So, I just want you all to know, I’m kind of doing a little dance right now. Internally, that it is. It’s probably the Blood Elf dance (shudder) and it’s accompanied by dialogue along the lines of: “who da man” “who’s your daddy” and “yeah baby.”
We did a wing of Naxx on Sunday, the spider one (I hate spiders, I really hate spiders), and it took us like four hours but, hey, we did it.
And guess who topped the healing meters.
And guess who came at the bottom of the over-healing meters.
And guess who’s pretty certain it didn’t mean a damn.
We had three healers and, quite frankly, we needed them because our DPS was low. And one of the other healers had less good gear than me and the other one was a discipline priest so, yeah, topping the healing meters really made me a big man.
The reason I’m really happy, and doing an internal dance, is because we did a little corner of Naxx. And to think people scoffed at the idea that someone as frivolous as me could ever do something as hardcore as raiding – even if it was only Naxx For Beginners. Also Maexxna dropped the Timeworn Silken Band and it was actually an upgrade, since I have shite rings, so it resideth upon my finger even now.
I have gear … that was actually from a raid. A real raid.
How awesome is that? I’ll tell you. It’s bloody awesome. That’s how awesome it is.
I’m not, by nature, a loot-luster. “Does it look any good” and “Is it purple” (i.e. is it literally coloured purple, not is it a sweet epix lol) tend to dominate my thinking in the gearing field far more than they should. But if it can’t look good and it can’t be purple, I’ll settle for something with a story behind it. If you’ve had to do something semi-difficult, or at least semi-meaningful, to achieve it, then it feels like loot worth having. I mourn the loss of my titansteel guardian because M’Pocket Tank made it for me from titansteel I smelted myself. I miss my moonshroud robe because Mr Pewpew told me it was the crafted epic for gentlemen of quality, and I had to have it specially imported from the Alliance Auction House. It was pretty tense getting it through customs at Booty Bay, let me tell you. The Embrace of Madness came out of the PUG that nearly drove me to a nervous breakdown, so it’s quite hard to really get affectionate about it after that, however apt the name. And I should really upgrade The Talisman of Troll Divinity but I can’t bring myself to do it. Not only did the Trolls of Zul’Drak rise up and kill their gods, but they sell in them pocket-sized versions in their gift shops. I didn’t particularly do anything meaningful to attain it but how can you not love a healing trinket that sneaks around touching up your party members… But I think my Timeworn Silken Band has now replaced pretty much everything I own as the darling of my fickle eye. Not because it’s super special or anything but because I went into Naxx with 9 other people, we killed everything dead and I snatched it from one of Maexxna’s still-twitching legs. I earned it. Well me and three other casters earned it but Lady RNG, capricious and beautiful harlot that she is, thought I deserved it. Excuse me a moment, I must supplicate myself and send humble thanks to the Goddess, lest she smite me for impudence.
I think this is part of the problem with the badge system. Of course it makes perfect sense that you shouldn’t be dependent on a large number of other people and Lady RNG to get gear, but even though you do “work” for your upgrades by running a bunch of heroics it feels somewhat uninspiring. You rock up to the vendors, with your badges clutched in your sweaty paw, and they’re all “yeah, I’ve got this tier whatever helm, dropped off the back of a cart, mint condition, lovely workmanship, nobody will be able to tell the difference.” It’s like that bit in the Three Musketeers when Porthos shows up with a sash of gold that is only gold on the bits that aren’t concealed by his cloak. Or, if you prefer, it’s the gear equivalent of a fake Fendi handbag (see, I have learned something from all that Sex and the City, not that I have a clue what a real Fendi handbag is, or why Sarah Jessica Parker would want one, let alone a fake one).
Annnnyway … back to Naxx….
