However, we’d like to try giving the 25-man raids in Ulduar a proper attempt every now and again, so this week (starting Wednesday the 9th) we’ll be doing a ‘hardcore’ week, where we attempt 25-man Ulduar and ToC.

For this week, we will not be scheduling any of our normal 10-man Team Awesome or Team Win raids (late night Naxx will still be going ahead). We will also not be scheduling our normal 25-man Naxx raids. Remember this is just for one week, and we’ll be going back to our normal schedule on the 16th!

Raid schedule for the week will be:

Wednesday 8-11pm
Thursday  8-11pm
Saturday 7:30-11pm
Monday 8-11pm

If you’re interested in joining these raids, please sign up using the in-game calendar. If you need to change your sign-up status you can do that in-game or using the Armoury.
Raid invites will be going out 15 minutes before raid start time, if you sign up but will be unable to join for a full raid, or not be on in time for invites, please send in-game mail to me (Akee).

It is difficult to predict which bosses we’ll be tackling on which days – it’s dependent on signups and how quickly we progress. However this is a rough guide on what you should be prepared to encounter on each day:
Wednesday: Flame Leviathan; Ignis; Razorscale; XT-002; Kologarn
Thursday: Iron Council (Assembly of Iron); Auriaya; Hodir
Saturday: Thorim; Freya; Northrend Beasts
Monday: Lord Jaraxxus; Faction Champions

Don’t hold me to this list, but it should give you na idea of what to prepare for! It’s very possible we’ll skip some of those bosses, or go for Mimiron and General Vezax if we have time.

Most of the fights are very similar to 10-man versions, so if you have experience with those you are well on the way. If you have not been far into Ulduar or ToC but would like to come to these raids please take the time to do some research on the bosses. I’ll be linking to sites where you can get some info below.

As far as gear goes, if you have full epics (item level 200 and above) you should be OK for at least the first part of Ulduar. If you are still sporting greens you will not be given a raid spot over someone who has the gear we need. Finally, insure you have all your gear gemmed/enchanted (there are jewelcrafters and enchanters in the guild who can help with this) and you have full consumables (food, potions, reagents etc)!

If this experiment of ours is successful, we’ll try and repeat it in the future. (If it fails utterly, we’ll probably repeat it as well because we don’t know the meaning of failure.)

Links to boss guides!
Ready Check from wow.com – has rough guides for all Ulduar bosses.
Project Marmot at tankspot.com – video guides for most of the Ulduar bosses and TotC fights too. If you are unsure of a mechanic after reading the Ready Check column, watching a video is often extremely helpful. Tankspots videos are a fantastic resource. They also include public discussion on the fights.
Ulduar @ wowwiki.com – a more in-depth guide to each individual boss fight, including numbers on damaging effects.
ToC @ wowwiki.com – the same thing but for the ToC dungeon.

The effects of an account hack are temporarily problematic for the guild – we lost the most valuable stuff stored at that time in the locked Guild Bank tab – but personally disastrous for the player involved. Not only do they feel guilt that their hacked account has caused problems for the guild (which isn’t the case, by the way – we’ll recover quickly), but they must go through the painful process of reestablishing control of the account, only to discover that their characters have probably been stripped of all possessions and gold. Lost items and gold can often be often be reinstated by GMs after the hack, but it’s not guaranteed.

No matter how careful you are with your PC use, how often you check for viruses or Trojans, how carefully you screen which websites you use, there are only two ways to be sure you’ll never have your WoW account hacked.

1. Never play World of Warcraft again. This, clearly, is not an option.
2. Get yourself an Authenticator.

What is an Authenticator, I hear you cry. It’s a device, which comes in the form either of a plastic key-fob or a mobile phone application (details on where to get one below). When you get one, and associate it with your account via the usual Account Management webpage, your game login process changes slightly after this point. On the WoW login screen, you input your account name and password as normal, then it asks you for a six-digit code. This code is generated by your Authenticator. You read the code on the gadget and type it in. It’s a one-use only code which makes your login to WoW uncrackable. Every time you log in, it creates a different number.

