Ultimate Maelstrom Arena Guide for ESO - ArzyeLBuilds (2024)

The Maelstrom Arena is one of the Solo Arenas in ESO, along with the Vateshran Hollows Arena and the Infinite Archive! The arena consists of nine stages with several rounds each and has two levels of difficulty, Normal and Veteran. Completing the Maelstrom Arena in Veteran difficulty(VMA) is one of the hardest achievements in the game, especially for relatively new players and something you should be proud of! By completing the Maelstrom Arena you also get the chance to acquire one of its unique Maelstrom Weapons.

Normal Maelstrom Arena Weapons drop from the last boss in normal difficulty while Perfected Maelstrom Weapons drop from the last boss in Veteran difficulty. Some of the weapons you can earn there are very useful for PVE Gameplay and Builds. Usually you get one random weapon after completing the Arena but when an appropriate event is live you can earn more. The goal of this Maelstrom Arena guide is to introduce to you the mechanics of the Arena but also present you with the strategies necessary to complete it successfully!

Table of Contents

• General Info – Mechanics
• Maelstrom Arena Quest
• Sigils – Universal Mechanic
• How many Stages are in Maelstrom Arena ESO
  • Stage 1 – Vale of the Surreal
  • Stage 2 – Seht’s Balcony
  • Stage 3 – Drome of Toxic Shock
  • Stage 4 – Seht’s Flywheel
  • Stage 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood
  • Stage 6 – Spiral Shadows
  • Stage 7 – Vault of Umbrage
  • Stage 8 – Igneous Cistern
  • Stage 9 – Theater of Despair
  • Final Boss – Voriak Solkyn

Maelstrom Arena General Mechanics in ESO

The Maelstrom Arena consists of nine stages. Every stage has several rounds with a mini boss at the end of each round and unique mechanics to overcome. Some mechanics are universal for the entire arena, some apply to every round of a stage and other will only appear during a specific round.

The main difficulty of VMA(Veteran Maelstrom Arena) is the confusion the many enemies and their mechanics can cause to the player. When you are completing VMA for the first time it is normal to feel overwhelmed because of everything that is happening around you. As you become more and more familiar with the Maelstrom Arena, you will understand better the mechanics and how you should react to them.

There are many different ways to prepare for a Veteran Maelstrom Arena completion that depend on your play style, the class of your character and your Build. For a successful run you will have to prepare accordingly and use a dedicated Solo PVE Build! To give you an example, my One Bar Pet Sorcerer Solo Build is a specialized Build that will help you complete the arena with success.

Several mechanics you can find in the Maelstrom Arena are also present in the Bedlam Veil 4-man Dungeon! Learning how to deal with them here, will make your life easier when you try to clear this Dungeon in Veteran difficulty!

Maelstrom Arena Quest

The entrance to the Maelstrom Arena is located at the Northeast part of Wrothgar. You must have access to the Orsinium DLC to be able to access this area. A portal will take you to the preparation area of the Arena where you can find the Fa-Nuit-Hen NPC and accept his Maelstrom Arena quest. Accepting the quest is important not only for its reward at the end but also as a “save point” while trying to complete it. The quest saves your Arena progress basically. If you stop at Stage 4 of the Arena and take a break, next time you return you will start at Stage 4 and not at the very beginning of the Arena.

When you die inside the arena you have the chance to revive there or go to a wayshrine. This option will take you to the preparation area before the Arena where you can take a breath and repair your equipment. If you go back into the Arena immediately you will continue from the start of the specific round you died at. If you decide to take a break and return another day you will start at the beginning of Stage 4.

Maelstrom Arena Sigils – Universal Mechanic

Sigils is one of the mechanics that will always be present in every round during your Maelstrom Arena runs. Sigils are basically buffs that are focusing on a specific aspect of your character, last 30 seconds and can help you overcome harder enemies and challenging parts of the Arena. In total there are four Sigils inside the Arena:

• Sigil of Power, appears as an Axe and will increase your damage done.
• Sigil of Defense, appears as a Shield and will reduce your damage taken as well as reflect damage back to an attacker.
• Sigil of Haste, appears as Wings and boosts your speed, as well as your resources recovery.
• Sigil of Healing, appears as a goblet and applies a heal over time to you.

