Please fix Endless Archive difficulty

Trier_Sero · December 2023

AlterBlika wrote: »

What? You absolutely can walk in and play like other soloing, I didn't make any adjustments to my solo build and can reach arc 5 with it. Maybe by soloing you mean questing?

I have Oakensoul Templar build and can do any vet content with it but I can't even reach 3rd Thoat solo and barely managed to beat her in duo with a decent tank, so no you can't just walk in and start soloing.

Braffin · December 2023

Trier_Sero wrote: »

AlterBlika wrote: »

What? You absolutely can walk in and play like other soloing, I didn't make any adjustments to my solo build and can reach arc 5 with it. Maybe by soloing you mean questing?

I have Oakensoul Templar build and can do any vet content with it but I can't even reach 3rd Thoat solo and barely managed to beat her in duo with a decent tank, so no you can't just walk in and start soloing.

The player you quoted simply did walk in started soloing, I did and a lot of other players did it too.

So it is very well possible and there isn't a problem with the content. Maybe it's simply a skill issue some people have.

OBJnoob · December 2023

The entire thing is supposed to be endless, as a challenge, where very good players make it farther than not very good players.

Some people will think it's very hard and some people will think it's very easy... Based on their actual performance relative to their expectations of themselves.

But honestly as long as the vast majority of players can beat Arc 1 Tho'at and an Arc 1 Marauder (in a duo if necessary,) then the gear and content is accessible to them.

So there's no problem.

There's no point asking for it to be easier when there's no real benefit to going further. If you want to be on the leaderboards... Well, you still won't be, because making it easier will make it easier for everyone.

And the very good players need to be considered as well. Because you shouldn't have to spend 5 hours getting to Arc 10 before it becomes difficult.

I'll say again that I think it's basically perfect.

And I'll add that I find it oddly fun. Which feels odd for me, a PvPer who only ever does PvE to get gear for PvP, to say.

CGPsaint · December 2023

caperon wrote: »

CGPsaint wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

CGPsaint wrote: »

As you play, try to learn the spawn patterns. The priority enemies such as the Fabled Infusers spawn in the middle or back middle of trash packs. They MUST be killed first. Plan on using your Elemental Rage ultimate on the first and third waves of trash rounds. Most boss fights are not DPS races.

100% agree on this, knowledge of the trash pack spawns and knowing where and when Fabled spawn is key to success. Arc 1, no Fabled Early, then they spawn in Stage 1 for the rest of the Arc I think from Stage 3 or 4 onward. Arc 2, still 1 Fabled at Stage 1 then I think at Stage 3 or 4 onward, they also spawn in the second pack. Arc 3, Stage 1 spawn then I think from Stage 4 onward 2 spawn with the final pack per stage.

CGPsaint wrote: »

Tho'at Fights. Be sure to swap out Wall of Elements for Elemental Susceptibility. Stay mobile. Kill the blob adds whenever they spawn, and then continue kiting/fighting Tho'at and subsequent bosses.

This piece of advice I have to speak up against, one of the most effective visions available is Fiery Support and if you can dance around the AoE and control it where she stands in your Fiery Support pool, it will do half the work. If you're lucky enough to get Guardian of Pestilence on top of this, you'll do aces. Tho'at, to me at least, isn't about mobility until Arc 3, Arc 1 and 2 with Tho'at Prime and the Ice Atronach are about controlling the battlefield and using the space you have available, if you can pile up her AoEs in a small area and use your positioning to your advantage there's no reason you can't use Wall and Ele to beat her.

Edit: Was a little curious on health scaling for enemies in the Archive. Arc 1 Stage 1, trash packs have 65k health on average and per stage they do go up incrementally, however between Arc 1 and 2 they get a big jump and then between 2 and 3 another big one where the same packs from 1.1.1 now have nearly 4x the HP they had previously, but the bosses don[t get that big a boost my Stage 1 boss the Whisperer had 792.5K HP while Canonreave during Arc 3 had only about 2 mill instead of the expected 3.

While I agree with what you're saying, that method is 100% reliant on getting the right Visions, which from my experience just doesn't happen often enough. My build/method is set up to be doable with less than ideal Visions, but that being said, if I get Fiery Support then I'll absolutely take advantage of it.

What is doable? Endless archive is endless, you will eventually be unable to continue, it is in its design. Anyway, you can reach arc 6 with trash visions 100% of the time if you build properly, I've done it multiple times (althought i leave at arc 3 if no good visions).

I agree with the general sentiment that many visons are just trash and should be bufed by 5x or 10x so you can have different builds than status effects, but that is not the point of this post anyway, where people complains about monsters with 300k hp, that is actually nothing using a half decent build.

