Share your first experience in veteran Maelstrom Arena

Suddwrath · August 2019

Ever since yesterday I've noticed in my guilds that many players have never even stepped foot into vMA. One of the most common reasons players expressed why they haven't attempted it is because they are too intimidated by it or believe they don't have the gear/skill/CP for it. So with the Orsinium event going on and the large number of new players from the Elsweyr release, I thought it might help these newer players to see what other players experienced during their first vMA attempt

After Orsinium was released I didn't even attempt vMA for almost 2 years (mostly because I only had 1 character which was a Templar healer). When I finally got around to it, I got stuck on the ice stage and after several hours of failed attempts I gave up and actually stopped playing the game entirely for several months because of it. When I returned to the game I did some homework and looked up vMA guides/videos and then managed to beat it that same day. A week later, after many more attempts, I got my Flawless. I was a PvE potato back then who mostly just did quests, normal dungeons, and could barely reach ~15k DPS, but I still managed to complete it.

While my first attempt was an absolute mess and full of frustrations, the feeling of finally beating it was incredible. So if you're one of the players who hasn't even attempted it yet, don't let the fear of trying prevent you from at least giving it a shot and don't let the frustration prevent you from learning!

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Taleof2Cities · August 2019

That first Clannfear on Stage 1:

“Wow, that hits kind of hard ... “

Kel · August 2019

Alternative title:
Tales of Woe and Frustration and the journey to buy a new controller.

😁

Odovacar · August 2019

My first clear consisted of lots of swear words and a cracked ps4 controller. The rest is history.

rotaugen454 · August 2019

My first experience was dying quickly and swearing it off forever. Fast forward a few years, I memorize mechanics off YouTube, and get my first complete while wondering why I thought it was impossible. Will always hate stage 7 though.

Lady_Scorp72 · August 2019

After watching countless videos, my optimism was naively high.

Stage 1: Ok, that's not bad!
Stage 2: Doable.
Stage 3: Harder, but still doable without too much dying.
Stage 4: Getting a bit frustrating, but surprised I didn't die more.
Stage 5: Well...that escalated quickly! MAJOR sense of accomplishment when I finally beat it after countless deaths, and so I went into the next stage with an inflated sense of my abilities to conquer. You can guess how that went. lol
Stage 6: Currently stuck on final boss and taking a blood pressure break. Sigh...

TeamSeinfeld · August 2019

First time in Maelstrom, went in completely oblivious and blitzed through it quickly. Only to realize I had not done in on veteran. Veteran was a nightmare until learning mechanics and watching Alcast video. Best and most useful advice to me was that you could learn something from every death. And now I look back and laugh at my early runs.

Ellyhan · August 2019

Like ***. Was thinking all of this "Why ? WHY I'M DOING THIS !"

phileunderx2 · August 2019

On stage 5 meh.

Robo_Hobo · August 2019

First time in Vet Maelstrom years ago I couldn't get past the first boss.

I kept looking up guides for how to beat him but they all didn't really go into much detail about him because he was considered super easy.

Watching videos of him getting obliterated didn't help much either. It took a lot of practice, lots of CP gaining, and learning that a Breton Dragonknight magicka/stamina hybrid heavy armor 2h/2h that didn't use dot abilities, didn't weave, didn't use food/crafted potions, and still in dropped overland mixed set gear, probably wasn't the best thing to bring to Vet Maelstrom.

I finally prevailed a year and a half or so later with on and off attempts, working through each stage, being stuck on one for weeks at a time and giving up for a few months sometimes. Nowadays it's a breeze and I'm starting to get Flawless on different characters. Well, only Magsorc so far but would have had a Magplar Flawless run yesterday if it weren't for a desyncing shock-mage that holds up the barrier from the behemoth screaming, lol.

magictucktuck · August 2019

back when you couldn't save I spent from 10am till 10pm in there and got stuck on the last boss and finally at 10pm I quit.

The next day I was in there all day but finally killed the last boss around 10pm

MartiniDaniels · August 2019

My first experience was rather smooth until ice matriarch. She literally makes you crazy from all the multi-tasking you need to perform (control troll icebreaker, kill lemeinids ASAP on spawn, continue dpsing boss non stop, don't sit in the water, determine when matriarch simply attacks and when she gonna break island)... imo this is one of the most infuriating encounters in whole game.
After her all other bosses are just a breeze if you are not going for no-death.

JimmyJuJu · August 2019

maelstrom
noun

- a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs

Yep.

huschdeguddzje · August 2019

Got bow, staff from leaderboards and never went back to that godforsaken place

Casul · August 2019

8 months to get to stage 4, bad builds etc.

5-9 in a week. Flawless within the next 2 weeks.

Tried again yesterday for the event and got stuck on stage 5 (no surprise lol).

All together vMA is overrated as long as you have a good build. I generally went with something that let me be tankier then most people even if it means the run takes a bit longer (to be fair my werewolf flawless was under 60 minutes and I dropped form on stage 7)

Pink_E_808 · August 2019

I've been playing for over three years now and hadn't even tried normal until a few months ago and was stuck on stage seven. Went back about a week ago and finished it. A friend has been helping me with my unorthodox characters build and I decided to test it out there, lol. I did it once more (yesterday and today, had to go to work in between) with only one death and, while I have heard it's quite a bit harder on Vet, I decided to just dip my toes in and see how much harder. Holy wow. I just finished the first stage and am already like, "how in the name of Azura did I just beat that?" Though still a little intimidated (this is the first of Vet content I'm finally trying), I'm looking forward to my first finish, frustration, possible tears, countless gems and all.

