vMA Final Round boss question - interrupts

shreek1 · October 2017

Getting past the Boss on level 9 requires multiple interrupts of his attacks. As a MagSorc, what are my options for doing this? Will Crushing Shock do it, or is a Block or Bash considered an interrupt?

Danksta · October 2017

Crushing Shock or bash will do. Also a thing to keep in mind is that you can use the defensive sigil and not interrupt him and let his channeled attack reflect back to him.

Asardes · October 2017

Only use the defensive seal after you break the crystals and come down though. The first time, before the crystal phase just bash him.

Lukums1 · October 2017

Lukums to the rescue again.

Watch my video: https://go.twitch.tv/videos/181142505
Twitch: Lukumms

Basically to get through round 9 the absolute easiest way is to defense sigil the first teleport reflecting all attacks back, deal with the mage on the left and prepare for CG. (defense sigil will still be on)

When you come down from crystal phase you just want to bash interrupt if you're on top of him when you come down move out to not cop the AOE which will be cast if close to melee range.

You never want to run crushing ever, on a sorc under no circumstances does this put you at a better position.

I'd strongly! suggest watching the video like hundreds of people have, with a 95% success rate you can't go wrong.

Luke

BNOC · October 2017

Lukums back with the tips as always.

I actually always disagree with him here, like @Asardes said I'd go for the defence sigil when you're down as that combined with your dps and the ghosts that you can freely collect = dead boss (no CG and can ignore all adds)

Use it when the boss is at 50% health after crystals rather than wasting it on a 30% nuke at the start which can be done within a single ult, easily.

I've mentioned it but it makes collecting the ghosts insanely easy and that's the round done when you've got your spectral.

EDIT: If you're struggling to get to crystals, go for Lukums method, wasted otherwise.

tommalmm · October 2017

Yesterday I've done a test run on a ~300cp magsorc with partially gold/purple morrowind gear (on PS4, I usually play on PC). For me, as @BNOC said, it was easier to leave any sigils for the last part of the fight, just in case. Nuking the boss to 70 is as easy as using your ult and a single rotation, even on such a low level character. If I had even less DPS, I would probably let the boss teleport, then wait for cg to spawn and try to damage all (heal+CG+boss) with an aoe ulti. It was more about having an option in case of my error (out of resources after crystals, no stamina to run or bash, low health, etc) rather than any actual benefit. It turned out I didn't have to use sigils (but I had ult ready after crystals and got all three ghosts without much movement involved) in that fight. The only ones I actually finally had to take were in stage 5 and 8 (I'm just not used to lacking this much mitigation and didn't bother to change to hardened ward, as I had only ~17k empowered).

Beardimus · October 2017

Follow what Lukums says he's the vMA boss.

Interrupting can make it harder for yourself on this one if done wrong

shreek1 · October 2017

Thanks for the responses.

As I've progressed through vMA I've found that I have to learn the quirks of each Round within a Stage. I take it one Round at a time. Three days ago I was fighting to make it past Round 2 of the Final Stage. At this point I'm getting to the final Round and making it to the Crystals, but I'm not getting past the Crystals yet. This will come as I get the timing of the Upper Level mechanics down. It's easier for me (at least for now) to take the Defensive Sigil before the Boss ports to the crystals because I get upstairs to get experience with it.

Its as if the Final Round is like 3 unique Rounds within a Round.

I know I'll beat it, it's just a matter of time.

Danksta · October 2017

Honestly Lukums way was the way I got my first clear. I had been stuck on that boss for a couple months, with breaks due to frustration. After I got advice from Lukums I beat it on my second try. I recommend using Lukums method if you don't get to the crystal phase consistently. If you do get to the crystal phase consistently then take the defensive sigil as soon as you get down. If you need to use defensive sigil to get to the top then use the speed sigil when you get down from crystal phase. This will make getting the ghosts easier and also help with regen. Good luck!

GrigorijMalahevich · October 2017

For first couple of runs crushing shock is best choice.

When you learn how to do vMA properly - choose force pulse and bash all channeling units.

I always take damage as first sigil in last boss fight, to get that 30% down as soon as possible and take defense sigil immediately when I drop.