The build in question that I said was "doable," was specifically made to grind the first 3-4 Arcs for drops. It's not designed to go the distance! Let's be honest though, is there any point in going beyond Arc 4? The leaderboard rewards are underwhelming, and the gear, furnishing plans, leads, and fragments can all be farmed in the early Arcs. I did several runs yesterday with ZERO Penetration or Focused Visions, and as usual a heavy serving of Stamina/Martial Visions. My build is set up to not require a single Vision in order to progress through the end of Arc 4.

jaws343 · December 2023

jaws343 wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

Araneae6537 wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Solo I haven't beaten Arc 2 Tho'at yet mostly because of the shard. Duo my friend and I are still working on Arc 3 Tho'at. We came closer today than we ever have though.

Pretty much exactly where I’m at, except that I haven’t yet completed the Filer’s Wing for that sweet Third Vision bonus, but working on it.

What class(es) have you had success with solo? I can always get to the second arc with my HA oakensorc, but pets become increasingly useless so I’ve been trying to find another build that I can potentially go further with. I’ve been trying DK but I just can’t do that much damage, so I get a boss like Z’Maja and I’m SOL. I’ve done the Cloudrest trial plenty but I haven’t a freaking clue what to do if I can’t burn her down before I’m overwhelmed with adds and aoe and !!!!! It’s so frustrating!!!

my ideal character for going far is my warden, set up as a tank, i can solo at least through arc 4 with that (but it can be slow with the wrong visions/verses

the other night ran it with a friend who had never been in the archive before (hed been on vacation since u40 launch), and we got to arc 10 lol

my other dps toons definitely put out a lot of pain but its very hard going past arc 4 unless that character has a tank partner, if im trying to do a quick arc 4 run i use my arcanist with another person, cleared arc 4 in 1 hour 45 min with basically 2 dps slightly tanky

edit: also z'maja does not show up in archive, the one that shows in archive is z'baza which is the 4th secret boss in coral aerie

I've been finding the most success between my warden and my sorc. But that is mostly due to me specifically setting them up for the run. I find I can get to ARC 4 at least on most of my PVP builds on other classes.

I did stumble onto a build last night that is incredibly efficient and deals a ton of passive damage while still being fairly tanky.

5 Azureblight, 2 Zaan, 2 trainee, Vat Lightning Staff, Oakensoul
Running only WoE, Bound Aegis, Crit Surge, Ele Sus, Hardened Ward, Dawnbreaker
Sugar Skulls food
Steed Mundus (or Apprentice or Lover)
All Max health, with at least 25K mag. I was sitting at 40K health.
All jewelry infused Spell Damage, to boost proc damage. You are heavy attacking so it doesn't matter too much how much recovery or mag you have.

Basically, in early rounds, enemies don't have a ton of health, so the setup really isn't doing too much for you damage wise with Azure. Zaan and Vat are melting everything through ARC 3. In ARC 4, the enemies start getting full stacks of Azure and the damage is insane. Also, using Occult Overload CP. As focused efforts eventually ramps up, status effects will be everywhere.

That is all paired with 25-30K resists. Not as high as other setups, but the key is the Health Regen. 3600 regen. Without any vision buffs. The key is to slot dawnbreaker but never use it. Keep it for the FG passive and the health recovery at 500 ultimate CP.

As you get more +45% buffs to health recovery, this passive healing you are doing is ridiculous. And Azure just keeps going off.

Quick little follow up on this build. Had a bit more playtime last night to push a run. Made it to 6.2.2 before dying. Nearly as good as my best run on a far more tanky setup.

Really liking the build a lot. And I truly think I could have made ARC 7 if it weren't for an unfortunate push off a boss platform I mistimed a block for and a frustrating series of dumb moves on my part in that final round that led to two deaths. The other death was the ARC 6 marauder.

All-in-all, the health recovery gets wild. Had it over 7K with a few of the visions. Azure is constantly firing off in arcs 4, 5, and 6. And the ad fights are far more manageable damage wise.

Araneae6537 · December 2023

Some bugs need to be fixed, and I still think marauder Gothmau needs adjustment, but overall, I think the difficulty of EA is just fine and it’s good to have content that becomes progressively more challenging. Most of overland dies to just anything and I feel there’s been little to help one improve. Sure, you can parse on a dummy, but that’s not applicable to any combat beyond the stack and burn.

In reference to recent posts, I’ve walked in with various builds I was using elsewhere as a starting point and the solo EA builds I’ve tried have so far worked the worst for me — maybe they’re meant for later arcs with visions doing damage or maybe I play them wrong. So far, what has worked best for me is a modification of the standard HA oakensorc build (Sergeant’s Mail plus Storm Master). I ended up dropping the scamp and switching morphs on Daedric Prey.

