Click above for large view of Halfus Wyrmbreaker (25 Normal)

Tonight began the first week of official raiding and our first stop into the new content as a 25 man raid group. With some experience in Bastion of Twilight, we decided to begin this expansion there and take on Halfus Wyrmbreaker. We almost one shot him to begin, but came up a bit short on damage and hit the enrage timer. Healing wasn’t terribly over-taxed, so we swapped out a healer for some more dps and took him down without much trouble.

First pieces looted from Halfus were: [Proto-Handler's Gauntlets], [Bracers of the Bronze Flight], [Book of Binding Will], and a double shot of [Essence of the Cyclone].

Click above for large view of Valiona and Theralion (10 Normal)

We went back into The Bastion of Twilight tonight with some players that hadn’t been there before. After handling Halfus Wyrmbreaker in two attempts, we took out dragons Valiona and Theralion. Our first look at the twin dragon’s loot scored the guild [Necklace of Strife] and [Theralion's Mirror] to the raid.

Afterward we knocked out Argaloth following a brilliant defense by the Horde, but sadly he only dropped PVP gear (one of them for warlock – which we had zero in the group).

Click above for large view of Halfus Wyrmbreaker (10 Normal)

While official raiding has not yet begun, that hasn’t stopped our members from taking a look into the new raid dungeons. A few have pugged various groups over the past few weeks, but today marked the first kills within a full guild group. First stop was Baradin Hold to take down Argaloth. Next came Halfus Wyrmbreaker in The Bastion of Twilight. Nice job getting in there and getting a head start for 25 mans!

Click above for large view of The Lich King (25 Normal)

Down goes the King! After many (too many) nights eating Defiles and cursing bad Valk pickups, we finally ended up on the winning half of The Lich King encounter. With LK out of the way, we’re clear to begin serious work on hardmodes before the expansion ends. Aside from two class tokens and a shard, first drops were [Bloodsurge, Kel'Thuzad's Blade of Agony] and [Glorenzelg, High-Blade of the Silver Hand].

Click above for large view of Halion (25 Normal)

Patch 3.3.5 dropped today and The Ruby Sanctum went live. So while you were waiting in line for the midnight showing of Twilight, we were out being one of the first guilds on the server to kill Halion. First drops from the kill were [Apocalypse's Advance], [Foreshadow Steps], and [Charred Twilight Scale]. Nice work making it happen with brand new content.

Click above for large view of Sindragosa (25 Normal)

It took some patience and teamwork, but the raid pulled through and downed Sindragosa. Even better, there were only a handful of deaths on the killshot. There’s only one boss left. We had about an hour after finishing out the Frostwing Halls to visit with him. Providing we are done with our problems with the summer-boss, we expect to make steady progress on him shortly. First drops off Sindragosa were [Memory of Malygos], Vanquisher’s and Conqueror’s Marks.

Click above for large view of Rotface (10 Heroic)

After annointing ten new Kingslayers last week, we were able to get a look at heroic Icecrown 10 tonight. The difference in damage for Lord Marrowgar (dropped [Bone Warden's Splitter] and [Frost Needle]) caught us off-guard at first, but we quickly regrouped and was able to take him down. After one shotting Lady Deathwhisper (dropped [Njorndar Bone Bow] and [Scourgelord's Baton]) and Gunshiplol (dropped [Cord of Dark Suffering] and [Icecrown Rampart Bracers]), we moved onto Deathbringer Saurfang. It is here that we found our first really big challenge. The adds come quick, and the last 30% of this fight gets hectic in a hurry. After a half dozen or so failed attempts inside 25%, we were able to take him down. His first drops were [Hauberk of a Thousand Cuts], [Mag'hari Chieftain's Staff], and [Conqueror's Mark of Sanctification].

Moving into the next wing, we took care of Festergut (dropped [Precious's Putrid Collar] and [Bloodstained Surgeon's Shoulderguards]) in the first attempt – Professor Putricide’s Malleable Goo tantrum during the fight spices up the fight a bit, but it wasn’t enough to slow us down. Rotface gave us a bit of trouble at first, but we closed out the night by killing him on the third attempt. He dropped [Shuffling Shoes] and [Gluth's Fetching Knife], the latter being the first shard of the night. Six out of twelve and one shard, a fine way to end the week.

Click above for large view of The Lich King (10 Normal)

The Lich King has fallen! Along with new titles, hardmode access, and an achievment, he also managed to drop a few pieces of loot: [Tel'thas, Dagger of the Blood King] and [Warmace of Menethil]. Good work by everybody, getting him to drop on the third attempt of the night.