Our raid comp was basically poor. We had 2 pallys, 3 DKs, 3 priests, and 2 warlocks, so the poison was troublesome to say the least. Big healz all round, then? I’m totally going to level my shaman, they’re just so unspeakably useful. Healing was, by and large, excellent, even if I say so myself – I was on main tank and raid, and I think the three of us came together as a healing team pretty nicely. The main tank (M’Pocket Tank, all grown up!) and the off-tank were great too, and worked pretty well together. Our DPS though, bar one of the warlocks, was shaky at best. But I suppose we’re just the sort of bunch of clueless casuals for whom Blizzard are apparently dumbing the game down. One cannot walk into Mordor Naxxramus. We were probably an affront to raiding but, dammit, it was such an insane amount of fun. And, even though it probably shouldn’t have been, not unchallenging either.
I wasn’t leading it or anything but I think by the end of it I was kind of Main Nanny, if that can be a recognised role. The problem with 10 man teams is that all the dither associated with 5-maning is exponentially increased. All it takes is one for person to go to the bog and suddenly somebody has ordered a pizza, somebody is taking a smoke break, somebody has gone randomly afk, someone said ‘brb’ about 20 minutes ago and the rest of you are banging your head against the walls. So you catch yourself saying things like “Well you should have gone before the trash pull, shouldn’t you?” and “For God’s sake, just hold it while we kill the boss.” It’s a very silly business. I know you’ve got to go when you’ve got to go but I have never seen a group of people with so little bladder control. And I’m betting they all saw the Lord of the Rings at the cinema.
Annnnyway … back to Naxx….
The first boss, I think, was the most difficult for us, partially at least because we were still getting the hang of things and partially because you have to rely on the DPS not to behave like absolute muppets. We decided to treat it as a tank and spank, not entirely trusting the DPS to be able to move in the right way while M’Pocket Tank was kiting the boss down the side of the room. (Also have you seen that diagram on WoW wiki? Like what the hell? Somebody was assuredly taking the piss with that. Big time. Nothing makes you feel like you’re playing with the big boys like a tactics diagram you can’t interpret). So we went for the “tank in the doorway / DPS in the middle of the room” strategy. This led to the raid being generally too spread out since the adds were being tanked somewhere near the back quartile and the boss was right at the front. Healers ran back and forth headless chicken stylee but all but our most reliable DK seemed to forget that they were meant to killing the many small things as well as the one big thing. So the OT got overwhelmed by adds, the adds ate me, then M’Pocket Tank died, and then the rest of the raid died.
Ignominious.
Although it’s weirdly gratifying how quickly the main tank dies in a raid if the tank healer bites it. In heroics these days, because she is over-geared and, of course, an invincible paladin, M’Pocket Tank usually does absolutely fine if I keel over midway through a boss fight. Guess I’ll just die at the back in my sissy robe then…
Annnnyway … back to Naxx….
In order to try and reduce the run-around for the healers and the raid, we decided to tank Anub at the back of the room this time. Except, hilariously, despite having answered ready to the readycheck, the OT was temporarily lobotomised or something and failed to enter the fucking room.
In some ways this was quite good as he was inclined to be cocky, on account of knowing Naxx way better than the rest of us. Having managed to wipe the whole raid, he was much nicer from this point on.
Needless to say, we did wipe, although not as ignominiously as last time. I did promote Most Reliable DPS to temporary off-tank (bless him, he tried so hard) rather than call a wipe straight away just to give people more practice in where and how they should have been moving. We got Anub to about halfway before losing control of the situation – as was inevitable. And, best of all, the OT was very very sorry.
The raid was naturally a bit demoralised at this point so I called up my inner Henry V in order to rally the troops. I mean, we’d failed much less badly than the first time, even though we didn’t have an OT.
I was pretty sure we’d take it next time and, yay verily, the deed was done. We lost 2DPS (the 2 who, were, of course pulling the highest DPS – but then there’s no point topping the meters if you STAND WHERE YOU SHOULDN’T BE STANDING) in the first locust swarm, which was annoying as all hell, but we whittled, and we whittled, and we whittled and finally the big beetle fell. Woot.
