BLURB INC AFTER RAID

With Dragon Soul finally released, the guild moved quickly to bring down Deathwing the Destroyer on live. It was a little more trial and error than the PTR 10 man version, but at the end of the day, the encounter was defeated and Dragon Soul 25 man normal mode was clear. As far as I am aware, this kill makes Mannoroth Horde's first 25 man kill. Risk had already downed it on 10 man previously, so great job to them as well. Nice to see Horde on the warpath early. Lok'tar O'gar!

Deathwing the Destroyer has been defeated! Yes, I understand that it's "only PTR" and "only 10 man" but still, it's Deathwing and he's dead! It's something to celebrate in these annoying times of trying to push Heroic Ragnaros and wait for 4.3 to drop. A few personal comments on this fight. Firstly, it's pretty fun - leaping from platforms and fighting a boss who gets more difficult the further into the fight you get. The difficulty tuning seems very solid - it's hard, but overcome with proper CD usage and practice. As you can see from the screenshot clock, we were up until the next morning working on it. Good times. On Dragon Soul overall, I think the early bosses are very easy (intended?) and the dual-Deathwing bosses tipped the other direction. The only downside to this kill? Getting drops that no one could use. Doh!

It might take a day or so for editing purposes, but there exists great video footage of this kill from our very own Mithyn. The current goal is to add that video as an embedded movie on this news blurb, so check back soon!

Edit: Video Added

All things go to those who wait, and I think Refined has been waiting for quite a while to get his Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest created...but no more! The guild unleashed its latest Legendary DPSer Thursday before moving on to the PTR realms to work on Dragon Soul, appropriate considering the dragon's soul in the staff. Grats Refined!

With the Dragon Soul patch looming on the horizon, the guild was able to squeeze in another Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest before the final bell. Fhrixus' wait has been a long one, but the time has come for him to put that staff to work! Congrats to you Fhrixus, you have been patient and as deserving as can possibly be - you make us proud! Our hopes are to get Refined's staff done before Deathwing's arrival, but it will be very close. The race is on!

It gives me great pleasure to report to one and all that Tarecgosa has returned to Orgrimmar! This time in the hands of Gimmedaloot! The guild's second Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest has finally been created, and like with Zavri before him, it was a day to remember. Three cheers for Gimme! Next up is Fhrixus, followed by Refined, so keep your eyes open for the Blue Dragonflight!

The "Hotfixes" of Firelands have arrived on servers this week, and suffice to say, they have made the dungeon considerably easier to progress through. A number of the bosses feel as if they practically fall over (even on 25 Heroic), and the most time consuming portion of the week's evenings have been on loot distribution. While the guild isn't exactly thrilled at the progression on "nerfed" bosses, it is nice to be moving again after the events of recent weeks nearly caused a downgrade of the guild to 10 man status.

My hat goes off to the members who have held strong through all of the uncertainly, random transfers of guildmates and week of double 10 man raiding - we have made it through this rough patch and are now poised to move forward again. (NOTE: In our rush, we forgot to get a nice Alysrazor picture, something I will correct in the next week).

Majordomo Staghelm 25 Heroic Drops:
Shoulders of the Fiery Protector x2
Shoulders of the Fiery Vanquisher
Flowform Choker x2
Sandals of Leaping Coals x2
Grips of Unerring Precision
Treads of the Penitent Man

Baleroc 25 Heroic Drops:
Gauntlets of the Fiery Protector x2
Gauntlets of the Fiery Vanquisher
Necromantic Focus x2
Gatekeeper's Embrace
Helm of Blazing Glory
Mantle of Closed Doors
Shard of Torment

Alysrazor 25 Heroic Drops:
Chest of the Fiery Vanquisher x2
Chest of the Fiery Conqueror
Greathelm of the Voracious Maw x3
Craterflame Spaulders
Moltenfeather Leggings
Eye of Blazing Power

It's has been a while in coming, but at last the guild has FINALLY completed it's first Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest!!! A very HUGE congrats to both Zavri for his new staff (mad deeps inc?) and to the guild as a whole for getting the first one on Mannoroth! I've included a couple of images from the event in Orgrimmar below for your viewing pleasure. Next on deck, Gimmedaloot!

As someone who has been with World of Warcraft since the beginning, I can say it's not very often that I'm able to confess to being completely blown away by much concerning the game these days. Bosses die, players collect gear, guilds rise and fall, players come and go. But, every once in a while, something happens that can surprise even an old timer like me - and tonight was most definitely one of those times. The guild has been working on Heroic Beth'tilac for a number of days now. After almost four hours of wipes tonight, after multiple near misses (22%, 20%, 15%, 2%), a healer leaves and no replacement is online. Deciding to give it one last try before calling it quits, the raid pulled it together and defeated Heroic Beth'tilac 25 - short both a healer and a raid slot.

As I sit here and type this message, I am not sure if I've ever been more proud of, or more inspired by any raid group that this guild has ever put together. The dedication to the guild, and to progression - even in the face of extreme adversity, is astounding. In a time when many guilds are struggling for members, or reducing their raid groups to 10 man, we remain capable of pushing into new territory. To all the members who make this guild what it is today, you are amazing.