Click above for large view of Sindragosa (10 Normal)

Focusing all our attention on the 25 man version of ICC, the 10 man took a backseat for quite some time. Over the past few weeks, this has changed. Two groups have been going and have made progress enough to surpass the 25 man group. Below are images from first kills for Professor Putricide, Blood-Queen Lana’thel, and Valithria Dreamwalker. Pictured above is the latest from this week, a Sindragosa kill that we stole away from the clutches of a wipe. Great job by both groups moving forward in the smaller version of ICC. The experience and upgrades we pick up will go a long way to helping us finish up Lich King in 25 man. Looking forward to both groups taking LK shots over the next few raid nights.

Professor Putricide

Blood-Queen Lana’thel

Valithria Dreamwalker

Click above for large view of Blood-Queen Lana’thel (25 Normal)

Three wings down, and moving on towards the end. Tonight we took out Blood-Queen Lana’thel, after struggling to nail the strat for the last few raid nights. We came dangerously close to one shotting her, but settled for a kill on the fourth attempt. Vanquisher and Protector marks dropped, along with [Lana'thel's Chain of Flagellation] for this first kill.

With BQL dead, we moved onto Valithria Dreamwalker (click for screenshot). Like Blood-Queen Lana’thel before her, the Dreamwalker fell (rose?) on the fourth attempt. [Lungbreaker], [Snowstorm Helm], and [Robe of the Waking Nightmare] were the first drops after we healed her to full.

Click above for large view of Professor Putricide (25 Normal)

First it was getting the strat right, then it was executing that strat. Downing Professor Putricide is a few weeks in the making, but well worth it. We’re now sitting at 8/12 in ICC 25 with two wings + Council cleared. The short week this week will stop us from beginning work on any new bosses, but we should be able to see them after the reset. Excellent job on the kill attempt, it was executed almost perfectly. Of course there were no Conqueror’s Marks, ICC seems to think those three classes don’t want to upgrade their gear. In addition to the other two marks, [Last Word] rounded out the first drops off our latest kill.

Click above for large view of Rotface (25 Normal)

Another kill on the first night of attempts. I suspect these will be more and more difficult to come by as we move through the instance. First loots were [Raging Behemoth's Shoulderplates], [Dislodged Foreign Object], [Blightborne Warplate], and [Rotface's Acidic Blood] to complete our first [Shadow's Edge].

Click above for large view of Festergut (25 Normal)

Six down and six to go. Tonight our 25m group took down Festergut on our first night of attempts. First loots were
[Distant Land], [Unclean Surgical Gloves], [Belt of Broken Bones], and [Festergut's Acidic Blood] for Soups’ quest.

Click above for large view of Blood Prince Council (25 Normal)

Shortly after the night began, we took out Blood Prince Council to one step closer to the half way point. First loots off the trio were [Keleseth's Seducer], [Valanar's Other Signet Ring], and [San'layn Ritualist Gloves].

Click above for large view of Rotface (10 Normal)

Picking up where we left off a few weeks ago, one of our ten man groups went to work on Rotface this evening. Previous exposure to the boss seems to be what make it click tonight. After a handful of tries, we were able to put this guy to rest and chalk up another victory (yeah it’s a small one, but it’s still a victory!).

The fourth and final installment of the bosses in VoA proved to be as ridiculously easy as the first three. Toravon the Ice Watcher dropped on our first attempt and dropped a handful of goodies for us. We lucked out and didn’t get a single piece of PVP gear. Loots were [Sanctified Dark Coven Leggings], [Sanctified Ahn'Kahar Blood Hunter's Legguards], and [Sanctified Bloodmage Gloves].

Click above for large view of Deathbringer Saurfang (25 Normal)

First night of attempts and the last boss of the Lower Spire was defeated. It only took a handful of attempts and picked up [I've Gone and Made a Mess (25 player)] while we were at it. First drops off the Deathbringer were [Belt of the Blood Nova] and [Protector's Mark of Sanctification] x 2.

Click above for large view of Icecrown Gunship Battle (25 Normal)

After clearing ToC 25 for the night, we headed over to Iccrown Citadel to test the waters in the 25m version of the instance. Calling tonight a success would be an understatement. Lord Marrowgar dropped on the first attempt, Lady Deathwhisper on the third, and the ICC Chess Event…errr…the Icecrown Gunship Battle on the first try. Great work by everybody involved. Once again we’ve proved that we can do good things when we work together and stay focused.

Lord Marrowgar

Lady Deathwhisper

Click above for large view of Festergut (10 Normal)

The Plagueworks opened up this week and with it came three new bosses. Festergut, Rotface, and Professor Putricide all went live with the raid reset. Tonight, we took down Festergut and began working on Rotface. First loots off Festergut were [Festering Fingerguards] and [Kilt of Untreated Wounds].

Click above for large view of Anub’arak (25 Normal)

Better late than never! Raiding slowed down a while back, putting us into ten man content until we picked up some more members. Due to this, we never finished Trial of the Crusader (25) as a group. This week, with new members along to share the victory, we cleared the instance.