Imho, you just take damage sigil, put all area dots that you have and get boss down to 70% before he teleports from middle beacon. If you DPS is not enough, I would use Supression field on the place where boss teleports to and where CG appears. It will damage both and in Supression field - CG doesn't use it's OP fire breath. Safer option is with supression field.

Also I like to take 3 stat food for the last boss, just in case I would need to dodge roll more than I should and change magicka potions to tri stat potions for the same reason.

Asardes · October 2017

How I do it on my sorcerer, the simple way:
1) damage the boss until he ports and start channeling the attack
2) go to his location and bash him, then shield and block the explosion he makes, drop destro ult on him and the crematorial, also draw in the healer to die in the AoE
3) kill the ghost clannfear and teleport up, destroy crystals going counterclockwise and use the stone wall to shield from the exlposion; not hard to do it in one go but if you feel the DoT is too strong you can wait until you have ultimate up (usually after 2 crystals), come down and burn the crematorial guard and the healer, then go up again
4)after you break the last crystal you are thrown down, grab the defense rune, and throw DoT's on the boss, kill the summoner and grab ghosts; while the rune is active do not interrupt him, because the reflected channel does quite a bit of DPS on him
5) when you get the 3rd gost stun him, drop destro ult on him and go right into execute mode

On some characters you can skip #2 and simply send the boss straight up without any mobs spawning. That's how I usually do it on my stamina NB due to very high burst.

shreek1 · October 2017

I'm having difficulty getting a Bash to work after the Boss ports. Do I have to wait for him to do his windup and start channeling the stream of skulls?

And I've made it up top a few times, but every time I get smacked back down to the bottom. If I keep moving I can barely lay down DoTs on the crystals. If I stop I get stunned by a meteor, or whatever they are. Then I get hit with another skull. I can't spend more than 30 seconds up top before I get punted by something.

I thought I hated levels 5 and 7. I'm starting to despise level 9 I get that there are mechanics but the Boss round is insane. Level 9 is like 8 separate rounds.

I just want it to be over. I've probably died on level 9 over 100 times and I can't kill a crystal on the upper level yet.

/whine

SirDopey · October 2017

I always save the Defensive Sigil for after the crystals, one mistake up top can leave you dropping down with not enough resources to quickly finish him off (whether it be health or magic) and the defensive sigil is a god send here.

The CG won't spawn until he's either finished or you've interrupted him. Knowing this, I generally shield through it until I can get the mage near him then drop destro ultimate + interrupt (crushing shock). He'll spawn the CG right as the destro ulti starts ticking. If your max magic and spell damage is high enough the ulti and your other dots will get him near the 70% next event trigger and leave the CG with either very little hp or dead and the mage gone.

HA the clanfear to death to quickly get your ult back up then jump upstairs.

SirDopey · October 2017

shreek1 wrote: »

I'm having difficulty getting a Bash to work after the Boss ports. Do I have to wait for him to do his windup and start channeling the stream of skulls?

And I've made it up top a few times, but every time I get smacked back down to the bottom. If I keep moving I can barely lay down DoTs on the crystals. If I stop I get stunned by a meteor, or whatever they are. Then I get hit with another skull. I can't spend more than 30 seconds up top before I get punted by something.

I thought I hated levels 5 and 7. I'm starting to despise level 9 I get that there are mechanics but the Boss round is insane. Level 9 is like 8 separate rounds.

I just want it to be over. I've probably died on level 9 over 100 times and I can't kill a crystal on the upper level yet.

/whine

Positioning is really important, I sucked at this bit until I learnt to always be facing him. If you're getting knocked down a lot then try to beat him at his own game by jumping down. You'll have a much greater chance of getting rid of the CG downstairs if you jump down for yourself than if you get knocked down. Jumping down also restarts the speed of the moving shield so if you've survived upstairs long enough that the roving shield is too fast, go down.

If you have pets then put a curse on a crystal, drop an ultimate then jump back down on the inside of the circle. Dispose of the CG making sure you get a few Heavies in and then finish the clanfear off with more HAs. This should allow you to go upstairs with another ulti and basically rinse and repeat until the 3 are gone.

Horowonnoe · October 2017

shreek1 wrote: »

Getting past the Boss on level 9 requires multiple interrupts of his attacks. As a MagSorc, what are my options for doing this? Will Crushing Shock do it, or is a Block or Bash considered an interrupt?

Streak + bash.

Lukums1 · October 2017

Here's the story.

