What makes Malestrom so hard?

Azyle1 · August 2017

I haven't really done it yet. I mean I HAVE, but not really fully attempted. Last night as a CP 421 Stamblade, I decided for the first time to try Vet Malestrom. I got to the third stage without too much trouble, and the third stage I died and then I stopped and went and did something else. I will likely slowly keep trying it because I hear its really hard and frustrating....

But why?

Wouldnt it be if the higher DPS you did the easier it was? I mean I say that because I just burned things as fast as I can on the first 2 stages. Vigor also is a big help as well.

Glamdring · August 2017

well, first until u have tried the later stages u understand why.

Bkella · August 2017

Just like any hard dungeon.....mechanics. That and at later levels every boss has the opportunity to one-shot you or overrun you with adds.

Feanor · August 2017

Most people already fail at the correct spelling.

Bouldercleave · August 2017

In my case, it's simply a lack of skill.

That and a serious lack of commitment to studying hours of games mechanics for a ..... game.

LtBottle · August 2017

It's about mechanics. Once you understand them, you know what will spawn where, the faster you will react, the easier it will be.

But don't forget about a year and half of power creep. Those weapon's ultimates, those stam morph of class skill, all of them are not that old!

As a stam toon, it really was a pain to complete when Orsinium landed.

LtBottle · August 2017

btw, you should meet your firsts troobles around arena 5

PlautisCarvain · August 2017

your build make Maelstrom hard, and it's the first time you do it. I past 5 hours on my first turn and now clear it within an hour. You just need to practice and adapt your build to it. If you are à magicka sorcerer, I highly recommend to put 100 cp into bastion to increase your sheield strength

FearAndPatching · August 2017

Lack of experience is what makes Maelstrom so hard. Been running it since first week VMSA was added to game and it felt near impossible before I understood all mechanics, spawn points, and knowing which waves of enemies come next. Now I can get flawless on characters without all passives and skills fully leveled (StamWard and magdk) Best way to get good at it is to get in there and get your butt kicked for hours and hours straight. Watch some guides too but I feel trial and error is one of the best teachers.

Darkestnght · August 2017

It is so hard it part because the game itself does not do much to prepare you for this kind of content.

Sigtric · August 2017

VMA's difficulty comes from two different things

Mechanics: Knowing what to do, when and how to prioritize which enemies get killed first.
Bugs: Out of the red? Haha. Need a bash interrupt? Hahahaha. Bar swap? What do you think this is? Need to see the enemy? No, some will be invisible for no reason at all.

DocFrost72 · August 2017

What makes maelstrom hard is that you and only you are responsible for following all mechanics and performing all three roles.

No one is watching your health bar.
No one is taunting the hard hitting adds.
No one is interupting the channels.
No one is giving you buffs.
No one can save you if you make a mistake.

That is not to say most people are bad, but that most are used to an environment where a slight failure can be covered by an ally and good teamwork. In maelstrom, there IS no team. It's just you, and mistakes are fatal.

The above is also why when people clear this content, I am confident with their performance in any aspect of the game. It teaches you more about the game in 9.2 arenas than I learned about my class in almost two years (at time of first complete).

LadyNalcarya · August 2017

Azyle1 wrote: »

I haven't really done it yet. I mean I HAVE, but not really fully attempted. Last night as a CP 421 Stamblade, I decided for the first time to try Vet Malestrom. I got to the third stage without too much trouble, and the third stage I died and then I stopped and went and did something else. I will likely slowly keep trying it because I hear its really hard and frustrating....

But why?

Wouldnt it be if the higher DPS you did the easier it was? I mean I say that because I just burned things as fast as I can on the first 2 stages. Vigor also is a big help as well.

Its mechanic-based and doesnt really require super-high dps. You also need decent survivability and sustain, and once youre familiar with the mechanics, it becomes easy.

Taleof2Cities · August 2017

Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Having enough DPS. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics. Mechanics.

CoachPower · August 2017

Lag.

GrumpyDuckling · August 2017

It's less about being hard and more about feeling annoyed.

The whole run through 9 stages isn't exactly a relaxing experience on any stam build (stam sorc isn't too bad due to crit surge) and then compound that with your 5th straight Restoration Staff in the final chest and you'll see what I mean.

Liofa · August 2017

Mechanics . I can say this . On my first run on vMA , I completed it in an hour , 5 deaths in total . How did I do that ? I knew if I went there without any knowledge , I would just get rekt . I sit in front of my computer and watched many , so many MSA videos . I knew what to do , I knew what does how much damage . I knew how to avoid stuff . Went in there , rekt stuff , got my useless 1h/s and got out . I highly recommend doing the same . If you watch videos carefully and learn mechanics by heart , you will complete it in no time .

Btw , I recommend doing the same for pretty much everything . Having visual knowledge before trying something out for the first time will always work in your favour .

Electrone_Magnus · August 2017

Vma just isn't worth it. Who cares if you have skill in a video game? Its supposed to be fun not mentally painful. The weapons are not that great now since oblivion damage glyph exists. I've done it on four characters and one character flawless but I still didn't get a good 2 handed weapon and I never felt like I achieved some thing by beating it. I feel that its worth to run it once on normal and take a look at the different stages but other then that it isn't worth your time.

Beardimus · August 2017

It's mega content, the peak of solo PvE, teaches you loads about your build, heals, defense, mobility, burst etc. Has perfect mechanics in that they are bitchin hard but then you crack them and it's so much easier.