Bouldercleave · August 2019

I tried it on a few occasions and realized getting frustrated and angry was not conducive to a positive gaming experience so I haven't been back.

When I'm playing I like to have fun and for me, MA is not it. There are too many other things for me to do in this world that I find enjoyable to waste my time on something that causes me frustration.

pattyLtd · August 2019

Weeks ....... no i lie it was months with twoce rage delete quest on last boss after failing over and over actually realizing i was crying over a stupid videogame mode.

Why keep i do this why i keep go to this hell hole.

Then finally out of breath speechless omg i did it, i really did it..... stormproof.
It’s unbelieveable how much easier second time and after that are compared to the first.

Now only round 7 still makes me frustrated more then i should.

preevious · August 2019

Aaaah, yes ...

I was proud, strong, and full of confidence.
I could solo world bosses, even those of morrowind. I felt invulnerable, behind my mighty magical shields ..

I went in there, decided to carve my name in the ground of each arena !

Then, I faced Maxus the many, and he carved my shape in the ground .. with my body .. repeatedly.
Then, I thought that, maybe, there was progress to be made ..

Tornaad · August 2019

I think my first time went something like this (Normal not Vet)
1st level, wonderful triumphant struggle
2nd level, again a wonderfully triumphant struggle
3rd level, I popped … and popped again … and again
desperately hunt down guides
eventually make it through with my stamblade bow build. I started a second run through with my Stamina Warden bow build, but have not actually finished it.
Never tried Vet ... might be a while before I do.

DarcyMardin · August 2019

I was happy when I cleared normal mode. I do have dreams of clearing vet before I turn 80 (I’m 71) but who knows?

Dwalgrimnar · August 2019

I did a first run on normal just for the sake of curiosity. It went well.
I knew that veteran would be harder, but still... I wasn't prepared for it. Still having trouble with that last bloody boss.

That pretty much sums up my whole experience with it.

SirAndy · August 2019

SaltySudd wrote: »

Share your first experience in veteran Maelstrom Arena

almightyalfo · August 2019

Stage 1: Super easy, anyone can do this.
Stage 2: "Nerf bleed pls" or "Where the hell is that switch now?!"
Stage 3: Another reason to hate stranglers
Stage 4: Easy and straightforward.
Stage 5: Who ever made this is a sadist and is laughing at our misery.
Staye 6: Come here little Horvaor, I won't hurt you

Stage 7: Handbags strike back!
Stage 8: This stage was supposed to be 2 or something, it's easy af
Stage 9: God damn these crematorial guards have a huge radius of their flames.

Oreyn_Bearclaw · August 2019

2 weeks after launch, made it to stage 5, realized I needed to L2P. I did, sort of, eventually. haha

First attempt, stage 5 boss. (3.5 hours or so)
Second attempt, stage 6 boss. (5 hours or so)
Third attempt, stage 9 boss. (9 hours or so with a bunch of breaks and broken things, swearing, rethinking life, etc. )
Fourth attempt, Clear, about a month after launch. (just under 2 hours, i swear it gets easier)

This was before your progress saved and when annulment only mitigated magic damage (and for some reason, the stage 2 spinning blades).

Shantu · August 2019

3 months of rage quitting for weeks at a time. When I finally beat it, I was not overjoyed and elated. The overall experience was so miserable a confetti parade wouldn't have made me happy. Since that first experience I have a lot more fun with it, though the RGN in the poison flower round still makes me furious at times.

Jayman1000 · August 2019

Vlad9425 · August 2019

I remember doing this arena on a Stam NB when it first launched and it was absolute torture lol. For some context this was when half of the Stam morphs in the NB kit either cost magicka or dealt magic damage... I did end up beating it a few months later and got Flawless Conqueror not long after so nowadays with the high CP and powerful gear sets it's not very difficult at all imo.

Oreyn_Bearclaw · August 2019

SirAndy wrote: »

SaltySudd wrote: »

Share your first experience in veteran Maelstrom Arena

Emoji game still going strong I see. haha

kind_hero · August 2019

I did my 1st run in March, it was quite hard... I remember the hardest boss to be the spider boss (aside the last one, ofc). It took me a lot to kill the spider arena. I had some trouble with the frost arena, but not so much as other people. On my sorc I used a non pet build with mech accuity until the last boss, when I switched to the 1 bar build and with great effort managed to kill him. It took me 3-4 days in all.

Today I managed to do a 2nd run, with greater success, I mean now some arenas were cake walk (like the spider arena where I died a whole evening, now I did it in one go), but still I think the last boss stage is like 80% of the whole vMA. It is brutal. It took me so many attempts, but I got an infused lightning staff and a dagger/sword pair. I guess that I was quite lucky.

I don't know if I will try it again.. the last boss is so demoralizing, but after you kill him it is like every negative thought you had just goes instantly away!

My suggestion to new players is to look at guides but also to adapt to each stage. In the poison arena you need to switch any interrupt abilities or the boss will enrage. Or in some cases you need more defence/healing than in others, or a different monster set.

If you get very angry, you should calm down because it will only get worse, maybe leave it for an other day (the arena progress is saved, but not the rounds)

Xillean · August 2019

Got to stage 5 on my stamplar, would not recommend >.>