Maelstrom Rebalance Needed?

ZeroSumPhase · October 2017

Is it just me, or....

I mean, there have been a slew of changes since the last time vMA was updated. Sustain, damage, skills... I have yet to find a video made after Morrowind discussing strategies to combat vMA with the current build archetypes and current mechanics.

I've tried to finish with both Magplar and Magblade (CP 476, mostly BiS meta gear, minus weapons, obviously...). I feel like I'm probably doing something wrong, but it's hard to gauge when I don't have anything accurate to benchmark off of.

Thoughts/advice appreciated.

Sixty5 · October 2017

Maelstrom gets a lot easier once you have done it.

It also gets a lot more boring.

All of the content that was made about how to tackle it was made when it was new and exciting. Now it is just something that you grind out.

There is one fantastic guide here that has been updated since morrowind, so I'd say check that out if you need help
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/233356/joys-updated-guide-to-beating-maelstrom-arena-now-with-videos

Brutusmax1mus · October 2017

No it's easy after you learn it.

Aliyavana · October 2017

Agreed, vma is fine, only some of the weapons need buffing like dw

ArchMikem · October 2017

Inb4 the sea of endgamers claim its easy and needs to be harder...

Oh damn, wasn't fast enough.

DoTHurts · October 2017

I still haven’t got past the poison archers, they could get rid of them...

Dymence · October 2017

Check the weekly leaderboards for each class in vMA. You'll see a lot of people are still clearing it with high scores to boot. It's pretty much just an l2p issue. Once you get it you're gonna be solid too.

AjiBuster499 · October 2017

ArchMikem wrote: »

Inb4 the sea of endgamers claim its easy and needs to be harder...

Oh damn, wasn't fast enough.

I'm not part of the "sea of endgamers" by any stretch of the imagination, but I've (somehow) cleared vMA (before Morrowind Sustain nerf though) and did it several times in fact. It does indeed get easier after clearing it the first time. I attribute it to having retreated to a nuclear bunker and blowing up my computer 100000000000etc times in rage, which, due to repeated failures, I began to subconciously deal with mechanics.

TL;DR vMA does get easier after clearing it once since you know how to dodge all the mechs by then thanks to rage.

Vapirko · October 2017

VMA is fine you’ll get there. the weapons however are in a sorry state and ZOS just blatantly tossed them in the trash. There was zero reason to make those changes. Now they’re complete trash instead of on par with asylum.

SquareSausage · October 2017

pre morrowind all damage enchants, post morrowind 2 damage 1 recovery>

Thats all that i changed.

Thogard · October 2017

you just have to memorize it.

Like... memorize every minor detail.

Once you have it memorized its not bad. then you just get wiped by the RNG... but the RNG gonna do what the RNG gonna do.

Qbiken · October 2017

I´ve got all my flawless clears after the sustain nerfs in Morrowind. vMA gets easier once you´ve completed it once

IlCanis_LupuslI · October 2017

ZeroSumPhase wrote: »

Is it just me, or....

I mean, there have been a slew of changes since the last time vMA was updated. Sustain, damage, skills... I have yet to find a video made after Morrowind discussing strategies to combat vMA with the current build archetypes and current mechanics.

I've tried to finish with both Magplar and Magblade (CP 476, mostly BiS meta gear, minus weapons, obviously...). I feel like I'm probably doing something wrong, but it's hard to gauge when I don't have anything accurate to benchmark off of.

Thoughts/advice appreciated.

Ive done it (flawless) on my stamblade once you get the hang of it it gets easy. My advice= use the buffs, after the 2nd wave of each round use the defensive buff.
When the boss spawns use the damage buff and get in a nice Burst then when the mechanics statt use the defensive buff and Fokus adds but keep the dots up on the boss. Once the adds are gone get the healing buff and nuke him down. Certain bosses you can nuke down strait sway and ignore adds=the lamia queen, the first boss, the deadra spider, the 8th boss.

Izaki · October 2017

Frankly... I love vMA. Especially after Morrowind, since you really have to learn to sustain on the spot, know when to heavy attack, know when to burst, when to apply all AoEs or when to only apply one and every time your go in there, you always learn something new that makes you a better player overall. When you haven't touched a class in a while, its the best place to go into and learn that character again in less than an hour. Sustain and survivability included. The first clear is impossibly hard. From that point on, it gets much easier. Now, once you've cleared it once you have 2 options: tell yourself that its boring and that scores are pointless and that you're just going to grind the weapons (which will make you hate the place) or you can tell yourself that you need to improve your scores and your flawlessness of execution of everything you do in there while seeing the weapons you get as a bonus. Your choice!

IlCanis_LupuslI · October 2017

DoTHurts wrote: »

I still haven’t got past the poison archers, they could get rid of them...

Try using the defensive buff and kill the archers quick

Zagnut123Zagnut123 · October 2017

Izaki wrote: »

Frankly... I love vMA. Especially after Morrowind, since you really have to learn to sustain on the spot, know when to heavy attack, know when to burst, when to apply all AoEs or when to only apply one and every time your go in there, you always learn something new that makes you a better player overall. When you haven't touched a class in a while, its the best place to go into and learn that character again in less than an hour. Sustain and survivability included. The first clear is impossibly hard. From that point on, it gets much easier. Now, once you've cleared it once you have 2 options: tell yourself that its boring and that scores are pointless and that you're just going to grind the weapons (which will make you hate the place) or you can tell yourself that you need to improve your scores and your flawlessness of execution of everything you do in there while seeing the weapons you get as a bonus. Your choice!

