Hamfist or Bust

[Maube]

Alright... after being bombarded with whispers and messages and all that good stuph... decided time to test the waters.

After chatting with Gord/Perthes/Jasena raid ideas... they apparently nominated me to brush off the Hamfist and get you slackjawed daffodils in shape ::grin:: SO I am bringing my Misfit group and Shelah's explorers a 25 man opportunity. Looking to raid Mon/Wed like the normal Misfit run (and maybe a Friday/Sunday for our Misfit 10man because I do want to see us take down Sarth+ and Maly)

So if you are interested - let me know ingame - or on here - just keep in mind... I will be anal about the raid... so you better be prepared to work for your loot - IE Flasks/Elixirs/Food buffs etc. And you better be ontime and reliable! I start ON TIME =p if you have never raided with me leading... and most of you have... remember I try to be fair but if you push my buttons... I am not a nice person =D

Disclaimer over... yeah... we are 'specially looking for tankys atm

[Kieranna]

*Bows*

Saeph and Kieranna at your service

[Gordantell]

Gordantell signing up.

I just want to add something for anyone coming from the sunday run:

This is Maube's run, no one from Sunday will be in any kind of raid leader roll, we are just participants. Again, Maubes raid.

-Gordantell

[Maube]

::grins at Gord:: Yeah.. already explained I dont play well with other raid leaders =D I had BAD experiences with 'collaborative' raids when I first started MC - and I believe that too many cooks spoil the soup! HOWEVER - the Sunday raid does have some leeway - meaning I still have plenty of spots if you folks want to extend to 25man. If you can only make one day - just let me know and things can be fiddled with roster wise. My goal is to have fun and see content at a relaxed pace. I am not a hardcore BUT I expect results =)

[Qiris]

Yeah I'm interested. I know Tain would be but his schedule is nuts what with travel. And I'll poke Gleirr, I know he wants to raid but I'm not sure he's checked out the CS web site yet. He's also got a pally that's ret at the moment but I think he's spec'd pretty much everything at this point.

[Maube]

Well I would wager when Tain is out of town we can find a fill in DPS. Gleirr has already been confirmed - Right now I'd like another OT and we NEED a druid =p

Oh and for the current Misfits... No I am not looking for 4 nights a week of raiding... this raid will take over the 10man raiding days/times... BUT I'd like to add a day (even occasionally) for our 10man group to continue working together for Ulduar

So far... I have

Tanks:

Wenvalor

Lomar

Saephere

Healers:

Bokus

Lesedi

Guilozak (havent confirmed but is a Misfit)

Light (Havent confirmed but is a Misfit)

Jasena

DPS:

Maube

Marrania

Xiris (cant make Wednesdays)

Tainish

Kazragerg

Scryll (Havent confirmed but is a Misfit)

Rakin

Vierendelen

Gordantell

Mali (Havent confirmed but is a Misfit)(usually swaps out with Xiris)

A mage friend of Spleen who hasnt been named yet =p

Kimberely

Mogbertha

Deathknight friend of Jasena whom I cant remember the name atm

As you can see - the roster is pretty full right now... so get your interest in!

Edited April 4, 2009 by Maube

[Qiris]

Actually Tain might prefer to bring Hainish, his DK, who is melee. He's traveling today so I can't reach him. Stay tuned tomorrow.

[Waldonnis]

Three tanks should be fine. A resto druid would be fantastic, though, especially for Malygos...but a moonkin would be great too

As we discussed, six healers should be fine...and as long as we have two priests of any spec, we're set on hard class requirements for all of the fights (two priests are semi-required for Raz; there are other ways to do it with one, but those ways are a pain). Above six healers, adding either another damage dealer or healer offers equal gain....but if we need Adranna, I'm game.

In the current Misfits raid, I'll be slowly working with Wen and having her main tank more of the fights to prepare for the transition (familiarity and comfort are huge). I'm a believer in spreading the tanking duties around (and thus the knowledge/comfort). Also, I'll be doing some shuffling on Razuvious to give our current priests a chance to learn the mind control part...may as well get used to doing it now. I recommend the same to other 10-man raid participants.

For those that are interested, start working together sooner rather than later. Party up with each other and run some heroics to get used to working together, as well as work on any remaining gear that you'd like out of them (particularly help the tanks if they need anything). Also, start getting the stuff together for frost resist gear if you don't have it. It's very helpful for learning Sapphiron, and much better to have it ready than scramble at the last minute. I can make every piece of frost resist for any armour type, so feel free to poke me for the crafting part.