Using the Sigils can help you a lot when you are new to the Arena! As you become more familiar with its mechanics they will not be as essential as before. But even then, specific parts of VMA will be easier to complete with the help of a Sigil.

How many Stages are in Maelstrom Arena ESO

The Maelstrom Arena consists of nine Stages. The difficulty of those Stages ramps up gradually as you progress in the Arena. The first noticeable difficulty increase is when you reach Stage Five. Each Stage has its own mini bosses and final boss to overcome, as well as specific mechanics and strategies to follow.

Stage 1 – Vale of the Surreal

Unique Mechanic: During this Stage, a Death Cloud will be following you around. This cloud can slow you down, making you vulnerable to enemy attacks. Easy to avoid by simply moving around.

Enemy Priority: No real hard enemies in this Stage. You should try to prioritize ranged enemies because this will help you do the same in later stages where they can be a real threat.

The first Stage is basically an introduction to the Arena. A way to become familiar with the intensity of enemies and their attacks. Take your time dealing with threats but also experiment with the four sigils to see how they actually work. There are three rounds of easy enemies to kill before you have to face the Final Boss of Stage 1.

Final Boss – Maxus the Many

This first final boss of the Arena is a test. A test to see how your build and gameplay work inside the Arena. If you can beat him easily, you can proceed. If you are having difficulties with him you should go back out and rethink your approach. His attacks are not that scary. He is mainly using a ranged attack against you and spawning two ground AOE. Both attacks are easy to deal with separately but the Death Cloud following you around could make things harder.

Maxus can also spawn adds that attack you and have a special frontal conal fire attack of their own. Kill those fast to avoid them merging with him and healing him. As you damage him he will teleport around. Use your AOE skills to kill his adds fast, then hit as hard as possible to finish him quickly.

Stage 2 – Seht’s Balcony

Unique Mechanic: There are three Spinning Blades moving around the arena. If they hit you they will apply a Bleed effect to you, which is strong enough to cause trouble when dealing with other enemies. To deal with those Blades there are two Blade Switches at the side of the arena. When they glow green you can use them to immobilize the Blades. This will give you room to breath and deal with the present enemies. During the Final Boss fight, if you use the Switch when fighting one of the Bosses it will force it go to the central pillar and restore some of its health. The area around the central pillar is electrified so you should avoid getting near it.

Enemy Priority: Again not a Stage with many dangerous enemies. Prioritize Dwarven Spheres when they appear since they can be nasty with their shock damage. There are three rounds before the Final Boss and at the end of each round a Dwarven Centurion will appear. These are the mini bosses of this stage and relatively easy to deal with. Their main attacks are a frontal cone steam attack and a front swipe that are easy to avoid.

Final Boss – Centurion Champion

This fight is more of a challenge because of the Spinning Blades that move around. There are three Centurion Champions, which are bigger versions of the Dwarven Centurions at the end of each round before the fight. They will appear one at a time and also attack you separately. As you deal damage to them they will enter an invulnerable stage while another will continue the attack. While in that status you cannot deal damage but can use heavy attacks against them to restore resources.

Their attacks are easy to avoid as well. A basic swipe attack that hits hard though, a frontal conal steam attack and an artillery-like attack. Move around, dodge or block to avoid being damaged. The biggest threat in this stage is the Bleed damage from Spinning Blades.

Stage 3 – Drome of Toxic Shock

Unique Mechanic: There are three small islands in the arena with water that gets electrified often. You want to avoid standing on the water because this can happen at any time. Stranglers appear and slow you down by 90%. These are a great threat and you should deal with them as fast as possible.

The Lamia Queen, the Final Boss of this stage, is watching your fight and can call lightning down at your location. From time to time a poison AOE will appear and deal damage to you if you stand on it. Additionally a healing AOE will appear and restore the health of your enemies.

