The Maelstrom Arena inThe Elder Scrolls Onlineis a source of strife and triumph for solo players taking on the Orsinium DLC. Located in the frozen North East of the Wrothgar zone, the Maelstrom Arena, like other Arenas in the game, offers players nine progressively more difficult combat scenarios with the ultimate reward being covetedElder Scrolls OnlineMaelstrom Weapons.
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Each of the six available Maelstrom Weapons sets is attuned to a different weapon skill tree. While Maelstrom Weapons have been in the game formore than a fewESOexpansions, they still see regular use in some of the topESObuilds in 2021 and are worth spending time in the arena to acquire.
How To Get The Maelstrom Weapon Sets
The Maelstrom Arena has nine stages culminating with a final Boss for players to take on alone – this final Boss has a chance to drop Maelstrom Weapons upon defeat. When taking on the Arena, players are presented with a choice between Standard and Veteran mode. Veteran mode is of course harder than Standard mode, but the Maelstrom Weapons dropped at the end are “Perfected” and offer additional bonuses.
Merciless Charge - Two-Handed Maelstrom Weapons
The Merciless Charge set is anESOMaelstrom set that gives two-handed weaponusers a useful damage-over-time ability. As the name might suggest, Merciless Charge buffs the player’sCritical Chargeskill by granting it an additional1,338 Physical damage over five secondsat CP 160. ThePerfectedversion, only available by beating the Maelstrom Arena on Veteran, alsogrants 1190 Physical Penetrationat CP 160.
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It’s weapon set that has been nerfedover the yearsfrom its original extreme (and somewhat broken) damage output, but nonetheless, it’s still a great choice for PvP. Its single-target damage increase makes it a viable pick for PvE content, too, though it does see more use in the Imperial City than elsewhere.
Rampaging Slash - One-Handed and Shield Maelstrom Weapons
The Rampaging Slash Maelstrom Weapon set is a One-Handed and Shieldset that enhances theLow Slashability. With this set equipped, fully-charged Heavy attacksmade within five seconds of a Low Slashrestore anadditional 1904 Magicka and Staminaat CP 160. ThePerfectedversion, found only in Veteran mode, alsoadds a passive 77 Magicka and Stamina Recovery.
It’s a great weapon set to wield whentaking on solo contentthanks to its increased resource recovery, but when it comes to tanking sets, there are better options out there in Tamriel – it hasn’t been changed much since its inception.
Cruel Flurry - Dual-Wielding Maelstrom Weapons
The Cruel Flurry weapon set is imbued upon many of the same weapon types as the Rampaging Slash set, though of course with different effects. Tuned for Duel-Wielding, the Cruel Flurry set enhances theFlurryability byincreasing Spell and Weapon Damage of damage-over-time skills by 1690when cast withinfour secondsof Flurry. ThePerfectedversion from the Maelstrom Arena’s Veteran mode alsogrants 103 Weapon Damageat CP 160.
Flurry is a powerful single-target skill in the Dual-Wielding skill tree, and this set makes it more useful in a rotation that includes plenty of damage-over-time abilities, likeTwin Slashesor several class-specific abilities.
Thunderous Volley - The Maelstrom’s Bow
TheESOMaelstrom Weapons set Thunderous Volley istied to the Bow skill tree, enhancing theVolleyability (and its more often used morph Endless Hail). This setadds 430 extra damage per tickof the ability at CP 160,increasing by 143 every tickup toeighttimes. ThePerfectedversion of the set, a Veteran mode exclusive, also adds a respectable526 Weapon Criticalto the bow at CP 160.
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Volley is one of the most commonly used AoE abilities in a Bow-wielder’s toolbox though it can be a little underwhelming when fights have the potential to end so quickly. This makes Volley (and its morphs) much more powerful, especially in longer combat situations thanks to its progressively-increasing damage bonus.
Crushing Wall - Destruction Staff Maelstrom Weapons
The Crushing Wall Maelstrom Weapons set enhances theWall of Elementsskill in the Destruction Staff weapon skill tree. The set offers a simple bonus:Light and Heavy attacksmade on enemies trappedin the player’s Wall of Elementsdeal anadditional 1353 damage. ThePerfectedversion, only found in the Arena’s Veteran mode, also imbues the staff with1190 Spell Penetrationat CP 160.
Wall of Elements is a mainstay in many Destruction Staff-oriented builds, though it isn’t used by all of them. This set isgreat for playerswho know how to weave their attacks and abilities effectively, and for players who use Wall of Elements already, but it has no place in a build that doesn’t use this Destruction Staff-specific ability.
Precise Regeneration - The Maelstrom’s Restoration Staff
The Precise Regeneration set is a Restoration Staff set that gives healers a boost to Magicka regeneration. The set enhances theRegenerationability by makingcritical hitswith the ability alsorestore 558 Magicka to the casterat CP 160. ThePerfectedgrants526 Spell Criticalto the player, increasing the chance that this critical-based effect will happen in the first place.
It’s not necessarily the most useful healing-oriented weapon set in the game, but it’s also not the most useless. Any bonus to Spell Critical is ahuge boon to healers, especially those taking on Veteran content, though the fact that the Magicka recovery only procs on critical hits makes it less reliable than some other options in the game.
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