There was a horribly hairy moment at about 7%. I think the reason it is advised that you tank him in the doorway not at the back of the room is because one of the adds ran into M’Pocket Tank’s consecrate radius. Obviously she couldn’t stop consecrating, so the OT tried to taunt off her, except he accidentally taunted Anub. It was probably what Mr Pew Pew would call a “new pants for the healing team at table 5 situation” because it seemed perilously likely that we’d lose either the MT or the OT and, from there, probably the rest of the group.
But no! From the brink, we pulled it back. Back we pulled it! No idea how we managed it. It’s hard to make healing sound exciting but bloody hell my heart was in my throat. There was a second … an endless, eternal second … in which the OT was on 1% health.
I’m sure anybody who has ever healed will know this second intimately. Your entire healing life flashes before your eyes. It is absolutely analogous to that scene in a movie in which somebody is just about to be shot, or fall off a cliff or whatever, and somebody else is reaching out towards them in a distorted slow-motion going “noooooooooooooooo!” That is what you’re doing in your head during the second.
What with the boss being, now, at 7% we were at the end of our healing tethers. We had no resources. I’d already blown Queen Susan’s Guardian Spirit, and know I the other holy priest doesn’t factor it into her rotation like I do so, yeah, it was PW:S or bust.
Another endless, endless, interminable second, the whole of the raid suspended there, as if in amber. A faint buzzing at the back of my head.
And then the heals hit. Bam. Bam. Bam. And he was back up to full in the time it takes you to say “ohthankfuckinggod.”
And it was pretty much plain sailing from there. We did the Grand Widow exactly like we were supposed to but we somehow accidentally got the achievement. Whu? Err, thanks. I thought she was hitting pretty fucking hard. Maexxna’s webs were mildly problematic and caused us a couple of wipes, especially since the DPS who was supposed to be dealing with them, kind of well, just didn’t. Thus we lost all healers one after the other and the raid wiped. Yelling ensued and the OT and a warlock took over de-webbing duties and, from there, it was fine.
So, yeah, that was Naxx: spider wing. And how much of a riot is this raiding lark? Give me more.
This has to be the saddest post you’ve made. To me. Its a great post. I wish I was still as jazzed up about raids too, i miss that time. when i would log in 2 hours before raid and wait at the entrance. (yes i did that, and so did about 24 others, back in the Molten core days, I was in a crappy guild and first come, first serve to raids). But i miss that buzz going in.
Awww, that must be the saddest comment
I’m so sorry you’ve lost the buzz – hopefully it will return to you. Maybe? Perhaps you should adopt-a-noob or something
There is a weird paradox with WoW – or maybe it’s a kind of bell curve. While you’re learning something, it’s increasingly fun, and then you get good at it and then … suddenly it’s boring. Gah.
Hah, yes, it's quite the welcome party.
Possibly we were Doin It Wrong but M'Pocket Tank and I were using our leet-super-awesome tank/healer relationship to deal with the spell-locks. She'd blow all cooldowns before the swarm hit, I would get her massively protected and we'd actually just, err, ride 'em out – I managed to avoid the zone, as did most people actually, apart from the 2 DPS who stood there like lemons and had Anub rip through them like they were made of wet butter. Not a happy experience for them.
Bizarrely, it was almost the best thing that could have happened – as someone said above, that's kind of a real wakeup call for the DPS. Nobody wants to watch a fight from the wings.
Thank you kindly
It's certainly been a blast.
I'll be hardcore before you know it, although considering the fuss I kick up at having to heal the 5-man Trial of the Champion I can't readily imagine myself ever being willing to take on the raid
Thank you kindly, although I'm disappointed I haven't had a single comment replying appropriately "you da man"
Oh yeah, we poked our noses into the plague quarter to see what was in store for us next week – and because it was a casual toe over the threshold thing, I hadnt' time to mark up properly so….the tank face pulled, I couldn't get people to co-ordinate their attacks and the gargoyles wiped us.
Oh the shame!
Thank you kindly
This has to be the saddest post you've made. To me. Its a great post. I wish I was still as jazzed up about raids too, i miss that time. when i would log in 2 hours before raid and wait at the entrance. (yes i did that, and so did about 24 others, back in the Molten core days, I was in a crappy guild and first come, first serve to raids). But i miss that buzz going in.
