I haven't felt that way in a long time

[ajohnymous]

When I first read the changes to ToV, I thought my time raiding in this game was over. Why on Earth would I want to spend hours clearing trash mobs when our current system let's us single pull to the zone in with intense, frantic competition? My main is a Monk (Iksar, obviously) and I was pretty damn good at what I did in ToV. I was a key member of my guild's pull team, regularly coordinated the roles, and knew what everyone was doing and why. When the changes hit, I felt like all that time and effort I had put into improving myself and my team was for nothing. Like some skilled laborer ruthlessly replaced by some new and expensive technology. I think a lot of people felt that way.

What we didn't expect is how we would feel when Vulak`Aerr was finally slain after the Great Change was implemented. Tonight was the first time in years where experienced raiders had to figure out new mechanics and encounters with barely a clue of what to expect. It wasn't just winning the foot or Coth race then executing the pull perfectly, it took hours of problem solving, cooperation, and coordination to figure out how to even approach a raid boss. We did, eventually, which made the rewards felt so much sweeter after the frustration and the struggle. The night progressed and the raid bosses were slowly dropping up until Vyemm and Vulak were the only two remaing. Everyone expected a stand off between the top guilds (Vyemm is the most difficult boss and must be killed before Vulak, who drops the best loot, can be engaged). We were not disappointed.

If you read my previous post about the Tunare agreement, you'll know that Aftermath is considered the big, bad evil guild on the server. They were doing well during this dungeon crawl using their superior numbers and some strategies that are frowned down upon (Leapfrogging is a popular term being thrown around). It was expected that a stalemate would occur between Aftermath and an alliance of Azure Guard and Core. If one of them were to start the long process of killing Vyemm's guards and the difficult fight with Vyemm himself, the other would work their way over to Vulak and wait for Vyemm to die. Whichever guild slays Vyemm would be too weak to fully recover and get into position at Vulak before the other guild engages him. So, Aftermath and Azure Guard / Core stared at each other, guns drawn, with the no man's land that is Vyemm between them.

While Vyemm was nervously eyeing the hundreds of players around him, the two sides were unable to agree on how best to proceed and chose to reconvene the following day. Queue a new alliance entering the field! Paradigm Shift, Kittens Who Say Meow, and Blood Guard strut into ToV, say screw this, and bee line straight for Vyemm. Azure Guard / Core and Aftermath quickly mobilize and match and counter each others movements like ancient Roman armies. After a rough fight, Vyemm falls to the new alliance, the first time any of those guilds had killed him (congrats guys, that was awesome), and Vulak is open to engagement.

The boss of ToV has eight guards which are basically mini-bosses for how quickly they can chew through tanks. It becomes a delicate balancing act of how many of these guards can be handled while also keeping Vulak occupied. Quick, intense pulling and a couple of wipes ensue from each side and two guards remain, so both AG/Core and Aftermath suddenly have a short window to start the fight. Both teams start running with reckless abandon straight into the maw of Vulak`Aerr's lair, but AG / Core are the first there. Their plan is to kite the remaining guards while Vulak is killed, unfortunately for them, an unknown mechanic is discovered where Vulak frequently calls out for his guards to return. Some of the AG / Core force is still moving into his lair, the two guards are flying like ping pong balls all over the place, chaos erupts, and eventually they wipe. They lost their shot.

AG and Core slowly recover and shuffle over to Vulak's lair with Paradigm Shift, Kittens, and Blood Guard to watch the Patriot's win the Super Bowl again. Everyone is slowly getting back on their feet, discussing what happened, and offering words of encouragement to those who need it. Aftermath engages with the plan to burn down the two remaining guards and slowly, but surely, whittle down mighty Vulak. They proceed and have it under control until, around the halfway mark, a patrolling Flurry Drake respawns on top of Aftermath! They do their best to divert people over to control it, but these guys are nasty. They fight hard and it's close too close to tell what the outcome will be. They lose a couple tanks and a handful of others, then, inexplicably, the Slow on Vulak wears off and the tank assigned to him dies. Next thing they know, Vulak is gobbling up Clerics and summoning people when he's out of food. The Flurry Drake kills the last of their raid force and Aftermath suffers a complete wipe.

