know I'm getting flawless but that it is now when I have hundreds of runs in and i don't even look at the boss when he is up with the crystals because I know perfectly when to roll dodge.

    Going for flawless/score runs, defo round 7 for me. Simply because the rng that comes with it like everyone was saying, if you get a plant under your feet on last boss on shield phase being mag, is all good just spam shields till you can purge, you will lose a few seconds but not big of a deal. On the other hand being stam you cant heal through it and you can say goodbye to the flawless run.

    Yep. Newcomers will say 9 is hardest. Veterans will say 5 is hardest (or 7 if stam). Because practice and experience will negate 9's difficulty (which is all about mechanics and execution), whereas 5's difficulty is just one of overwhelming force being thrown against you, which can't be as easily negated by practice.

    When I got my first clear over a year ago, I died over 100 times on just the final boss--more than everything else in the arena combined. But now if I reach that boss with no deaths, it's pretty much a given the run will be flawless.
    Edited by code65536 on April 24, 2017 2:36PM
    Nightfighters ― PC/NA and PC/EU

    Dungeons and Trials:
    Personal best scores:
    Dungeon trifectas:
    PC/Console Add-Ons: Combat AlertsGroup Buff Panels
    Media: YouTubeTwitch
  • sekou_trayvond
    sekou_trayvond
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
    Yeah, still no illusions :-)

    Kinda have the Miss Bizz strategy currently: round per week. Or at least just an hour per night. Don't want this to thing make me hate the game.
    code65536 wrote: »
    Good to see I may have FINALLY gotten past the hardest round yesterday. That being said, I'm under no illusions that I'm in the clear yet.

    I just want to clear VMA once. Just once.

    Wait till you get to stage 9. ;)

    Edited by sekou_trayvond on April 24, 2017 2:46PM
  • BuddyAces
    BuddyAces
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
    This thread is seriously amazing. If any of you haven't read it all I suggest going through it and reading all the comments. I think it's neat how different folks can have a hell of a time on a certain round while the next guy can blow through it like nothing but then have a hard time on a round that the previous folks blew through.
    They nerfed magsorcs so hard stamsorcs felt it,lol - Somber97866

    I'm blown away by the utter stupidity I see here on the daily. - Wrekkedd
  • Stamden
    Stamden
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 6 – Spiral Shadows
    Am I the only one that finds this stupid spider round to be the worst? I hate it more than the plant one after it.

    I get the whole run to the light mechanic, and overall it doesn't seem that bad. The biggest problem I think I have is when it spams that AoE lightning wherever you are. Not only does it have ridiculous damage, it also perma slows you. I never know what the hell to do against it.
    PC NA

    ~Currently taking a break from the game until my DK can become something more than just a crafter~
  • Acharnor
    Acharnor
    ✭✭✭✭
    Still yet to complete VMA
    I fly the white flag of surrender! Would like to have completed but just not gonna happen. Got to Drome of Toxic Shock. I swear I get worse with every try.
    Celebrate for life is short but sweet for certain.
  • Wolfchild07
    Wolfchild07
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Still yet to complete VMA
    Whichever round I get stuck on at the time. :P I don't take it seriously though, I just give it a go very rarely. I'm not here for solo content, that's boring for me. Give me a duo arena and I'll definitely play through it.
  • pizzaow
    pizzaow
    ✭✭✭✭
    Round 6 – Spiral Shadows
    I'm definitely in the minority with stage 6, but it's still the stage I fear the most. Note that I've only cleared the arena 8 times and my VMA DPS is 'meh' (I still invest a lot into not dying points).

    There are so many mechanics that seem to happen simultaneously, it's hard to actually concentrate on DPS. There are times when I've had a hoarver up, one spider webbing a totem, the "slow you down" add, the spiders where you have to run to a light, and several other adds trying to kill me... then the totem light changes :-/
    XBox/NA GT: Pizzaow
  • akl77
    akl77
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Still yet to complete VMA
    I wonder if the Nord race would make round 5 ice stage easier, due to the high tolerance Nord has for cold environments.
    Pc na
  • akl77
    akl77
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Still yet to complete VMA
    Looks like round 4 is the easiest from the poll, cos no one vote it. :smile:
    Pc na
  • Drayzon
    Drayzon
    ✭✭✭
    Round 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
    To be fair though the hardest part about vMA is the rng, i have 7/10 chars flawless now, other 3 are not leveled, and i have done i guess 500+ runs easy and still no sharp inferno :(
    2300+CP

    #BuffArgonians
  • Danksta
    Danksta
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭
    Round 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
    Leogon wrote: »
    Hardest? Stage 5
    Most infuriating? Stage 7 when the RNG is against you.

    This exactly how I feel. At the point I'm at now stage 5 is the only one that will sometimes feel it's necessary to grab a sigil.
    Nifty2g wrote: »
    The boss on stage 5 is still the worst, such a dumb cleave CC.

    It's my favorite when you get CC'ed by it with "CC immunity".
    Edited by Danksta on April 24, 2017 9:39PM
    BawKinTackWarDs PS4/NA

  • Danksta
    Danksta
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭
    Round 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
    xeNNNNN wrote: »
    Poison round for magicka users due to the RNG of plants not so bad on stam because you can roll dodge all day lol, I wanted to vote twice though because the igneous cistern is BS mostly because of how buggy that stage always is for me.

