Yesterday marked a letter day for our endeavors. It was the first time under our new raid leadership that we faced a weekly raid boss, and just couldn’t take him down. There are a number of theories as to why, and a few hackles were raised by the perceptions that were shared during the raid.

We have the job now, of gearing up a little, looking at the strategy more closely, and going back some time this week to finish up. But oddly enough, the phrase, “Don’t stand in fire” was the one thing we didn’t repeatedly here.

Most folks were where they needed to be, most of the time.

This comes after one victory after another–the Obsidian Sanctum with Drakes, the Eye of Eternity, Hyjal Past (a personal favorite) and a shared event into ICC 25 in which every single person we sent in came out with something nice.  So why does a boss from Ulduar that we’ve killed a half dozen times continue to elude us?

I look at the problem, and it comes back to “repetition.”  We’re used to not fighting him, and so we don’t–even when he’s the boss we’re fighting.  The preconception has been that Ignis is a boss that can be skipped without a problem, and the truth is he has some positively annoying mechanics.

But the preconception appears to be lending itself to the belief that Ignis isn’t something we can beat.  Well, when Ignis is the weekly objective, we have two options–go get him, or pass him by.  Passing him by has always been the easy answer in Ulduar, and the truth is he’s an “optional” boss, something you don’t have to fight.

But when he’s the only reason you’re going, you have to go with three things:  the understanding that he is the purpose to the raid, the knowledge of the fight, and the belief that plans and mechanics well observed and plan well executed equals boss down.  We will be going back.

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Our local convention started by my own friend Morgan, is entering its sixth year. He has asked us back each year, and each year the convention has outgrown its previous site.

YoumaCon 2010 is running this year at the Detroit Marriott at the Rennaissance Center from October 28-31. Early registration is nearly over, but you can still register from July through September for only $40.  Featured guests will include anime phenom Vic Mignogna and the talents of Neil Cicierega, Alora Lanzillotta, Ming Doyle, and Emmy Cicierega; but if the great guests aren’t your cup of tea,  the anime themed convention will also host ton of gaming events–including MMO play on the largest screens in gaming!

As usual, I will be offering crash space and organizing a drive into the D for the three nights of Youmacon, but for those of you interested, there will be rooms available at the Marriott.  Come on out and help us exceed all expectations yet again at Youmacon 2010!

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Once more unto the breach,
  dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up
  with our English dead.
In peace there’s nothing
  so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war
  blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger

Henry V, Act III, Scene 1
________________________________

Years have passed since that first fateful day when Turus Thalanaar rolled up to the gates of Karazhan among all those established raiding guilds, and slowly filed in.  It took us eight weeks and two raid teams before we finally got it right, and met the Prince.  And what did raiding give us?  Concern, that we were headed down the golden road toward what ends might include any of our dreams for roleplay on our server.  Fear, that competition would lead to in-fighting over progression and–of all things–gear.

And there were casualties, along the way.

Thalanaar is probably unique in the respect that it’s spawned four raiding guilds whose successes have outnumbered and outshined most of the “established” raid guilds that existed at the same time, and in that we can take some comfort in the fact that we must have been doing something right.  But ultimately it seemed that the fears so many had been realized, and roleplay could simply not exist within a firm raiding schedule, and each time the ending was the same.

“The Dream had turned to ashes.
The wheat had turned to straw.
And someone asked the question,
‘What was the dying for?’”

“The living can’t remember.
The dead no longer care….
but next time, it won’t happen.
Upon my soul, I swear.”

Well, we tried for the most part to stay out of any serious raiding, instead letting our individual raiders alone or in groups head out and work with other guilds to try to find the progression that would satisfy their “itch,” and for a while that seemed for most to be enough.  But as time slides toward Cataclysm and more and more players ask, “Why aren’t we?” I begin to run out of reasons.  And “well, we just don’t” has never been a good reason for a smart crowd.