Enemy Priority: Stranglers should be your number one priority here. They deal no damage but their slow will kill you. There are three rounds before the Final Boss fight. The mini bosses are easy to deal with but caution is required. Especially when fighting the Round 2 mini boss, Queen’s Champion, because of its Two Handed Weapon attack that can stun you.

Final Boss – Lamia Queen

Easy to deal with but be careful of her strong melee attacks. The best way to defeat her is by staying in melee range, putting pressure on her. Her light attacks is her main attack. Block, out-heal them or use your shield to avoid being damaged. She can use a frontal conal scream attack that can stun you and also call lighting down at you.

Move around to kill stranglers if they appear and use AOE to deal damage to her and the other adds that will come to her aid. The poison and healing AOE will continue to appear so be careful to evade them.

Stage 4 – Seht’s Flywheel

Unique Mechanic: Clockwork Sentries will spawn and try to position themselves at the center of the arena. If you allow them to do this, they will enter into an invulnerability phase and start throwing strong shock AOE spells at you. When every round ends their invulnerability disappears and you can destroy them then.

Enemy Priority: Clockwork Sentries should be your number one priority. Do not let them stand at the center of the arena. Dwarven Spheres can be dangerous with their shock attacks as well so kill them fast. Finally Scavenger Healers can cause trouble if they are allowed to heal your enemies. There are three rounds before the final boss and the mini bosses are relatively easy to deal with. Kotheid, the last mini boss before the Final Boss, can be somewhat dangerous because of his Two Handed weapon special attack that can knock you back and the fire ring around him.

Final Boss – The Control Guardian

The final boss of this stage is a huge mechanical spider. Easy to kill but tricky. When the Spider appears it will start moving around the Arena. You should go right beneath it and move around along with it. The reason for this is because there is a deadly DOT around the entire arena that will kill you if you are not standing under the boss. Damage it as you move around and drop its health as fast as possible.

After some time the boss will stop moving and start spewing fire around it. You should move as far as possible and continue damaging it while also avoiding its fire AOE. After it starts moving again get underneath it and continue. Rinse and repeat until it is dead. What makes this fight difficult is the adds that keep appearing as well as the Clockwork Sentries you may have allowed to stand at the center of the arena.

Stage 5 – Rink of Frozen Blood

Unique Mechanic: There are three ice islands in the arena and the water around them will damage you. If you stay too long on the water’s surface you will die. Troll Breaker enemies will spawn periodically and attempt to break the ice islands. If they succeed, you will have less room to move and breath. Losing an island or two is not a big deal in most rounds. During the Final Boss fight if you lose one island from the Trolls it is game over, since the boss will always break the other two.

Enemy Priority: Troll Breakers should die as fast as possible. Especially during the last Boss fight. Prioritize ranged enemies since they can hit hard. This is the first stage where you will notice a significant difficulty increase. The fight is more intense and the mechanics less forgiving. Mini bosses also start posing a bigger threat and there is an extra round before the final fight.

Rounds 1 – 4

Round 1 Boss – Angirgoth: A melee enemy, using strong Dual Wield attacks that will also transform into a Werewolf after some time. Not that hard to kill, just avoid her attacks.

Round 2 Boss – Ogre Elder: He mostly summons Ice Pillars dealing damage to you and attacking from range. Easier than it sounds and looks.

Round 3 Boss – Frost Atronach: This is a hard enemy with strong attacks that will spawn twice, at the beginning and end of the round. The fact that you have to deal with every other add while fighting him makes things harder. Avoid his light attacks whenever you can while killing the other adds. Use AOE skills to deal damage at the boss as well and slowly take his health down before you can focus on him and kill him.

Round 4 Boss – Giants: Three giants will serve as the boss of this round. Two will spawn at the beginning and one more later. Their strongest attack is a ground attack, throwing stones at you. This attack can deal a lot of damage so try to avoid it. They can also kick you and attack with their clubs as well as fear you with their scream. Keep your distance and take them down with ranged attacks for extra safety.