Hooray! Another raider…
That first raid is always a bit of a revelation, but personally I think you’ll love Naxx all the way through. Especially healing the Four Horsemen – that’s one of my favorite Naxx bosses. Naxx is where I really started raiding, and I have a fond place for it way down in the cockles of my heart, so much so that I’m almost always up for another Naxx run, no matter that I’m so overgeared at this point that I’m basically polishing my nails in there half the time on Taz. It’s still always a blast.
Enjoy the discovery and have fun casual raiding!
Hardly a raider. A raidette perhaps.
I think the thing about WoW is that it’s such a vast experience, you want the opportunity to try everything. And being able to get 9 other people together to have a bash at something you *should* be able to do is a stupid amount of fun.
I’m looking forward to seeing what the other wings have to offer.
Hooray! Another raider…
That first raid is always a bit of a revelation, but personally I think you'll love Naxx all the way through. Especially healing the Four Horsemen – that's one of my favorite Naxx bosses. Naxx is where I really started raiding, and I have a fond place for it way down in the cockles of my heart, so much so that I'm almost always up for another Naxx run, no matter that I'm so overgeared at this point that I'm basically polishing my nails in there half the time on Taz. It's still always a blast.
Enjoy the discovery and have fun casual raiding!
I think Blizzard has finally gotten it close to right. Is Naxx cutting edge? Not even close – but you can round up 9/24 people, and as long as they aren’t complete idiots, you can go in and have fun.
Did another PUG 25 – DPS was still shite, but we did the military wing (me on my noob mage) with minimal difficulties. Sure, it was really long – but we laughed and had a good time doing it.
Keep casual raiding. Sounds like you’ve got the right attitude – and that’s what counts. You can heal my PUG any time.
I bet you say that to all the priests
Glad to hear you’re having fun with your PUGed raids – you’re giving me confidence to give it a go myself. I might see how Sunday goes and then throw myself intot h shark infested waters and see how it goes
I think Blizzard has finally gotten it close to right. Is Naxx cutting edge? Not even close – but you can round up 9/24 people, and as long as they aren't complete idiots, you can go in and have fun.
Did another PUG 25 – DPS was still shite, but we did the military wing (me on my noob mage) with minimal difficulties. Sure, it was really long – but we laughed and had a good time doing it.
Keep casual raiding. Sounds like you've got the right attitude – and that's what counts. You can heal my PUG any time.
Yeah, we're going to sneak into the plague wing on Sunday – we did a bit of it last week, just to see what things were like in there but our DPS wouldn't co-ordinate and get their act together (or for that matter follow the goddamn kill order) so we actually wiped on the horrible gargoyle things. Not exactly encouraging but people were tired, and concentration had flagged a bit so I think if we go in there fresh and eager on Sunday it'll go better.
I've been researching the dance but theory and practice are very different and I'll probably die humiliatingly in the first five seconds
I'm looking forward to trying it though, it looks like a lot of fun.
You were, errr, laughing with us not at us, right
Good luck on your Naxx-10 revival – I look forward to reading about it 
I imagine it'll go a lot more smoothly than ours.
That sounds really depressing … ToC-hc really annoys me because I suspect it works kind of along those lines. It's not an interest or even a complex challenge, it's a gruelling act of brute force againt the healer. It's bad enough to see that sort of thing in heroics – I quail from seeing it in instances, especially considering how much instances exaggerate and intensify everything.
But, like you, when I get bored or frustrated I'll stop.
At the moment though, it's an awfully big adventure
The problem was our pallys were our MT and our OT and although they were doing their best it was one more burden to lay across their already straining shoulders.
I haven't dared PUG a raid, that sounds like a recipe for absolute carnage. I might try it when I'm more familiar but, for the moment, I'll hide behind my guild, where at least people are more forgiving of stupidity and ignorance. The last thing I want to do is fuck up a Naxx-25 run or something.