If you're getting to crystals without sigils (EASILY) then don't hit any sigils.

If you're getting to crystals after 10 deaths because you're doing the "silly method of interupting boss on first teleport then DEFENSE sigil as soon as she teleports not only does this ensure you get to crystal phase it means you can relax during this first phase of the fight and in my personal opinion the hardest bit.

If you lack dps (new people) which most of you have no idea how to CP yourselves (no offense) meant that getting the power sigil at the start is the worst move you can make. Leave the power sigil for the end.

NOTE: After shareplaying 5-10 people this week, what is still true and many are making the mistake.

1. Thief is gold, you can't replace with anything less crit means less healing STOP changing theif (IF YOU'RE LEARNING) first clears this is the worst mistake people are making.
2. Use the 5000 Health / 487 Regen food I use this on all my chars for score runs still! it's so effective would you rather die from resources or spam skills all day? Go figure.

I've taught so many people honestly my way is the easiest: Let me go into depth here.

1. Engage boss, wait for his teleport - back up to obtain defense sigil - Making first phase easier.
2. KIll mage to your left
3. Prepare for CG - use suppression field nullify his breath you almost don't have to do this because the defense sigil is still ticking at this point.
4. Back on boss - push to 70%, if mage has spawned deal with him with clanfear as you DONT want to deal with it coming down from crystals.
5. Crystals as always try to move in 1 flow direction ensuring not to get hit from any meteors
6. coming down GRAB ANY sigil you're in front of hopefully healing or haste, reasons behind this:
- If you're coming down as magicka you generally are balls deep out of stam the haste will help you get to the other side quicker to interupt, the healing will almost mitigate some of the incoming damage from whirlwind.
7. Kill add walking to center of the room! IMPORTANT especially for new people learning!!!
8. Collect ghosts, after the 2 collections the 3rd will be together with a boss teleport and whirlwind. WHAT YOU CAN DO! is instead of going for the interupt wasting time you can look for the gold ghost and interupt while the *** hits the fan it also works wonders as the CG will get blasted with plenty of time to lay dots.
9. Once CG is dead, KILL walk add to center to buy MORE TIME APPLICABLE to newbies learning/dps issues.
10. Back on boss with a possible 3rd ghost collection for the easy spectral explosion win.

You've got to think this way, if you leave defense sigil for when you come down you could be in these situations:

1. The sigil is on the other side, boss is near you.
2. You waste a huge amount of time worrying about this sigil when all it requires is a bash... however low on resources the defense sigil would be you're only chance of survival with keeping your resources banked.

The boss during this particular phase does NO damage theres no CG + Fire Mage to deal with it's just her. Make it easy follow the above.. get your kill. and Move on

Luke

Izaki · October 2017

Danksta wrote: »

Crushing Shock or bash will do. Also a thing to keep in mind is that you can use the defensive sigil and not interrupt him and let his channeled attack reflect back to him.

The reflected attacks only do like 50 damage though lol. So its not so much for the damage as it is for the free DPS phase with no mechanics

shreek1 · October 2017

Thank you all for your input. Lukums, believe it or not, I have your tips from this thread and from other threads on this final fight in a Word document that I review before I start killing.

It took me a few days of being on Phase 9 to get through the first 5 levels easily enough; my reflexes aren't great, but I can get through those. This last one is especially tough, because it feels like it's 3 levels in one and I've yet to get the mechanics of the Crystal round down.

I know I'll beat this round. It's only a matter of time, practice and learning the mechanic for the Boss level.

tommalmm · October 2017

I know you will succeed. For now just folow lukums advice. His strategy is proven to be very easy for players new to vMA. You can try other strategies once you're comfortable with it. FWIW, in my first attempt I've struggled with crystal phase a lot. In the end it's just a matter of timing (you don't even have to look at the boss, you will just know when to dodge) and knowing how much you have to move to not end up in aoe knocking you down (especially when the shield is up, then moving inwards and outwards can make it easier if you get it right before explosion, as some part of the walkway will be clear of aoe, so you save some stamina).

After a few clears you'll see level 9 is one of the easiest and there is literally no way you can die there unless you screw up badly.

Lukums1 · October 2017

@tommalmm thanks.

But it's truth, nothing to do with big head it's just a matter of doing it the easiest way imaginable.