Final Boss – Matriarch Runa

A reverse DPS check fight. The faster you kill her, the harder the fight is, since adds keep spawning based on her health percentage, 90%, 60% and 30%. The best way to deal with her is to damage her slowly, killing the adds that appear, then damage her again. If you try to nuke her fast, you will find yourself overwhelmed by enemies.

Her attacks are similar to the three Giants before but stronger. She will also destroy Ice islands when her health drops at a specific percentage, 75% and 45%. The trick to beat her is first to not allow a Troll Breaker to break any island, second to lure her to the islands you want her to break.

For the end of the fight we want to keep the island with the two sigils intact. When she is ready to destroy an island she will glow red and run to the center of the island she is going to break. You do not want to be near her when she breaks an island, because you will die instantly. When you see her glowing run to another island.

Strategy to beat her: Damage her until the first adds appear, kill the adds and always kill the Troll Breakers when they spawn. Stay away from the two-sigil island and damage her until she starts glowing red. Run to the other island and damage her until new adds arrive, kill the adds, let her destroy the island and run to the last one. Use the Shield sigil and attack with everything you have to kill her as fast as possible. Use AOE skills to damage and kill the adds as well.

Stage 6 – Spiral Shadows

Unique Mechanic: There are five obelisks in the arena that can stun every enemy when you clear them of the webs around them. When you start this stage all but one obelisk will be covered by webs. If you clear them you will automatically stun every enemy in the area. This is the strategy to beat the final boss of the stage as well. To clear the obelisks you can kill Venomous Hoarvors next to them or use the Venomous Grenade they leave behind.

When using the Grenade you will be animation locked for a second and vulnerable to attacks. During this stage Webspinners appear to cover cleared obelisks with webs again. Spiderlings will appear periodically to kill you. You can not kill them and the only way to survive is to stay near a glowing obelisk. Lightning strikes down at you periodically. The final boss also has an Enrage mechanic you will have to break by using the obelisks.

Enemy Priority: Webspinners should always die fast so they do not mess with your Obelisks strategy. Ranged enemies should again be your priority to avoid trouble.

Rounds 1 – 4

Round 1 & 2 Boss – Flesh Atronach: Deals strong damage with light attacks but is easy to kill. This Boss can also stomp the ground in front of it and stun you. The biggest issue during the fight is the appearance of spiderlings that will keep you pinned around an obelisk, limiting your kiting capabilities. Avoid attacks as much as possible and take the Boss down fast.

Round 3 Boss – Spiderkith Captain/Enervator: A dangerous Two Handed weapon user enemy. Keep your distance as much as possible and block or avoid his heavy attack. At the end of the round another Flesh Atronach will spawn along with a Spiderkith Enervator mage. The mage will use streak against you and a strong AOE shock attack as well as normal ranged attacks.

Round 4 Boss – Void Lurcher: Three Void Lurchers are going to be your main enemy during this round. One will appear at the beginning and the other two at the end of the round. They deal simple light attacks, stomp the ground to stun you and a “shaking” AOE attack. Easy to avoid and take down.

Final Boss – Champion of Atrocity

An easy boss to beat if you follow the right strategy. Her main attacks include sending shock AOE against you, spawning a shock AOE beneath you that can be deadly and you should avoid, a spit attack and spawning Spider Daedra that slow you down. As the fight continues, she becomes more and more enraged. Her attacks hit harder and she will finally one-shot you unless you break the enrage. To do this you will have to stun her with the obelisks. When she is at 50% health a Void Lurcher will appear.

Strategy to beat her: During the entire stage make sure to clear all obelisks but one. Keep one obelisk covered with webs and kill every Webspinner trying to cover the other ones. When fighting the last boss wait until her health is at 50%-40% and clear the last obelisk as well. This will stun the boss and everything else in the arena, break her enrage mechanic and allow you to kill her easily. Once the boss is stunned you can kill her easily.

Stage 7 – Vault of Umbrage

Unique Mechanic: The arena is covered with several poisonous flowers. If you go near them, they will explode and poison you. To get rid of the poison you must enter one of the two rejuvenating pools at each side of the arena or else you will die. Venomcallers appear periodically and spread a poisonous cloud in the entire arena which causes the flowers to explode.

