How is it that so many players can solo vet dlc dungeons and many groups fail to complete ?

Recent · January 25

This bothers me no end. I have struggled with groups trying to complete quite a few vet dlc dungeons yet i read all the time on the forums how players can solo vet dungeons. I dont know if its my old computer and aussie internet that holds me back from achieving that level of awesomeness but im elated when i can beat a dlc dungeon once in a full group of 4.

How is my experience can be so extremely different to other players? Ive been playing since early release, i follow the most current builds i can find and im not lazy to farm gear sets for specific builds. I understand combat mechanics and also boss fight mechanics.
I honestly feel like im playing in a completely different realm to these capable players that are asking for more challenging content...

There are days this makes me want to quit gaming altogether, but I love eso so much ..still after all these years. This level of pain i feel about my inability to understand why im incapable of playing at a higher level dulls my game experience.

DestroyerPewnack · January 25

I think you're looking at this the wrong way. The fact that there's such a huge gap between the absolute beginner player, and a player who has taken their time to learn all about combat, mechanics, builds, etc. is a good thing. It shows that the game still has a learning curve, and progression outside of gear level and quality still exists. Only a dumbed down game would give expert players no advantage over someone who bought the game yesterday.

As for how they do it, you can watch their videos. Many of them upload their runs. From the ones I've seen, they tend to take it slow on dps, focusing more on mechanics and keeping themselves alive. There are also little things that not everyone knows, like, for example, if you're dealing with a mechanic that freezes you in place, and requires a second player to free you, you can use the Psijic ultimate to cheese the mechanic and free yourself by going back in time to when you weren't trapped.

On the opposite sides, you have players who don't understand mechanics. If you're dealing with a one shot mechanic, then it doesn't matter how big the group is; if no one deals with that mechanic, everyone will eventually die.

JustLovely · January 25

First off, you can't believe everything you read on forums or the internet in general.

Now with that said, the skill gap in ESO is extreme to the extreme. The strongest players get accused more or less daily of hacking when they just have really good builds and know how to play them and know the mechanics. If you saw how much time these players have in game it would probably surprise you.

SerafinaWaterstar · January 25

Do not lose heart!

This is the Forums. Just because someone says something here does not actually make it so.

It is a very very small % of players that can solo vet dlc dungeons.

Similar to athletics - yes, you can run 100m, but you are never going to run like Usain Bolt. Just accept and move on and enjoy the game!

Soarora · January 25

The people commenting on the forums for the most part (from what I’ve seen) are talking about soloing normal dungeons. Yes, some people solo on vet, they are skilled and built for it. There’s even people who have soloed trifectas but I’ve only seen like… 5 or less videos of people doing that.

My pug dungeon groups in the dungeon finder usually go fine, but that’s with a tank whose either me or a friend. I would suspect then that the problem is either that my MMR theory is true or you’re getting bad tanks. I know you have an opinion on my guild, but there are other dungeon guilds you can try. I can’t speak for what environment they are though since I haven’t played with them. Or you can try tanking. Or can ask in a pledge location (such as Grahtwood) for a dungeon group. Can also friend people you meet in dungeons and ask them to run with you.

Orbital78 · January 25

There are some mechanics that if someone doesn't know what they're doing they actually prevent you from completing. Scriveners hall for example. I don't know when everyone tries to roll dodge the immolate trap, even after having the mech explained.

In general there is just a huge gap in experience and willingness to learn or bother putting together a decent build. People get used to being carried in normals and think they are ready for veteran.

spartaxoxo · January 25

Don't compare yourself to Lebron James when you play basketball. Yes, there are people who can solo trifecta vet dlc dungeons but even most skilled players cannot. That's why they get to make YouTube videos bragging about their accomplishments and the rest of us can watch them to understand the mechanics better.

But, the parts they don't show you is they practice a lot, both in content and on dummies. Also most doing this have specialized solo builds. They aren't running group builds for solo vet dlc.

Practice makes perfect.

Recent · January 25

Soarora wrote: »

The people commenting on the forums for the most part (from what I’ve seen) are talking about soloing normal dungeons. Yes, some people solo on vet, they are skilled and built for it. There’s even people who have soloed trifectas but I’ve only seen like… 5 or less videos of people doing that.

My pug dungeon groups in the dungeon finder usually go fine, but that’s with a tank whose either me or a friend. I would suspect then that the problem is either that my MMR theory is true or you’re getting bad tanks. I know you have an opinion on my guild, but there are other dungeon guilds you can try. I can’t speak for what environment they are though since I haven’t played with them. Or you can try tanking. Or can ask in a pledge location (such as Grahtwood) for a dungeon group. Can also friend people you meet in dungeons and ask them to run with you.