But the thing is learning one’s enemies and the battlefields. And then it’s very satisfying when I fight you used to struggle just to get past becomes easy because now you know where to focus and what to ignore.

Necrotech_Master · December 2023

Toxic_Hemlock wrote: »

MidniteOwl1913 wrote: »

AlterBlika wrote: »

Jimbru wrote: »

You can't just walk in and play like other soloing or group DPS content. You pretty much need a specialized build in a favored class

What? You absolutely can walk in and play like other soloing, I didn't make any adjustments to my solo build and can reach arc 5 with it. Maybe by soloing you mean questing?

Both of your experiences can be true, for you it was easier for him not. Maybe he got terrible verses and visions and The Serpent and the Forgotten both in arc 1. Maybe he just isn't at the solo a WB level yet, lots of people aren't.

Exactly right. Also this super casual player doesn't want any trial by fire activities as there is already too many arenas in the game IMO. I build to be tanky enough myself but if I miss one platform, leave the circle, get too near a dragon or, heaven forbid, miss a block ETC. ETC. I die instantly. I want to have fun, not always be on my guard for a queue I might never see so I just don't bother going there anymore myself.

It is fine and, I hear even fun, for those that like arenas, but I don't play to work, I play to have fun.

Edit: I hate typos

theres almost no arenas, theres 2 solo arenas, 2 4 player arenas, and the 2 player endless archive, or 5 instances total

theres nearly 35-40 overland zones (and im excluding cyrodiil)

i dont know how there could be "a lot or" or "too many" arenas when overland outnumbers it 6 to 1 at a minimum

AlterBlika · December 2023

Trier_Sero wrote: »

I have Oakensoul Templar build and can do any vet content with it but I can't even reach 3rd Thoat solo and barely managed to beat her in duo with a decent tank, so no you can't just walk in and start soloing.

If you really can do any vet content then I fail to see how it is possible to fail to reach the 3rd Tho'at. I can imagine dying from the 4th one, the dragon stage may prove to be hard.

Maybe you need to play it more. I remember the first time on PTS I died 2 times from the 2nd Tho'at when arcs weren't adjusted, so it was easier, and I was wearing pearlescent aka the best solo set in the game.

spartaxoxo · December 2023

AlterBlika wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I have Oakensoul Templar build and can do any vet content with it but I can't even reach 3rd Thoat solo and barely managed to beat her in duo with a decent tank, so no you can't just walk in and start soloing.

If you really can do any vet content then I fail to see how it is possible to fail to reach the 3rd Tho'at. I can imagine dying from the 4th one, the dragon stage may prove to be hard.

Maybe you need to play it more. I remember the first time on PTS I died 2 times from the 2nd Tho'at when arcs weren't adjusted, so it was easier, and I was wearing pearlescent aka the best solo set in the game.

Trier_Sero wrote: »

What? You absolutely can walk in and play like other soloing, I didn't make any adjustments to my solo build and can reach arc 5 with it. Maybe by soloing you mean questing?
I have Oakensoul Templar build and can do any vet content with it but I can't even reach 3rd Thoat solo and barely managed to beat her in duo with a decent tank, so no you can't just walk in and start soloing.

I did not state that and have cleared arc 3 multiple times.

AlterBlika · December 2023

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I did not state that and have cleared arc 3 multiple times.

Lmao I removed the wrong quote, or something idk how it happened, the message didn't even have you lol

spartaxoxo · December 2023

AlterBlika wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I did not state that and have cleared arc 3 multiple times.

Lmao I removed the wrong quote, or something idk how it happened, the message didn't even have you lol

I know. I was like huh??? 🤣All good. Ty for fixing it.

Toxic_Hemlock · December 2023

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

Toxic_Hemlock wrote: »

MidniteOwl1913 wrote: »

AlterBlika wrote: »

Jimbru wrote: »

You can't just walk in and play like other soloing or group DPS content. You pretty much need a specialized build in a favored class

What? You absolutely can walk in and play like other soloing, I didn't make any adjustments to my solo build and can reach arc 5 with it. Maybe by soloing you mean questing?

Both of your experiences can be true, for you it was easier for him not. Maybe he got terrible verses and visions and The Serpent and the Forgotten both in arc 1. Maybe he just isn't at the solo a WB level yet, lots of people aren't.

Exactly right. Also this super casual player doesn't want any trial by fire activities as there is already too many arenas in the game IMO. I build to be tanky enough myself but if I miss one platform, leave the circle, get too near a dragon or, heaven forbid, miss a block ETC. ETC. I die instantly. I want to have fun, not always be on my guard for a queue I might never see so I just don't bother going there anymore myself.