Enemy Priority: Venomcallers should die as fast as possible or else you are dead. Archers should be your number one priority since their light and AOE attacks hit hard and can kill you fast. When you see Archers holding their bows on top of their head, glowing red, they are ready to one-shot you. Kill them fast or interrupt their attack to survive.

Rounds 1 – 4

Round 1,2 & 4 Boss – Swamp Troll: Relatively easy to deal with. Does a normal ranged attack, throws a stone at you as an AOE attack and stomps the ground. When its health drops, it will grow bigger and become stronger. Keep your distance and you should not have any problem with them. On round 4 two Trolls will appear at the same time. AOE skills will help a lot to deal with both faster.

Round 3 Boss – Wamasu: The hardest mini boss of the Stage if not the entire Arena. This one will spawn 20 seconds after the start of the round and has some strong and deadly attacks you must avoid. Its main attack is a shock ranged attack that slows you down and prepares you for the kill. Its stomp attack will spawn several shock spheres moving slowly out of him that will one-shot you if they touch you. It also does a frontal conal attack. It is important to keep your distance and avoid the first deadly attack.

Final Boss – Argonian Behemoth Maelstrom Arena

Scary looking boss but easy to beat if you keep your distance. His attacks include a normal low damage swipe, a stomp on the ground, a shockwave attack like the ones Giants from stage 5 do, which deals a lot of damage and a bite that can be deadly if you are close to him. He can also throw a poison AOE on the ground. His deadliest attack is his Enraged Scream that will kill you unless you follow a specific strategy.

Strategy to beat him: The goal to win this fight is first to keep your distance, avoid his attacks and second to shield yourself with one of his adds special move.

See Also

ESO: Arena-Guide für den Grund des Vateshran – Alle Bosse & Belohnungen

After some time into the fight two Argonian Minders will spawn and start attacking you. You should kill one of them as fast as possible but leave the other alive. When the first minder dies, the boss will start his Scream. The other Minder will raise a shield to protect himself. Get close to him and remain under his shield for the duration of the scream. This will last around 10 seconds during which you can continue damaging the Boss. After the scream ends, kill first the remaining Minder and continue attacking the Boss. If Venomcaller appear, kill them fast. Continue until the Boss is dead.

Stage 8 – Igneous Cistern

Unique Mechanic: There are three Warding Stones in the arena. At the end of every round and before you can start damaging the mini bosses you will have to destroy one of those. To damage the final boss, you will have to destroy all three Warding Stones. The Stones return to their original status after a while so you may have to repeat this action a couple more times during a fight. If you stand still for a couple moments lava will get shot at you. So it is better to keep moving.

Enemy Priority: The deadliest enemies during this stage are the Dremora Kyngald. Fire mages that can kill you fast with their channeled attacks. You should kill them fast or at least interrupt that attack as soon as possible to survive. Dremora Gandrakyn are next. Healers that can get bosses or other enemies back to full health. Melee enemies with Two Handed weapons should be your next priority because of their heavy attacks that can stun you.

Rounds 1 – 4

Round 1 – 3 Boss – Infernal Destroyer: To damage this boss you will have to destroy one of the Warding Stones first. He has some deadly attacks but if you keep your distance it should be an easy fight. Their ground lava shockwave attack is their deadliest. They can also light attack and attempt to stomp with a grab-like frontal attack. Make sure to kill any Fire Mage or healer first if they spawn during these fights.

Round 4 Boss – Flame Knight: A tough Dragonknight based mini boss with strong melee attacks. She can chain pull you to her and throw a flame AOE at your feet. The AOE will spread out to four directions so keep your distance from it. She can also spawn a Dragonknight Standard and try to pull you inside it to kill you faster. The best way to deal with her is to keep your distance and dodge roll when she is trying to pull you closer.