^^^ this

Krayzie · October 2017

VMA is extremely easy, get a magsorc

Beardimus · October 2017

DoTHurts wrote: »

I still haven’t got past the poison archers, they could get rid of them...

Use the defence sigil here. They shoot themselves. Easy mode

Beardimus · October 2017

As everyone says OP, its tactics..firet pass tool me days. Next one 3hrs. Soon it was down to 1.5hrs.

Learning mechs and your build is the biggest game changer.

IMHO vMA could get harder now, or have a hard mode enabled. It def doesn't need to get easier.

Surak73 · October 2017

Beardimus wrote: »

IMHO vMA could get harder now, or have a hard mode enabled.

For some sort of perfect maelstrom weapons, yes. For the actual useless weapons, nope.

Ladislao · October 2017

I agree with OP. Maelstrom Arena should be rebalanced to be more difficult at present. But I think we can restrict ourselves to disabling Champion System, which makes it easy.

Marabornwingrion · October 2017

If "rebalance" means "nerf" because you can't finish it, then answer is hell no.
Problems with sustain? Heavy attacks and witchmother's brew.

MakoFore · October 2017

vMA is a choreographed fight- just learning the spawns and mechanics makes the biggest difference, understanding its not like a duel- where you see , react and counter- its a matter of knowing whats going to happen- buffing healing and shields at those points , etc.

for example- all waves are 3 portals- putting down a trap, hail on portal one- (or blockade and a class AOE) - that takes care of that mob - charging a heavy attack on the second portal so they only need one more hit- and then addressing the third mob quickly pretty much takes care of all the mob spawns. thats the pattern for every single wave essentially, bar a few exceptions.
Then learning the rhythm of each boss- when to dps, when to heal, when to respect mechanics is the key. a few things stay true though - respect the mechanics - dont watch the vMA stars like Gilliam and Andy S, Streak, etc- those guys are good enough to burn thru the mechanics without regard- trying to emulate that gon get a young man killed. thats like trying to dunk on a fast break instead of just laying it in.
instead- respect the mechanics of each boss- and be disciplined enough to follow them- rather than focusing the boss- for example- almost in all the bosses- the rule is - address the mobs before the boss, and also- address the ranged adds as a priority among those. simple rules like that will change the entire arena for you.

SoLooney · October 2017

actually glad vma got harder after morrowind due to sustain changes. power creep made everyone a lot stronger, there really isnt a reason people shouldnt be able to beat considering how long its been out and all the strats available

theamazingx · October 2017

ArchMikem wrote: »

Inb4 the sea of endgamers claim its easy and needs to be harder...

Oh damn, wasn't fast enough.

Almost as if it’s endgame content :^)

tommalmm · October 2017

vMA is easy. It's just a matter of memorizing the fights and knowing how to sustain on your class. Nothing else.

The first clear? Hard, annoying, unforgiving. The single best advice? After every death take your time to analyze what has actually killed you.

Ch4mpTW · October 2017

I’m going to completely honest with anyone here who has issues clearing VMA. As a person who has done it tons upon tons of times (as many of you already know from threads I’ve made in the past lol), I can genuinely say that the hardest part about VMA is the lag and things out of your control. That’s what truly makes the content so hard and unforgiving. You can do everything completely right, and follow the mechanics flawlessly. But, you then get wiped due to an add having the wrong animation. Or a plant for whatever the reason choosing to spawn underneath the mender’s shield on Stage 7. And so on.

generalmyrick · October 2017

ZeroSumPhase wrote: »

Is it just me, or....

I mean, there have been a slew of changes since the last time vMA was updated. Sustain, damage, skills... I have yet to find a video made after Morrowind discussing strategies to combat vMA with the current build archetypes and current mechanics.

I've tried to finish with both Magplar and Magblade (CP 476, mostly BiS meta gear, minus weapons, obviously...). I feel like I'm probably doing something wrong, but it's hard to gauge when I don't have anything accurate to benchmark off of.

Thoughts/advice appreciated.

i find it boring and never beat it, tried twice...the weapons don't really turn me on enough to care.

Olupajmibanan · October 2017

My VMA clears are so much faster with the addition of possibility to enchant maelstrom weapons. Also CP cap is getting higher and higher with each patch furtherly speeding up my clears.

yttoks · October 2017

DoTHurts wrote: »

I still haven’t got past the poison archers, they could get rid of them...

Ranged cc. If you don't have it, get it. Helps all over the place in vMA.

Apherius · October 2017

ArchMikem wrote: »

Inb4 the sea of endgamers claim its easy and needs to be harder...

Oh damn, wasn't fast enough.

I was going to say " in4 the sea of ...gamers claim they agree cause it's to hard and needs to be nerfed ... but apparently these players are faster to create thread to nerf " Engame content "than the engame player to create thread to buff it.