Then you have the challenge of going no death, and then leaderboard etc. It's a great way to better yourself.

I feel sorry for people that farm it for weapons as that type of playing only ever puts you off content, so that's the players fault not the games.

The thing I hate however is the lag. And bar swapping delays.

And OP, not to rain on your parade but rds 1-4 are a cake walk. 5 gets spicey, 7 too and 9 first time through it.

Mondini · August 2017

Maelstrom is artificially hard that's why.
Also, lol you completed the easiest two stages and are asking why its hard?

Anne_Firehawk · August 2017

Feanor wrote: »

Most people already fail at the correct spelling.

This

Alite · August 2017

Look at me guys I can clear the first 3 stages ez, this *** is nothing. Why don't you actually clear it before talking *** OP?

Nyladreas · August 2017

So much salt in this thread dissolved in tears of nerds. vMA is like the new term to trigger people.

Waffennacht · August 2017

CoachPower wrote: »

Lag.

This. Every time I don't lag I beat it no sweat. The moment attacks start hitting before animation it's GG

Drummerx04 · August 2017

vMA is so hard because most people attempt it before they are actually good players. For me personally, vMA was the content that took me from a nothing special scrub, to a pretty competent player. I went in with a poor understanding of my class and combining defense with a sustained offense.

If you already solo successfully in cyrodiil, or carry groups through harder vet dungeons, then you can probably clear vMA within a couple hours.

As others have said, vMA isn't too bad in the early stages. I would say arena 5 (ice stage) is the first time most people really start to have issues. Arena 6-8 can be a mess too, but usually not as much of a wall as 5. The final boss of vMA stage 9, generally wrecks people. Every mistake essentially leads to instant death while you are learning. Just the final boss can take people hours, or repeated visits over days or weeks if they get flustered easily.

seedubsrun · August 2017

Alite wrote: »

Look at me guys I can clear the first 3 stages ez, this *** is nothing. Why don't you actually clear it before talking *** OP?

Seems a little aggressive really. OP was genuinely asking a question not gloating about progress.

To OP, several things can make it hard. Your class and build for one. Usually ranged magic toons have it the easiest so magsorc/magblades. The main thing though as mentioned is mechanics. They ramp up the difficulty of the mechanics as you progress in Maelstrom. Rounds 1-4 are pretty easy. Round 5 will be the first time you start to regret the attempt. Mechanics + RNG is the hard part of rounds 6 and 7 (you'll get it when you get there). Round 8 is pretty easy imo and a nice breather before round 9. Round 9 will likely haunt you for awhile. A lot of newbies to vMA get to the final boss and stay there for dozens sometimes hundreds of attempts.

Get on YouTube or peruse the forums for tips on each round and study the mechanics. Then take it slow, if you find yourself getting frustrated take a break. Res at wayshrine when you die to start off or you'll waste hundreds of soul gems. Finally, find comfort in the fact that if you complete it once the next run will be significantly easier.

Sylosi · August 2017

Liofa wrote: »

I knew if I went there without any knowledge , I would just get rekt . I sit in front of my computer and watched many , so many MSA videos . I knew what to do , I knew what does how much damage . I knew how to avoid stuff . Went in there , rekt stuff , got my useless 1h/s and got out . I highly recommend doing the same . If you watch videos carefully and learn mechanics by heart , you will complete it in no time .

Btw , I recommend doing the same for pretty much everything . Having visual knowledge before trying something out for the first time will always work in your favour .

You enjoy someone else playing the game for you, strange...

Soleya · August 2017

Some examples...

Being double crowd controlled so you can't heal or cast anything for a few seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSSK9yyotg8

Dying to lag (red ring explodes before it actually shows it should).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2LfObycZVI

And more numerous examples of dying sometimes outside the red, to one shots, etc. I learned from this to NEVER dodge roll out of any red rings, and also never to jump down from top level on stage 9 (was a recommendation from someone to do so)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOe3OW6NWeI

Sometimes looking back I can see where i made mistakes (one mistake means death, especially in stages 5-9). Sometime you just die to BS.

Integral1900 · August 2017

There is a place reserved in hell for whoever designed that dungeon!!

I started gaming in the 1980s which probably explains why I find mechanics deeply aggravating. Strangely I enjoyed VMA at first, I really did, but after the third run with nothing but vendor trash to show for it something in me snapped. I sat down and did some calculations and the odds against me getting what I wanted were horrifying. I can understand that some folks like doing this thing but I just couldn't care less anymore, just give it a boat load of health and let me stack and burn the blasted thing so I can go do stuff in this game I actually want to do.

Inklings · August 2017

The hardest thing about vMA is the RNG.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1h6x83SeV7WDemRsVU3jhepzLFBmLvh90Y7JSvRzA5R8/edit#gid=0

Kuramas9tails · August 2017

Azyle1 wrote: »

I haven't really done it yet. I mean I HAVE, but not really fully attempted. Last night as a CP 421 Stamblade, I decided for the first time to try Vet Malestrom. I got to the third stage without too much trouble, and the third stage I died and then I stopped and went and did something else. I will likely slowly keep trying it because I hear its really hard and frustrating....

But why?

Wouldnt it be if the higher DPS you did the easier it was? I mean I say that because I just burned things as fast as I can on the first 2 stages. Vigor also is a big help as well.

You are a Stamblade with burst damage. That is why it is so hard.

That is honestly the second to worst class you can try beating it on. Not impossible but defiantly harder to run it through the first time with.