Want one? Of course you do. You have a number of options.

1. Get a physical key-fob version. I have one of these. It costs six Euros, plus postage of a few quid. Get it from http://eu.blizzard.com/store/index.xml
2. Got an iPhone or iPod Touch? Go to the app store and download the WoW authenticator. It’s FREE.
3. Got a relatively modern mobile? For the princely sum of FIFTY PENCE, you can download an app for it from http://mobile.blizzard.com/ – check the list to see if your phone/provider is on there.

Teem has decided that having an Authenticator will now be mandatory for officers to protect us from being robbed by hackers again. But for the sake of your own characters, and all the hard work you’ve put into them, I strongly, strongly recommend you do the same.

a) taking over their banks

b) owning Wintergrasp

c) griefing.

It’s going to be wicked. All levels welcome. Warlocks, bring shards for massive summonz.

The indimidating Horde fortress…



The Horde attack blimp! Ride this master of destruction and rain death from above. Not only can you mount the cannons and drop countless rounds of balistic chaos, you can form an airbourne assualt into the opposing factions fortress. Its nothing short of epic fun!






The horde lays siege to the front gate of the alliance fortress. The horde blimp flys overhead, picking off the alliance defending the attack. Horde forces have just parachuted into the courtyard , the keep will soon fall. 



The new siege vehicle, the Glaivethrower. These weapons of mass destruction launch powerful, razor sharp, spinning discs that impale people and structures alike. 



The Alliance defences are destroyed, the gate falls, the horde marches on to finish the job.



Inside the keep, an alliance boss leader in wait. Similar to AV, the fall off the Alliance leader means victory for the Horde.



The horde storm through the keep. The Alliance leader defends till his last breath. He falls….the horde win. 

My first impressions of the new BG are certainly good. It manages to combine the fun elements of all the battlegrounds and there is little time to get bored. The action is fast paced and intense, as epic an experience as I have had in three years of Warcraft. The action tends to bottleneck at strategic points, which means a lot of furious back and forth battles. In one game, the Alliance started strong, capturing all the strategic points and attacking our fortress with fury. Our defences managed to hold them off long enough for an airborne team to drop into the action, flanking the alliance siege vehicles. Before I knew it, we had destroyed their attacking forces and had quickly turned the tides. We charged forwards, capturing the workshops en route to the fortress. Upon arriving at the gates, we made short work of the alliance where they had been reforming after their first slaughter. Our siege vehicles rumble into slight, boulders and glaives flying overhead. Minutes later their gate falls (It has an extreme amount of HP!), we charge through the courtyard cutting down the last of the desperate alliance defence. We get to the alliance leader who is certainly no walk in the park, but with the honour of the horde at stake, we persevere and send him crashing to the ground! We Win! This obviously isn’t Steamwheadle Cartel lol! Bring on 3.2….Epic fun is just around the corner! I can see this new battlegrounds making PvP appealing to even those who have shrugged it off until now.

I'd like to do more of this. Because it's funny.

We’ve been talking a lot about raids on the blog so far, but I want to make it clear that we’re not just a raiding guild. I’ve a keen interest in promoting PvP within the guild – either through pre-mades, or pimping arena teams. But I could do with an idea of a) how much you play in battlegrounds, Wintergrasp or arenas and b) what you’d like to be doing. Let me know below. Also, think about ways the guild might help. Should we be nominating a night for guild pvp? Or is it more of a case of “hey, I like playing late at night?” I’m slightly wary of organising the fun out of this – so I’d really appreciate feedback.

Teem

Guild drama: the major motion picture.

As discussed, at length lololol, from this week we’ll be moving our loot system in 25 man raids from Loot Council to Suicide Kings. Note: our scheduled 10 man raid leaders are going to be free to decide their own loot system. To help the transition, Squiffy’s put together an FAQ. It’s below.

Q: What is Drunken Suicide Kings?

A: DSK is a loot distribution method used for raiding. It was designed to be a system that distributes loot in a fair manner, meaning it does not disadvantage casual raiders over the regulars. It’s a mod solution for running a Suicide Kings loot distribution.

