Kalecgos
Posted by Blackjac - on October 7th, 2008 @ 21:11 PDT
Illidan Stormrage the Musical (Illybeans) - A review and synopsis
Posted by pete - on August 3rd, 2008 @ 23:34 PDT
Set in the picturesque surround of Shadowmoon Valley, and currently playing at the Repeat Offender - Exciting Museum of Operatic Orations (RO-EMoOO), this stage extravaganza has it all. Actors of calibre, frustration, depression, emo, drama, tension and a feel good ending to rival “Mamma Mia”. Illybean is the Repeat Offender Fighters and Linedancers (ROFL) stage company’s first musical.
Illidan (Illybean) the Musical consists of Five Acts with the performers having to overlap and repeat Acts 3 and 4 in a flip flop alternating manner reminisce of “Scaramoush scaramoush do you do the Fandango…..” first seen in the rock opera “Bohemian Rhapsody”.
ACT I – “It’s all you baby!” : A lonely boy tank (Alchazar the fair) follows a crazy old broken dude into a Demon Lord’s private study. The Demon proceeds to yell obscenities and beat on the boy tank. Alchazar must block and position Illybean so that his allies (wtf did they come from? Isn’t he lonely?) can beat on Illybean. The lonely boy tank showed depth of emotion, determination and skill in playing this most demanding role.
ACT II – “Dance of the Determined Dorks” : A challenging and difficult dance number with the whole scene succeeding or failing on the backs of 2 characters. The 2 dorks are masterfully played by Blackjac the Seething, and Fennel the Obsessed. I hear that the rehearsal sessions were a cauldron of hilarity as they learnt the steps for this ACT while the rest of the cast patiently endured……and repaired..
ACT III / ACT IV – “Where parasites and demons fear to tread” : Alternating scenes of movement and control characterize the middle of the show. Deathwish Wancey plays the role of the Little Engine that could, subjecting himself to the wrath of Illidan. Geterdun the Silent and Riddcruel the Anxious were masterful in portraying the Gleeful (Mardi Gras hopefuls?) high kicking exterminators.
ACT V – “Trap? What trap?" : The final crescendo culminated in most of the cast and audience wondering if the curtain had fallen. The immortal lines of “Demon phase, DEMON PHASE….oh wait..he’s dead! Wooooot” will be forever etched in the memories of those at the opening night.
Overall, it was a stellar show that had it all. ROFL stage company’s debut musical production was masterful and a testament to the hard work and dedication of its cast members and crew. I award it 10/10.
Curtain call for Illybeans!!
EXCLUSIVE bonus behind the scenes look at the ROFL stage company:
For those new to the Musical scene, ROFL stage company has been an actors guild steeped in history and time. First created pre-BC, it has stood the test of time. I think it is time to take a look behind what makes ROFL tick and get to know the driving forces that have created, maintained and stuck through the vagaries of showbusiness.
1. Blackjac the Seething
a. Title – Supreme commander of ROFL.
b. History - Affectionately known as “BJ”, Blackjac started life as a PVP rogue. Having lost his voice from continuos screaming at the incompetent alliance, he decided a change of scenery was in order. He has morphed from a NE holy priest who then turned to the dark side. A dwarf priest was created and levelled purely for fear ward, eventually culminating in the creation of “Blackjac” because our MT’s were flaky and mentally unstable.
c. Characteristics – The best raid leader I’ve ever reviewed. Calm and for the most part reassuring. He has been at every boss kill and raid since BC. Prone to the occasional monologue, he runs with 97 addons and know the damage, heal and threat coefficient of every buff/debuff and stat in the game. Has a calculator by his mouse.
2. Vippy the Holy
a. Title – Dear Vippy……Guild drama Soak and MT
b. History – Created a human priest pre-BC because she looked pretty. Levelled from 1-60 as Holy. Has tried shadow, but unable to clearly see the dress while in shadow form. Is still Holy!
c. Characteristics – The healer’s healer. Not interested in meters as long as the tank and raid stay alive. Fiercely protective over her healers and will defend them against "doh... what's up with the healing?" comments. Will constantly have a mailbox full of “Dear Vippy…letters” from people who need a social counsellor. Needs a bigger friends list and knows everyone on Uldum. Has a notebook (paper) by her mouse.
3. Autumnsnight the Tense
a. Title – Jack of all trades
b. History – began life doing PVP on a PVP realm which explains his cloudy disposition. Levelled a resto shaman as “we lacked healers”. Levelled a Warlock as “our warlocks suck”. Levelled a warrior tank as “our warriors suck”.
c. Characteristics - Has been at almost every raid since BC and every boss kill. Occasionally irrational but has a heart of gold. Will level any character, anytime if the guild needs it. Able and willing to fill a raid spot with any class depending on need. Puts the guild’s needs before his own. Has a jar of valium by his mouse. Needs something stronger IMO.