When it comes to replacements for the Misfits raid, I'll start pulling exclusively from the list of folks that are interested in the 25-man to get more people familiar with the entire instance and spread the 10-man gear around. Side-note, I'm very proud of our current 10-man raiders for their first one-night clearing of Naxx. You all did so well Given how well we've done, I have full confidence that we'll be clearing heroic Naxx in no time!

Oh, also, I'll happily provide info to anyone in Shelah's run on how we handle fights. I've already talked extensively with Saeph and Perthes in the past to give them some tips, but I'm available to anyone who wants more info. Some of fights do change in 25-man, so if you need info on those things as well, just let me know.

[Maube]

::grins:: As always my second in command V is so helpful and wise!

[Perthes]

From what I saw on Gord's post here in the wartent regarding the initial plan.. Forgarr, Morgh and Fringa was interested in a 25 man group. Might have to talk to them to see if they are up for it

[Kazragerg]

You can count me in!

Kaz (and Rimefang!)

[Scryll]

I'm sorry Maube, but I won't be attending. 4 raiding nights a week burns me out.

[Perthes]

Oh how could I forget.. Shelah is also interested.

He has had lots of work in his RL that he is taking care of so he prolly has not had a chance to see your post yet.

[Maube]

Scryll... did you fail to see this raid will be taking over the Misfit time slot? I just wanted to add a third day (not two days) for our 10man so we are ready for Ulduar... even every other week is an option =p

[Forgarr]

I'm interested in the Friday/Sunday 10man. However, Fridays I can log on around 8 or 8:30, and Sunday I would be able to log on around 7 or 7:30.

[Maube]

Well looks like we are a go for Monday - might need to fill in a DPS or two but I am sure we can finagle that =)

As for a friday/sunday run - wasnt planning to start one =) just asking the current 10man who are giving up their raid so we can raid on Monday/Wed to see if they want to continue ONE of those days (preferably Friday for me because once Ulduar comes out I will prolly be indisposed Sunday nights) just to work on Ulduar 10man and Malygos.

So please get your equipment enchanted adn gemmed and get those flasks and foodbuffs made... I will be keeping track and if you consistantly hurt the raid by not using said items - then your spot might not be yours anymore. If you need help obtaining said items - just ask. I know of many elixir masters who can help - and even trade services for flasks!

[Scryll]

I'll give the 25 man a shot, but am concerned about being able to pull my weight in a 25-man with such a latency-sensitive class like a rogue. I know that Scryll wasn't able to perform to my minimum expectations in BC in that environment.

I am very much interested in continuing with the 10-man. I like the 10-man, and honestly prefer the smaller group. I'd hoped we'd be taking it to Ulduar with 3.1, since we've killed KT, we're working out Sarth+drakes, and should probably be able to take Malygos down in another night's worth of attempts.

[Perthes]

Maube.. what kinda loot rules will you be using?

[Maube]

We will not be using DKP - mainly because I feel it to be a hassle and just plain annoying.

What we ARE going to do is similar to how my 25man in BC worked - First timers (save our first day) dont have a shot UNLESS no one else wants it or it is for offspec... but to make looting quicker...

If it is an Upgrade - Roll 100

If it is an offspec/sidegrade or your first time with us - Roll 50

I was considering making the lowest number win... but unfortunatly it would make loot take longer for the offspec/first timer clause.

HOWEVER - I ask that people do not become greedy. I ask that folks only roll on ONE piece of loot a night UNLESS no one else wants it. We want to spread the loot around - also consider talking with the other folks who are in your loot bracket to find out what is a bigger upgrade in advance. I will not accept 'Hot Shots' as this raid is a group of adults who just want to enjoy themselves - we work better as 25 then we do as each individual =)

Edited April 7, 2009 by Maube

[Waldonnis]

FYI, I quickly jotted down the differences tonight between 10- and 25-man from a tanking perspective, but it's too rough to post quite yet. I'll be going over them tomorrow with my raid, but will make a point to catch Saephere with them as well. We're also likely going to do things differently than many of you are used to, so don't be surprised when you hear directions that differ from how you've been doing them in 10-man. Some are just different (and often just make things a touch easier or more direct), but some also take the 25-man differences into account that you haven't had to deal with before.

If the healers want a low-down as well, feel free to shoot me a whisper and I'd be happy to go over the big changes from their perspective as well. Overall healing-wise, though, just think "bosses hit harder" and that sums up most of it

One other thing just to note: we do plan on skipping as much trash as possible to keep the time/deaths down. You'll get the hang of it in no time, I'm sure and it will help us in working towards the goal of a one-night clear We also will likely continue to pull while loot is being rolled on, so be ready for a quick pace.