I dont have 'an opinion' on your guild..it was that one person. You are very helpful and encouraging. Thank you for your helpful replies. I wanted to email you on the forums but could not, i apologise if my comment made your guild look bad, it wasnt my intention. I respect your drive and guild ethos.

Soarora · January 25

Recent wrote: »

Soarora wrote: »

The people commenting on the forums for the most part (from what I’ve seen) are talking about soloing normal dungeons. Yes, some people solo on vet, they are skilled and built for it. There’s even people who have soloed trifectas but I’ve only seen like… 5 or less videos of people doing that.

My pug dungeon groups in the dungeon finder usually go fine, but that’s with a tank whose either me or a friend. I would suspect then that the problem is either that my MMR theory is true or you’re getting bad tanks. I know you have an opinion on my guild, but there are other dungeon guilds you can try. I can’t speak for what environment they are though since I haven’t played with them. Or you can try tanking. Or can ask in a pledge location (such as Grahtwood) for a dungeon group. Can also friend people you meet in dungeons and ask them to run with you.

I dont have 'an opinion' on your guild..it was that one person. You are very helpful and encouraging. Thank you for your helpful replies. I wanted to email you on the forums but could not, i apologise if my comment made your guild look bad, it wasnt my intention. I respect your drive and guild ethos.

Ah, I see, sorry for my wording. Yeah, to message someone who has a private profile you have to go to the mail section and type in their username. I’ll send you a mail

. I appreciate your kindness.

Lord_Hev · January 25

Because normal overland is forced, and the average player cannot learn the proper intended way: through engagement with the game at a base level properly training and pushing them to -have- to improve with consequences. In the first year of eso, when I got ahead of myself in the Veteran rank zones of cadwell silver and gold; I had to learn basic concepts of dealing with multiple sources of incoming damage. Kiting, healing over time, damage shielding, key target focus(is one of the mobs a caster/CC spammer or is there a certain mob that does the most damage and should be tab-targeted.) It is impossible to learn even these most basic combat components in current overland.

When it comes to group dungeons it's then a coin flip if they'll get an anti-social group that just speeds through everything without any consideration of the group as a whole. Or it's a slogfest and struggle-bus. Both of these outcomes further pressure any chance for learning. Overland should be preparing players for group content on a basic level. But this can't be done with the entire zone being a blanket horizontal level.

alakeyfox · January 25

As an old PC/bad internet gamer, trust me it's not holding you back that much. It is trivial to solo most base game dungeons on vet hm, but the vast majority of players are unable to solo vet DLC dungeons, not to mention hard modes. You say you follow the latest builds and whatnot, but make sure to follow builds that actually provide some form of proof of performance, even if it's just a vanilla target dummy. As a DPS, if you dish out 60k+ you shouldn't struggle to clear unless your other teammates are lacking. If you reach anything over 100k, chances are you won't see any mechanics as you will just burn through them. If you are a tank - make sure you are providing your group with damage buffs and shields, and remove enemy armour, if you are a healer - same deal in regards to group buffs + if you are on lightning staff set enemies off balance.

Cooperharley · January 25

Just because you read something on the internet doesn't make it true

. People watch a video of Luccht & Hyperoxies & then extrapolate that to mean that ALL players can complete veteran dungeons & veteran DLC dungeons solo. It's simply not true. Anybody that uses those arguments instantly disqualify themselves in a discussion because it's silly.

The vast majority of people that play ESO will not come close to being able to solo that stuff. That's like comparing Lebron James to a middle school kid playing basketball. It's not close. Think about how many kids play basketball, how many go to the NBA, and then how many can be considered the greats. These people are quite literally saying, if Lebron James can be this good, then everyone else can! Here's my argument based on that:

Lol.

This is a big reason why I've wanted more difficulty modes for overland because EVERY player touches overland. Not everyone has a desire to go into veteran dungeons & veteran DLC dungeons. Questing is one of the most important & popular pillars of ESO. If you can breeze through 100% of it by burping on mobs, imagine the surprise when you get into a veteran dungeon or veteran DLC dungeon and get absolutely smacked. The game, unfortunately, does nothing to prepare you. Players that engage with these difficulty options presented will be forced to learn more about their class & rotation & builds to conquer it. Even MORE players will engage with the system if it's refined & more rewarding than it's currently proposed at (they need to fix the interaction between difficulty settings & create shards, but that's another discussion!). Creating a difficulty pipeline INTO veteran difficulty content is always the best route possible. Engage with it as you will, but most players that are interested in veteran dungeons will likely be interested in a higher difficulty overland as well in my mind

SerafinaWaterstar · January 25

Cooperharley wrote: »

Just because you read something on the internet doesn't make it true . People watch a video of Luccht & Hyperoxies & then extrapolate that to mean that ALL players can complete veteran dungeons & veteran DLC dungeons solo. It's simply not true. Anybody that uses those arguments instantly disqualify themselves in a discussion because it's silly.