4. Geterdun the Silent
a. Title - The quiet achiever
b. History – despite beginning life as a PVP pally, has maintained his cool demeanour. Has been a stalwart of ROFL from the beginning.
c. Characteristics - Cool calm and collected. Likes to take a day off for RL...which is usually the day we get a first boss kill. Looks after his mages and believes the hit cap is something to keep your head warm. Cools the beer by his mouse by putting on his sunglasses (Oh sooo cool).
Special mention to the officers who joined RO later, but have proven to be the core and foundation of the guild. These are the people who’s hard work and dedication have brought ROFL through school plays, pantomines and local productions (SSC,TK) to the international stage (MH, BT), culminating in Illybeans. Many others have come and gone, but the core remains the same.
1. Fennel the Obsessed (affectionately known as Momma Bear).
2. Bodystasher the Late
3. Amlaruil the Enraged
4. Piphitter the Stoned
As the sun sets on the production set, we reflect on the journey so far and look to the journey ahead. RO has come a long way and we salute all the members, raiders and crew that have perservered, joined and made it a pleasure to be part of the RO family. You have all contributed to the success so far and will be the foundation of the successes to come. Keep the game fun, keep the social interactions light, be good to your mum.
5/5 Mount Hyjal, 9/9 Black Temple …… Nuff said!
Encore from Illybean:
Autumsnight - Chestguard of the forgotten Protector
Pipehitter - Chestguard of the forgotten vanquisher
Bodystasher - Chestguard of the forgotten Vanquisher
Geterdun - Skull of Guldan
Royaljesta - Black bow of the Betrayer
Illidan (Illybean) the Musical consists of Five Acts with the performers having to overlap and repeat Acts 3 and 4 in a flip flop alternating manner reminisce of “Scaramoush scaramoush do you do the Fandango…..” first seen in the rock opera “Bohemian Rhapsody”.
ACT I – “It’s all you baby!” : A lonely boy tank (Alchazar the fair) follows a crazy old broken dude into a Demon Lord’s private study. The Demon proceeds to yell obscenities and beat on the boy tank. Alchazar must block and position Illybean so that his allies (wtf did they come from? Isn’t he lonely?) can beat on Illybean. The lonely boy tank showed depth of emotion, determination and skill in playing this most demanding role.
ACT II – “Dance of the Determined Dorks” : A challenging and difficult dance number with the whole scene succeeding or failing on the backs of 2 characters. The 2 dorks are masterfully played by Blackjac the Seething, and Fennel the Obsessed. I hear that the rehearsal sessions were a cauldron of hilarity as they learnt the steps for this ACT while the rest of the cast patiently endured……and repaired..
ACT III / ACT IV – “Where parasites and demons fear to tread” : Alternating scenes of movement and control characterize the middle of the show. Deathwish Wancey plays the role of the Little Engine that could, subjecting himself to the wrath of Illidan. Geterdun the Silent and Riddcruel the Anxious were masterful in portraying the Gleeful (Mardi Gras hopefuls?) high kicking exterminators.
ACT V – “Trap? What trap?" : The final crescendo culminated in most of the cast and audience wondering if the curtain had fallen. The immortal lines of “Demon phase, DEMON PHASE….oh wait..he’s dead! Wooooot” will be forever etched in the memories of those at the opening night.
Overall, it was a stellar show that had it all. ROFL stage company’s debut musical production was masterful and a testament to the hard work and dedication of its cast members and crew. I award it 10/10.
Curtain call for Illybeans!!
EXCLUSIVE bonus behind the scenes look at the ROFL stage company:
For those new to the Musical scene, ROFL stage company has been an actors guild steeped in history and time. First created pre-BC, it has stood the test of time. I think it is time to take a look behind what makes ROFL tick and get to know the driving forces that have created, maintained and stuck through the vagaries of showbusiness.
1. Blackjac the Seething
a. Title – Supreme commander of ROFL.
b. History - Affectionately known as “BJ”, Blackjac started life as a PVP rogue. Having lost his voice from continuos screaming at the incompetent alliance, he decided a change of scenery was in order. He has morphed from a NE holy priest who then turned to the dark side. A dwarf priest was created and levelled purely for fear ward, eventually culminating in the creation of “Blackjac” because our MT’s were flaky and mentally unstable.
c. Characteristics – The best raid leader I’ve ever reviewed. Calm and for the most part reassuring. He has been at every boss kill and raid since BC. Prone to the occasional monologue, he runs with 97 addons and know the damage, heal and threat coefficient of every buff/debuff and stat in the game. Has a calculator by his mouse.
2. Vippy the Holy
a. Title – Dear Vippy……Guild drama Soak and MT
b. History – Created a human priest pre-BC because she looked pretty. Levelled from 1-60 as Holy. Has tried shadow, but unable to clearly see the dress while in shadow form. Is still Holy!
c. Characteristics – The healer’s healer. Not interested in meters as long as the tank and raid stay alive. Fiercely protective over her healers and will defend them against "doh... what's up with the healing?" comments. Will constantly have a mailbox full of “Dear Vippy…letters” from people who need a social counsellor. Needs a bigger friends list and knows everyone on Uldum. Has a notebook (paper) by her mouse.