It is fine and, I hear even fun, for those that like arenas, but I don't play to work, I play to have fun.

Edit: I hate typos

theres almost no arenas, theres 2 solo arenas, 2 4 player arenas, and the 2 player endless archive, or 5 instances total

theres nearly 35-40 overland zones (and im excluding cyrodiil)

i dont know how there could be "a lot or" or "too many" arenas when overland outnumbers it 6 to 1 at a minimum

Once you have gotten Cadwell gold on multiple characters all those zones sure don't feel numerous.

My point was that IMO we didn't need another arena in the game when there are many more overland areas they could have focused on that we could be exploring.

Either way, I am planning on cancelling my sub so it won't matter anyways. I have already done everything I consider fun in ESO now anyways, and doing daily crafting on 12 characters has, to but it obviously, become boring as hell.

Necrotech_Master · December 2023

Toxic_Hemlock wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

Toxic_Hemlock wrote: »

MidniteOwl1913 wrote: »

AlterBlika wrote: »

Jimbru wrote: »

You can't just walk in and play like other soloing or group DPS content. You pretty much need a specialized build in a favored class

What? You absolutely can walk in and play like other soloing, I didn't make any adjustments to my solo build and can reach arc 5 with it. Maybe by soloing you mean questing?

Both of your experiences can be true, for you it was easier for him not. Maybe he got terrible verses and visions and The Serpent and the Forgotten both in arc 1. Maybe he just isn't at the solo a WB level yet, lots of people aren't.

Exactly right. Also this super casual player doesn't want any trial by fire activities as there is already too many arenas in the game IMO. I build to be tanky enough myself but if I miss one platform, leave the circle, get too near a dragon or, heaven forbid, miss a block ETC. ETC. I die instantly. I want to have fun, not always be on my guard for a queue I might never see so I just don't bother going there anymore myself.

It is fine and, I hear even fun, for those that like arenas, but I don't play to work, I play to have fun.

Edit: I hate typos

theres almost no arenas, theres 2 solo arenas, 2 4 player arenas, and the 2 player endless archive, or 5 instances total

theres nearly 35-40 overland zones (and im excluding cyrodiil)

i dont know how there could be "a lot or" or "too many" arenas when overland outnumbers it 6 to 1 at a minimum

Once you have gotten Cadwell gold on multiple characters all those zones sure don't feel numerous.

My point was that IMO we didn't need another arena in the game when there are many more overland areas they could have focused on that we could be exploring.

Either way, I am planning on cancelling my sub so it won't matter anyways. I have already done everything I consider fun in ESO now anyways, and doing daily crafting on 12 characters has, to but it obviously, become boring as hell.

i would agree about the crafting, i dont even like doing daily crafting writs on 1 character (i did it a long time ago when they were introduced for achievements, and occasionally when they add leads to the daily crafting rewards, which is something i despise lol)

Braffin · December 2023

Toxic_Hemlock wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

Toxic_Hemlock wrote: »

MidniteOwl1913 wrote: »

AlterBlika wrote: »

Jimbru wrote: »

You can't just walk in and play like other soloing or group DPS content. You pretty much need a specialized build in a favored class

What? You absolutely can walk in and play like other soloing, I didn't make any adjustments to my solo build and can reach arc 5 with it. Maybe by soloing you mean questing?

Both of your experiences can be true, for you it was easier for him not. Maybe he got terrible verses and visions and The Serpent and the Forgotten both in arc 1. Maybe he just isn't at the solo a WB level yet, lots of people aren't.

Exactly right. Also this super casual player doesn't want any trial by fire activities as there is already too many arenas in the game IMO. I build to be tanky enough myself but if I miss one platform, leave the circle, get too near a dragon or, heaven forbid, miss a block ETC. ETC. I die instantly. I want to have fun, not always be on my guard for a queue I might never see so I just don't bother going there anymore myself.

It is fine and, I hear even fun, for those that like arenas, but I don't play to work, I play to have fun.

Edit: I hate typos

theres almost no arenas, theres 2 solo arenas, 2 4 player arenas, and the 2 player endless archive, or 5 instances total

theres nearly 35-40 overland zones (and im excluding cyrodiil)

i dont know how there could be "a lot or" or "too many" arenas when overland outnumbers it 6 to 1 at a minimum

Once you have gotten Cadwell gold on multiple characters all those zones sure don't feel numerous.

My point was that IMO we didn't need another arena in the game when there are many more overland areas they could have focused on that we could be exploring.