The vast majority of people that play ESO will not come close to being able to solo that stuff. That's like comparing Lebron James to a middle school kid playing basketball. It's not close. Think about how many kids play basketball, how many go to the NBA, and then how many can be considered the greats. These people are quite literally saying, if Lebron James can be this good, then everyone else can! Here's my argument based on that:

Lol.

This is a big reason why I've wanted more difficulty modes for overland because EVERY player touches overland. Not everyone has a desire to go into veteran dungeons & veteran DLC dungeons. Questing is one of the most important & popular pillars of ESO. If you can breeze through 100% of it by burping on mobs, imagine the surprise when you get into a veteran dungeon or veteran DLC dungeon and get absolutely smacked. The game, unfortunately, does nothing to prepare you. Players that engage with these difficulty options presented will be forced to learn more about their class & rotation & builds to conquer it. Even MORE players will engage with the system if it's refined & more rewarding than it's currently proposed at (they need to fix the interaction between difficulty settings & create shards, but that's another discussion!). Creating a difficulty pipeline INTO veteran difficulty content is always the best route possible. Engage with it as you will, but most players that are interested in veteran dungeons will likely be interested in a higher difficulty overland as well in my mind

Nah, the idea of having to fight through harder mobs when questing or mat farming is incredibly dispiriting.

I like doing vet dungeons & trifectas etc but don’t think this will do what you think & be a pipeline into other harder content.

Those that want to access that find a way now; those that aren’t interested will not be seduced by mudcrabs that can one shot you.

The best pipeline is via guilds & veteran players helping newer ones to learn.

SerafinaWaterstar · January 25

It is trivial to solo most base game dungeons on vet hm,

Not sure this is true for the majority of players.

I’m on PS and you can see the PS trophies for in-game achievements and few complete the dungeons on normal in a group, let alone vet hm solo! 🤣

SkaiFaith · January 25

I solo Normal DLC dungeons, not Vet, but I've seen some players over 1.000 CPs try to solo a base game Vet and fail simply because they were DD and didn't properly build for solo.

My build has 30K resistances, 9K penetration (+9K from Breach), 4.000 WD/SD, high recovery, and it can do 90K DPS in burst damage or just 60K as sustained DPS.

If I proclaim myself a DD and try to join a professional group they'd immediately figure out I am no DD, and same would go for H or T - Solo builds are a different beast.

I never join when people asks for help with dungeons because I have no real role, even though I could carry myself. Also, because of this my experience with DLC dungeons is limited and I don't recall mechanics; I usually study one dungeon at a time and when completed I forget it.

I am AMAZED when I see what some players are capable to achieve and memorize! Build and preparation can do only so much, the rest is "pure skill" like in other activities.
Congrats to those who can marvel us with their performance! Always enjoy watching...

Cooperharley · January 25

SerafinaWaterstar wrote: »

Cooperharley wrote: »

Just because you read something on the internet doesn't make it true . People watch a video of Luccht & Hyperoxies & then extrapolate that to mean that ALL players can complete veteran dungeons & veteran DLC dungeons solo. It's simply not true. Anybody that uses those arguments instantly disqualify themselves in a discussion because it's silly.

The vast majority of people that play ESO will not come close to being able to solo that stuff. That's like comparing Lebron James to a middle school kid playing basketball. It's not close. Think about how many kids play basketball, how many go to the NBA, and then how many can be considered the greats. These people are quite literally saying, if Lebron James can be this good, then everyone else can! Here's my argument based on that:

Lol.

This is a big reason why I've wanted more difficulty modes for overland because EVERY player touches overland. Not everyone has a desire to go into veteran dungeons & veteran DLC dungeons. Questing is one of the most important & popular pillars of ESO. If you can breeze through 100% of it by burping on mobs, imagine the surprise when you get into a veteran dungeon or veteran DLC dungeon and get absolutely smacked. The game, unfortunately, does nothing to prepare you. Players that engage with these difficulty options presented will be forced to learn more about their class & rotation & builds to conquer it. Even MORE players will engage with the system if it's refined & more rewarding than it's currently proposed at (they need to fix the interaction between difficulty settings & create shards, but that's another discussion!). Creating a difficulty pipeline INTO veteran difficulty content is always the best route possible. Engage with it as you will, but most players that are interested in veteran dungeons will likely be interested in a higher difficulty overland as well in my mind

Nah, the idea of having to fight through harder mobs when questing or mat farming is incredibly dispiriting.