3. Autumnsnight the Tense
a. Title – Jack of all trades
b. History – began life doing PVP on a PVP realm which explains his cloudy disposition. Levelled a resto shaman as “we lacked healers”. Levelled a Warlock as “our warlocks suck”. Levelled a warrior tank as “our warriors suck”.
c. Characteristics - Has been at almost every raid since BC and every boss kill. Occasionally irrational but has a heart of gold. Will level any character, anytime if the guild needs it. Able and willing to fill a raid spot with any class depending on need. Puts the guild’s needs before his own. Has a jar of valium by his mouse. Needs something stronger IMO.
4. Geterdun the Silent
a. Title - The quiet achiever
b. History – despite beginning life as a PVP pally, has maintained his cool demeanour. Has been a stalwart of ROFL from the beginning.
c. Characteristics - Cool calm and collected. Likes to take a day off for RL...which is usually the day we get a first boss kill. Looks after his mages and believes the hit cap is something to keep your head warm. Cools the beer by his mouse by putting on his sunglasses (Oh sooo cool).
Special mention to the officers who joined RO later, but have proven to be the core and foundation of the guild. These are the people who’s hard work and dedication have brought ROFL through school plays, pantomines and local productions (SSC,TK) to the international stage (MH, BT), culminating in Illybeans. Many others have come and gone, but the core remains the same.
1. Fennel the Obsessed (affectionately known as Momma Bear).
2. Bodystasher the Late
3. Amlaruil the Enraged
4. Piphitter the Stoned
As the sun sets on the production set, we reflect on the journey so far and look to the journey ahead. RO has come a long way and we salute all the members, raiders and crew that have perservered, joined and made it a pleasure to be part of the RO family. You have all contributed to the success so far and will be the foundation of the successes to come. Keep the game fun, keep the social interactions light, be good to your mum.
5/5 Mount Hyjal, 9/9 Black Temple …… Nuff said!
Encore from Illybean:
Autumsnight - Chestguard of the forgotten Protector
Pipehitter - Chestguard of the forgotten vanquisher
Bodystasher - Chestguard of the forgotten Vanquisher
Geterdun - Skull of Guldan
Royaljesta - Black bow of the Betrayer
Illidari Council - Blinded by awesomeness!!!!
Posted by pete - on June 29th, 2008 @ 23:09 PDT
Having downed Mother Sharhaz for another week, the RO crew began their 3rd full attempt at the 4 Umbilical siblings. Sharing a total of 7 million hitpoints between them, this was one fight that required awesomeness on an unprecedented scale from the raiders of RO. This was a fight that many guilds were stuck on for many weeks due to the many different aspects required to be perfected by so many members of the raid. Any lapse and its another round of "Rez meh ass pls".
1. The pull - with a possible combined burst damage of over 30,000 dmg on the highest aggro person...... it would be a toon with a deathwish that chose to initiate the pull........ Wancey not included. So it was that Bronhaman's pet was chosen for the sacrificial pull...."Can't we just talk this through?"" uh..no....
2. The positioning - all 4 bosses tanked and positioned perfectly.... Good job Alchazar on picking up and getting the Pally to a far corner
3. Movement - Traditionally an RO strongpoint.....uhm...ok...maybe needed a bit of work. Moving out of the AoE yet keeping dps, heals and interupts going was probably the biggest hurdle, and yet, the crew did an awesome job
4. Where the f#@$ did the rogue go? - Typical rogue, vanishing and choosing a random member to inflict poison and dmg on.....Great job on picking him up and tanking by Blackjac. Kudo's to the rogue tank healer who had to be on their toes to keep the Rogues victim and BJ up at the same time.
5. Interupts - Rogues kicking heals , mages and shamans interupting heals when BoP is up....... what can I say.... just Awesome!!!! The 2 rogues where within 1 interupt of each other for the WHOLE fight.
6. Its just a freaking long fight!! - Mana issues, healing issues, concentration issues, movement issues, interupt issues..... all the focus and attention required over 14 minutes ...... all performed with ......AWESOMENESS!!!!!
7. Ability to adjust and think quickly - so many things can, and did happen that was just taken into stride by the RO crew. The best example is placing a soulstone on Vippy, which unfortunately she needed
When she popped back up, Innervated, healed and buffed quickly ... AND another soulstone went onto her immediately...which she...uhm... uhmm... needed again. She popped back up again (no rez timer? lol) and was at full health and mana again to be able to help take the council down..... COMBINED RO AWESOMENESS!!!! The council met for the last time.What was the purpose of the council? Why did Illidan need them? Well, as it turns out, I decided to go up and find out what the big lug was so concerned about. I came across a lovestruck Illybean wondering why his marriage proposals keep on failing.......