Either way, I am planning on cancelling my sub so it won't matter anyways. I have already done everything I consider fun in ESO now anyways, and doing daily crafting on 12 characters has, to but it obviously, become boring as hell.

On the contrary, this game was in dire need of another arena. 2 solo arenas and 2 group arenas simply aren't enough in almost 10 years, while especially not compared to the 1-2 overland zones we get every single year.

Additionally there was entirely no content for duos before EA was published.

All dlc zones have dailies tied to them, which you can run over and over again. Base game zones could use some more dailies, I agree with that.

It's understandable if people are getting bored after repeating the very same content countless times (as you did with cadwell's gold). That's only natural and it may be time for some break or another game entirely. It's not a reason to agitate against content which is enjoyable for many others tho.

spartaxoxo · December 2023

Toxic_Hemlock wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

Toxic_Hemlock wrote: »

MidniteOwl1913 wrote: »

AlterBlika wrote: »

Jimbru wrote: »

You can't just walk in and play like other soloing or group DPS content. You pretty much need a specialized build in a favored class

What? You absolutely can walk in and play like other soloing, I didn't make any adjustments to my solo build and can reach arc 5 with it. Maybe by soloing you mean questing?

Both of your experiences can be true, for you it was easier for him not. Maybe he got terrible verses and visions and The Serpent and the Forgotten both in arc 1. Maybe he just isn't at the solo a WB level yet, lots of people aren't.

Exactly right. Also this super casual player doesn't want any trial by fire activities as there is already too many arenas in the game IMO. I build to be tanky enough myself but if I miss one platform, leave the circle, get too near a dragon or, heaven forbid, miss a block ETC. ETC. I die instantly. I want to have fun, not always be on my guard for a queue I might never see so I just don't bother going there anymore myself.

It is fine and, I hear even fun, for those that like arenas, but I don't play to work, I play to have fun.

Edit: I hate typos

theres almost no arenas, theres 2 solo arenas, 2 4 player arenas, and the 2 player endless archive, or 5 instances total

theres nearly 35-40 overland zones (and im excluding cyrodiil)

i dont know how there could be "a lot or" or "too many" arenas when overland outnumbers it 6 to 1 at a minimum

Once you have gotten Cadwell gold on multiple characters all those zones sure don't feel numerous.

My point was that IMO we didn't need another arena in the game when there are many more overland areas they could have focused on that we could be exploring.

Either way, I am planning on cancelling my sub so it won't matter anyways. I have already done everything I consider fun in ESO now anyways, and doing daily crafting on 12 characters has, to but it obviously, become boring as hell.

I mean I haven't gotten a new arena to explore in a couple of years. Just like the same quest gets old after a while, so does the arenas.

I actually have not even really explored the Tales of Tribute deck because I'm having fun in the arena.

caperon · December 2023

CGPsaint wrote: »

caperon wrote: »

CGPsaint wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

CGPsaint wrote: »

As you play, try to learn the spawn patterns. The priority enemies such as the Fabled Infusers spawn in the middle or back middle of trash packs. They MUST be killed first. Plan on using your Elemental Rage ultimate on the first and third waves of trash rounds. Most boss fights are not DPS races.

100% agree on this, knowledge of the trash pack spawns and knowing where and when Fabled spawn is key to success. Arc 1, no Fabled Early, then they spawn in Stage 1 for the rest of the Arc I think from Stage 3 or 4 onward. Arc 2, still 1 Fabled at Stage 1 then I think at Stage 3 or 4 onward, they also spawn in the second pack. Arc 3, Stage 1 spawn then I think from Stage 4 onward 2 spawn with the final pack per stage.

CGPsaint wrote: »

Tho'at Fights. Be sure to swap out Wall of Elements for Elemental Susceptibility. Stay mobile. Kill the blob adds whenever they spawn, and then continue kiting/fighting Tho'at and subsequent bosses.

This piece of advice I have to speak up against, one of the most effective visions available is Fiery Support and if you can dance around the AoE and control it where she stands in your Fiery Support pool, it will do half the work. If you're lucky enough to get Guardian of Pestilence on top of this, you'll do aces. Tho'at, to me at least, isn't about mobility until Arc 3, Arc 1 and 2 with Tho'at Prime and the Ice Atronach are about controlling the battlefield and using the space you have available, if you can pile up her AoEs in a small area and use your positioning to your advantage there's no reason you can't use Wall and Ele to beat her.

Edit: Was a little curious on health scaling for enemies in the Archive. Arc 1 Stage 1, trash packs have 65k health on average and per stage they do go up incrementally, however between Arc 1 and 2 they get a big jump and then between 2 and 3 another big one where the same packs from 1.1.1 now have nearly 4x the HP they had previously, but the bosses don[t get that big a boost my Stage 1 boss the Whisperer had 792.5K HP while Canonreave during Arc 3 had only about 2 mill instead of the expected 3.