I like doing vet dungeons & trifectas etc but don’t think this will do what you think & be a pipeline into other harder content.

Those that want to access that find a way now; those that aren’t interested will not be seduced by mudcrabs that can one shot you.

The best pipeline is via guilds & veteran players helping newer ones to learn.

That's why there's multiple difficulty modes - for people like you

Mudcrabs that one shot you would be wild, nah for some a little (or a lot) of extra difficulty increases the feeling of adventure & immersion. Clearly it doesn't for you, which is cool.

That's a great pipeline! But we've had that since... 2014? How's that worked out? Some people need other things than what you suggest (i.e. something that's been present this whole time). All this does is introduce MORE people to this. Sure, this could even push them into guilds and asking for groups and learning, but it all comes from proposed difficulty, and what better way than to experience a little extra difficulty when questing (should you choose that) rather than a veteran like you or I absolutely crapping on them for doing 10k dps, but that doesn't happen right?

Lord_Hev · January 25

SkaiFaith wrote: »

I solo Normal DLC dungeons, not Vet, but I've seen some players over 1.000 CPs try to solo a base game Vet and fail simply because they were DD and didn't properly build for solo.

My build has 30K resistances, 9K penetration (+9K from Breach), 4.000 WD/SD, high recovery, and it can do 90K DPS in burst damage or just 60K as sustained DPS.

If I proclaim myself a DD and try to join a professional group they'd immediately figure out I am no DD, and same would go for H or T - Solo builds are a different beast.

I never join when people asks for help with dungeons because I have no real role, even though I could carry myself. Also, because of this my experience with DLC dungeons is limited and I don't recall mechanics; I usually study one dungeon at a time and when completed I forget it.

I am AMAZED when I see what some players are capable to achieve and memorize! Build and preparation can do only so much, the rest is "pure skill" like in other activities.
Congrats to those who can marvel us with their performance! Always enjoy watching...

If you're doing 60k sustained dps, you are in fact a dps. You won't top hodors, but you could probably pull off some wild clutch maneuvers in a bad pug run and potentially save from a wipe lol.

coop500 · January 25

Seconding what most folks are saying in that actually a LOT of players actually cannot solo vet dungeons, especially DLC vet dungeons. Some can, but they're the exception, not the rule.

Vet dungeons are hard, especially vet DLC dungeons. There's no shame in struggling a bit as the content was meant to be struggled with.

freespirit · January 25

I can solo base game norm and vets, I can solo a few norm DLC but tbh I've not even tried to solo those on vet.

I like that it means I go at my speed and that in turn means I take time to see and learn what is going on. I've never followed a build guide, I find if I put stuff together myself, I learn why it either works or doesn't.

As someone already mentioned above, a set up that provides good survivability is essential, boss fights may not be super fast but that doesn't matter if I'm alive and they are dead!

Oh and when I say solo, I actually always have Bastian in tow, set up as a tank/dps.

The other thing to always add, this is not something that happened overnight, my god I've died a LOT, given up many times but it's a great feeling when I add a new one to my list.

Warhawke_80 · January 25

Yep—some players breeze through it while others really struggle, and that gap stings. The good news is this problem solves itself over time. Story Mode Dungeons are coming, and they'll level the field for everyone who needs it.

Hang in there.

spartaxoxo · January 25

Also check out Hyperoxies if you're looking for a good solo build guide. It's different than group ones.

Frayton · January 25

I don't know about anyone else, but I can do it bc I spent an embarrassing amount of time and resources to learn the game's combat system in and out and min maxing everything (I log everything and make spreadsheets that detail damage and builds).

The good news is that level of no-life sweatiness isn't required anymore bc ZOS has greatly toned down difficulty across the board and has made damage more accessible, so now even having a moderate grasp of combat can get you through most vet dungeons solo. It sounds like you're on the right path and it's just a matter of reps or little tweaks. Also, not all player guides are good. There's a very popular guy whose builds are garbage. Someone mentioned Hyperioxes, have a look at his channel instead bc he's actually good at the game.

Good luck!

Hapexamendios · 1:14AM

I really don't think there are a great number of players who can solo Vet DLC dungeons. I've soloed a good number on normal, but vet is too great a leap for most players.