/target Illidan
/s ok Illybean...show me what you did.....
/sigh
/s Illybean mate....the pose is right, you do look kinda sincere, and I know it's what Demonlords do.....BUT....I think Fennel would prefer diamonds
From the depths of despair, to the heights of ecstasy...... RO take a bow....Illidan finally awaits!
Returned wedding gifts:
Santarias - Leggings of the Forgotten Conqueror
Autumnsnight - Leggings of the Forgotten Protector
Alchazar - Leggings of the Forgotten Protector
Elija - Helm of the Illidari Shatterer
Mother Shahraz - does my guild love me??
Posted by pete - on June 14th, 2008 @ 04:43 PDT
One day after taking out Reliquary of Souls.... the RO crew decided to venture deep into the bordello of Mother Shahraz. This is no ordinary fight. Strats are all well and good, but the fight itself is not that complicated. The randomness of the ports and huge damage potential to the tanks in an unlucky port add a level of excitement to the encounter, but...... this is not the aim of the fight.
This fight was designed to test a guilds resources....... and then destroy the resources and wealth as effectively as Ivana Trump on speed.
Consider this: 25 raiders.....with 24 of them all requiring at least 275 shadow resist unbuffed just to survive the fight. Every raider required a SR Cloak. belt, bracer, legs and boots. Every person was expected to provide 13 Primal Life and 18 Primal Shadows to complete the set, which almost everyone did - Collective farming at its finest......
The GUILD on the hand provided and average of : 9 Hearts of Darkness and 5 Void crystals to EACH raiding member to make the gear. Currently.. EACH Heart of Darkness is worth 700g, and each Void crystal is 30g.... (I checked the price today).
The Math: 24 raiders X 9 Heart of Darkness (700g each) + 24 raiders X 5 Void crystals (30g each) = This goddamn raid cost Repeat offender guild bank 154,800 Gold in hearts and voids. Bear in mind this excludes the cost of the Primals to the individual player, although we did make up some shortfall for some members of the raid (to be paid back......... )....... this 6 armed madame better be worth it.
This raid brought out the "Mother" in some of our more organised officers, with Vippy and Fennel standing outside Scryer bank making gear, providing hearts and making sure all raiders had their shirts tucked in before heading out to BT. They even brought a packed lunch of spare hearts and voids, just in case someone was missing a piece of gear........awwwwwwww......
The raid was in high spirits as they were led by a slightly giddy and high Blackjac, who ventured into the bordello with a spring in his step and a song on his vent, allowing himself to be "hit" by numerous concubines, seductresses and scantily clad women ..... oh the life of a hero......
Mother Shahraz with her knickers in a knot
All the hearts and voids that were saved, scrimped and gathered over the months leading up to this fight were worth it.......because Repeat Offender cares........ the guild cares....... we want what's best for all you wonderful guildies...... AND YOU BETTER NOT FREAKING....... EVER...... FORGET THAT!!!!!!!!!!!
The Next T6 winners :
Blackjac - Pauldrons of the Forgotten Conqueror
Fennel - Pauldrons of the Forgotten Vanquisher
Bodystasher - Pauldrons of the Forgotten Vanquisher
Chadillac - Leggings of devastation
Welcome to Repeat Offender
Posted by pete - on June 10th, 2008 @ 19:22 PDT
About us:
RO's core is a group of friends who've been playing wow together for quite some time. Old school 40 man runners and a few newcomers, reformed and back in the raid game. Repeat Offender was formed pre-BC and remains strong and enduring as one of the older guilds on Uldum. We're a guild of people from all round. Exploring dungeons and new ways to get Autumn killed as much as possible! :D
Current instances:
Karazhan - clear
Zul'Aman - clear
Gruuls lair - clear
Magtheridon - clear
Doomwalker - dead
Serpent Shrine Cavern - clear
Tempest Keep - clear
Mount Hyjal - Rage Winterchill (down), Anatheron (down), Kaz'rogal (down), Azgalor (down), Archimonde (down) - MH CLEAR
Black Temple - Naj'entus (down), Supremus (down), Shade of Akama (down), Teron Gorefiend (down), Gurtogg Bloodboil (down), Reliquary of Souls (down), Mother Shazz (down), Illidari Council (down), Illidan Stormrage (down) - BT CLEAR
Recruitment:
Recruitment is currently OPEN for some classes. Please feel free to post an application to indicate your interest in joining us when a spot opens up. Please register and review our recruitment guidlines in the forums
RO's core is a group of friends who've been playing wow together for quite some time. Old school 40 man runners and a few newcomers, reformed and back in the raid game. Repeat Offender was formed pre-BC and remains strong and enduring as one of the older guilds on Uldum. We're a guild of people from all round. Exploring dungeons and new ways to get Autumn killed as much as possible! :D
Current instances:
Karazhan - clear
Zul'Aman - clear
Gruuls lair - clear
Magtheridon - clear
Doomwalker - dead
Serpent Shrine Cavern - clear
Tempest Keep - clear
Mount Hyjal - Rage Winterchill (down), Anatheron (down), Kaz'rogal (down), Azgalor (down), Archimonde (down) - MH CLEAR
Black Temple - Naj'entus (down), Supremus (down), Shade of Akama (down), Teron Gorefiend (down), Gurtogg Bloodboil (down), Reliquary of Souls (down), Mother Shazz (down), Illidari Council (down), Illidan Stormrage (down) - BT CLEAR
Recruitment:
Recruitment is currently OPEN for some classes. Please feel free to post an application to indicate your interest in joining us when a spot opens up. Please register and review our recruitment guidlines in the forums
Reliquary of Souls - thats some badass tupperware batman!!!!
