On Wednesday night, we got a full 25-man guild run together and downed Longspeeches Bringer Saurfang. It was a big pile of awesome, covered in awesome sauce, with an awesome cherry and awesome sprinkles on top of it. And some awesome on the side in case anybody wanted any more awesome. Ahem. It was the “last attempt of the night magic” Hine was talking about a few comments back. Saurfang has kind of been wiping our faces on the floor for a while now, and we were all pretty tired but with each successive attempt there was noticeable improvement and, finally, just when everyone was about to pass out over their keyboards and The Indecent Healer had been saying “I really really need to go to bed now” for about half an hour … down he went, to a split second of awed silence followed by an immense roar of pride and satisfaction over Vent.
As ever, the situation itself was faintly incongruous, with poor old Dad weeping over his son’s body while 25 us bopped and whooped crazily in the background. The thing that really cracked me up was the guild leader yelling: “quick, everybody on the steps for a kill shot before Saurfang takes the body away!” Can you imagine the conversation?
High Overlord Saurfang weeps over the corpse of his son.
High Overlord Saurfang says: Honor, young heroes… no matter how dire the battle… Never forsake it!
Random Raid Leader says: Err, do you mind leaving the body alone for a moment?
High Overlord Saufang blinks.
Random Raid Leader says: It’s just you bugger off with it pretty quickly and we need a kill shot of your son’s mutilated corpse with us all cheering over it for the website.
High Overlord Surfang says: I understand, young hero. Screen shot or it didn’t happen.
Note to Blizzard: poignancy is difficult to achieve in a raid context.
I’m sorry this all probably sounds like boasting, and there’s nothing duller than “I did this awesome thing and then I did this awesome and then I did this awesome thing” blogging (hmm…I wonder if The Best Paladin On The Server keeps a blog) but it’s not about what was achieved so much as the feeling of achievement … if that distinction makes any sense at all. It was the first Guild First I’ve ever been present at, and it was a Big One, you know, because they’d been at it a while and there was a creeping sense of “wah, we’ll never be able to do this.” And, truthfully, that was the first guild raid I’ve EVER been in where I felt that I wasn’t being carried, I wasn’t two steps behind the big boys, trying to learn and scrabbling for gear while everyone was else was just facerolling along … in short the first time I felt that I had a RIGHT to be there, and they wouldn’t have been better off with somebody else.
Incidentally, this makes raiding much more fun.
Also, I’m not sure if this is heresy, but I think I might prefer 25-man raiding to 10-man. The rewards are greater. I don’t mean the phat lewts, I mean the emotional and psychological rewards. I know people like 10-mans because they’re more intense and you have a greater sense of personal responsibility but 25-man raids are grandiose and epic. They feel less gamey (10 people executing as well as they can what is basically a synchronised swimming routine) and more like an actual battle against foes so vast and impossible it takes 25 of you to take them out. Also, and I suspect this is The Wrong Way Round, but I have a greater sense of continuity from our 25-man raids. Because who ends up in a 10 man is largely circumstantial and random, I never get any coherent sense of the team and spend most of the run trying to put voices to names and names to characters, but the central core of the 25-man raids is pretty constant so there’s a measurable sense of connection and progress.
The, errr, the, err, other thing that was pretty exciting for me about this particular 25-man raid was, uh … okay, there’s no way I can say this without smugery:
I GOT A SHINY!!!!
It’s a new hat – the Corp’rethar Ceremonial Crown. And anybody who tells me that I’d be better off the with Thaumaturge’s Crackling Cowl because of the haste can just … y’know … go away again.
And it is the SHINIEST THING I have ever owned in WoW. Like, look at that bad boy. Just thinking about it makes me dizzy with acquisitiveness and desire. It was an unexpected bonus, which makes the pleasure all the more intense. And this isn’t even sticky, mortifying, solitary loot lust. I’ve had that loot, baby – we’re currently entwined, and I’m stroking the cheek of the loot and asking sensitive questions about its life (and I’m desperate for a cigarette but that’s neither here nor there). I know I’m probably over-reacting here and having me going WE DID THIS AWESOME THING AND THEN I GOT AN AWESOME THING is probably boring and/or infuriating but, again, this is the first time I’ve even brushed the fleeting fingertips of current content. It’s like WoW is a completely different game from here – the view is dizzing, and I’m the KING OF THE WORLD!
Anyway. Check out mah hat:
ZOMG!!
I’m embarrassed to say that screenshot was taken about two seconds before we engaged DBS, and rather than getting into position I was just spinning my camera round and round and round my own head. I think maybe the RL was talking about some tactics or something like that but all I could hear was “hathathathathathathathathathat.”
