“Do your job and we’ll be fine.” That’s what our healer and Veteran Dragonstar arena said and I’ll never forget it.
After beating normal mode Dragonstar a couple of months ago, I set my sights on Veteran mode. I knew it would be much harder, but if someone could do it, so could I. So over the weeks and months ahead I spent hours inside the dungeon only to reach the dreaded wave 10 boss four times. Each time, we spent hours working on this boss as it’s incredibly hard to beat. Not to mention I was playing a damage dealer role each time. Some friends that had beaten Vet DSA asked me to join them and they were looking for a tank if I knew one. Why yes I did, Mr. T3 was ready to take down Veteran DSA!
It’s been awhile since I’ve gotten that same feeling about teamwork as I did in the military. Where the stakes were very high, the pressure was enormous, but when it all came together and everyone did their job, it was magic. That same feeling happened in Elder Scrolls Online yesterday while taking down Vet DSA. We were all locked in like an electric guided missile and from the outset I knew the hardest challenge in the game was going down.
The hardest part of the dungeon is reaching the end boss with as many lives as possible. Prior to this attempted, the highest I’ve enter with is 60 (playing the DPS role mind you). We absolutely blazed through levels 1-9, reaching the boss with 96 lives remaining. At that point everyone’s confidence was high though I hadn’t really done this before as tank. “Do your job and we’ll be fine,” those word rang true and I was going to rock as the tank on level 10.
The final encounter started off about as poorly as you could image. I forgot that within 10 seconds the boss spawns fire and that it was my job to take the boss far far away from the group. Whoops! At that point it looked like an early wipe on the first attempt. But I was in T3 mode, nothing was going to kill my Magma Armor Dragonknight. We ended up recovering with no deaths though it was very challenging. Now it was time to settle into our rotations. My job, simple, keep the boss and and additional mob taunted and survive. Nothing else, focused and locked in.
We had a couple of mishaps and my Dragonknight ended up dying after the final switch phase, though I was quickly rezzed and we recovered. With 30% health left on the boss and Magma Armor ready, this was it. We killed it and the five minute cursing rant began. I was as excited as a little kid on Christmas getting a brand new bike. I flipped and I loved it. Entertainment no matter what form, is all about emotions. Feeling an emotional range, from disappointment to accomplishment, from excited to miserable. I can honestly say that Veteran DSA hit all those range of emotions making it one of my most memorable moments.
The lesson of the story is two fold; one do you job and expect everyone else to do the same, and two enjoy the moment. Enjoy even the bad ones, because when you do finally reach your milestone (whether in game or not) lavish in that victory and accomplishment, you’ve earned it.