Posted by pete - on June 8th, 2008 @ 00:45 PDT
The story of Reliquary of Souls is littered with Cliches (Google it and stop whispering me !) ....LOL
The last 2 weeks have been a true test of the mettle for Repeat Offender. Lets see how many cliches we can come up with......
Birds of a feather flock together - Several key members of RO took a well deserved break from raiding. To put the nail in the coffin, RO lost other fairly regular raiders who decided to try their luck in the heartless World of WoW while RO lay bleeding and battered. It was a case of Monkey see, Monkey do for the Rats who deserted the sinking ship and who couldn't see beyond the end of their nose. We decided to run it up the flagpole and see who saluted it and found that The empty cans rattle the most. (scraping the bottom of the cliche barrel here...)
Steal victory from the jaws of defeat - when all around us looked dim and dark the officers and key members of RO got together to discuss the future. Absence is to love as wind is to fire, it extinguishes the small and kindles the great. When the going get tough, the tough get recruiting (ok slight variation there.....seeing if ur paying attention..lol)
Over the last week RO has been rebuilding with recruitment of some startling and pretty amazing new talent. People who come to raids prepared and willing to learn....... MH and BT being new to a lot of new recruits didnt stop us from clearing MH 4/5 and getting to RoS this week. The day started with a lack of raiders, but aided by our new recruits and Vippy's powerful friends list, we went in for the second day of attempts at RoS.
Our mascot sent by Fennel from afar........ even our holidaying officers feel our pain :) thanks Fennel...
Having mastered the trash pull and Phase 1 from the previous day, the RO crew ventured back into BT to take on the 3-faced tupperware titan. As the crew learnt the fights, we learnt that BJ and Autumn have a generator just in case the power goes out..but... generators need oil to run or they become gigantic paperweights and the presence of Fenerocksem in the raid doesn't mean you won't kill a new boss.......well kinda... The toon was there but where was the player.........?
Over the last 2 days..... the phases of RoS were overcome in a stepwise manner.
Trash and phase 1 executed and perfected. Phase 2 provided a Steep learning curve as we battled dwindling mana, perfectly executed rogue kicks (well done bodystasher and Galthyss), spell stealing mages, Inner focus dispels as mana dried up and mages one shotting themselves on "Deaden" (cough geter..cough).
Our first phase 3 saw RoS go to 45%....and the excitement began to build. The next attempt to phase 3 saw most standing and closing of the Eyes that are the window to the Soul... ( /cringe....ewwww.. that even made me gag).
We salute the toon Fenerocksem who was finally at a first boss kill....now if only the player could see this? LOLOLOL
Many thanks go to Falkuron and Galthyss who came along to help provide tips and tricks to the RO crew.
The last cliche for the night : The toes you step on today just might be connected to the ass you kiss tomorrow.
Congratulation to the RO crew ...... the foundations are rebuilt, lets go kick some ass......
Winners:
Alchazar - Dreadboots of the legion (won with a roll of 100....... see guild forum for more info)
Thepriester - Gloves of unfailing faith
Archimonde - how many ways can you skin a cat?
Posted by pete - on April 26th, 2008 @ 23:05 PDT
Archimonde, the final boss in Mount Hyjal is widely known as a guild breaker and test of guild morale and resilience. All the strats suggest a warrior tank, 9 healers and a WHOLE raid that can move and STAY OUT OF THE FIRE. Now....as many of you know, the precise movement and coordination required of the raid is gently encouraged by Autumn, who moves along his charges offering tips and suggestions in his best Scoutmaster voice "STAY OUT OF THE GODDAMN FIRE!!"
Not everything however has to be done by the book, and indeed, there is more than one way to skin a cat (sorry Fennel).
The approach that the RO crew took is best illustrated by the following events:
Having figured out how to 3-box the Gorefiend simulator, Autumn decided to have a game of golf with 2 friends, a priest and a doctor. They were being held up by a particularly slow group in front of them. Autumn decided to put in a ticket to the course marshall..... The marshall informed them that the group in front of them were a group of blind golfers. They consisted of firemen who saved the Clubhouse from burning down, but were blinded in the process. The priest said "I will go back to my church and pray for them". The doctor said " I will consult with my opthalmic colleagues and see if we can save their sight". Autumn replies "Why the F&%#k dont they play at night???"