Although what I particularly like about, err, mah hat is this:
I am the god of hell fire and I bring you MA HAT!!! (shoulda been a warlock really, huh?)
Can you beat that?! Like warriors and the like think they’re hardcore with all their metal and spikes BUT MY HAT IS ON FIRE BITCHES!!! Now that is truly hardcore. Oh yeah. Also it’s probably really useful. Excellent healing hat = portable BBQ. Acts as a light source. Keeps the raid warm in the punishing colds of Northrend (speaking of which, everyone standing close to me should totally lose the 20% loss of dodge debuff in ICC because of the heat radiating from my head). You could even get a lot of priests in a line and use them to send messages, like the beacon fires in Lord of the Rings.
I’m about to stop going on about mah hat any second now. But there’s one more thing I think is totally brilliant about it. In homage to Kahleena who I still miss (UPDATE: ZOMG! HE’S BACK!) I can finally do my own “Seperated at Birth”
Who is the fairest of them all?
I am quite excited that the artistic inspiration behind the current gear seems to be Disney Princesses. But what’s next?
Look, I don't care how much SP it's got on it, this robe is too sissy even for me and that off-hand item really sucks.
WTB Jafar Tier plz.
Congrats! There's always something special about the first shiny you get from a newly opened raid instance
Hope it is the first of many to come.
Given the paroxysms of glee one shiny can inspire in me, I think everybody else is hoping this is it
Awesome hat is awesome
I am sure the raid leader understood 
Maybe you could have asked the rest of the raid to stand back a bit while you took some screenies of the Purple Hood of FIYAH in action 
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Yes, I'll do that next time. Excuse me, but all 24 of you are getting in the way of MAH HAT!
"I wasn’t two steps behind the big boys, trying to learn and scrabbling for gear while everyone was else was just facerolling along … in short the first time I felt that I had a RIGHT to be there, and they wouldn’t have been better off with somebody else.
Incidentally, this makes raiding much more fun." Don't I know the feeling, and you betcha i miss it!!!
Its the greatest feeling on earth.
Also, i fear that I just may have to pull the old Vanilla old school raiding card on you: Getting a first kill in old Naxx or Molten Core or whatever they where called back then with forty (40) raiders pulling all they had (or at least afk'ing very secretly) was a tremedous feeling. I erally hope that Blizz makes one 40 manned raid singleboss old school type of encounter again for Cataclysm. At least an onyxia style non-important one.
That would guarantee me signing up for it.
I think 40 dudes might blow my tiny mind… but it does sound pretty awesome, Old Timer.
I don't know how long this feeling of actually being relevant will count – last night I was a noob lose in the Plagueworks
Had one, T8. Poor Mages looked like apophis (a la sg-1 season 1) had babies with Jules Verne.
The cowl is better btw, but only because I lost the roll
The ironic part? The guild leader hit his push to talk button instead of his screenshot button. I believe there’s a shot where everyone but me is there – I was running off somewhere random
Hey, if I want to be a part time crazy disco priest, the crit'll do me good.
Well, as long as you don't start hitting your screenshot button instead of your push-to-talk button… but still, I thought you I saw your little undead, SADLY UNFLAMING head, on the official kill shot, which is the main thing
I think A Certain Somebody bunny-eared Erc on the Festerwossname/Rotthingy kill shot – he was not best pleased.
Yeah, Shawoman's very good at randomly bunny-earing at least one raid member on the killshots
Don't diss Beauty's Rose of Poonage, the proc (20% chance of a heal making the raid burst into song) is to die for!
*convert* That would be brilliant – wtb Boomkin solo
Had one, T8. Poor Mages looked like apophis (a la sg-1 season 1) had babies with Jules Verne.
The cowl is better btw, but only because I lost the roll
The ironic part? The guild leader hit his push to talk button instead of his screenshot button. I believe there’s a shot where everyone but me is there – I was running off somewhere random
Lol, Tam, new hat.
Grats! ^_^
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I thought a fire mage like you would appreciate it
The hat! The hat! I can feel its awesomeness and hot flames even from here!
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Indeed – bring marshmallows, celebrate the hat!
Grats!
And OMG I love Disney movies! The queen from snow white comparision nearly head me wetting my pants
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Ahem…I have rather a softspot for Disney movies myself…*sheepish*
Man, this was epic post
Entertainment factor of your pics is at least 12 out of 10. Congratz on your first loot!
Thank you kindly – delighted to have entertained (and got a HAT! out of it, too
)
And that feeling of crowning-moment -of-awesome (plus I got a new hat) is why we progression raid. It feels really good to beat something you've actually worked at/for. As for 10 vs 25, I think a lot depends on who you do what with. You've found your ten mans disconnected, whereas ours is more of a tightknit group of our guild's elite.