While I agree with what you're saying, that method is 100% reliant on getting the right Visions, which from my experience just doesn't happen often enough. My build/method is set up to be doable with less than ideal Visions, but that being said, if I get Fiery Support then I'll absolutely take advantage of it.

What is doable? Endless archive is endless, you will eventually be unable to continue, it is in its design. Anyway, you can reach arc 6 with trash visions 100% of the time if you build properly, I've done it multiple times (althought i leave at arc 3 if no good visions).

I agree with the general sentiment that many visons are just trash and should be bufed by 5x or 10x so you can have different builds than status effects, but that is not the point of this post anyway, where people complains about monsters with 300k hp, that is actually nothing using a half decent build.

The build in question that I said was "doable," was specifically made to grind the first 3-4 Arcs for drops. It's not designed to go the distance! Let's be honest though, is there any point in going beyond Arc 4? The leaderboard rewards are underwhelming, and the gear, furnishing plans, leads, and fragments can all be farmed in the early Arcs. I did several runs yesterday with ZERO Penetration or Focused Visions, and as usual a heavy serving of Stamina/Martial Visions. My build is set up to not require a single Vision in order to progress through the end of Arc 4.

There is no point in going past arc 1 to be honest. I do it because i want to see how far i can get.

You can do the 1st 4 acts with a pretty meta ansuul + dmg set + pale order , but you need to be careful with marauders in act 3 and 4. Doesn't matter what visions you get for that, it is only faster or slower depending on the visions you get.

AlterBlika · December 2023

EA be like

Araneae6537 · December 2023

AlterBlika wrote: »

EA be like

Lol, what? I don’t know what is strangest, this idea of the difficulty of EA, this concept of a god, or the random text over there….

Araneae6537 · December 2023

After this latest patch, everyone should definitely be able to get through the first arc without difficulty now (unless there are still any bugged stage 4 bosses). Companion survival is exponentially better, as are our pets. Used to be, it was impossible for any companion to survive long against Tho’at, but now Sharp tanks her with ease!

notyuu · December 2023

Trier_Sero wrote: »

I have Oakensoul Templar build and can do any vet content with it but I can't even reach 3rd Thoat solo and barely managed to beat her in duo with a decent tank, so no you can't just walk in and start soloing.

Oh you defo can, I mean I was able to make it half way though arc 4 solo on my first attempt with a generic glass cannon stam dps build and I'm faaaaar from a high tier player

Necrotech_Master · December 2023

CGPsaint wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

funny enough, from my experience in the archive and talking with people about it, oddly enough the better builds that work in here are pvp builds (high health, high resistance, high sustain, survivability style, and using visions/verses to deal more dmg)

I have all of the achievements (except for the 4 fragment ones) completed and roughly 60% of the armor drops, so I've played EA quite a bit. My experience thus far is that I very rarely get Visions that will let me deal enough damage to make it worth playing beyond Arc 4. It never fails that when I'm on my Mag character, that I'll get +Pet Damage, +Poison Enchant Damage, +Martial Damage, over and over again. I see Focused Efforts so rarely that I just plan on not having it for any of my runs.

vision wise, ferocious support, scorching support and focused efforts are the big dmg dealing visions

if you are lucky enough to get 5x focused efforts that is a 62% increased chance to apply status effects and +2500% dmg to status effects

you can get around 130k dmg per cast of ele sus on a full tank spec, i just start using it as a spammable at that point

verse wise:

swift gale, magical multitudes, exsanguinate, guardian of pestilence (more so before the recent update that made pets viable again), pustulent globs, fire orbs (more so after the update that made pets viable), and the avatar verses are extremely potent

swift gale is the 3 frost tornados going outward from you on light attacks, if you stand as close to the enemy as possible or the boss has a large enough hitbox, you can do some pretty ridiculous dmg spamming light attacks

magical multitudes is better on boss stages, but if you get a boss sitting in the dead center they can take 200k dps from just that

exsanguinate is really potent, as any direct dmg done will apply a dot that does 1 tick of dmg immediately, multi-hit attacks such as jabs or runeblades can disintegrate enemies with this verse

guardian of pestilence worked a little better before they made the pets tougher, as your synergy with this relies on the effectively pet to die (it does have a self dot and cannot be healed, but can be shielded), it worked better on later stages cause it would die instantly, but with the change to pets it takes a long time to die even on later stages

pustulent globs spawn globs when you kill things, which if your on a dps they can do some massive dmg (on a pure dps spec ive done 800k+ dmg crits with them), if it does not kill the target it also applies a unique debuff on the target for 5 sec making the enemy take 15% more dmg

fire orbs was very hard to use prior to the update that made pets better, because the orbs could be attacked and killed by enemies, on a dps they could crit for 150k dmg on a tick

all of the avatar verses are very potent, i pretty much always pick them up if they are an option