As you can see, one situation, 3 different opinions and suggestions on how to overcome the same problem.
We are however subjected to the Autumn opinion and suggestion of how to tackle Archimonde given the resources on the day.
With no warrior in sight, the decision was made to go with a druid tank and a fear rotation. The priests retired to another vent channel to mumble fear ward rotations and talk about the latest toga fashions.
Several attempts revealed the benefits of this strat as Archimonde's health barely broke 80% - hmmmm maybe next week? 24 men/women left at the end of the raid, and Autumn rallies the troops. "F&^%k replacing the last person, just pull"
Suddenly Archimonde is at 18% and 8 people are standing........ Vent is going crazy with Enir providing the background rhythm of "NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOO". Blackjac reveals that at 10%, we WIN..,.. Enir changes the tempo "YES YES YES YEEEEESSS". Immune to damage at 10%? According to Amlaruil......its a lie!. 7 People alive at 10% and the Wisps appear having sat on their wispy butts for the whole fight. They proceed to remove the rest of Archimonde's health......... RO vent goes crazy and the second set of T6 is ours !!!!!
Good job to the "alternative" way of killing Archimonde and well done to the healers and members of the fear ward rotation team........ you can play on my course anytime :)
Archimonde discovers that not being a treehugger sucks!
Winners of the fat lootz:
Jellopudding - Helm of the forgotten Protector
Celas - Helm of the forgotten Conqueror
Santarias - Helm of the Forgotten Conqueror
Amlaruil - Bristlebritz Striker
Geterdun - Tempest of Chaos
Not everything however has to be done by the book, and indeed, there is more than one way to skin a cat (sorry Fennel).
The approach that the RO crew took is best illustrated by the following events:
Having figured out how to 3-box the Gorefiend simulator, Autumn decided to have a game of golf with 2 friends, a priest and a doctor. They were being held up by a particularly slow group in front of them. Autumn decided to put in a ticket to the course marshall..... The marshall informed them that the group in front of them were a group of blind golfers. They consisted of firemen who saved the Clubhouse from burning down, but were blinded in the process. The priest said "I will go back to my church and pray for them". The doctor said " I will consult with my opthalmic colleagues and see if we can save their sight". Autumn replies "Why the F&%#k dont they play at night???"
As you can see, one situation, 3 different opinions and suggestions on how to overcome the same problem.
We are however subjected to the Autumn opinion and suggestion of how to tackle Archimonde given the resources on the day.
With no warrior in sight, the decision was made to go with a druid tank and a fear rotation. The priests retired to another vent channel to mumble fear ward rotations and talk about the latest toga fashions.
Several attempts revealed the benefits of this strat as Archimonde's health barely broke 80% - hmmmm maybe next week? 24 men/women left at the end of the raid, and Autumn rallies the troops. "F&^%k replacing the last person, just pull"
Suddenly Archimonde is at 18% and 8 people are standing........ Vent is going crazy with Enir providing the background rhythm of "NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOO". Blackjac reveals that at 10%, we WIN..,.. Enir changes the tempo "YES YES YES YEEEEESSS". Immune to damage at 10%? According to Amlaruil......its a lie!. 7 People alive at 10% and the Wisps appear having sat on their wispy butts for the whole fight. They proceed to remove the rest of Archimonde's health......... RO vent goes crazy and the second set of T6 is ours !!!!!
Good job to the "alternative" way of killing Archimonde and well done to the healers and members of the fear ward rotation team........ you can play on my course anytime :)
Archimonde discovers that not being a treehugger sucks!
Winners of the fat lootz:
Jellopudding - Helm of the forgotten Protector
Celas - Helm of the forgotten Conqueror
Santarias - Helm of the Forgotten Conqueror
Amlaruil - Bristlebritz Striker
Geterdun - Tempest of Chaos
Gurtogg Bloodboil - uncovering an ancient artifact
Posted by pete - on April 23rd, 2008 @ 21:11 PDT
The search for artifacts has fascinated humankind since the first man caved in to his nagging wife and bit into the apple (GG Eve).
Wikepdia defines artifact (fantasy) as: "Artifact (fantasy), in the fantasy genre, is usually a magical object so powerful that it cannot be duplicated or destroyed by ordinary means"
So it was that the RO crew went in search of the one thing that might help them take on the fifth boss in BT without a dental plan.
The first sighting and attempts at Bloodboil saw the RO healers shaking their heads in disbelief at the sheer amount of healing required to down the poster boy of tusk decay. Bloodboil is a fight where some smartass at Blizzard decided to test the healing mettle of any raid attempting him. Lets look at some of the aspects of this fight:
1. Tanks - 3 tanks must fight for aggro, be the top 3 on the aggro list, be able to drop aggro to the next tank and have an idea when to do this or the debuff will stack too high making them impossible to heal......a lesson in complete aggro management. In the meantime, Bloodboil will slowly drop the tank aggro with a "wing buffet" type ability.