Absolutely correct with round 9 being one of the easiest I still say round 5 is the hardest just due to aoe 1 shots. xD

BNOC · October 2017

shreek1 wrote: »

I'm having difficulty getting a Bash to work after the Boss ports. Do I have to wait for him to do his windup and start channeling the stream of skulls?

And I've made it up top a few times, but every time I get smacked back down to the bottom. If I keep moving I can barely lay down DoTs on the crystals. If I stop I get stunned by a meteor, or whatever they are. Then I get hit with another skull. I can't spend more than 30 seconds up top before I get punted by something.

I thought I hated levels 5 and 7. I'm starting to despise level 9 I get that there are mechanics but the Boss round is insane. Level 9 is like 8 separate rounds.

I just want it to be over. I've probably died on level 9 over 100 times and I can't kill a crystal on the upper level yet.

/whine

This is a very old run (A year and 3 months old actually) and was a Rank 2 run at the time but nonetheless, this should be roughly the standard now. Also, the crystal phase's patterns still apply and you can see how easy it is to dodge them, it's a case of strafing left and right for the ground based ones and rolling/blocking the heavy skulls.

Bare in mind that since then and countless more runs, I ended up blocking most of the big skulls to stay more static but it shouldn't really affect anything if you're moving and is only worth 10-15 seconds - If you choose to block, be careful you're not blocking one as a meteor falls, you'll be 1 shot.

http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/BNOC SK/video/37893509

Lukums advice is sound to follow but just to clarify the discrepancies in opinion.

The reasons that I would personally never recommend defence sigil until after the crystals (If you're getting there) are:

70% (Crystal phase begins) is only somewhere around 270-300k damage to the boss
You've got 15-20 seconds at the start to do that damage which equates to roughly 17k DPS- With an ult and a poor rotation you should be at easily that DPS more than a year after the arena was released. (Practice on a dummy in 15-20 second parses, it's literally that simple to perfect that part as you only have to block/roll one attack)
Sigils last for 30 seconds (I think it takes 30 seconds for all 3 ghosts to appear after you drop down, (from dropdown) 0s,15s, 30s) Which should be enough to stun and kill the boss, rather than almost certainly wasting some of your sigil time standing in an empty arena or chasing crystals.
Unless they've patched it as @Izaki suggested then the reflections actually deal a lot of damage and when he's down from crystals that's when you want the extra deeps.
Collecting ghosts IMO is the most important part of that fight for a new player, without an explosion there's no chance.
The add that comes in at the start of the fight doesn't have any significant mechanics bar a heal and as long as you sidestep the lava trail, will do next to no damage to you. You can even dot it up on your way to the pad and finish it of from range as the clannfear runs towards you if you need it dead.
The adds that come in at the end are significant but with the defence sigil you can let the boss and adds attack themselves, collect the first 2 ghosts and kill that first add/dot the boss up before his teleport - When he teleports you can collect the third ghost in peace and cast your stun (The CG will be spawning on this teleport location so it's a simple AOE nuke) and that's the fight.
Also, sigils don't change position, you can guarantee coming down on top of the defence sigil every single time, just by looking where it is (West) and make sure that's the last crystal you do (right from the phase spawn)

Honestly I said it above, but if anyone is struggling to nuke 300k damage in 15-20 seconds with an ultimate then my advice is to practice a static rotation on a dummy, as that's all it is and you'll have a much easier time doing it when you're down.

Asardes · October 2017

The skull attack you either block or roll dodge, since it has a knockdown effect. The easiest is to rotate your camera in such a way you see both the boss and the crystal or whatever you are attacking on your monitor and block as soon as the boss casts. When on the crystal ring try to stay closer to the inner edge so he doesn't knock you down outright when he hits you and partially fail to block. The easiest is to move side to side while you DPS the crystals, as the meteors will target the area you are in every few seconds. Even with low DPS you should be able to finish a crystal before the blast, and have the 2nd one damaged about half way. If you position correctly you should be able do continue DPS on crystals while the wall is moving. The best is to start with the first one going counterclockwise from your spawn point since the wall will come towards you.

shreek1 · October 2017

The reason I am currently taking the Defense sigil in the beginning of the fight is because I need the practice on the upper level on crystals.