By now, all the other guilds had recovered and Vulak was looking pretty smug, but not for long. It was revealed that an agreement between the two alliances transpired earlier, AG/Core would engage Vulak with their superior force while PS/Kittens/BG would tackle any and all of the Guards and Flurry Drakes that were in the way. Afterwards, they would all jump on Vulak and burn him down. Instead of the mad rush between the two alliances, they took their sweet time making sure every little thing was in place. It was extreme overkill.

When the overlord of the Temple of Veeshan lay defeated, the cheers and shouts of celebration immediately made it clear this kill wasn't about the loot. To have every raiding guild band together against the server's top guild, and who is widely regarded as causing the most issues in the raid scene, is a desperately needed breath of fresh air. You could feel the tension lift in Vulak's lair. Guilds who previously planned and plotted against each other gathered around and made space for the group photo. Vulak dropped two items between five guilds and no one was overly concerned about where it went. Some people even suggested giving it to Aftermath in an olive branch gesture. This Vulak kill was about people from every part of the world working together to overcome a challenge they've never faced, and it just felt really good to be part of it. I haven't felt that way in a long time.

[branamil]

Now that Vulak is way harder he should drop 3-5 loots

[phatogre]

Originally Posted by ajohnymous [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

After a rough fight, Vyemm falls to the new alliance, the first time any of those guilds had killed him (congrats guys, that was awesome), and Vulak is open to engagement.

Great post, but small correction, Paradigm Shift has killed Vyemm twice.

[Nexii]

Originally Posted by branamil [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Now that Vulak is way harder he should drop 3-5 loots

All of TOV except Dozekar is severely under rewarded now. When you consider there's about 7 targets that can be zone line pulled or done quickly AND drop better, more consistent loot. Some might say that's a good thing but I don't think it is. It wasn't a good thing when POG was left up 75% of the time.

For TOV to be on par with other raids, you'd have to up the drops to 4 on average per dragon - which as I understand is more in line with classic. Another argument is that while guilds can ally up, it does leave sort of a sour taste when only one walks away with anything good.

[Pyrrhica]

If you don't feel the content is worth your time, dont do it.

[Lurgort/Sseri]

Originally Posted by Nexii [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

All of TOV except Dozekar is severely under rewarded now. When you consider there's about 7 targets that can be zone line pulled or done quickly AND drop better, more consistent loot. Some might say that's a good thing but I don't think it is. It wasn't a good thing when POG was left up 75% of the time.

For TOV to be on par with other raids, you'd have to up the drops to 4 on average per dragon - which as I understand is more in line with classic. Another argument is that while guilds can ally up, it does leave sort of a sour taste when only one walks away with anything good.

I beg to differ.

[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I think PS won the Knight 1HB, I can't remember due to all of the excitement of defeating the Server-First rooted Vyemm with usually rival guilds for our target tiers. Wish I had recorded it... D:

KWSM won the Abashi, PS won the Tolan's Longsword, BG won Onyx Gauntlets, Monk and Warrior Flurry necks, and a Necromancer Harmshielded his way to a rotting ring of superiority (behind several respawns). We all got some something good, but loot was only icing on the cake of crawl/race to Vulak. I'm not sure how much WToV armor or other random loot was dropped for all 6 guilds tonight, but it was a memorable night indeed.

[Nexii]

My point was that of those drops, only Abashis ranks in the top tier / BIS. Other items aren't bad but for ~6 hours spent (plus more yesterday), not that amazing. I think it'll become more apparent once the newness factor has worn off. Don't get me wrong, I much prefer the new TOV to the old. It just won't be regarded as premiere / top priority content is all.

[Lurgort/Sseri]

Originally Posted by Nexii [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

My point was that of those drops, only Abashis ranks in the top tier / BIS. Other items aren't bad but for ~6 hours spent (plus more yesterday), not that amazing. I think it'll become more apparent once the newness factor has worn off. Don't get me wrong, I much prefer the new TOV to the old. It just won't be regarded as premiere / top priority content is all.

Well the easy-mode days are over, now we gotta put in era-appropriate work to acquire some kickass items (to many people), hence all the team-ups tonight.

[Nexii]

Originally Posted by Lurgort/Sseri [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Well the easy-mode days are over, now we gotta put in era-appropriate work to acquire some kickass items (to many people), hence all the team-ups tonight.

Yea all I'm saying is the rewards should also be era-appropriate. Currently they are not. Most dragons dropped 4 items or more in live era

[titanshub]

Excellent post. It was awesome fun. Im glad to have been involved.