But, yeah, it's definitely a whole lot of fun – I am enjoying it but I'm not crazily invested in it. I don't want/need the loot, but I do want to support my guildies and generally walow in a sense of shared success – even if that means carrying on like the bunch of noobs we are and constantly going to the toilet
Awww, that must be the saddest comment
I'm so sorry you've lost the buzz – hopefully it will return to you. Maybe? Perhaps you should adopt-a-noob or something
There is a weird paradox with WoW – or maybe it's a kind of bell curve. While you're learning something, it's increasingly fun, and then you get good at it and then … suddenly it's boring. Gah.
I bet you say that to all the priests
Glad to hear you're having fun with your PUGed raids – you're giving me confidence to give it a go myself. I might see how Sunday goes and then throw myself intot h shark infested waters and see how it goes
Hardly a raider. A raidette perhaps.
I think the thing about WoW is that it's such a vast experience, you want the opportunity to try everything. And being able to get 9 other people together to have a bash at something you *should* be able to do is a stupid amount of fun.
I'm looking forward to seeing what the other wings have to offer.
My thinking to gear seems to be
“ohhh, it glows!”
“Oh wow it makes me look like a ninja” (the cloth hoods that cover your face)
“Ooooo it has pretty markings on it”
My thinking is very similar:
“Oooooh, it glows!”
“Oh wow, it *doesn’t* make me look like a gimp” (cf the typical Northrend caster hood)
My thinking to gear seems to be
"ohhh, it glows!"
"Oh wow it makes me look like a ninja" (the cloth hoods that cover your face)
"Ooooo it has pretty markings on it"
My thinking is very similar:
"Oooooh, it glows!"
"Oh wow, it *doesn't* make me look like a gimp" (cf the typical Northrend caster hood)
My thinking is very similar:
"Oooooh, it glows!"
"Oh wow, it *doesn't* make me look like a gimp" (cf the typical Northrend caster hood)
My thinking is very similar:
"Oooooh, it glows!"
"Oh wow, it *doesn't* make me look like a gimp" (cf the typical Northrend caster hood)
My thinking is very similar:
"Oooooh, it glows!"
"Oh wow, it *doesn't* make me look like a gimp" (cf the typical Northrend caster hood)
I can clearly remember in level 60 Naxxramas I was the only mage who never wasted points bidding on Tier 3 Frostfire because it looked so ridiculous. To hell with your set bonuses, sirrah! It makes me look like a gimp!
I can totally get where you’re coming from. :p
Welcome to raiding, that sound you heard as you hearthed out of the instance was your life disappearing.
I can clearly remember in level 60 Naxxramas I was the only mage who never wasted points bidding on Tier 3 Frostfire because it looked so ridiculous. To hell with your set bonuses, sirrah! It makes me look like a gimp!
I can totally get where you're coming from. :p
Welcome to raiding, that sound you heard as you hearthed out of the instance was your life disappearing.
Hey, gratz on becoming a noob raider! I started a couple of months ago with a deeply casual bunch of folks on my RP server, y’know, giving Naxx a go on 10-man. Now we’re deep in the bowels of Ulduar (well Freya’s bowers really) and worrying about DPS rotations and strategies for not getting /teabagged by Varian Wrynn’s hand-picked bastards in TotC. Life at 80 really is more fun!
Oh, and you da man!
Hey, gratz on becoming a noob raider! I started a couple of months ago with a deeply casual bunch of folks on my RP server, y'know, giving Naxx a go on 10-man. Now we're deep in the bowels of Ulduar (well Freya's bowers really) and worrying about DPS rotations and strategies for not getting /teabagged by Varian Wrynn's hand-picked bastards in TotC. Life at 80 really is more fun!
Oh, and you da man!
As a certified hard-core raider I shouldn’t even be reading your blog, much less a post about wiping on Anub’Arak. And yet, I find myself smiling and remembering the good old days back when I was not certified.
I truly enjoy your blogging, thank you.
As a certified hard-core raider I shouldn't even be reading your blog, much less a post about wiping on Anub'Arak. And yet, I find myself smiling and remembering the good old days back when I was not certified.
I truly enjoy your blogging, thank you.
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