    Teleporting fire spinners that cannot be bashed even when you have stable 60 ms is kinda ridiculous. I was told it wasn't due to ms as well by a few others who've completed it frequently on EU.

    There are also bashing issues throughout the entire arena tbh. Not as frequent as the cistern stage but they're still there.

    kinda ridiculous tbh.

    I hated those *** my first few clears, but now I just kill them before they move. The issue is they aren't where they are showing on your screen, but if you don't give them a chance to move then you know they are where they're showing... or they're dead before they do their little twirling baton of flames trick.
    BawKinTackWarDs PS4/NA

  • BigBadVolk
    BigBadVolk
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 7 – Vault of Umbrage
    Stage 7 cause in my past runs I had 10+ death on that stage.
    Also stage 5 is a pain in the ass if I don't burn the archer mobs on the boss
    And stage 8 because *** the Flame Knight (had a few death there thanks to her burst damage)
    "The ass is similar to the opinion: Everyone has it, but no one cares about the others!"
    I'm 120 years old
  • CelticStones
    CelticStones
    ✭✭✭
    finally finished round 5 after a 2 hour session with about 35 deaths.
  • inked1
    inked1
    ✭✭✭
    Round 9 – Theater of Despair
    I voted for last stage because until today I had been stuck on it for months. Yes, today I finally cleared it (precise frost staff :neutral: ). Now I would like to change my vote to round 5. There is nothing fun about this round as a stam build with no gap closer.
  • Meld777
    Meld777
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 10 - last chest. I guarantee you, the majority of people that are able to consistently breeze flawless through vMA naked are stuck on the last chest. Many are stuck there for 1.5 years now.
    Maelstrom Arena Champion | Undaunted | Fighters Guild Victor

    Level 50 Magicka NB | CP160+

    nAA | vCoH1 HM | nSO | nCoA2 | nDSA | nMA | vVoM

    PC EU
  • Ch4mpTW
    Ch4mpTW
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
    inked1 wrote: »
    I voted for last stage because until today I had been stuck on it for months. Yes, today I finally cleared it (precise frost staff :neutral: ). Now I would like to change my vote to round 5. There is nothing fun about this round as a stam build with no gap closer.

    @inked1 Congratulations on your clear, and your new Maelstrom weapon. I hope you have many more clears, including Flawless Conqueror clears in your future. :)
    Edited by Ch4mpTW on April 26, 2017 4:31AM
  • Toc de Malsvi
    Toc de Malsvi
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
    Neighbor wrote: »
    Am I the only one that finds this stupid spider round to be the worst? I hate it more than the plant one after it.

    I get the whole run to the light mechanic, and overall it doesn't seem that bad. The biggest problem I think I have is when it spams that AoE lightning wherever you are. Not only does it have ridiculous damage, it also perma slows you. I never know what the hell to do against it.

    You need to keep moving. When you have to be near a light, you should move around and try to stay on the edges of the light while continuing to be in motion.

    If stam+bow you can use dodge roll to create a short gap and distance to kite spiders for a couple seconds if necessary.

    If Mag, shield through excess damage and use ranged to burn spiders trying to web pillars.

    For either, continual movement is key to avoiding excess damage from lighting puddles.
    Edited by Toc de Malsvi on April 26, 2017 5:04AM
    Legendary Archer of Valenwood
    Bosmer Dragon Knight Archer. XBox One. (Flawless Conqueror Bow/Bow)
    Bosmer Nightblade Archer. Xbox One. (Flawless Conqueror Bow/Bow)
    Bosmer Sorcerer Archer. Xbox One. (Flawless Conqueror Bow/Bow)
    Bosmer Warden Archer. Xbox One. (Flawless Conqueror Bow/Bow)
    Templar's are evil..
  • LadyLethalla
    LadyLethalla
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Round 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
    I'm going to say stage 5 because I managed to finish it for the first time last night after between 300 and 400 deaths. Though I've seen/ read that stage 6 is no walk in the park either.

    And no, I obviously haven't completed it yet.
    x-TallyCat-x // PC EU DC - For the Covenant! // ESO Platinum trophy - 16th May 2017.
    Melbourne Australia - the land of Potato Internet.WTB ESO OCEANIC SERVER
  • akl77
    akl77
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Still yet to complete VMA
    finally finished round 5 after a 2 hour session with about 35 deaths.

    Then you are pretty good actually. i just keeps dying till my gears all broken, I think I've used 20 or 30 repair kits on this round, that's a lot of deaths.
    Pc na
  • Steel_M
    Steel_M
    Soul Shriven
    Round 7 – Vault of Umbrage
    I have only completed vMA maybe twenty or thirty times so far, and only on my stamsorc, but i've always hated round 7 in particular. round 5 sucks because there's a ton of incoming damage, but i've found that if i keep mobile and dish out as much dps as possible i usually don't die. round 9 is a pain because of how easy it is to die due to a simple mistake, but at least if you follow mechanics and don't screw up you can avoid most deaths. round 7 on the other hand is pure cancer. there is just too much RNG to be confident in a deathless clear, at least for most people i've met. I think round 9 is a very close competitor in overall difficulty, but 7 has always been the hardest on me. I believe it's also the only round that i've never cleared without a death.
  • GawdSB
    GawdSB
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sometimes it's 5 sometimes it's 7.
Sign In or Register to comment.