Beth'tilac 24 Heroic Drops:
Spidersilk Spindle x4
Zoids Firelit Greatsword
Spaulders of Manifold Eyes

So, admittedly it's been a little while since our last boss kill update. But...the wait is finally over! After tweaking our strat over portions of both last week and this week, the problems have been ironed out and Heroic Lord Rhyolith 25 was given the boot, er boots. yeah. I'd like to take the opportunity to give my thanks to the members, new and old. You guys have worked really hard to make the guild what it is, and I couldn't be prouder - you're the reason why I keep at it as strongly as I do. Here's to another boss defeated, and to all the bosses who are still out there waiting. /Salute!

Lord Rhyolith 25 Heroic Drops:
Fireskin Gauntlets
Dreadfire Drape
Arbalest of Erupting Fury
Flickering Cowl (of the Flameblaze)
Volcanospike
Earthcrack Bracers

A new raid week has arrived, and the guild has yet another new dead boss to report. This time it's Heroic Shannox 25! It took a bit of work to coordinate the various dogs, traps and boss movements, etc... but everyone's hard work paid off and earned the guild it's first Firelands Heroic kill (Horde side first!) AND it's previous slot back as the undisputed furthest progressed Horde guild. Great job all!

In our haste to try and push more progression, we forgot to take a screenshot of Heroic Shannox being dead. In the below picture, you can see me mousing over the heroic leg tokens in my bag as proof that the kill did in fact happen. I'll get a nice boss face picture next week for the site.

Shannox 25 Heroic Drops:
Leggings of the Fiery Protector x3
Bracers of the Dread Hunter
Crystal Prison Band
Goblet of Anger
Treads of Implicit Obedience
Legplates of Frenzied Devotion
Uncrushable Belt of Fury
Crystallized Firestone

With all of the other trash mobs and bosses defeated, only Ragnaros remained to challenge the guild in Firelands 25 normal mode. Maneuvering meteors around with more than double the previous number of bodies proved tricky at first, but things quickly came into line and the boss was defeated. A very big congrats to everyone for working hard to stay on top of the 25 man progression bracket for Horde side. Now comes the even more difficult task of converting the bosses up to Heroic 25 mode. Get your repair gold ready!

Ragnaros 25 Drops:
Helm of the Fiery Protector
Helm of the Fiery Vanquisher x2
Crown of Flame
Sho'ravon, Greatstaff of Annihilation
Vessel of Acceleration
Sulfuras, The Extinguished Hand
Variable Pulse Lightning Capacitor

In an attempt that proved to be a 'close-call' rival to the guild's Alysrazor kill, Majordomo Staghelm was upgraded to 25 man difficulty. There had been several near miss attempts (3% wipe FTL) and many heartbreaking mishaps, but overall the fight was done really well and the guild even had time for a teaser attempt at Ragnaros 25 man.

Majordomo Staghelm 25 Drops:
Mantle of the Fiery Conqueror x2
Mantle of the Fiery Vanquisher
Sandals of Leaping Coals
Stinger of the Flaming Scorpion
Bracers of the Fiery Path
Grips of Unerring Precision
Jaws of Defeat

Having ironed out some of the rocky patches of this fight on the 10 man version last week (following our normally scheduled raids), the guild entered Firelands confident that the boss could be upgraded to 25 man pretty quickly. Initial attempts looked very strong and it wasn't long until the guild was pushing into a kill range. The actual kill attempt was going extremely well until the second cycle of Hatchlings/Tornados when problems arose and things turned sour with great rapidity. The raid held out as long as it could, but ultimately it was our flying group that saved the day and killed Alysrazor when all was lost on the ground level. That said, Special news blurb mention goes to Fhrixus, Dashy and Braids. You make us all proud!

Alysrazor 25 Drops:
Eye of Blazing Power
Greathelm of the Voracious Maw
Leggings of Billowing Fire
Smoldering Censer of Purity
Wings of Flame

Another Firelands raid and another boss has been defeated, this time it was Baleroc. The gatekeeper did slow the raid down a bit, but sadly not as much as the fucking useless accidental trash pulls... At any rate, this kill puts the guild at 4/7 in Firelands normal mode and (to my knowledge as of this writing) still in first slot for furthest progressed Horde side 25 man guild. Alysrazor attempts still need a little work, but were improving as well. Keep up the hard work everyone!

Baleroc 25 Drops:
Gatecrasher
Glowing Wing Bracers
Helm of Blazing Glory
Mantle of Closed Doors
Molten Scream

The second night in Firelands turned out to be a pretty solid one, with two more bosses falling before the guild. Both Beth'tilac and Lord Rhyolith were killed. Some time was also spent on Alysrazor, but the guild decided that further study on an individual level was required and moved to Rhyolith instead for the time being. The night was tense at times, but overall everyone held together well and got some new kills in there.

