At what point is it a good time to start entertaining Arena content?

DigiAngel · January 2021

I'm a DPS Magicka Necro....so surviving will be the challenge. I'm at almost 500 CP....wait or give it a go? That Maelstrom Staff looks neat and I'd like to give it a go..thank you.

VaranisArano · January 2021

Go for it! For what its worth, the Vet weapons now only have a stat boost extra, while the old Vet weapons now drop from Normal. And Normal MA is pretty forgiving.

DigiAngel · January 2021

Thanks...I'll give it a go.

TwinLamps · January 2021

vMA after cp 300 is not too bad.
Id say with 500 cp vate is not too bad as well
with that much cp you can go for other two, group arenas as well. But maybe get the staff from nMA/vMA first

manny254 · January 2021

If you are going for solo Arenas, I would try to get the pale order ring and False Gods (the normal version is more than enough).

These are not required to clear the arenas, but they will significantly help.

DigiAngel · January 2021

Great advice..thanks all!

DigiAngel · January 2021

Welp, gave it a shot....did fine until Umbridge (I think that's the name) and all that poison garbage kept killing me. So yea....will wait until 810. Truth be told I got nothing useful from it at all...was hoping for the Maelstrom staff but eh...at this point it doesn't seem like it's going to be worth the effort.

NoSoup · January 2021

DigiAngel wrote: »

Welp, gave it a shot....did fine until Umbridge (I think that's the name) and all that poison garbage kept killing me. So yea....will wait until 810. Truth be told I got nothing useful from it at all...was hoping for the Maelstrom staff but eh...at this point it doesn't seem like it's going to be worth the effort.

The first time you do Umbridge you'll struggle just as much at cp810 as you did at cp500. It's probably the arena the gives people the most trouble on their first few clears and only gets easier by doing it. Eventually you'll become mentally in tune with the mushrooms and avoiding them is almost natural. That experience comes with practice, not cp. CP 810 will not allow you to ignore the mechanic....

DigiAngel · January 2021

Thanks...I can get to the end boss...it's just getting past that....I'll be at full health and then BAM...dunno what kills me. I use Channeled Acceleration and trip the mushrooms when I can so they'll go away...will have to try something different I guess.

WrathOfInnos · January 2021

DigiAngel wrote: »

Thanks...I can get to the end boss...it's just getting past that....I'll be at full health and then BAM...dunno what kills me. I use Channeled Acceleration and trip the mushrooms when I can so they'll go away...will have to try something different I guess.

Sounds like it could be the boss’s roar. You have to leave one of the mage adds alive and hide within its shield. You could also interrupt the boss to survive, but then he will enrage and hit very hard from that point on, so safer to just get in the bubble shield and wait it out.

FrancisCrawford · January 2021

I've done normal Maelstrom Arena on 15 different characters, including ones I'm not particularly good on.

Rounds 5-7 are the hardest by far, I think; whatever is hard about the 9th on vet is no big deal in regular.

For the poison round, it helps to realize that all of the following are true:

You can get poisoned from a single flower exploding and need to run quickly to a pool to cleanse it.
You can die from all the flowers exploding at once.
You can get poisoned in other ways and need to deal with that normally.

Also, I don't worry about hiding under a bubble from the last boss or anything like that. With sufficient self healing one can just fight him straight up.

As for builds -- I currently prefer to use a monster set, Ring of the Pale Order, two different 5-piece sets that each work well if single-barred, and a single piece of Trainee jewelry.

Admittedly, that's easy for me to say, since I have inferno staffs both in Burning Spellweave and Overwhelming Surge. And of course Mad Tinkerer is an overland set.