So, this evening, Tsochi was named the first raid lead we’ve had in a little over a year, and we’re going to write a calendar for our own team.  And this time, with our character firmly clasped around us, we wait for the dawn.

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We are rapidly approaching the day when Old World raiding will change forever. This weekend, we assaulted Magtheridon’s Lair, the Blackwing Lair, and prepared for a jaunt into Ahn’Qiraj, seeking the raid rewards and achievements that come from clearing the content of yesterday’s Warcraft.

The excellent content is rendered rather easy for the bulk of the raid, but there are still mechanics that can kill. We have scheduled additional raids each week for the old world, with the intentions of clearing the rest of the Old World content over the rest of the month, and hopefully beyond for all those interested in the related achievements and possibly some interesting loot.

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This is a semi-regular reminder to all our friends that enjoy the World of Warcraft that the hackers are still out there, and still trying to steal your stuff.

Lately, hackers are using more and more elaborate methods to try to trick you into giving away your personal information, but there are a few tips and tricks you can use to stay safe.

Raidy the Rhino. Anybody remember this little stunt? A group of hackers devised their own non-combat pet using a Northrend rhino skin, and sent out thousands of emails claiming that players could fill out a survey, and in return receive the new “Raidy” pet. It resulted in a record number of account compromises, because the hackers used Blizzard fonts, backgrounds and images–but more because it offered the perfect prize at the bottom of the proverbial box. The only clues that this was not in fact a Blizzard message, was the fact that the background pages and the pasted in rhino didn’t quite line up in the email. Whoever had constructed the forgery was skilled with paint, but not apparently with html programming and email.

In the recent hype surrounding the Cataclysm Beta, new surveys have popped up, offering a less crafty email that “guarantees” participation in the final release Beta for the players who “act fast” and return the completed survey.

Fortunately the message was forwarded to the Warcraft forums, and exposed as a forgery before it could have any widespread effect.

A note of caution, however, for players everywhere: hackers are also using Adobe, adware and email to continue to phish for your account information. So, how do you stay safe? Easy! First, create a totally anonymous email that no one can identify with you. Use a long, strong encryption password, and physically write it down if you can’t remember it. Hackers can read your email, see your keystrokes and read what you store on your clipboard if you’re trying to copy/paste, but there are programs out there that can save and retrieve passwords for you. They aren’t very expensive, but they use a layer of encryption that hackers won’t be able to breach. For your Battle.net email, set up a safe list that identifies only Blizzard emails, and send everything else to your junkmail folder (and set it to delete automatically). That way the only messages you get from the Battle.net email should be from Blizzard.

Next, create another equally anonymous email for your browsing and chatting habits, and to quote the old saying, “Never the t’wain shall meet.” Never associate these two emails in any way. Finally, for your browsing email, set up a similar safe list, but this time, keep Blizzard addresses off of it, so you won’t receive any spam claiming to be from Blizzard staff.

Last step, and as an added layer of protection, you can get the Authenticator. It gives you a free pet, and $7 is a small price to pay for an added layer of security. Just remember, you use your Authenticator for one reason, and one reason alone: to log in to the game client. If you’re using it anywhere else, you’re probably giving someone your account information.

If ever you receive an email that asks you to take actions, log in to the account administrator yourself. NEVER follow links provided in an email, no matter how legit they appear to be; and forward any email your receive from “Blizzard” to hacks@blizzard.com. If it’s real, they’ll tell you so.

However, if you’ve followed all these steps for account safety, as I have, you should never receive an email that will be likely to compromise your account security. Remember, you have the power here. Don’t give it away. Battle on, heroes!

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Tonight the Triptych welcomed Diosh, a visitor from the new guilds that have been offering their own flair for roleplay in our normal watering hole. There had been a few tense nights when a number of our folks wondered, “Who the heck are these guys?” because we seemed to have been joined by another organized group, that no one had ever really encountered before. And we wondered just where they had all come from.