Final Boss – Valkyn Tephra

The final boss is rather easy but in order to kill it you must destroy all three Warding Stones first. If your DPS is not that high you will have to repeat this action a few more times. If it takes you too long to take down the third Stone a Fire Mage will appear. Make sure to kill him first. A nice strategy would be to bring two stones down, wait for the mage, kill him, then bring the third stone down and start damaging the boss.

A pretty straightforward and easy fight. The boss moves slowly toward you and is easy to kite. He has a weak ranged attack but he can chain pull you when close. This attack combined with his strong Two Handed weapon swipe will knock you back and probably kill you. He can also emit fire waves around the area. Keeping your distance is vital and kiting him is the easiest way to win.

Stage 9 – Theater of Despair

Unique Mechanic: Golden and White Ghosts. Throughout the entire stage white and golden ghosts will be floating around. White ghosts will damage and slow you down if you touch them. Golden ghosts on the other hand allow you to stun every enemy in the area with the Spectral Explosion technique. Golden ghosts appear infrequently and fly toward an enemy to boost them.

You must rush and get to them first to “collect” them. By collecting three golden ghosts you can use Spectral Explosion. You have to collect all three in a minute by the time you collected the first ghost and have around 20 seconds to activate the explosion after having collected all three. This is a useful strategy you should follow when dealing with strong enemies and of course to beat the final boss. If you get too close to the edge of the arena, lava will be shot at you.

Enemy Priority: Ranged enemies should always be your priority. Especially Dremora Kyngald archers that can one-shot you with their special ability. Always interrupt those when you see them holding their bow over their head, glowing red. Crematorial Guards and Ogrims are strong enemies that should be dealt with as fast as possible.

During the fourth round Dremora Narkynaz will appear at the edge of the map and start moving toward the center. There they will start summoning a Bone Colossus that although not impossible to defeat will make your life harder. Focus on killing those summoners fast after their appearance to avoid having to deal with the Colossus. This final stage of the Maelstrom Arena has five rounds before the final boss.

Rounds 1 – 5

Round 1 Boss – Crematorial Guard: The Crematorial Guard is a common enemy in this last stage of the arena and will be your nemesis until your learn how to deal with him. His deadliest attack is a strong firebreath that puts a flame DOT on you. The easiest way to avoid it is by circling around him while damaging him. He also does a rather weak swipe that you can ignore.

Round 2 Boss – Ogrim: Slightly harder than the Crematorial Guard because of its strong ranged attack. They can place a flame AOE on the ground and also heal themselves by pounding their chest. Keep your distance because that action can stun you. Keep in mind that both the Crematorial Guard and the Ogrim will appear in the next rounds as adds and can be annoying to deal with.

Round 3 Boss – Xivilai Ravager: This mini boss can chain pull you to him and use a strong AOE to kill you. Like with most strong enemies in VMA, it is easier to stay away.

Round 4 Boss – Ogrim/Bone Colossus: In round 4 Dremora Narkynaz will attempt to summon a Bone Colossus. If you kill them before they finish their ritual, you will have to face an Ogrim only to proceed. If they succeed, you will have to kill the Bone Colossus. That is going to be a hard fight. His melee attacks are strong and his fire attack can kill you very fast. To deal with him, stay as far away as possible to avoid the fire attack and strikes and try to take him down fast with your attacks.

Round 5 Boss – Ash Titan: The Ash Titan will appear after you have killed a Crematorial Guard and an Ogrim. His fire ranged attacks can be out-healed or even better blocked or dodged. If you are close to him he also deals some strong claw attacks. The best way to fight against him is to keep your distance and use ranged attacks. Stay close to the edge but keep moving or else lava will hit you.

When his health drops to 30% he will start sending flame waves at you. These deal a lot of damage and can be deadly since they stun you. At 25%, three enemies will spawn. A tank and two archers. The two archers are a great threat and should be killed fast. Use AOE skills to deal damage to every enemy in the area. At the end of the round you will have to face another Ogrim.

How to beat the Maelstrom Arena Final Boss – Voriak Solkyn

It is finally time to fight the last boss of the Arena and get your reward. The final fight consists of three phases.