DigiAngel · January 2021

Thanks...my goal is of course to get the Maelstrom Inferno staff and maybe try out the Elemental Succession set....but eh....I've seen not a single bit from any of these (just a bunch of permafrost and winterborn stuff, none of which I can use). At this point I've tried three times to get past the poison one...and seeing not a glimpse of what I'm looking for gives me the impression the grind won't be worth it in the long run sadly.

mobicera · January 2021

Honestly stage 7 the poison round is the reason I don't flawless basically every single time I run.
It's got a little too much rng to it I feel.
What exactly is killing you on the boss?
I'm sure countless people have had the very same issue and maybe able to offer insight?
Look at the death recap if you are unsure.
I would be leading towards the bosses roar as was stated previously or the result of the enrage that occurs if you bash and not hide.
What are you doing for the roar?
Bash?
Hide under dome?

FrancisCrawford · January 2021

DigiAngel wrote: »

Thanks...my goal is of course to get the Maelstrom Inferno staff and maybe try out the Elemental Succession set....but eh....I've seen not a single bit from any of these (just a bunch of permafrost and winterborn stuff, none of which I can use). At this point I've tried three times to get past the poison one...and seeing not a glimpse of what I'm looking for gives me the impression the grind won't be worth it in the long run sadly.

3 tries is nothing. If you really pay close enough attention to handle the flowers flawlessly, you may ignore some hard-hitting enemies such as archers or trolls. Conversely, if you make and stick to a plan as how you will or won't move around the room, and then concentrate on the actual enemies, you may misstep.

Actually, there's one trick that might help on a necro, not that I've tried it -- Beckoning Armor. That could help with archers and so on. (But the trolls are surely immune.)

El_Borracho · February 2021

DigiAngel wrote: »

Thanks...my goal is of course to get the Maelstrom Inferno staff and maybe try out the Elemental Succession set....but eh....I've seen not a single bit from any of these (just a bunch of permafrost and winterborn stuff, none of which I can use). At this point I've tried three times to get past the poison one...and seeing not a glimpse of what I'm looking for gives me the impression the grind won't be worth it in the long run sadly.

Keep running it. It will click one of these times. VMA, and normal MA, are just one of those things where repetition is key. The poison level is also subject to RNG with the flowers, so it might be bad luck. Either way, there are some tips you'll want to know that are in a couple of guides; for instance using the defense sigil on the archers on stage 3 and using the mage's shield on the final boss fight. Plus, you'll need to know the mechanics of the final stage on MA before you go in there as some of it is not intuitive. Check out Alcast for a guide as well as this one:

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/233356/joys-now-updated-morrowind-guide-to-beating-maelstrom-arena

Joy's is probably the best at explaining why to do some things while Alcast has videos. Be warned, Alcast plays the game as a job and is able to do things most can't. Don't worry about tweaking your build for normal MA. However, think about getting a monster helm like Iceheart (even though its been nerfed), Valkyn Skoria, or Grothdarr. I have found that Maw of the Infernal is AMAZING in Maelstrom, but its not a set you want to wear on the Vault of Umbrage level.

Huge upside: the normal staves are almost as effective as the perfected ones. The margin is razor thin as the perfected only give you a penetration buff.

DigiAngel · February 2021

Thank you...ya I've got Valkryn so maybe I'll give that a go

DigiAngel · February 2021

So....one last bit before get past the poison area where I'm at: What are the expectations for seeing that Maelstrom staff drop? Is it "common" or is this "clam gall" level rare? I fear when I get to the end, and I don't see anything useful (which is where I'm at currently), I'll just stop doing Arena....not because it's too hard, but because honestly it won't be worth the effort. Thank you!

manny254 · February 2021

DigiAngel wrote: »

So....one last bit before get past the poison area where I'm at: What are the expectations for seeing that Maelstrom staff drop? Is it "common" or is this "clam gall" level rare? I fear when I get to the end, and I don't see anything useful (which is where I'm at currently), I'll just stop doing Arena....not because it's too hard, but because honestly it won't be worth the effort. Thank you!

It is RNG, you could see one next run, you could see one after you next 20 runs. Sadly, that is just how it is.

