So I’m already wound up enough, what with the first 25 man with me as guild leader, and then we have to have issues all night. It started with the Beasts pull and our OT DCing…and being unable to log back on for awhile. That was pretty much the theme of the night.
Pyxy, tank. Ghostfacee, melee DPS. Erdkrieg, healer. Iknowyou, ranged DPS. Mikata, healer. Myself, healer, though I thankfully didn’t have patch issues. It was a rotating cluserfuck of 24 manning nearly every gods be damned thing because we were always missing someone.
Healing felt light and I don’t know if it was due it group comp, silly inattentive people, the particular tanks we’d chosen (Pyx is still catching up in gear to the other thanks and Mega just doesn’t have Zoja’s avoidances), server fail, or all of those. I know I was lolfailing at one point, to my bafflement-I lolfail at many things, but to be hit by Icehowl? ICEHOWL?! On my screen, it looked like he was facing me, so I ran to one side, to you know…get out of the way. Instead, I ran into him. WTF? GAH. I think I’ll stick with “all of those” as my answer and cross my fingers for better luck next week.
On my Current Things To Do As GM List is “find my spine”. I should get right on that.
ETA: Kestrel mentioned my name and the phrase “mad comic genius” together. I feel better now.
I Like Bubbles 
#1 by xaunpy on November 10, 2009 - 10:46 am
I once tackled Icehowl when the RL called a wipe…
hey my priest have horns, so it was fair!
#2 by Antikris on November 10, 2009 - 10:49 am
I think you sometimes need to recognize misfortune and just call it for the night before morale goes down even more. Having a backup plan ready for such unfortunate event, so people will log off smiling. I don’t know… plunder a faction city, molest a battleground or go for a neglected achievement in a 3.0 raid. Something to forget defeat and pick up fresh another day.
#3 by Chckenmcbndy on November 10, 2009 - 10:56 am
Patch was a nightmare for my guild too. Everything you described above applied to us.
This was the second week in a row our raid ID for 25 ToGC was ninja’d and attempts intentionally wasted to stop our progression. After waiting several days we finally had our remaining attempts restored Monday night only to deal with this crap.
Was pretty sad from my POV. We came pretty close to downing twins, but, dps was going down each attempt. My dps dipped from 9K avg our first few attempts down to 3K by the end of the night. Lag monster hit me hard and I couldn’t take the chance of logging off to fix the problem and getting hit with the patch.
Brilliant timing Blizz, GG.
#4 by Kotakh on November 10, 2009 - 11:03 am
Brilliant timing indeed. Hot “fix” the day before maintenance day…
@Artikris We did manage to get all the boss except Anus, er Anub, down so it wasnt a totally wasted raid night.
#5 by Celaeno on November 10, 2009 - 11:19 am
People aren’t afraid enough of the threats about hugging orbs. ;_;
I am so ashamed of my dying in the fire. That’s what happens when Matt sits next to me while I’m raiding. He thinks everyone in vent is hilarious, by the way. XD
#6 by Ambrosyne on November 10, 2009 - 11:43 am
@Celaeno – You died in a fire, I died to Icehowl. DISC PRIEST FAIL, HO.
…but at least I didn’t eat damned orbs!
#7 by kyrilean on November 10, 2009 - 12:09 pm
Yeah…raid leader dying to Icehowl…that’s the way to instill confidence! :) Fortunately, no one left.
As for running, I’ve noticed that no matter which direction I’m facing, I will always initially run the wrong way. It’s like the computer determines the bad way to run and goes that way. So I always double-click my two mouse buttons: the first to get going, the second to get going in the right direction.
#8 by Myssidia on November 10, 2009 - 3:26 pm
What!? Amber got et up by Icehowl? /gquit ^^ jk
#9 by Kestrel on November 10, 2009 - 3:36 pm
On the other hand, our Ulduar-10 2-shot Freya and 1-shot Thorim (first kills ever for many of us, myself included–and I was on my hunter instead of my priest!). (The wipe on Freya was due to our MT getting too freaking close to her while we were killing trash on the OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER. He’s done this before. *sigh*)
So…what the hell WAS that patch, anyway?
#10 by shadowtycho on November 11, 2009 - 10:37 am
how to find a spine:
1) when ever anyone asks you for anything tell them “no” and then consider it, they will have to come up with reasons and it will give you time to think if they pressure you tell them “fuck no” and end the conversation
2) find some one with a spine and run all the bitch work through them, they hopefully wont be in charge of policy just execution so they cant be negotiated with(having enforcement and policy decisions be separate is important).(ex. police and judges)
3) set up a limit and stick to it, for everyone at all times no exceptions.(ex. if your late to raid you don’t get a invite, even if we have to 24 man it)
4) any decision that you do make, add to it some sort of moratorium or sunset, even if your contribution is a little silly.(ex. we’ll give that one attempt but then we’re going back to x.)
5) never enact anyone’s idea or request in a vacuum if you put a limitation on it or change it slightly(even cosmetically) then its a compromise. (thats a good idea but i don’t like how that would blank, so we’ll blank to compensate)
it is important to note that none of this is about not dealing with guildies requests or not taking things into consideration but more about giving you time to be separate and think about requests.
if all else fails or someone is really pressuring you to do something tell them,”no because i haven’t thought about it, I happen to be in charge so let me think.”
after you have said something to that effect they are pressuring you and you can react as such(if some one wont shut up mute them!).
following these point you will have set up clear limits and held people to them, hope this helps.