Well, this evening Diosh was welcomed into the Triptych for the first time, and after a short discussion the officers of the Triptych–encouraged by the verbal excellence of Kateri–have agreed that these two groups should work together, and share our stories. However, the Pig and Whistle in Old Town was big enough for one group… not two.

Diosh and her folk had already recognized the problem, and were planning to head to the Blue Recluse or the other empty bar in the Park, and with a little more discussion they’ve agreed to let us join them!

Big thanks to Diosh for being willing to take that first, massive step, and trust us with her group and her time. She, Kateri and Jade really take a lot of the credit for this happening in the first place.

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Griefers are exemplified by their own culture.

Sometimes a griefer is someone who had a bad day, who decides to go roll a lowbie town til they feel better, and sometimes their activities take days to months of planning for one massive, disturbing event. Today, one of our own was minding her own business in Zul’Drak when two griefers decided to stealth themselves and dance into her AOE. They liked their game so much that they continued for over half an hour. And when we sent an 80 to lay down the law and remind them there was always a bigger fish, they brought eight of their buddies, and it was obvious that far from any flight master or questgiver, they had this in mind in the first place.

That’s when the Triptych emptied its barracks, and fifteen of us went into Zul’Drak, hunting down the griefers and giving them a taste of their own medicine. Most of them never engaged, and ran like roaches in a freshly lit room. The one moron that stayed fell down, and was at least smart enough to stay down until he unflagged.

Since they continued to linger, we all waited while their victim partied with a group that could fully buff her, and then waited around while she completed all her quests in that area. Then we stuck around and helped around player who wasn’t connected to the mess at all.

She must have been a little surprised when a dozen of us swooped in and said, “Need a hand?”

There have been days I have been very proud of the Triptych and its solidarity, and tonight we sent that same message we have impressed to our community over many months of hard work and dedication: you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.

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The word “fore!” used to be used by golfers warning that they were sending a ball onto the midway when they knew there was a possibility that it would fall near or potentially strike another golfer. It was not only good courtesy; it was good safety sense, because a golf ball traveling at over one hundred miles an hour could prove fatal.

Well, tonight we yelled “Four!” because not only were we out to succeed, we were dangerous doing it. We organized the Tuesday weekly event, as we have every Tuesday for months, and it became apparent there was still a lot of interest.

A number of folks logged in and asked about the weekly, and Primal Myths ran the second ten man, with intentions to form a 25-man out of the two groups if the interest kept growing. Then Maldane whispered that Iamdori was putting together her weekly 25, and we sent a group there. And finally while we were on that run, a fourth ten man group ran out of all the folks left over.  I’d just like to say “Thanks!” to all our raider friends and their guilds who helped put together a remarkable Tuesday for us.  More people got their weekly event down this week than we have ever managed before–something I hope to see us continue.

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“Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.”

No different in need and no less clear in purpose, today we greet a new editor for the Triptych Talk! blog. Jensine Mikkal has been a valued member for nearly two years, and while separated from us by a tour of duty overseas, Jensine has returned with the same energy, the same drive, so get ready for lots of great stories and a new perspective for our daily blog.

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Giddy is at it again! There was a recent opportunity to enter our guild, Turus Thalanaar into a contest through Blizzard. What is the prize for this contest you ask? Well it is 10 spots for beta testers! Which means, not only will our illustrious lead possibly be able to test… but 9 of his closest friends too! No this does not mean you should start sucking up to him, sending gifts etc…. *smirks* However it is an incredible opportunity to get a sneak peak at what our World of Warcraft could be becoming. Grywennon and her Third Infantry have also applied, so we may have a chance to play with all our friends in the new world before many others on our server!

The Contest will run 4 weeks and each week 100 guilds will be chosen to participate, so cross your fingers, wear your lucky socks, or do what ever it is that you do for luck! Cataclysm here we come!!

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