DigiAngel · February 2021

Thanks....so it isn't end/boss specific...that's helpful

DigiAngel · February 2021

Ah...from eso-sets:

These weapons only drop from the final boss. The drops are RNG based, with a chance to get any weapon in any trait each time you beat vMA. Each weapon is bound on pickup and drops in the Maelstrom motif style.

Well...chances are I'll finish this once....and most likely not again for a long time.

DigiAngel · February 2021

Welp, I gave this a shot again...even after getting the Iceheart set (I realize it's not super helpful in the Umbridge) and using Harness Magicka, still instant death sometimes. I was literally at 24K health and BAM suddenly dead....do the flowers do THAT much damage???

Zodi53 · February 2021

DigiAngel wrote: »

Welp, I gave this a shot again...even after getting the Iceheart set (I realize it's not super helpful in the Umbridge) and using Harness Magicka, still instant death sometimes. I was literally at 24K health and BAM suddenly dead....do the flowers do THAT much damage???

It’s the boss roar dude. You need to leave one mage alive and hide in their shield when he does the roar. If not it’s a one shot.

DigiAngel · February 2021

Thanks...I'll give that a shot.

Septimus_Magna · February 2021

Normal Maelstrom is very doable on every class/race combination if you follow the mechanics correctly. My first veteran run took about 4 hours, it didnt save your progression so if you logged out you had to start over. After a while I became used to mechanics and it became relatively easy to do runs. You dont need high CP or high dps as long as you know the mechanics.

The poison flowers itself dont do much damage but you get a debuff that drains health which keeps increasing until you die. You can remove the debuff by going in one of the cleasing area's on the far sides of the arena. There are only two so if you get poisoned 3 times you will die. The boss' roar is actually a safe period, just kill one of the mages and take shelter under the bubble of the one you kept alive. Pay attention that the mage you keep alive isnt standing near a poison flower. Dont interrupt the boss during his roar so you can dps him without incoming damage. After the roar phase you can kill the mage and repeat until the boss dies.

There are excellent guides for the mechanics of each stage on Alcast his website for example.

DigiAngel · February 2021

Thanks...looks like I'll have to go through that guide on Alcast again...completely missed keeping a mage alive

DigiAngel · February 2021

Well....this had a good ending. Interestingly, Umbrage really was the most difficult. The Cistern was a breeze, and the final one I died once. Surprisingly, I got exactly what I wanted on the first completion...the Inferno Maelstrom staff, right down to the Infused trait. Thanks for the great tips all...success

manny254 · February 2021

DigiAngel wrote: »

Well....this had a good ending. Interestingly, Umbrage really was the most difficult. The Cistern was a breeze, and the final one I died once. Surprisingly, I got exactly what I wanted on the first completion...the Inferno Maelstrom staff, right down to the Infused trait. Thanks for the great tips all...success

Congrats!

El_Borracho · February 2021

DigiAngel wrote: »

Well....this had a good ending. Interestingly, Umbrage really was the most difficult. The Cistern was a breeze, and the final one I died once. Surprisingly, I got exactly what I wanted on the first completion...the Inferno Maelstrom staff, right down to the Infused trait. Thanks for the great tips all...success

Well done. It only gets easier from here on out.

Oreyn_Bearclaw · February 2021

DigiAngel wrote: »

Well....this had a good ending. Interestingly, Umbrage really was the most difficult. The Cistern was a breeze, and the final one I died once. Surprisingly, I got exactly what I wanted on the first completion...the Inferno Maelstrom staff, right down to the Infused trait. Thanks for the great tips all...success

Ha! Late to the party on this thread, but glad it had a happy ending. Maelstrom is all about mechanics, not your CP level. On normal, you can do it at really any CP level. Guessing you would breeze through it a second time if you went back.

Nice thing is that the mechanics are same on vet, things just hit harder. You would be fine at your CP level if you wanted to give it a go. I did it at CP160 on an alt account, biggest issue is really sustain. We have so much more damage and gear options now than we did when VMA was released. Its easier at CP 160 with reasonable gear today than it was min/maxed at launch. No reason to wait to CP 810 on either difficulty.