I can't speak for Maube on this one, but I personally think that achievement-seeking needs to take a back-seat to getting through the place completely in a night and getting more gear spread around...put any achievement desires on the back burner until we're farming Kel'Thuzad. We can always come back later anyway and get those done with Ulduar gear if enough people are interested at worst case

[Maube]

Indeed Waldy - I am not here for achievements - I am here to play a game I love with friends and see some folks get purpled out =) *IF* we get achievements on our way - great - but this isnt the raid to expect to get them (Of course Safety Dance should be a given... since no one should die on it anyway!)

[Waldonnis]

We did very well on Monday and actually better than I expected! Great job, everyone That being said, get your add-ons squared away and consumables ready for tonight's adventure before start time so we can launch our assault on-time.

A few notes and observations from last week:

• I fail at logging, so no WWS/WMO for the Monday run. Sorry about that, but I've got it fixed this time around.
  
• For the folks that weren't in my 10-man, it's VERY likely that we do things a little differently than you are used to on some of the bosses (and there will be differences still even for the people that were in the 10-man). Suggestions should be made in whispers, if possible, as mentioning how other raids did it in the past over TS just adds confusion 9 times out of 10. It's not that we don't value your opinion, we're just trying to keep everyone on the same page.
  
• Also on the strategy note, it's likely that we're going to pick certain tactics for fights that lead to wipes. Wipes happen and sometimes we just need to all get used to a certain strategy before tossing it in the "bad idea" can. Not every first attempt will be a kill and there are times where we need to measure if our raid is capable of doing things in certain ways at different gearing levels.
  
• There are some subtle differences that we may forget to cover between what you're used to on 10-man and what we see in 25. Anub's damage output and increased swarm range are just two examples of this. Just do your best to adapt to some of these when they come up.
  
• There are going to be nights or times when Maube has to step away for baby duty. During those times, I'll be taking the reins temporarily. My leadership style is quite different than hers, so expect a different tenor during those times....but we both have agreed upon the same direction and strategies, so nothing will change in that regard.
  
• Don't goof and go with another raid on Tuesdays (or Thursdays, depending on if you attend both nights)! We had to swap out a few people this past week due to raid ID conflicts from people attending the Tuesday raid as a replacement. With the release of Ulduar, this should be less of a problem within the guild raids, but it's something to watch out for. If you're unsure about how raid IDs work and when resets happen, feel free to contact me outside of the raid and I can explain the whole system. For now, we're focusing on Naxx, but we will likely expand the scope to include Sartharion as well before long.
  

In general, though, don't think of any of the above as serious criticism....think of them more as "just things to note". In all, everyone did a really great job and I was quite happy with how well everyone adapted and was working together. From talking with a few on Tuesday after the patch, I'm hoping to see some improvements as well simply from some of the new spec options available for some of the classes (many were pretty happy, although we fury warriors seem to be a grumpy bunch).

Oh, one other note, start working on getting your frost resist pieces crafted if you don't have them made yet. At the pace we're going, I wouldn't doubt that we'll be starting on Sapphiron before long and it's better to be prepared in advance than scramble at the last minute. I can personally make every armour type's frost resist pieces, but there are several others in the raid that can handle requests as well. Don't be shy about asking any of us for our crafting expertise. Many have probably read that frost resist isn't really necessary on Sapphiron, which is true...for an experienced and geared raid...but it makes it MUCH MUCH easier when a raid's still learning the fight and not quite at a super-high gearing level. In short, get it made, including the tanks (only the person tanking Sapphiron doesn't use any frost resist, but you're all just as likely to not be tanking him on any given week). Time allowing, help each other out in gathering materials for this as well (miners help non-miners with saronite, skinners with leather, etc). Every piece of frost resist crafted helps the whole raid, so helping each other out has the same benefit

Edited April 15, 2009 by Waldonnis

[Perthes]

help each other out in gathering materials for this as well (miners help non-miners with saronite, skinners with leather, etc)

With Perthes I can help to make the Leather and Mail frost resistant items.

I can also help gather the skinning materials.

With Rakin sadly i can help out with just mining, for now that is. I will see what I can do to gather some saronite for us.

[Kieranna]

Indeed. Kieranna can help gather the leather materials and she can make the Mail and Leather frost resist gear. Saephere can help gather the saronite (she actually currently has a nice stock of it already.)

Happy to help anyone who needs it.

[Waldonnis]

Well, looking over the roster for tonight, it looks like around a quarter of the raid cannot make it tonight which is too much to replace this close to reset. Sadly, I'm going to have to cancel the run tonight. We've had a string of sudden cancellations which is no one's fault really (stuff comes up, that can't be avoided)...it'll pass.

A note: Please try to at least respond to the calendar invite in advance. Looking at Wednesday's invites (two days from now!), I still have seven people that haven't responded, making it impossible to line up replacements in advance (or even know if I need them to begin with).