Q: Do I need to download a mod?

A: Yes, in order to be able to see the loot distribution box, you need to download the mod here.

Q: Will it be used on all raids?

A: No. DSK will only be used in the end game 25 man raids. We think that letting the leader of the 10 man groups decide on the loot distribution type should cut down on admin, and help teams bond.

Q: How does Suicide Kings distribute loot?

A: We produce a list of raiders once using random rolls. That will then produce a list of raiders. If you’re at the top of the list, you’ll have dibs on the loot that’s appropriate for your class and spec. If you take an item, you’re immediately moved to the bottom of the list.

Q: How do I get onto the list?

A: When you join your first 25 man raid, you will start at the bottom of the master list. Do not feel you will not receive any loot, as you will be surprised at how fast you ascend the list.

Q: Do I need to attend as many 25 man raids as possible in order to get loot?

A: No. When you are not attending a raid, you will be “frozen” and your place will not be affected. For example if you finished the last raid at number 10, you will still be 10th the next time you raid.

Q: How does it work?

A: When any loot drops, the master looter will initiate the bidding. A box will appear that has four options. The options are as follow…

BID: You bid for the item. Highest bidder is shown in the loot box. If you are the highest on the list of people bidding, you will win the item.

Offspec: If you would like the item as offspec and do not want to use a suicide bid, press offspec. This will automatically roll for you. On the event nobody bids for an item, the highest offsepc roller will win but will not have his/her place on the list affected.

Retract: If during the bidding process, you change your mind, you can retract your bid.

Pass: Exactly what it says on the tin. You dont need to click this as if you dont want an item, just don’t click bid or offspec.

Q: Can I roll on any item I wish?

A: As long as the item is a viable option for your class, you may roll on it. For example a Boomkin Druid may roll for a cloth item, if it has the required stats. A priest however, wouldn’t be able to roll for plate items, or items with Attack power that are clearly designed for physical classes.

Q: Can I bid on items for my offspec?

A: You may SUICIDE-BID on offspec items if you wish. However, remember that if you “bid” on an offspec item, you will still go to the bottom of the list. So to be clear…

BID: You bid for the offspec item. If you win it, you go to the bottom of the list.

OFFSPEC: If you win the random roll, you receive the item and do not lose your place on the list

Q: What happens when I win the bid?

A: When you bid for an item and win it, the master looter will place it in your bag. You will automatically go to the bottom of the list, hence the name “Suicide Kings”.

Q: Does winning an offspec item effect my place on the list?

A: No. Only bids effect your place. Offspec will have no effect at all.

Q: Is there only one list?

A: No. There are two lists (once you’ve installed the mod, you’ll see them both), one for non set items and one for tier set tokens. Each will be fully independant of one another. Your place on one list has no effect on the other.

Q: Is there a way to view the list outside the game?

A: Not yet. However the developer of the mod has stated that he is working on the next version, which will have a way to upload the list to a webiste. If demand is high, I can manually upload the master list to the blog once a week.

Q: Can I see this list?

A: Yes. At any point you can type /dsk to see the list.

Q: Do I need to sync the list?

A: Yes. When you join a raid, type /dsk and press the sync button. This will display the latest list. Please remember to do this at the start of any raid that is using this loot method.

Q: Can I edit the list?

A: No. Only officers can access the list.

Q: Can the list be abused?

A: The only way we can see of anyone abusing this list is to purposely pass in the hope that they get their desired loot from a future encounter. Anyone doing this will ultimately be shooting themselves in the foot, as they will not get as much loot as other raiders who use the list as intended.

Q: I still don’t get it?

A: Feel free to contact any of the officer team, as they will be happy to talk you through it (Also, you am stoopid lol – Teem).

IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO REMEMBER

1: Make sure you keep the mod enabled
2: At the start of each raid, type /dsk and press the sync button
3: Only bid on items you can use
4: Please act responsibly (eg. Don’t spam the buttons out of boredom)
5: Have fun!