25463-D

Is down!

That is to say, Atra-fucking-medes has been slain.

In simpler terms, we finally were able to beat the shit out of a blind dragon.

Yeah, we got rolled repeatedly by a handicapped reptile.

The new raiding season started out very well.

Sometime in December the guild wandered over to own the new VoA-style encounter in Tol Barad. I’ve gotten to do the fight once, and it was cake to heal, even as disc. (What do I mean, even as disc? ZOMG. More on this later. Not today later, another day later.)

In late December we were able to start raiding in earnest – too many kittens had obligations earlier in the month and we all had to level, dammit!

I offered to sit out the first week. We were running 10s, which currently requires 3 healers, just like the beginning of Wrath.

We had 4 healers ready to go and I was the least geared of the set. (I think I still am since nothing will drop for me, damn RNG.)

They went in to Blackwing Descent and downed Magmaw and the Omnitron Defense Council without too much difficulty.

But the next night, trouble on the horizon! A healer had to step out!

And so it came to pass that I got pulled in to what is currently the core raiding group.

In reasonably rapid succession (as rapid as one can be in a progression raid) we downed Halfus Wyrmbreaker and the twin dragons, Valiona and Theralion, over in Bastion of Twighlight.

And then, in a fit of apparent wanderlust, we journeyed to the Throne of Four Winds to kill the Conclave of Wind.

And then, back in to Blackwing Descent for an attack on the aforementioned Atramedes.

And then…

Sadly, there was no “and then” for quite some time.

I believe the final tally was 76 wipes before we killed the dragon.

Did I mention he was a BLIND FUCKING dragon?

Sure, we had our normal share of wipes that could be attributed to people DCing mid-combat, cats stepping on keyboards, kids needing to be beat, etc.

But 70+ wipes in the space of 3-4 raid nights was intense. Tempers got hot, fingers were pointed, one DPS demanded that everyone step up to his level (which is now a running joke in the guild), voices were raised… all in all, about like a family reunion. (If your family reunions aren’t like that, I don’t want to hear about it. We’re fine just the dysfunctional way we are, so there.)

Depending on the site you go to and how well it’s comprehending that, yes, we do have a guild kill for those bosses, we are ranked somewhere between 4th and 8th on the server. Now that we’ve got the Atra-fucking-medes cockblock taken care of, we hope to pick up the pace a little bit.

Mechanically speaking, so far, all the fights have been fun.

On paper, they look confusing as hell. Even the videos look like finely-orchestrated chaos. Of course, the people at tankspot make everything look a gabillion times easier than it is the first time you step in to a fight. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that those videos are not their first attempt, they floundered about a bit before publishing the video. They probably didn’t flounder 70+ times on an occularly-challenged dragon, but whatever.

But once you get in to the fights and get a feel for their rhythm, the fights are actually enjoyable.

There is a ton more personal accountability in these encounters and the 10 mans are tuned right on par with the 25s. The difference being that in a 25-man encounter, if you drop a healer or a DPS, chances are very good that there are enough other individuals around to pick up the slack.

Before Cata dropped, the guild had decided to go for 10-mans. I didn’t pay much attention to the who said what and the what was said by whom, I’m just a kitten in a box.

After a couple weeks of raiding 10s, there is a rumbling about returning to 25s.

Personally, I prefer 10s for the simple fact that getting 10 kittens in the box on time is easier to coordinate than getting 25 kittens in the box on time. But, again, I’m just a kitten in a box and will continue to heal regardless of whether I’m raging over 10 boxes that aren’t green or 25.

Time will tell what happens here.

…

And now for the most important part of this post!

A message from your friendly neighborhood priest:

After a wipe, GET YOUR GODDAMN ASS BACK IN THE INSTANCE AND WITHIN RANGE SO I CAN FUCKING BUFF YOUR LAZY ASS AND HAVE TIME TO GET MY MANA BACK UP BEFORE THE GODDAMN PULL.

In case you weren’t aware, buffs cost a fuckton of mana now. Even glyphed so that Fortitude only costs an arm instead of an arm and a leg, it’s over a quarter of my mana to get shadow protection and fort out to the raid. And no, you can’t get the “cheap” buff. They took it away. I buff everyone or I buff no one.

The range on buffs also seems to have been decreased. If you are not in range of me (40 yards and LoS to be on the safe side) there is a chance you aren’t going to get my buffs.

I understand that you may have the bladder the size of a grape, but if you are going to step away from the keyboard, at least have the courtesy of getting back in the instance (or accepting the res) and getting within range of your party so that the rest of us can buff up and eat to be ready to pull when you saunter back.

Have a nice day!