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To be honest, I quite like the fact our guild's ten mans are *not* the guild's elite core – otherwise people like mke wouldn't have a hope in hell of ever raiding. I think it is to their credit that, if you're geared and can manage to avoid the fire, you can rock up with a bunch of folks to ICC – I would hate to lose the inclusiveness. I think possibly it's just the 25mans bring out the, err, absolute best in us
Very awesome hat!
And ty for giving me a giggle today. I really needed one.
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Damn straight it's an awesome hat
And my pleasure – delighted to have amused
the hat, the hat, the hat is on fire!
rofl, thank you for the comedy!
Thank you for reading – I'm always glad to entertain. And, y'know, it was all really a cover so I could boast about mah awesome hat on the internet
Posts about a series of awesome things are completely justified when Awesome Hats of Fire are involved
Grats!
I suspected Being On Fire TM might have made a difference
Grats, Tam XD
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Thank you kindly *bursts into song*
Wow, fire hat
. Big gratz!
Jafar gear, isn't that for warlocks? You will have to do with Cinderella's high healed shoes of glass (spell power, spirit and of course extra haste) and the fairy godmother's trinket (spell power and on use the target of your healing will transform into a lovely young lady that no mob will have the heart to attack for 5 seconds. 2 minutes cooldown).
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Thank you
And, yes, you're probably right – red and black and goatees have warlock written all over them.. sigh!
Also I'd probably do quite well with a trinket that turned me into a lovely young lady – it might make random pugs be nicer to me
Tam,
Gratz on ‘Teh rockin hat of fiery awesumz’! I am not on current content. Not even close. I am enjoying my dabbling in raiding tho. Who knows, maybe even I can get some gear someday.
Can I persuade you to update the link in your blogroll to point at my wordpress home, plz!
Update inc – thanks for the reminder. *disorganised priest is disorganised*
This is the first time I have ever been in the same ballpark as current content – it is a nice buzz but all the not-current stuff was still a blast (except TotC, I hated that). Also I'm still chipping away at Ulduar….
Lol grats on the hat. My friend got that in a pug on .. yesterday.. had a similar reaction :p
I love priest tiers, sucks being a hunter again with poo coloured gear! I miss being shiny.
Nobody can resist a fiery hat… (and zomg successful 25-man pug?! My mind reels).
Northrend is a bit brown generally, unfortunately, but at least us clothies can hope for a splash of purple now and again – I always envy mages their Blasting Crowns.
Indeed – bring marshmallows, celebrate the hat!
Damn straight it's an awesome hat
And my pleasure – delighted to have amused 
Hah! Tier 10 mage hat has a villainous moustache drawn on it! I TWIRL MY MOUSTACHE AT YOU, SIR! I TWIRL IT RIGHT UP!
Would have been better if it was on fire, though.
Y'know, I thought you were joking or exaggerating but YOU'RE RIGHT!
Time to get yourself a diamond tipped cane to go with it, and then start tying belves to the deeprun tram tracks….
I know, it’s like the set designer had a “Bring your Kid to work” day and left the munchkin unnattended at his desk when he went for a whiz. Came back and never noticed the kid had gotten bored and drawn comedy moustaches on everything.
Ghostcrawler gets the designs back and goes: “Yeah, like we’re you’re going with the mage thing. Bet you’d have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for those damn kids, huh?”
Hah! Tier 10 mage hat has a villainous moustache drawn on it! I TWIRL MY MOUSTACHE AT YOU, SIR! I TWIRL IT RIGHT UP!
Would have been better if it was on fire, though.
I know, it’s like the set designer had a “Bring your Kid to work” day and left the munchkin unnattended at his desk when he went for a whiz. Came back and never noticed the kid had gotten bored and drawn comedy moustaches on everything.
Ghostcrawler gets the designs back and goes: “Yeah, like we’re you’re going with the mage thing. Bet you’d have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for those damn kids, huh?”
[...] was a good evening for the Edge of Light, our progression raid team. We cleared through ICC to kill Longspeeches Bringer Deathbringer Saurfang (Thanks Tamarind, that got a chuckle in raid) in just on two hours, so we [...]
[...] Tam and Chas at Righteous Orbs are always entertaining. Clearly channelling Angry Priest, Chas has been Winning Asshole Chicken, and Tam has the most unfortunately-named Troll Shaman ever – Kumquat. This will invitably be shortened to Kum, and at some point he’s going to be asked to heal a raid. If you haven’t figured out the consequences by now, just go read the post. Oh, while you’re there, go tell Tam that you like his new hat. [...]