IZZEFlameLash · December 2023

caperon wrote: »

CGPsaint wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

CGPsaint wrote: »

As you play, try to learn the spawn patterns. The priority enemies such as the Fabled Infusers spawn in the middle or back middle of trash packs. They MUST be killed first. Plan on using your Elemental Rage ultimate on the first and third waves of trash rounds. Most boss fights are not DPS races.

100% agree on this, knowledge of the trash pack spawns and knowing where and when Fabled spawn is key to success. Arc 1, no Fabled Early, then they spawn in Stage 1 for the rest of the Arc I think from Stage 3 or 4 onward. Arc 2, still 1 Fabled at Stage 1 then I think at Stage 3 or 4 onward, they also spawn in the second pack. Arc 3, Stage 1 spawn then I think from Stage 4 onward 2 spawn with the final pack per stage.

CGPsaint wrote: »

Tho'at Fights. Be sure to swap out Wall of Elements for Elemental Susceptibility. Stay mobile. Kill the blob adds whenever they spawn, and then continue kiting/fighting Tho'at and subsequent bosses.

This piece of advice I have to speak up against, one of the most effective visions available is Fiery Support and if you can dance around the AoE and control it where she stands in your Fiery Support pool, it will do half the work. If you're lucky enough to get Guardian of Pestilence on top of this, you'll do aces. Tho'at, to me at least, isn't about mobility until Arc 3, Arc 1 and 2 with Tho'at Prime and the Ice Atronach are about controlling the battlefield and using the space you have available, if you can pile up her AoEs in a small area and use your positioning to your advantage there's no reason you can't use Wall and Ele to beat her.

Edit: Was a little curious on health scaling for enemies in the Archive. Arc 1 Stage 1, trash packs have 65k health on average and per stage they do go up incrementally, however between Arc 1 and 2 they get a big jump and then between 2 and 3 another big one where the same packs from 1.1.1 now have nearly 4x the HP they had previously, but the bosses don[t get that big a boost my Stage 1 boss the Whisperer had 792.5K HP while Canonreave during Arc 3 had only about 2 mill instead of the expected 3.

While I agree with what you're saying, that method is 100% reliant on getting the right Visions, which from my experience just doesn't happen often enough. My build/method is set up to be doable with less than ideal Visions, but that being said, if I get Fiery Support then I'll absolutely take advantage of it.

What is doable? Endless archive is endless, you will eventually be unable to continue, it is in its design. Anyway, you can reach arc 6 with trash visions 100% of the time if you build properly, I've done it multiple times (althought i leave at arc 3 if no good visions).

I agree with the general sentiment that many visons are just trash and should be bufed by 5x or 10x so you can have different builds than status effects, but that is not the point of this post anyway, where people complains about monsters with 300k hp, that is actually nothing using a half decent build.

You can reach arc 6-7 or even 11 without good visions and verses probably. But that'd take way too long to progress for my taste. It is like watching paints dry at higher arcs when you only got trash visions and verses.

daemondamian · December 2023

My updated and revised opinion on the difficulty:

TLDR: Arcs 1-3 easy to solo if you can solo lots of other stuff already (WB, group dungeons, arenas, BN), otherwise too hard maybe? Probably easier Arcs 1-5-? if you're in a duo with some one who can also solo as above or give good support.

I can't speak for beyond the Tho'at dragon fight as I stopped after that, but as a solo sorc player (no companion either) the most difficult things are:

a) the trash mobs where you have 2(3?) different fabled enemies along with the Tho'at shards, a powerful boss & other enemies that can disable/interrupt you etc

b) Marauders past arc 2-3 depending on when they spawn, the terrain & what & how many other enemies you have.

c) some platform bosses where you have to pay attention to and follow specific mechanics or risk getting one shot.

The first 4 Tho'at boss fights are actually easier than the trash mobs are after arc 3. They are also easier than some marauders & maybe some platform bosses (depending on when and where they spawn & the mechanics).

With the right gear, skill setup, cp & verse/visions & practice (knowing where fabled enemies spawn & what skills you use when and where) it is pretty easy to get to arc 3 solo as long as you know and follow the mechanics so as not to get one shot killed or knocked off the death boss platform.

The RNG of enemies, verses and visions is crucial as it can change the difficulty favourably or not.

