Ironsong's second ZG run!

[Majhal]

As the tribe grows in numbers, more people are left out of our ZG runs. So I feel that a second run is necessary to give the people that are missing out on the primary ZG raid, or our friends from out of the tribe that would like to run, but are not able. This run is not intended to take away members from our raid already running, it is only meant to give others a chance at seeing this amazing zone. However, if you go to this run, when a boss is killed you will be saved to the zone and be unable to enter another for 3 days so those wishing to go to this raid most likely wont be able to make the Ironluck raids on Monday, as this raid starts at 10 am (server) on both Saturday and Sunday. For any questions, contact me, or one of Severien's millions of alts.

[Waltimus]

Maj,
You make a good point. In fact, there are a growing number of people not making to the raids (myself included).
One of the things every loves about Ironsong is the fact that we band together. This begs the question of us staying together and perhaps doing a 40 man raid, ultimately keeping us together.
Personally, I'd like to see us do MC. Granted, for some selfish reasons (such as not being able to finish my Magister's set; without raiding MC, I'll never get the Magesiters boots which Lucifron drops - I've only seen these on other Mages) and partly for unselfish reasons as I'd like to see more of us band together conquering new content.
It would be a really good balance to do MC, ZG and perhaps even the new stuff in Silithus. At least we could all do it together.
In any case, Your idea is a really good idea. Starting with a second ZG raid would at least give us an idea of our numbers for a 40 man raid. It also looks like the guild is focused on ZG to gear up for other zones (such as MC and Silithus).

Kudos to you Maj!

[Shillatae]

Ok, further explanation of the way resets work is necessary here:

Zul'Gurub resets every three days and this timer is independent of any specific individuals. When you enter with a raid group the game will tell you how much time is left before the next reset of the zone. Because there are 7 days in a week and the timer is 3 days, the mornings of the resets will fall on different days of the week each week.

If you choose to enter ZG on a Saturday morning with this new raid, sometimes the reset will be Sunday morning or Monday morning and you will have no problem attending the Monday night raid. Other times it will have just reset earlier Saturday morning and so it will not do so again until Tuesday morning, making it impossible for you to enter the instance with the IronLuck Monday night raid.

By the same token, if you attend Friday night's Tribe raid sometimes the zone will reset the next morning and you could attend this new raid should you so desire. Other times it will not reset until Sunday or Monday morning and you would not be able to enter the instance in that group because you would be linked to the prior night's copy of it.

If this seems confusing, blame Blizzard. If you are at any specific time unsure whether you are linked to a raid instance or want to know when it will reset, /raidinfo will tell you what zones and how long before they reset.

In response to Waltimus:

I've said repeatedly on these forums and elsewhere that the Onyxia raid is how we are judging numbers and interest in 40-person raiding. Currently I have never had so many people available online at one time for the length of time that would be required to run MC. Onyxia takes as many people but is a shorter event, so we are starting there. I have high hopes as we were pretty successful with the Emissary in Silithus and with the Barons we fought there on one occasion. On both occasions we fielded a force about 30-35 Ironsong for a short time (about an hour or so each).

On the other hand there are /still/ fairly regularly nights where we do not have many in excess of what we require to do ZG. Recently on a Monday we had to start with only 19 despite that being the joint Ironsong/Rotten Luck raid night! On Fridays sometimes 2-4 people are all that we have in addition to the 20 we need, and on occasion we lose people to RL issues and call in those extras regardless. Even allowing for people possibly making more of an effort to come out for a larger raid, I would be surprised if we could regularly get an /average/ of 30, let alone 35-40 on a normal night.

It would not, however, be a good balance for us to to MC, ZG, Onyxia, and AQ weekly. We simply do not have the manpower to raid 4-5 nights a week, nor could we credibly call ourselves an RP guild if that was our focus. As has been stated before nonetheless we are planning larger raids and other events starting with Onyxia. Let's do one thing at a time. Thursday will remain Moot night and Tuesdays are unlikely to be filled as we use them for irregular RP events and sometimes as a night off from guild business.

We are not focused on ZG to gear up for other zones. We are doing it because it is the most appropriate instance for this stage in the life cycle of the Tribe because of numerous factors. As a result of this, however, I think the Tribe will have much less difficulty with Molten Core when the time comes than others have had, and this is a good thing as well.

Finally, Waltimus, I'm a bit confused by your suggestion that you don't get to go on the raids to ZG presently. My notes show that nearly everytime you are online and available I invite you, whether as Nightdemon or Waltimus. Certainly you get to go on the raids proportionately as much or more often than many people outside the raid leadership. Perhaps you are referring to your RL schedule interfering?

Oh, Arcanist comes from MC. Magister's Boots come from the Postmaster in Strat and are a real pain to get, that's why few have them.

Thanks for your time and interest posting, and good luck Maj with your new endeavor.

Tae

To summarize: We have been very successful in ZG, which initially we had a hard time getting enough people for, let alone a balanced group. Only Jin'do, who is considered disproportionately difficult remains. We now have over 30 members keyed for Onyxia, and hope to get even more so that enough turn up at once to give us good attempts at learning and beating her. If these go well and interest is shown, after Onyxia the next step is Molten Core. First we will do some runs against regular mobs in there irregularly, likely not yet filling the whole raid (which can drop class belts and bracers as well as rare crafting components), then consider the best way to form a regular Tribe raid. Ahn'Qiraj Ruins (the 20 person raid zone there) we will also work on somewhere in the midst of this, more to be announced as the gates approach opening.

[Waltimus]

Tae,
This is really very helpful, it explains a lot. Good post!

Yes, it's usually my RL schedule that precludes me from attending raid, but there have been times where I've "given up my seat" because someone asked to take my place.

One really good thing you mentioned is the horse power we have at present. We have really great officers that appropriately judge how we are doing as a guild. Keep up the good work Tae! You really do rock!

-W

[Ebberk]

It is unfortuent that my schedule makes it so difficult to go to most of these raids. I am interested in going to all the dungeons, as well as Onyxia and am being forced to frequent with unsavery types to accomplish it. When Molten Core becomes an issue let it be known that I am perfectly willing to attend whenever I can, but IF I can is a completely diffrent story. -Ebberk