Phase 1: Ground fight. The Boss will appear in the middle of the arena and start light attacking you. After two light attacks he will start charging his heavy, skull attack. You must block this one or else it will knock you back and stun you. At that point a healer will appear but ignore him for now. After that he will teleport and start his channeling and most deadly attack, Necrotic Swarm. You have to run and interrupt him as fast as possible. It is impossible to survive this attack otherwise.

He will then summon a Crematorial Guard that will start attacking you while the Boss is light and heavy attacking. Always block his heavy attacks or else the stun will kill you. When his health drops to 70% he will teleport above the ground for the second phase. Other attacks he might use include a ground AOE that can kill you. You should move out of the area fast or at least block it to take less damage. He can also spawn a Lich Crystal at your location that will explode after a moment.

Strategy: When the boss appears, take the Sigil of Healing and start damaging him with everything you have. If your Ultimate is ready, use it and try to get him to 70% before he can spawn the Crematorial Guard. If your Ultimate is not ready, deal with his attacks and Crematorial Guard while damaging him until his health is at 70%. When he teleports finish the Guard if it is still alive and the healer.

A Clanfear will also appear and one of the platforms around will start glowing. Lure the Clanfear close to the glowing platform and kill him there to activate the portal. This will allow you to follow the boss. If it takes you too much time to kill the Clanfear the portal will stop glowing and you will have to repeat this action with a new glowing platform. If it is taking you too long another Guard might appear as well. Once the Clanfear is dead and the portal active you can use it to start the Second Phase.

Phase 2: The portal will teleport you above the ground where a not so narrow ring exists. The boss will be levitating at the center but you will not be able to directly damage him. On the ring exist three Animus Crystals. You have to destroy all three to damage the boss and force him to go back down to the ground where you can kill him.

While you are up there a DOT is constantly damaging you. Use your shield and/or heals to deal with it. If it is too much damage you can jump down to survive. You will have to kill a Guard and a Clanfear again to get back up though. The boss during this phase will use heavy attacks and an AOE that will kick you out of the ring. Also flame meteors drop from the sky at your spot so keep moving to avoid them!

Strategy: When you get up, start moving towards a Crystal and attack it. If your Ultimate is ready use it. Keep an eye on the boss and block his heavy attacks. When he starts charging his AOE a moving wall will appear. This wall will protect you from the attack and keep you on the ring. Get behind it and move along with it while damaging the crystals. The first wall will be moving slowly but the next ones will be faster. Toward the end of this phase try to avoid using your Ultimate even if it is ready. You will need it for the final phase. When you destroy all three crystals you will be thrown down to the ground for the third and final phase of this fight.

Phase 3: The Boss will follow you and start channeling his Necrotic Swarm attack. You must interrupt this and start burning him down. He will continue attacking you while Dremora Nargynaz will appear and start summoning the Bone Colossus. Golden ghosts appear again and try to reach him. If he gets three it is practically game over since he can use his Ultimate skill. Which is basically the constant DOT on you from phase 2. He will continue using his attacks on you and also summon another Crematorial Guard.

Strategy: When the boss comes down after you, first interrupt his channeled attack then grab the Haste Sigil. Continue blocking his attacks and damaging him while keeping an eye for golden ghosts. Your goal should be to get three ghosts and use the Spectral Explosion to stun and finish him. You can kill the summoners if you want to play it safe but usually it is easier to ignore them and focus on getting the ghosts. Do not let the boss “collect” any ghost since that will make it harder to kill him. Once you have collected three of them, use Spectral Explosion and stun everything in the arena.

While stunned attack with everything you have, including your Ultimate to kill him. This should be enough to finish the fight but if he still has some health left after that do not panic. Continue blocking his attacks while killing the summoner and the Guard. Then focus on him again to finish him.

Maelstrom Arena Rewards in ESO

Congratulations! You have just finished the Veteran Maelstrom Arena, one of the hardest solo PVE activity in the game. A chest will appear rewarding you with a random Maelstrom Weapon. Hopefully it was the one you were looking for!

FAQ – Maelstrom Arena Guide ESO

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