Jeroabem/Sabrianica

The roster is posted, but Marner dropped from it since it was posted. Oriah is listed as possibly being late. Goroton - please have Dirth ready to go. Ionas - please be ready to go. Tonight's targets are: Kurrinaxx, General Rajaxx and Buru. I get off of work at 7:30pm server time and barring some catastrophic traffic incident, invites should be going out at 5 to 8. Plan on going active as soon as we get the group together, but not later than 8:30pm. I have the people listed in the approved area and the queue, and if I need to will pull people out of thin air in order to get the group filled. I'm not feeling 100% so I am hoping we can do as much of this on Autopilot as possible. The majority of us who have been in this raid know what needs to be done and we can get it done if we focus. You guys know what's expected, what to expect, now we get to execute. Let's win this one for the Crikker...err...fot the Giprunner...err...FOR THE HORDE! See you there.

This post delivers and I approve of it.

I heard that at close range, hunters run away pretty well. Hunters in range...just like everything else we have to be locky enough to sneak up on them in stealth. Hunters, especially with scatter shot, get the drop on us Rogues and it's: "GG, thanks for playing, go QQ some." I found the only way I can beat a hunter is if there is an open opportunity to sneak up on him and get the drop on him. If he feigns, I vanish and run the other way to avoid the trap he just laid. Crippling Poison and Deadly Poison versus hunters help out immensly. Pet? Blind it before he enrages it. Granted, Night Elves are most difficult to sneak up on, especially in AB. That being said, I would rather deal with a hunter than a mage any day of the week. What bugs me most is the way that the changes read. If you read it one way, the changes seem to drastically nerf the damage that Hunters do, pushing them even further down the raid viability tree. Not many MC raids use Hunters for the Garr encounter, which would make them only there for DPS. If the changes to the Agility : Crit and Agility : AP ratios change significantly without huge offsets in the Beast/Giant/Dragon - Stalker gear, then Hunters are going to be hurting. Right now, Sabrianica (for comparison) has buffed attack power that is only about 100 points behind Odenn (buffed - last time we talked those numbers anyways), and still has a 31.35% crit rating buffed. If they nerf the potential crit rating that makes hunter DPS so delicious due to the Agility reliance without upping the white damage along a similar scale based on Attack Power improvement (AP = more DPS), where is the need for hunters in the end game? Also, if I remember right, Agility effects Hunter Ranged DPS more than it does any other class, and this change seems to be equalizing ranged DPS somewhat. Isn't ranged DPS supposed to be where Hunters excel? There are a couple good things coming in the expansion like the "Go for the throat" and "misdirection" are both nice. Protection warriors will definitely want "Devastate" (15 Rage, Requires 1h Melee Weapon. An instant attack that causes 50% of weapon damage plus 35 and additional threat for each application of Sunder Armor on the target. In addition, this attack will renew the duration of the Sunder Armor effect.) for the increase in DPS that other classes are getting with their new Burning Crusade spells at level 70. I have a feeling that they would not increase everyone else, give Warriors a talent in the Protection Tree to help with it while nerfing Hunters completely. I wonder if there is something they aren't releasing yet because people would start screaming "NERF HUNTERS"...

WoW Wiki

Bradius is attuned now too.

If the new little pet goes "CH-CH-CH-AH-AH-AH" it's worth it to me, just to sneak up on people in Elwynn Forest right before I summon in scorpions!

The title should be changed to: AND SO IT CONTINUES: The proof is in the pudding! Tonight the AC MC1 Raid pulled off three first attempt Boss kills; Lucifron, Magmadar and Gehennas all dead. There were a couple of pulls that didn't go right (we got imps at the first entrance at the two bridges on the way to Luci and we got the Core Hound that paths in front of the Giant/Destroyer combo in front of Gehennas) but overall, the run was flawless. Maube, remember that feeling you got when you began to see the Skullcrusher raid start to gel? Where people started to fit into the roles that they were needed in? Where people started to get comfortable with the other raiders? That's what began last night, that's what is beginning to happen in this raid. Also, you should ALL be proud of one who is representing you in the warrior pool very well. He is doing an excellent job of tanking and offtanking and is a finalist for the last spot in the main tank rotation.

Congratulations on that milestone!

I hate dreams like that.

To quote from Zinwrath... "it brings out my girlish figure." But...a Troll Rogue inside Starbucks before going to a RAQ Raid at the Space Needle wearing a frilly, pink tutu.