2. DPS - put your hands somewhere warm to start the fight as you are threat capped and must not be anywhere near the tanks on the aggro list. DPS that cant do damage - what use are you?
3. Healers - Keep the groups taking the "Bloodboil" alive, Heal the 3 tanks who are getting pounded, cleaved and AoE'd. Oh by the way, your tanks have a lot less armour due to the acidic breath that puts a dot and reduces armour...so they will get hit harder and harder. In phase 2, someone is going to be hit very fast for around 20k each hit...make sure you keep them alive and the other groups that still have the "Bloodboil" as well as the tanks!!! No wonder there was a suggestion to take 21 healers into the fight.
4. Raid - Put up the poster of Michael Flately, get some guiness and start up the Riverdance DVD (You KNOW you want to). 3 groups must perform line dancing exposing 5 ppl at a time to the "Bloodboil".
How you ask are we supposed to do this???? It seems that just having Fenerocksem not in the raid was not enough for us to be able to down a new boss. ;)
Well....the search was on to find something, anything that would help the RO crew with this test of the healers.
The healers retired to their conclave and whispered amongst themselves under the shadow of Stonehenge. A sacrificial priest was chosen to perform a ritual to summon the ancient artifact not seen since the days of UBRS. Santarias the Pure cleansed himself and respecced to allow the him to call forth the pulsating power of light that would spell the end of Bloodboil...........
Santarias returned from his respec and on the pull placed the powerful artefact near Bloodboil and the tanks..........Gasps arose from the raid, for none had seen the fabled object since Autumn was in pigtails..... Yes my friends.......the LIGHTWELL had returned to Uldum!!
Gurtogg was seen to be shaking....though it was unsure as to whether this was due to laughter or disbelief. The raid was rejuvenated and Gurtogg gummed the dirt......
Autumn and BJ once again share the same room and the dulcet tones of Autumn's shrieks and "What the F#&$^ing hell was that!" can now be heard via BJ's microphone. Pigtails too tight Autumn? ;)
Good job on Bloodboil to the RO crew and special Kudo's to the healers who figured out how to heal one of the most healing intensive fights in the game.
Mummy I broke my tusks!!
Grats to the Winner (the other drop was an offset):
Illestrous - Shadowmoon insignia
Teron Gorefiend - How to get egg on your face...
Posted by pete - on April 14th, 2008 @ 21:56 PDT
TERON GOREFIEND friend or foe? An in depth analysis:
Teron Gorefiend - Fourth boss in Black Temple is accepted as being a test of raid competence. Aspects of the fight require more pre fight preparation and ability to play a frost mage than any other encounter the RO crew have faced so far.
"Go do the Gorefiend simulator" - became Autumn's answer to everything associated with Wow for the last month.
What is the best spec for warlocks? - "go do the simulator"
What flasks should I use? - "go do the simulator"
How was dinner last night? - "didn't have any.......was doing the simulator"
When you have to play a flash video game, to be able to play a MMORPG video game......doesn't that just smell of nerd in a bottle?
So it was that finally, 25 members of the RO crew appeared to have "gone and done the simulator" and set off to take on Gorefiend.
May I suggest at this point...... expectations were not unreasonable, but a kill seemed ...uhmmm...a distant possiblity despite the fact that everyone seemed to be able to do the flash simulator.
First attempt - Gorefiend down to 50% - wow....that wasnt so bad now was it??
Subsequent attempts saw Gorefiend's final health go ....low low low low low low low low
Now, as you all know, it doesn't matter whether Gorefiend is at 50% or 20% because ..... One incompetent person can lose control of their constructs...and wipe the raid faster than you can say....."frost mage nub"
The fact is, your bars get screwed up, for those with UI addons like bongos, Dusseldorfs high and mighty 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 4 3 3 3 3 "its easy!!!" declaration just doesnt work. Have you tried to move backwards while pressing the cntrl key so you use cntrl- 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 4 3 3 3 3 ???? Guess what? it turns off your sound and boots you into windows!!!!
I know this because i heard it from one of the mage officers who was in the raid....... One of the best attempts saw Gorefiend go down to 10% and the next person to get the Mark of death was this much vaunted mage officer (who I won't name due to privacy issues). It looks like Gorefiend is going down......wooot..... Mark of death hits....... and the sequence follows:
1. Cntrl-5 - spirit volley..yes
2. Cnrtl-4 - Spirit shackle - oh yeah
3. Cnrtl-3 - spirit lance - slows the first construct...looking good!
4. Cnrtl-S - what happened to the game sound?
5. Cnrtl-tab - huh...targetting nearest friendly ??
6. Cnrtl - "quick warn the raid"..... WTF oh yeah moved out of vent so the push-to-talk key wouldn't broadcast everything....shit....no one can hear me........
7. Cntrl-3 3 3 3 and press S at the same time to move back - can i kill one ? oh there's the game sound again, why isnt spirit lance working..why have i got blackjac targetted... OMFG my fingers have tied themselves into a bow.......
8. "CONSTRUCTS IN THE RAID!!!!" - raid dead: Gorefiend at 2% ....../sob
Eventually the right people get the mark of death and kill their constructs...allowing the rest of the lucky ones to take Gorefiend down. As Gorefiends health went down the unamed mage was heard to screech "please don't let it be me, please dont let it be me......." as heartrates soared and buttons were mashed.
I would like to give Kudos to the people who did kill and control their constructs, in particular:
Dusseldorf - for all his whining....he did a damn fine job
Roslin - able to kill his constructs, help others, froth at the mouth and tell others how well he did at the same time.
Jellopudding - killed his constructs eventually but had an unfair advantage :)
Knighthound - a frost mage by day, construct killer by night
Gorefiend - friend or foe?? I think he was a friend to RO. We learnt many lessons from him.
1. Preparation pre raid helped ensure everyone learnt the fight and knew what to expect (despite the mage stuffing up)
2. The RO crew actually prepared, went outside of WoW to the simulator and went beyond the normal "I dont have to know anything before the raid...Doesnt the raid leader explain everything????" mentality.......
3. Keep this up and we'll be knocking on Illidan's door.
Well done to the valiant RO crew......
A Gorefiend in need is a friend indeed!
GRATS TO THE WINNERS!
Upcme - Robe of the Shadow Council
Finalending - Soul Cleaver
Shade of Akama has left the building...
Posted by pete - on March 17th, 2008 @ 20:42 PDT
The RO crew ventured into BT to try their hand at the Shade of Akama. With the majority of the raid never even setting eyes on the Shade, we looked to our more experienced and worldly members for guidance. Jellopudding's "he's a joke" was not exactly a battleplan that we were hoping for, and past experience with Supremus failed to reassure us that Jello wasn't smoking something funny.
We started clearing trash with some confidence. This quickly deteriorated when we wiped on the trash several times. Jello's comments of "oh yeah, I always forget about those stealthed mobs" convinced us that he wasn't only smoking something funny, he was inhaling too :)
Eventually the RO crew made it to The Shade's room, and what a funky room it was. Akama was stealthed in the middle, the shade was the hub of a laser light wheel, and even Wancey couldn't get the Channellers to aggro on to him. The raid was split up, Outbreak and Bodystasher went crazy on the Channeller's and Sorcerer's with no aggro to worry about. The portals opened and the two teams eventually worked their way through the adds. Illustrous made like a hero tanking a bunch of Defenders shouting "more...more...more." Selaneth and Venomace picking up loose mobs, Blackjac and Fennel trying to stop the dps teams from getting killed by adds........ heals flying off to all the noobs who couldn't figure out that big blocks of fire falling on your head (Rain of fire) actually will kill you (cough* Willy, cough*)....it was a party atmosphere and RO was getting Jiggy with it.
The channellers and sorcerers went down, The Shade came out and the RO crew revelled in the finale --> Mindless zerging and straight out dps with no concern for aggro......he never really stood a chance.
Akama brought out the laser show to show his appreciation:
DJ Akama is in da house
Another boss down in BT and the RO crew staggered home after the dance party of the year.......
Who's ur daddy???
Door prize winners:
Illestrous: Ring of deceitful intent
Jellopudding: Spriritwalker gauntlets
We started clearing trash with some confidence. This quickly deteriorated when we wiped on the trash several times. Jello's comments of "oh yeah, I always forget about those stealthed mobs" convinced us that he wasn't only smoking something funny, he was inhaling too :)
Eventually the RO crew made it to The Shade's room, and what a funky room it was. Akama was stealthed in the middle, the shade was the hub of a laser light wheel, and even Wancey couldn't get the Channellers to aggro on to him. The raid was split up, Outbreak and Bodystasher went crazy on the Channeller's and Sorcerer's with no aggro to worry about. The portals opened and the two teams eventually worked their way through the adds. Illustrous made like a hero tanking a bunch of Defenders shouting "more...more...more." Selaneth and Venomace picking up loose mobs, Blackjac and Fennel trying to stop the dps teams from getting killed by adds........ heals flying off to all the noobs who couldn't figure out that big blocks of fire falling on your head (Rain of fire) actually will kill you (cough* Willy, cough*)....it was a party atmosphere and RO was getting Jiggy with it.
The channellers and sorcerers went down, The Shade came out and the RO crew revelled in the finale --> Mindless zerging and straight out dps with no concern for aggro......he never really stood a chance.
Akama brought out the laser show to show his appreciation:
DJ Akama is in da house
Another boss down in BT and the RO crew staggered home after the dance party of the year.......
Who's ur daddy???
Door prize winners:
Illestrous: Ring of deceitful intent
Jellopudding: Spriritwalker gauntlets