The good kind of wiping
Last night we spent a good 2 hours on Heroic Sindragosa 25, and while we didn’t down her, we got closer than ever before with 13% as our best attempt.
The whole night was generally moving in the same direction, upward. I remember when we first started working on this fight three weeks ago we were losing five people to the frost bombs every air phase, with a further number being cut down by asphyxiation. Last night, not so much. We had many air phases where no one got nuked. It got to the point where I didn’t have to obsessively watch grid to look for the little boxes to grey out and inform me of deaths, people were taking care of themselves.
Progress!
Unchained Magic was a lot better too, with fewer instances like three weeks ago when a mage blew us all up with some massive stack of Instability immediately following a Blistering Cold. He did more than 1 million friendly fire damage and set a new record I suspect the casters are secretly aspiring to topple. I’m watching them.
But in any case, in the flight to the steps at the beginning of the air phase, people were really good about standing aside and minimizing damage.
Likewise people were amazing about getting on the proper spots when Frost Beaconed. In the 36 air phases we did last night I can only think of two times when someone was in the wrong spot. And we only got an extra block once.
More progress!
Stuff to work on, though: people panicking in phase 3 and forgetting to not blow up the raid, to pay attention to their debuffs, the works. I always shout “Marathon, not a sprint!” when the third phase starts. Not that that helps much, but it carries the philosophy of the fight–phase three is the main show, and it’s about endurance, not zerging down the boss.
We’re getting there. We are totally getting there and I fully expect a kill on this fight, one of the hardest in the game, in the next two weeks. If not next week. It’s just a matter of time.
Despite the fact that we didn’t get a kill last night, I think morale still remains pretty high. We didn’t spend the attempts raging at people who got Frost Bombed to death, or hit some people with Instability. Frank didn’t ever poke up his bilious head at any point. We’re really not that kind of guild ultimately. And besides, that’s what the knee-cappings are for.
Instead people were joking and having fun and trying to keep people positively motivated. We had some good laughs at points like right after a fourth Bomb hit, Falowin was watching his block’s health diminish (but not his DBM apparently) and started shouting “NOT MY BLOCK, DON’T BREAK MY BLOCK” in a blind panic. Once he was broken out he realized air phase was over. We all got a good laugh and I’m sure that will come back to haunt him.
And speaking of events that will come back to haunt people, poor Morvain. The guy last night was hopped up to the gills on vicodin due to a horrible tooth-ache. Ever a trooper (and with a Gollum-like devotion to his Shadowmourne shards) he still raided, without much of any performance lost. Except for one moment last night when we switched it back to normal at the last 30 minutes of the raid to wrap up the LK and were kind of blowing off steam on the far less deadly Sindy Normal.
We’re deep into phase 3, with myself and a swath of people hiding behind a block dropping our Buffet. Morvain is there and gets targeted by Frost Beacon. “Morvain,” someone mechanically notes, reading off DBM. Nothing happens. “Morvain move.” … “MORVAIN!”
Then a woosh and about 10 of us are encased in ice blocks. “Sorry guys,” Morvain meekly pipes up, snapping out of his haze. “I was looking at my cat.”
Everyone is caught up in the sheer absurdity of it all, and in the haze of laughter and tears the other half of the raid gets iceblocked. We lose it, and–of course–the fight. Wipe.
It was kind of worth it. Like Antigen said, definitely the birth of an in-joke. That damn cat.
Armory Feed
I will admit, I am secretly plotting to one night get my unchained magic stacks up very high and blowing up the raid…I will beat the 1 million damage record.
@IldaraTheDruid
19 August 2010 at 2:26 pm #
Vili, that has got to be the worst “secret” plotting I`ve ever seen :)
@hazmacewillraid
19 August 2010 at 3:07 pm #
I think I felt a hot tear streaking down my face from laughing so frickin’ hard. And props to Valenus for finding that lawlcat pic; it’s damn near perfect.
I’m kinda sad, though, that the Morvain-Cat incident completely overshadowed my memory of the thing with Falowin in the ice block. Although I suppose it’s for the best, I think Falowin receives enough jeers and taunting already.
Antigen’s last blog ..The Birth of an In-Joke
@Rhidach
19 August 2010 at 3:14 pm #
I think Falowin receives enough jeers and taunting already.
Don’t ever say that again!
@Anafielle
19 August 2010 at 5:14 pm #
We really did progress with regard to frost blocks. Every single attempt for the last hour or so of work, every block target went to the right place, and I didn’t see anyone die to the 1st frost bomb (that most dangerous one).
I’m pretty confident, but phase 3 is scary. Definitely wearing 3 pieces of frost gear next time.
@Rilgon
20 August 2010 at 12:55 pm #
Bad idea, she’ll beat the living shit out of you with her melee if you shed more than a ring and MAYBE one piece.
Rilgon Arcsinh’s last blog ..Once More- With Whistles
@Rhidach
20 August 2010 at 12:59 pm #
Eh it depends on how much armor and stamina we’re losing. I need to crunch the numbers and see the payoff between the average resist for adding another 100 FR and however much EH we have to shed in trade. With 65% frost damage, and the biggest burst being the Frost Breath, I have a feeling it can be worth it if balanced correctly.
@Rilgon
20 August 2010 at 12:54 pm #
The cardinal rule of Sindy HM: If you are a DPS and you have Unchained Magic, just stop effing casting period. :P
Rilgon Arcsinh’s last blog ..Once More- With Whistles
@anolaana
21 August 2010 at 5:24 pm #
Hahaha! It must be a scourged cat- “I’m in yeur housz, CCing yeur raid!”
Our guild’s working on Sindragosa-n and it’s going quite alright. I think we’re going to down her today, but we probably would have downed her in one of the first few tries yesterday if I didn’t keep running the wrong way…