Dude...I think there was something subliminal that went out on the internet because - no kidding - I had a dream last night that the RAQ raid was going on. No joke. It was quite disturbing, but wierd and funny in a good way. It's definitely a minus 50 DKP... We met up at Starbucks - our characters, not the players, and then went to go raid RAQ, which just happened to be the Space Needle at the Seattle Science Center. Scryll, dude...a troll rogue in a pink tutu...not right. All of a sudden, instead of facing just the RAQ bosses, at the Space Needle, it was combinations of bosses - Kurrinaxx and the Spider Boss, Rajaxx and Drakkisath, Ossirian and Grand Widow Faerlina from Naxx (who I have never seen in game) and Maube was asking why people kept getting knocked into the Vrugz cave...little Vrugz Whelps flying around doing nature based attacks like the green ghouls in Scholomance, and their noise was that CH-CH-CH-AH-AH-AH noise from Friday the 13th that Kytae hates. Then, after wiping, the raid was called a success and I (me, the person) was sitting on the couch cuddling with some blonde chick. I don't even OWN a couch...let alone have a cute blonde girlfriend to cuddle with. I tell you what, that's the LAST time I have Tortellini Alfredo and Full Throttle for dinner while raiding Stratholme with Verissi, Oriah, Scryll, and Odenn right before going to bed.

From my experience with Ayamiss, I think that our best preparation effort would be spent on Ossirian. The raid also does not yet have the NR needed for that encounter, in my opinion. Even with my whopping 87 unbuffed, I wasn't resisting much when we went and visited her. Oriah is correct in his link between what will be needed for Razorgore and what we will need to do for Ossirian. Razorgore will require everyone doing many different things perfectly at the exact same time or it won't succeed; regardless of the strategy that the Skullcrushers choose to employ. There are at least two transitions that will need to occur during the Razorgore fight, and the people who will be going on to BWL with the Skullcrushers will have a far greater time learning the strategies needed to bring down Razorgore with a few Ossirian kills under our belt. I think that's why the level 60 Dungeon progression goes ZG -> MC -> RAQ (20) -> BWL -> AQ40 -> Naxx. In my opinion, because of the speed in which several different things happen in the Ayamiss encounter, the Ossirian is the encounter that we can master more easily. Ossirian may be a technically difficult encounter for us to master, but it is only technically difficult because of the precision we need to do it with. Think of it, each boss we have had to master in RAQ has required more technical precision than the previous: Kurrinaxx: Rotate Tanks, watch out for bubbles, spam heal after the enrage. General Rajaxx: 8 Waves, Assist train, off tank the ranked mob, assist the General, Heal the LT General. Buru the Gorger: Break Eggs, Assist on Spawns, DPS to specific Health % and Pop a potion, DPS Buru to a specific % before the last egg, balls out DPS, Sequential Fear Bombs. Ossirian: Find Crystals, Manage Aggro (easier said than done), Train him to specific Crystals, DPS like mad at the right time without overcoming the Tank Aggro. Moam, in my opinoin, is the easiest boss in RAQ, we just need consistent Warlocks and more DPS during the 90 second stone form. Period. He dies next time we have the ability to make concerted attacks on him. I think we got him to 1% before wiping last time we made attempts. As for the initial hate that warriors need to build with Ossirian, I think I have a solution for that too. When he is at the base of the steps, the tanks will pop Bloodrage AND a Mighty Rage Potion. This should put them between 70 and 90 Rage at the start of the fight. When they start rushing Ossirian, they should have Heroic Strike queued (next hit will be the first). As they strafe away towards crystal #2, they can each offload a sunder. This should allow them to be healed at least one time, at crystal #2, the MT can spam sunders until it's time to move while tank #2 hits with 3-4 sunders and a couple heroic strikes. If my theorycraft is correct, this should place MT/OT at the top of his hate list so that when the rest of the raid begins white damage DPS, they remain at the top of the list. Shaman should have a Tranq Totem down (Tanks don't need a grouped Shaman for this encounter due to our movement all over the area) and should use a lower ranked heal for the start of the fight. Druids and Priests should use lower ranked bulk heals or full strength Heal-Over-Time heals. Grouping healers near Shaman with Tranq Totems could help. Positioning groups with healers off to the left and right of the first crystal to start might help too - that way as the tanks strafe towards the second crystal (regardless of location) there are lower aggro generating heals waiting. For the record though, this is pure theorycraft.

It won't let me vote because I wanted to see how things were progressing. When I looked this morning the vote tally was 0 Ayamiss, 6 Moam, 1 Ossirian. I'd like to vote Ossirian, it's a matter of consistent raid composition. To successfully do Moam, we need 3 Warlocks who will come every week until we have him on farm status, and then continue to come after that. We have one Warlock - Chemmy. Vrugz is on vacation, Katak is burned out. Where else are we gonna find competent Warlocks who know what they are doing as a Warlock and be willing to stay with the raid? Ossirian, on the other hand, is an easy fight - if we do what needs to be done. It's just going to be the raid learning to manage aggro, the tanks training him to the crystals, and DPSing when we can. Simple, right? I think Ossirian will be the better choice for our raid because of the similarities to the Buru fight that we have mastered already (Crystals = Eggs, Aggro Management, Furious DPS at the right moment, etc.). In the mean time, regardless of what we choose for our next attempt, we need to get our Nature Resistance farmed up. Someone asked what the purpose of getting NR up is when there isn't really any call for it past RAQ, but I beg to differ. Naxx has a wing that is devoted almost entirely to attacks based on Nature. Princess Huhu (in AQ40) and Grand Widow Faerlina (in Naxx) are both big on Nature Based attacks. Based on recent dungeon releases (Naxx, AQ40, BWL to some extent), you can bet your sweet bippy that NR will be needed in some form or another for the Burning Crusade dungeons. I think a very attainable goal is 125 all the way around unbuffed for everyone is a good start. Leather Wearers can get 70 of that just by getting the Bramblewood Set.

Bradius is at Dragons and would help you get caught up if needed.

Wow! Got mine today and they are AWESOME! I'll have to go out and get an appropriate frame for them. Thanks for the great looking award!

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To clear all the bosses in ZG in one night without a war party full of Tier 1 & 2 equipped people you will need: 1.) Teamwork: Clan Skullcrusher is nowhere near lacking in this department. When you guys raid, you go in, focus, and get the goal accomplished. In order to clear ZG in one night, you need to be able to work together and focus on the task at hand. People need to know what the encounters are and what their (multiple) roles are. 2.) Gear: Everyone in the raid will need to be at least level 60, fully trained up, comfortable with the multiple aspects of their classes. Regardless of your spec, if you have a heal button, you will need to be prepared use it. Poisons work on everything in here, including Hakkar, so Rogues will need to bring them. Potions like Elixir of Giant Strength, Major Mana/Healing, Elixir of the Mongoose, Winterfall Firewater, Brilliant Mana/Wizard Oil, etc can greatly increase your potential and should be available for boss fights. People should bring their own and a couple extra for the others in the raid. Heavy Runecloth Bandages... 2.) Time: If you have the Teamwork (which Clan Skullcrusher does), and you have the gear (which Clan Skullcrusher can have), you need only to have the time. Barring multiple wipes on bosses, and skipping the four optional bosses (Jinn'do, Bloodlord, Edge of Madness, Fish Boss), expect the five priests (aspects) and Hakkar to take 4.5 to 5.5 hours. For Horde did it last Friday night in 4.5 hours (our first time doing so) and we don't have the gear that Clan Skullcrusher has the potential of having due to MC progression. Based on what I know of the people in Clan Skullcrusher, if you have the first three, you need only have someone willing to lead it. I nominate Revile. I think he's an awesome guy, he has a great attitude and a great head on his shoulders.

Idols: Vermillion Idol (Turned in to Crikrunner last night) - Edit 26 Sept 06 Onyx Idol Quest: Cloak Ring Books: Poison V Feint V Backstab IX

QFT is quoted for truth??? and all this time I thought it meant Queen's Freaky Troupe...

QFT

RAWR! Gromit was tanking on Lucifron and he gave that lizard the old 1...2... BAM! Then I was tanking Magmadar and we decided to just kick him down the stairs! LOADS of fun!

How scary is it that I actually agree with multiple points of view at once. Crik, I don't begrudge you your position right now. Like Kytae - however you go, I got your back and will keep signing up until told otherwise.

The "Loot Discussion". The bane of all raids, yet the inevitable outcome. Let me preface anything I am about to say with: Sabrianica has all the Rogue books and her drap. I would like to get her three rep quests accomplished (Need Ring and Hilt plus idols and scarabs) and the Qiraji Sacrificial Dagger. Then I would like to rotate in my warrior and get his rep quest items and one of the two two handed swords and the books for his class. I told this all to Crik in PM. Now, my point of view. I don't like the idea of going to a DKP or a attendance points based system for any 20 man, because as Scryll says, it's not totally necessary with a group this small; yet on the other hand, I can totally empathise with where Chrysalia is coming from in regards to books and quest items. If we assign points for attendance, you end up getting a situation where people will horde up points like they do for DKP waiting for that one item to drop. I agree in some aspect with Maube that the people who have been coming the longest, shown the most loyalty to the raid should be given some sort of preferential treatment, but I don't think it should be in the form of a higher rolling cap. (The person who has been there since the first week could roll a 2 out of 150 and the new guy or filler guy could roll a 3 out of 10 and win over the dedicated person.) The easiest solution that comes to my mind is to treat everything that is quest or class related like Crikrunner is already treating scarabs. I think he said that one week of attendance was roughly worth 1.5 Scarabs. Doing the math backwards, that roughly 30 scarabs collected each week (1.5 Scarabs * 20 people = 30 Scarabs). Using this as a precedent, we could set up the idols like this: Assuming 3 Scarab Coffers per week, containing 1.5 Idols per on average. That would be 4.5 Idols per week collected. Every 5 weeks of attendance would earn 1 idol. This is about right as I have been with the raid for 12 or 13 weeks and I have won 2 idols (I donated one back to the raid in week 2 or 3). Class Books, since they are not predictable, could be handled on a "King of the Hill" basis. For example, Chrysalia has attended the raid in 9 weeks, Dirth in 7, Maube in 5. Chrysalia has first preference on the books that might drop as long as he has attended the most raids in his class, with the proviso of "1 Book, 1 quest item, 1 purple per raid" being applied. If more than one Mage book dropped in a given week, Chrysalia would get the first one, then Dirth and so on. Eventually, Chrysalia will have his three books, and Dirth would become the Mage King of the Hill. Quest Items - Rings, Drapes, Hilts: Again, I think that the raid attendance should show some preference, since someone could farm up there rep to exalted, come on one raid and be Exalted with Cenarion already. Giving the Quest Items to people solely based on rep isn't exactly the fairest method because unlike ZG where you only get Zandalar rep inside the instance, you can farm your way up outside. So what happens if we have people who are tied in preference? /roll off. As far as epic loots go, it's loot. Yes, I would be a little frustrated to see a dagger I really want going to someone who hasn't been with the raid as long as I have. Yet on the other hand, if all I wanted was the dagger, I could run AQ20 with my own guild which has Kurrinaxx on farm status and just wait for it to drop there. I'm here for the challenge of getting it under our control, then I am here for the upgrades to my characters which will prepare them for the Burning Crusade, then I am here for random purple goodness. That's what makes it fun for me, which is why I keep signing up. EDIT: After reading Maube's post a second time, there is something to be said for people talking amongst the class themselves to work things out. The danger is the "claiming" loot in advance. Fortunately for me, I am blessed with an amazing counterpart in the Rogue class and we both communicate really, really well. If I asked him to pass on something, I think he would, and I know I would if he made the same request to me on a different item. Greed is not something the Crusher (or members of this raid) spirit condones - nor being the first to get this or that item. ...Everything will drop again - in its own time. Please also refer yourself again to the agreement that we all affirmed when we chose to continue raiding with Skullcrushers. Loot-mongering is not something we condone, yet fairness is a principle we all agree on. I hope this discussion continues along that line (fairness).

A very big thank you to the Skullcrushers who have thus far helped me out with re-gearing my Warrior. I'm up to 5/8 Valor with a good 2h weapon (Blackhand's Doomsaw) and gear is getting there. Again, thank you to Kytae for loaning me the money for the mount - even though she didn't expect to ever see it back. Others that have helped out include: Oriahtundra Vyynn Khanak Rowenna Revile I know I am missing some, but it is sincerely appreciated.

I can't really be unbiased, because I have all three of my books from AQ20, but that being said, I agree with Chrysalia. In the end, the goal with this raid is to have fun, and learn to take down some new bosses, so let's not lose sight of that. I would like to see some sort of "Zero Sum-like" weight given to people who have attended the most. I think I have been there since the first week, and other than the quest items (Ring, Hilt) or anything nice that Ossirian might have for Rogues, I only want one item from AQ20 - the Dagger. Like Chrysalia has hinted at, I can see where I might get a little steamed if I lost out to someone who had not put in the time and effort that the rest of the regulars and myself as put in simply because a random number generator favored the other player, especially on an item that has dropped once out of, what - 12 weeks... We already have a similar system in place for the scarabs based on attendance, just making all the loot on this same scale shouldn't be too difficult. It's not my call, but Chrysalia has a valid point. Is it something that could be considered? EDIT: Winning Backstab 9 with a roll of "1" was hilarious, by the way.