Beth'tilac 25 Drops:
Carapace of Imbibed Flame
Funeral Pyre
Mandible of Beth'tilac
Spaulders of Manifold Eyes
Spidersilk Spindle

Lord Rhyolith 25 Drops:
Hood of Rampant Disdain
Incendic Chestguard
Heartstone of Rhyolith

At long last patch 4.2 has arrived with a new raid dungeon for the guild to sink its teeth into. First up was the Hunter style boss Shannox. While there was some controversy as to whether or not the taunt immunity of the boss and his dogs was intended or a bug, the guild decided that the challenge was not insurmountable in either case, and thus pressed on. Some time was lost on trash sorting out how to summon Shannox and then having to back track to an appropriate area to fight him, but overall a kill on the first night (one of only 2 that I'm aware of Horde side as of this writing) is still a welcome occurance.

Shannox 25 Drops:
Crystal Prison Band x2
Legplates of Frenzied Devotion
Uncrushable Belt of Fury
Flickering Shoulderpads (of the Feverflare)

The path to defeating the Heroic version of 25 Omnitron Defense System was not an easy one for the guild - I'm certain many a hairs were pulled from aggitated heads over stupid wipes, horrible luck on abilities and the like. Still, the guild held strong and pressed onward, even taking the end of last week to do the encounter on 10 man Heroic to test some new theories, which proved to be part of the key to this fight for us. It's great to see that the looming patch and the upcoming new instance haven't stopped the guild from wanting to push progression as hard as possible. Cheers!

Omnitron Defense System 25 HM Drops:
Electron Inductor Coils x2
Passive Resistor Spaulders x2
Lightning Conductor Band
Circuit Design Breastplate

After a bit of stressful work on the drakes both Thursday and Tuesday, the guild was able to slot in another healer and fix some minor positioning issues to get the Theralion/Valiona Heroic 25 kill. A wonderful job by all to help keep the guild on top of the server Horde side 25 man. The race is on to get as many Heroic bosses down before patch 4.2 - keep it up guys!

Theralion/Valiona 25 HM Drops:
Daybreaker Helm x2
Helm of Eldritch Authority x2
Valiona's Medallion
Dragonheart Piercer

Following quickly on the heels of Maloriak 25 Heroic, the guild resumed work on Heroic Conclave of Wind 25 player. It was a grueling trial of many wipes from (usually minor) individual errors, but everyone held strong and saw it through to the end. Long story short, the guild was finally able to drop the boss, taking over the position of furthest progressed Horde side 25 man guild. Additionally, the kill was (to my knowledge) the Horde first kill of Heroic Conclave on either 10 or 25 player. The strength gained from the perseverence through troubled times is really starting to show. /Salute all!

**You'll notice that the screenshot shows Rohash and not Nezir as the targetted dead boss. As the kill was made almost at the end of raid, we were in a rush to try to fit in another boss and all were headed to the next dungeon. We had to run back to get the picture and Nezir had despawned, We still got a decent screenshot however, with both a boss shown and a hover of one of the drops as additional proof.**

Conclave of Wind 25 HM Drops:
Star Chaser Belt (of the Windstorm) x2
Lightning Well Belt (of the Wavecrest)
Wind Stalker Belt (of the Windflurry)
Soul Breath Belt (of the Undertow)
Planetary Band (of the Feverflare)

So it's been a little while since our last update. The loss of one of our main tanks and a primary healer (and only Disc Priest) put a hurting on the guild and forced a short period of rebuilding. Still, everyone held fast and worked hard to minimize the downtime. I fully believe the hardship will make us more robust and organized, having overcome such unexpected issues. Great job everyone!

Maloriak 25 HM Drops:
Leggings of the Forlorn Vanquisher
Leggings of the Forlorn Protector x2
Flash Freeze Gauntlets x2
Belt of Arcane Storms
Aberration's Leggings
Cloak of Biting Chill
Tunic of Failed Experiments

With Magmaw and his heroic mode skeletal minions put to rest, the guild moved quickly to down Atramedes 25 Heroic. Cleaning up issues with excessive sound went a long way and solid attempts led to a fast kill of this boss. A very big congrats to all on getting our fourth 25 man heroic boss down and also (as of this writing) pushing the guild up to be tied with Clan Beard for furthest progressed 25 man heroic guild on Horde side! Keep up the great work guys!

Atramedes 25 HM Drops:
Kingdom's Heart x3
Sark of the Unwatched
Themios the Darkbringer
Boots of Vertigo

Following some initial work on Atramedes 25 Heroic, the guild shifted gears and set to work on Heroic Magmaw on 25 player instead. A refocusing of DPS and the addition of another tank won the day and gave the guild (as far as I can tell from the sites available) Mannoroth's first Horde side 25 man Heroic kill of Magmaw. Best of all? The boss was essentially done 24 man, as a healer fell off the cliff on the pull. Sacrifices kill bosses!

Magmaw 25 HM Drops:
Gauntlets of the Forlorn Protector x2
Gauntlets of the Forlorn Conqueror
Akirus the Worm-Breaker x2
Flame Pillar Leggings
Leggings of Lethal Force
Lifecycle Waistguard
Incineratus