This round is like 3 mini rounds. And the Crystal part is choreographed. No other way to put it. Go to position X and have time to cast 3 skills then roll dodge, move to the left, move to the right, then move to the wall while targeting Crystal, then wait 4 seconds then roll dodge, etc. You can never stop moving in the Crystal level or else you die.

I'm a slow learner. My reflexes aren't what they used to be. Before yesterday I wasn't getting any significant amount of time upstairs on the crystal round before getting killed. Now, I'm consistently getting through most of the Crystals. I always have to jump downstairs at least once to reset the upstairs timer.

Made it through the Crystals once before I forgot to Bash the Boss and subsequently died.

Is there only one crystal phase or another after the first 3 crystals are cleared?

BNOC · October 2017

shreek1 wrote: »

The reason I am currently taking the Defense sigil in the beginning of the fight is because I need the practice on the upper level on crystals.

This round is like 3 mini rounds. And the Crystal part is choreographed. No other way to put it. Go to position X and have time to cast 3 skills then roll dodge, move to the left, move to the right, then move to the wall while targeting Crystal, then wait 4 seconds then roll dodge, etc. You can never stop moving in the Crystal level or else you die.

I'm a slow learner. My reflexes aren't what they used to be. Before yesterday I wasn't getting any significant amount of time upstairs on the crystal round before getting killed. Now, I'm consistently getting through most of the Crystals. I always have to jump downstairs at least once to reset the upstairs timer.

Made it through the Crystals once before I forgot to Bash the Boss and subsequently died.

Is there only one crystal phase or another after the first 3 crystals are cleared?

How's the start of the round going? If you're on Xbox, make some recordings of your attempts and link your DVR or Gamertag in here and we can have a better look at where you're at and what you would benefit most from.

The good news is, there's only 1 crystal phase.

I linked a video of the crystal phase a year ago, you do have a little time to stand and dps and if it helps you change your combat cues to Bright Pink or something so they're impossible to miss.

Low DPS and or spending too much time worrying about little mechanics are the biggest killer of people in VMA.

If you're using the defence sigil to get to the crystals, why don't you take the attack sigil for now as well just before you go to the teleport pad whilst you're learning to get through it. You'll get comfortable with it very quickly and can drop sigils one by one and make use of them other times.

Same applies, if it's the speed you're stuck with, take the haste buff up with you for now.

Asardes · October 2017

On sorc the start is pretty easy even if you lack the DPS. Just save your ultimate for the phase where he summons the daedroth and burn the boss and the add together. If you move a bit you may draw the healer in too and send the boss straight up. Really no need to take the defense one at the start.

shreek1 · October 2017

BNOC wrote: »

How's the start of the round going? If you're on Xbox, make some recordings of your attempts and link your DVR or Gamertag in here and we can have a better look at where you're at and what you would benefit most from.

The good news is, there's only 1 crystal phase.

I linked a video of the crystal phase a year ago, you do have a little time to stand and dps and if it helps you change your combat cues to Bright Pink or something so they're impossible to miss.

Low DPS and or spending too much time worrying about little mechanics are the biggest killer of people in VMA.

If you're using the defence sigil to get to the crystals, why don't you take the attack sigil for now as well just before you go to the teleport pad whilst you're learning to get through it. You'll get comfortable with it very quickly and can drop sigils one by one and make use of them other times.

Same applies, if it's the speed you're stuck with, take the haste buff up with you for now.

The start of the round is fine. Like everything else in vMA it takes getting used to; once I understand the mechanics and timing I consistently make it to the crystals. Problem is I use a pet, and 30% of the time it attacks the Clannfear after it spawns and I have to call it off; so then I get a cycle of having to wait until the Clannfear respawns and then I get another Crematorial Guard and occasionally another Healer.

But taking the Defensive sigil at the start will get me to the crystals, the vast majority of the time.

My DPS is fine. With Power Surge I have about 3200 Spell Damage, but almost all DoTs.

Danksta · October 2017

Izaki wrote: »

Danksta wrote: »

Crushing Shock or bash will do. Also a thing to keep in mind is that you can use the defensive sigil and not interrupt him and let his channeled attack reflect back to him.

The reflected attacks only do like 50 damage though lol. So its not so much for the damage as it is for the free DPS phase with no mechanics

Of course, that was my point. I didn't mean to just sit and watch the attack hit him and not do anything.