My last run where I got to & defeated the Tho'at dragon stage* I had three threads left but I'd gotten some really good visions & verses. It was my first time encountering the dragon too.

Aside from Oakensoul, Ironblood, and 1 piece LW, I switched between three different other sets (Sergeant's, Thundercaller, Deadlands Demolisher), and changed some skills (mostly between attro, scion & meteor) depending on situational needs. I have all the upgrades (3 vision choices etc).

*I stopped after the dragon as it was 1am, I'd already played several hours & there was no extra rewards or achievements for continuing as far as I know.

*I'm slow with not fantastic reflexes and have permanent 250+ ping here, I'm not a vet dungeon/trial PVE DPS god or great at PVP either but I solo WB, NB, some arenas, group dungeon's inc. some vet.

Happy to share other EA build details.

spartaxoxo · December 2023

This one hurt my feelings lol.

On the other the hand though. I did figure out a way to make the rounds with tho'at shards a bit easier. The Psijic order skill Time Stop helped quite a bit. I think I'll die a bit less the next time I go in there. As one of my deaths were to tho'at shards before I started using this skill, and then the next time I encountered it I was able to clear it by equipping this.

Gothmau remains overtuned imo. I also think the tornado spawns too many tornadoes in the smaller arenas.

So my current suggestions are...

1. Nerf the damage from Gothmau's light attack and bleed.

2. Make Marauders spawn in place of the second stage of adds.

3. Limit the number of tornadoes the marauder can spawn, so that having room needed to beat the tornado marauder is less RNG based on the room. He's not a problem in large ones but small ones he's an issue.

4. Make it so that tho'at shards only spawn at set intervals during the stages rather than the tho'at fight e.g Arc 4 Cycle 3 stage 1. So that players are rewarded for killing them and don't need excessive stamina for bashing shards.

Jaraal · December 2023

spartaxoxo wrote: »

This one hurt my feelings lol.

Did you get your rewards? I was on the PC/NA solo weekly leaderboards when it closed a few days ago, and got nothing in the mail.

spartaxoxo · December 2023

Jaraal wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

This one hurt my feelings lol.

Did you get your rewards? I was on the PC/NA solo weekly leaderboards when it closed a few days ago, and got nothing in the mail.

Yeah. I have gotten them pretty much each week they have been available. But, I'm on console, so I'm not sure if that played a factor.

CGPsaint · December 2023

caperon wrote: »

There is no point in going past arc 1 to be honest. I do it because i want to see how far i can get.

You can do the 1st 4 acts with a pretty meta ansuul + dmg set + pale order , but you need to be careful with marauders in act 3 and 4. Doesn't matter what visions you get for that, it is only faster or slower depending on the visions you get.

While I get what you're saying, the time investment just isn't worth it to me. I don't want to spend 5-6 hours at a time in EA. If there was a save feature then sure, I'd push to see just how far I can go, but my days of grinding for hours on end are behind me.

HalfDragoness · December 2023

A couple of pages back there was a discussion about the dificulty difference between solo and duo and a couple of people made the comparrison of doing EA solo is like doing a 4-person dungeon solo: you can but it'll be hard work. And I wanted to respond to say that those comments are irrelevant because if you try to do a 4-person dungoen by yourself there are warnings to let you know that the content you're about to do is intended to be done by 4 people, and that there is no such warning in EA.

For EA solo players there needs to be either:

A few tweaks in the difficulty/ health of enemies so make solo playthroughs still challening but doable.
Greater currency rewards for doing your run solo
A warning to say that the content you're about to do is intended to be done by 2 people.

Necrotech_Master · December 2023

HalfDragoness wrote: »

A couple of pages back there was a discussion about the dificulty difference between solo and duo and a couple of people made the comparrison of doing EA solo is like doing a 4-person dungeon solo: you can but it'll be hard work. And I wanted to respond to say that those comments are irrelevant because if you try to do a 4-person dungoen by yourself there are warnings to let you know that the content you're about to do is intended to be done by 4 people, and that there is no such warning in EA.

For EA solo players there needs to be either:
A few tweaks in the difficulty/ health of enemies so make solo playthroughs still challening but doable.

Greater currency rewards for doing your run solo

A warning to say that the content you're about to do is intended to be done by 2 people.

there are no warnings for group dungeons or trials, you can enter them solo and theres no warnings

the only place that has warnings is places in craglorn that are considered "group" such as the area around the spellscar for example, if you get close it says "entering group area" and thats about it

if your only doing arc 1, i feel no difference doing it solo or duo because everything generally dies faster, it doesnt start to become more of a 2 person activity until like arc 4, where having a real tank and a dps really makes a difference

HalfDragoness · December 2023

These are the warnings I mean: