Waldonnis

Without knowing the specifics of how/when flying will be useful or used, this may not be unreasonable. It also might have been a change required to fix some game mechanics. I'd wait to pass judgement until we actually get to play the expansion and understand the nature of flying mounts and why we would want them (or a flying form, for that matter).

A small addendum... MC lately has been a bit lax and sloppy, as I think we have all noticed. I know MC is easy for many of us at this point, but let's use that time to tighten up and really get coordinated. The sooner we do that, the easier it will be to deal with the utter chaos of Razorgore's first phase and the transition into the second phase...as well as many of the other fights in BWL that require superb raid coordination. Things that need to be improved that I've seen: * Aggro management - Pulling aggro off of the tanks in taunt-immune fights is very bad, so don't do it. * Wait for DPS calls - This includes you, hunters and warlocks...feign can be resisted and warlock dots do generate hate. I'd rather wait five minutes for the tank to be certain he has the mob's focus than spend 10mins rebuffing the raid after a wipe. If we can't get this to be a habit in MC, where it's not so hazardous.... * Watch your surroundings - We've wiped a few times recently because people got too close to mobs that they knew were there. Keep a safe distance from neighbouring mobs and always look where you are going before you go there to be sure nothing extremely bad is awaiting you. * If you're going to AFK, let Maube or I know....and try to avoid going afk for more than a minute or two right before a boss fight. I know things come up, but it sometimes leads to even more lengthy delays because buffs dropped while we were waiting or such. I KNOW we can do better than we have been. I want us to walk into BWL as the group that did MC in one night in a pinch...not as the group that wiped twice on trash. Let's tighten up and show Razorgore what the Crushers and our friends are capable of!

Blackwing Lair Policies and Rules As with Maube’s Molten Core raid, any problems, concerns, questions, or large sums of gratuitous cash are to be directed to Verissi (or your class leader; more on this shortly). I don’t want any bad feelings to fester, so bring up problems before that happens. We’ve had good times together in MC and I want that to continue. General Rules: * Repair before you come in We’ll likely wipe a lot learning each encounter, so make sure to start off in good condition. Repair bots don’t grow on trees either. This is more important once BWL starts on its own night rather than as an epilogue to Friday’s MC. * Bring enough reagents, ammo, pet food, and shards Be considerate to the others in your class and bring enough buffing reagents. Nothing slows down a raid more than having to wait for mana regen from the same 1-2 people because they’re doing all of the buffing (not to mention the cost burden on them). There are also no trash mobs in the beginning to farm shards off of, so come prepared. Shaman and druids need to bring enough seeds and ankhs. You never know when your reincarnate/rebirth may make the difference between win and wipe. * Be on time Again, more important when this run has its own day, but something to get used to with MC. Because we have no trash mobs to farm, don’t expect any summons under normal circumstances. Shards are more useful for soul/healthstones than getting your butt to the Mountain because you waited too long to leave that battleground… * The drama llama is not welcome in BWL No petty BS whispers, bickering, etc. If we want to succeed in BWL, we absolutely MUST work together, even if people don’t like each other or are upset about someone else taking loot. If an issue comes up during the raid that upsets you, please try to set it aside and deal with it later. The last thing the raid needs is a few key people being distracted at the wrong time. In short, let’s all be the adults that we are. Raid Structure: Fights in BWL are much different than the “show up, DPS the crap out of it, collect loot” style of fighting that we’ve grown accustomed to in MC. BWL bosses are more technical, sometimes aggro-sensitive, and often have phases associated with their encounters, much like Onyxia. To ease the burden on just one or two raid leaders to watch every detail or know which people are best suited for a specific function of a fight, I’m making a more formal raid leadership structure that includes class leaders. Raid leader: Verissi Assistant raid leader/Grand overseer: Maube Class leads: Mage: Ghules (alternate: Maube) Rogue: Scryll (alternate: Roh) Hunter: Khanak (alternate: Gordantell) Warlock: Chemmy (alternate: Vrugz) Priest: Molox (alternate: Kytae) Warrior: Relikk Druid: Oriahtundra (alternate: Amahli) Shaman: Baracko Class leads will select a backup in case they’re unavailable. Talk to these people for questions about your role in each fight and assignments. Also, help your class leads by being prepared for the fights. Study up on how each fight works so that we can cut down on the time needed to explain every detail of the fights and instead focus on what our approach will be. I'll be posting several links very soon that give the lore and technical aspects of BWL bosses and trash mobs to help with this (and for those interested in the background of the drakes and the flight represented in BWL). Loot and DKP: * Zero-sum, but independent of MC’s DKP pool * Training DKP will NOT be awarded (there are many reasons for this) Raiders will gain DKP at alternate destinations while we’re learning (Onyxia, AQ40, etc). Loot in Onyxia or other places will follow the normal Clan Skullcrusher Onyxia loot rules (have to run with us once prior in order to roll on loot, otherwise, it’s “random 100”). BWL LDKP determines the loot distribution for the very first drops from Razorgore. After that, we’ll use DKP in a regular fashion for all loot. DKP costs for items: Tier 2: 125 dkp (same as MC) BWL weapons and accessories: 200 dkp Nexus crystals: 25 dkp (same as MC, although I suspect we’ll have less to offer for awhile) Raid bank will be shared with MC until the raids diverge in needs. Elementium drops will go to the raid bank, to be smelted and distributed to those doing the Thunderfury quest. The recipients of the heads of the Broodlord and Nefarian will be chosen in the same fashion that we currently handle Onyxia’s head (raid leader’s discretion). Feel free to lop off Vael’s head and play dodgeball with it, though Add-on Policy: I tossed this around and, while I hate doing this, I have to insist that folks install at least a couple add-ons to make both my and your lives easier in BWL: CT RaidAssist – The king of all raid add-ons; includes debuff curing, buff monitoring, and I’m sure they’ll even toss in dancing bears eventually since it has everything else already. KLHThreatMeter – Some mobs/bosses are immune to taunt, so pulling aggro off of the tanks will wipe the raid. Use this to monitor and meter your own aggro. That’s about it for add-ons…use others at your discretion and chat with your class leads for advice on other add-ons that may be helpful for you. Boss notification mods and such will be run by myself or Maube for raid-wide announcements, but you’re welcome to run your own as well for personal notification. Additionally, we will be continuing the policy of not allowing damage meter results in the raid. I obviously cannot stop anyone from running them, but please respect the rules and keep the results to yourself. That’s about it. Let’s keep it fun, but remember to stay focused. I’ll need everyone to bring their A-game every single night that we’re in there. Links to boss fights (from WoWWiki) below. It's always good to know how the fights work and be prepared! Razorgore the Untamed Vaelastrasz the Corrupt Broodlord Lashlayer Firemaw Ebonroc Flamegor Chromaggus Nefarian

I figured it might be (saw the hoax story earlier today). Any time someone claims that there is a security flaw that "cannot be fixed", I'm suspicious. Extensive recoding required, sure, but cannot be fixed at all? There is a sliver of truth that the hoax was built upon, though. There is a denial-of-service attack that could be executed against the JavaScript code that has been known about for a moderate amount of time (in FireFox terms)...think they're still figuring out how to fix that. The original claim was that the same mechanism that could be used to start the DoS could be used to execute the malicious code. In all, they got press, which isn't difficult since there aren't many journalists that know crap about technology and couldn't research a story if their lives depended on it. Hope their "OMGWESKERDTEHWORLD" 15mins of fame was enjoyable since I'll have to spend the next 15 days redefending my choice of FireFox use at work now...

Interesting...looks like Kelani gets to fish a bit very soon

Fare well, old friend, and be safe and prosperous in your travels...

Skah! Another one bites the dust

They won't appear until the solstice (they replace sunscale salmon, both of which are seasonal), but I intend on gathering a bunch when they do. Best places that I've found to fish for them have been Feralas and the Hinterlands, but I'll explore a bit and see if there are any other (better) spots when they appear.

*bat asplode* GAH!

Believe it or not, I actually don't watch videos from the game, so I haven't seen this one yet (I'd rather play than watch other people play...hehehe). I think I've seen four videos so far and every single one of those was related to BWL. ...and hey now, I'm not a raid nazi! *dons a halo and whistles innocently*

We've got plenty of time to get the cloaks made and distributed. I don't anticipate making it to a drake fight in BWL for at least a month (Razorgore is a tough fight to master), and even still, it's mostly the tanks that I'm worried about getting theirs. Mostly, we just want to know who already has them so we can hand them out to those that don't as we get the scales.

Onyxia Scale Cloak Binds when equipped Back 43 Armor +7 Stamina +16 Fire Resistance Requires Level 55 Equip: Protects the wearer from being fully engulfed by Shadow Flame. The equip bonus is really why it's vital, but only for certain BWL fights (Nefarian, Ebonroc, Flamegor, Firemaw...basically, the drake fights). Generally, the tanks should have these first and foremost. I can't think of any fight aside from Nefarian where it's important for others to have them on, but if we have the resources to provide them, it's better to have the cloak than not Just In Case®. I've asked that the healers and class leads receive them as well, at least for starters, and we can hand them out to the other regular BWL raiders as we get the scales. Incidentally, this is probably one of the better cloaks to slap a +15 FR enchant on. I know it's not fantastic for stats, but it would probably save some folks the headache of having to switch cloaks in BWL repeatedly. Good, now how about posting that you're attuned...hehehe *tease*

Someone definitely has it Horde-side...I've seen a few on the AH before that weren't transferred, but I don't recall who was selling them

Verissi: Tome of Arcane Missiles VIII

Tree schmee....Hoofie likes: Lacerate - Rank 1 Requires Level 66 15 Rage Next melee Requires Bear Form, Dire Bear Form Lacerates the enemy target, making them bleed for 155 damage over 15 sec and causing a high amount of threat. This effect stacks up to 5 times on the same target. I just hope they alter the bear-form relic to reduce the rage cost on this one too! More threat is a very good thing for a furry tank Also, on the talent side, ferals get some sexeh stuff....Improved Leader of the Pack (party healing when they melee crit...woot!), Nuturing Instinct (for that inevitable "shift out and heal" moment), Primal Tenacity (yay fear/stun resist), and Survival of the Fittest (+stats and less chance of being critted against). ...and I'm sure Oriah will like some of the new Balance talents Flight form looks fun...and a money-saver in Outland (can only be used there).

To help with planning, I need to know who and who isn't attuned for BWL, particularly from those who attend MC on Fridays regularly. So, I'll start the list and keep it updated here. For those who don't know how you get attuned, it's a quest called Blackhand's Command, which is obtained from a looted envelope from the Quartermaster outside of the BRS entrance portal (down the hall). Once you have the quest, you just have to touch the orb behind Drakk and you're "branded". Unfortunately, there's no way to tell after the fact if you've been attuned, short of touching the orb at the end of that hallway while in a raid group... At any rate... Attuned: Alhazad Amahli Baracko Blackburn Calendar Chemmy Chrysalia Evangelina Ghules Gordantell/Daduntell Gorrin Grawuulf Grimgor Guilozak Gwendilyn Halamesh/Masishu Harne/Haq Hubba Ionas Jeroabem/Sabrianica/Bradius Katakorintha Kazragerg/Jamath/Ragar/Zurash Khanak Kytae Larok Lefou/Vorslar Lomar Marner Marrania Maube/Tazzak/Kokoko Mogbertha Molox Odenn/Vyynn Raeda Rakdur Relikk Revile Rhoach/Slythe Roh Roshalan Salaminizer Sasey Scryll Sianora Smedlock Tainish Vendes Verissi/Kelani Vrugz/Uglutz Xiris Zaknafeins Zingo Edit: Sorted to make it easier to find names, since I'm a bonehead. Also adding Onyxia cloak info (bolded folks have their cloaks).

Be afraid...be very afraid...

*dons a halo* Who, me???

I'd like to reiterate that the presence of a DKP system often does discourage newcomers. I've been on several raids where I couldn't roll on a single thing, possibly for weeks (if I kept going), because the regulars had essentially amassed so much DKP that any newcomers could be overrided on a whim. While I could care less if I got exactly what I wanted in most of those runs, I didn't like not having a chance at all....and DKP sometimes creates that very problem for newcomers. Zero-sum attempts to overcome that, but it has it's own set of problems that cause strife at times. There are several alternative systems that could and probably should be considered as well, including the one that Maube suggested. Upgrade/sidegrades could be taken into account also, etc (upgrades > sidegrades, aka true need before greed)....there are many options that don't involve extra management work. In all, no system is perfect and any of them is bound to upset someone. Again, I personally do not care what system is put in place for AQ20, if any, since I don't go any longer and have no vested interest...but I do know that implementing a loot system must be considered carefully and fully for the reasons mentioned already. The one fact of 20/40-person raiding and loot: at least one person per run will be upset about something, no matter how hard you try or what system is in place to help alleviate it.

As a reminder, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be on-time, repaired, stocked with reagents, and ready to go promptly! Given our steady performance and improvement against Ragnaros, I've decided to start our BWL entrance quite a bit sooner than planned. If we can manage to clear up to Majordomo on Wednesdays, this leaves Friday for Domo/Rags, followed by at least an hour of free time....in which we can start becoming familiar with and attempting "Razorgore The Untamed" in BWL (the first boss). I've already selected class leads and have begun speaking with each of them about the fight and how we're going to manage the raid. DKP for BWL hasn't been fully decided upon, but I'm working that out as soon as possible so I can relay the info to everyone. I'll also be posting more about the fight this week so that people can get more familiar with it (it's a seriously crazy and chaotic event) and how I'm planning to go about it strategically. One thing to remember: It's because of the hard work of you, the MC raiders, that changed my mind (which is not easy to do...just ask my ex-wife )...keep up the good work and we'll be taming "Razorgore The Untamed" soon!

It's funny...at one point, I would've paid real money to never be in Teldrassil again, but now it's somewhat refreshing to have different quests. Having done every quest for levels 1-20 Horde-side at least 10 times in a row, it's a good change of pace (I did every quest for 1-20 at least 8 times Alliance-side prior to rolling Horde). Hehehe, I'm also getting used to playing an elf priest, since I'm likely going to roll a blood elf priest when the expansion comes out. I'm so tired of seeing night elves, I guess I just need an intermediary adjustment period to make sure that I don't gag when playing a blood elf

I've used it here and there and it's VERY handy for just about any class, provided enough people use it. For DPS classes, it helps you determine when you're skating dangerously close to generating more hate than the tank(s)....and for healers, it helps you figure out your healing threat so you can (sometimes) fade before getting stomped on. Like CTRA, however, this does generate some synch traffic, so it may cause some lag. Also, using this does not mean you can ignore the "dps on" call because you won't generate enough threat to worry about taking aggro. Threat generation is a closed system that is not exposed to the end-users, so this mod only estimates threat based upon observation. It's ultimately the tanks' and raid leaders' jobs, not the mod, to determine when to start dps and how much to do. This becomes especially important in aggro-sensitive fights and bosses that are immune to taunt...both of which we will be seeing in BWL. In those cases, if you pull aggro, you die and usually take many people with you, since the tank can't just taunt them to get them back.

I have a night elf priest on Gnomer (hit level 11 last night after AD was shut down). I forget her name, but I've already made a friend or two there. Since it's a newer server, it's been a good experience and I've helped a few people that are new to WoW with advice and answering their questions. I'll probably be there tonight just for grins. It's not my first priest, but it's my first since the priest review, so I'm giving the class another shot to grab my interest...and I haven't played Alliance-side in ages, so the quests are like new again I tried rolling a human, but remembered that I just plain hate Goldshire and the quests there....that and my total lack of interest in the dwarven models leaves me with few options

This really becomes even more prevalent with Tier 2 gear, specifically the pants. I've known people that have run MC long after putting BWL on farm status just to get their final piece...only to have the first drop in months go to someone with 0-1/8 (first set bonus is at 3/8 for Tier 2). In all, getting sets completed takes time and I personally take pride in knowing that I've passed on pieces that allowed someone else to get their next set bonus or get something that they've really wanted. I don't know much about what goes on in other class channels in MC, but the mages have never once hesitated to pass if it meant that one of us could get a set bonus from adding the item. In fact, we tend to cheer each other long after the loot is received because we're almost giddy that one of us got something nice. Sure, we do have some good-natured ribbing here and there (Maube and I with the turtle polymorph and Arcanist robe ), but we both know it's all in good fun and will do what we can to help each other until we all get what we want. That's more of the attitude that I like seeing, personally, and encourage other classes to take an active interest in each other and how far along they are with set pieces...not for selfish reasons, but to coordinate and enjoy your combined successes and the rewards from them.

Wish I could, but SecuROM (the copy protection scheme used on the CD) and my DVD burners don't get along, so I have a Civ4 game that cannot be installed...most expencive coaster that I've ever purchased.