Force Recon of Argent Dawn

More Set Team Raiding News from ObSanct, Ulduar, and ICC

Koriander — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:12:08 -0000

Posted 12/15/2009 06:12 PM by Koriander.

Set Team Kills All Regular Ulduar Bosses, Starts Icecrown Citadel in the Dungeon's First Release Week, Begins Farming for Sarth 3D Drakes, and More

Yogg Down!

Well, it's been a while since I've had time to write, but with so many exciting achievements and so much good work, I had to take some time to post a few items. The FR Set Team triumphantly completed all the normal bosses and wings in Ulduar, with the crowning achievement being the defeat of Yogg Saron on Nov 23, 2009. We worked on him for months, but were persistent, and that persistence paid off!

He is a very complicated fight with 3 phases. In the first phase, the mobs we face blow up and do AOE damage to everyone near them. In order to progress to the next phase, we have to cause a set amount of damage to Sara, an NPC, in the middle of the room. This meant grabbing adds and dpsing them down next to Sara as these explosions are the only things that damage her.

In the second phase, we are faced with Yogg's Tentacles and Brains. To get to phase 3, we have to do a certain amount of damage to Yogg's brain. However, there are various obstacles in the way of this. First are Tentacles that we need to DPS down - 3 different types of tentacles with different abilities, including one type which places curse, poison, magic, and disease debuffs on us. It's a cleansing frenzy! At specific times, portals open to Yogg's brain. In these areas, there are "illusions" to dps down first while avoiding the "gaze" of some mobs that cause us to lose "sanity". Once the adds are down, then we gain access into Yogg's brain, the only place to damage the brain directly. However, this is all on a time limit and if you don't exit these areas fast enough or you lose all your sanity, you proceed to become mind controlled and kill your friends (Mr. Nath who has the highest kill count for Friendly Fire! LOL).

Finally in the third phase, more guardians spawn which must be killed while also dping Yogg himself. In addition to this, more sanity issues! But we made it with most of our sanity intact! Grats for a job well done!!! Here is a picture of us:

Here are shots of us with the Keepers and the defeated General, those defeated along the way to Yogg. With the Keepers, when enough damage is done to them, they are restored from their mind controlled states and will stand to help you in the fight against Yogg. They stand ready with us:

Hodir:

Freya:

Thorim:

Mimiron:

General:

1st 2 bosses in ICC Defeated!

On Dec 14, 2009, we began Icecrown Citadel in its first week of release. We only had 1 day this raid week, BUT we certainly made the most of it! It was a packed night, where we grabbed another Sarth mount (yippee! it was mine!), got the raid quest done, and then also made significant progress in ICC.

After Sarth and U10, we rushed over to ICC. There we cleared some trash, set off some traps, wiped a few times, and faced Lord Marrowgar, the first boss of the first floor of ICC. He has abilities similar to other fights we've done before - Kill the spike that is doing damage to the raid member and freezing him/her, get out of the firewall, tanks stand together for the cleave, watch the whirlwind. It was a bit chaotic, but we did manage to 1-shot him. Here we are with Lord Marrowgar's corpse:

We then proceeded to Lady Deathwhisper. After clearing her trash, we started to move into position and somehow errantly pulled her. It was unexpected and we fought bravely, but she eventually took too many of us down. We revised our strategies and ran in. There are two different types of adds that can transform to doing more damage if they are not dpsed down fast enough. One type of add must be killed with Physical DPS and one with Caster DPS. There are also various curses and such. In our 2nd attempt ever on her, we were triumphant! We were so excited (but had so little raid time left) many ran off to see the next encounter, the gunship battle! Some ran back (err...fell back), and we took a quick screenshot:

The 1 attempt we had at the Gunship battle was chaotic. We had only about 12 minutes to clear trash and try it. We ran over and I VERY quickly gave abbreviated directions to the three subgroups within our raid. Needless to say, we ran into some crazy issues. (Why is she wearing that jet pack that way? How do I use this jet pack? Wait! Don't go there without the Tank! Yes, please kill these that are aboard our ship and killing us. Shoot that mage!) It was a lot of fun, and we look forward to going back!

Defeat of Sarth with All Drakes Up!

On Sept 25, 2009, we once again attempted Sarth with all 3 drakes up. We had been doing this on and off for some time, but on the 25th, we were victorious! Here is a shot of us with the defeated Sarth and some of our achievements scrolling up on screen:

Since then, we've been working to get everyone on the team a mount. We've gotten 8, and have just 3 more to go!

Soon we'll be able to regale you with more of our adventures in Icecrown Citadel.

Kori

Karazhan in Costume

Nestra — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:10:44 -0000

Posted 11/10/2009 01:10 PM by Nestra.

On Halloween morning we assembled at the door of Medivh's tower to exorcise some ghosts - oh, and to get an achievement. Most everyone was in costume, which lent a festive air.

It took us two hours to finish, mainly because we kept having to run around for quest turn-ins and because we kept getting lost. It's amazing to me that after running this weekly for over a year in Burning Crusade, I had forgotten so many things about the bosses. Amusingly enough, the main thing I forgot was how many of them were immune to taunt, which led to a near-wipe on the Prince after he decided to enfeeble and kill Valaevil.

All in all, we had a great time. My thanks go out to the attendees: Amareec, Antropos, Blueberi, Mariance, Miicha, Narlexia, Valaevil, and Xassana.

I'm still planning to put up a run for AQ40 but the holidays are making my schedule crazy for the foreseeable future. But that will be forthcoming, never fear!

Blackwing Lair

Nestra — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:25:04 -0000

Posted 10/28/2009 12:25 PM by Nestra.

Thanks to those who came to BWL a few weeks ago. Mariance was kind enough to tell us the real strategies for each fight and then we mostly just zerged each boss. It was great to finally see Nefarian and get the achievement. That fight must have been killer at level 60!

Here we are with the defeated Nefarian:

I still plan to put up an AQ40 run so we can complete the classic raider achievement. That will probably be in the next two weeks so look for it.

Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj

Nestra — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:01:41 -0000

Posted 09/29/2009 10:01 PM by Nestra.

We ventured into the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj last Saturday. The day turned into more of an extended skirmish than a battle, as the resistance we met was much more feeble than we had anticipated. Within 40 minutes all the bosses had fallen to our onslaught. Guild members Falarelle, Fazia, Koriander, Mariance, Mixtel, Narlexia, Nathelien, and Nestra were in attendance. Congrats to all on your achievements!

Here we are beside the body of Ossirian the Unscarred, on some of our favorite mounts:

Thanks for making it a fun raid and keep an eye out for more runs!

Hakkar

Nestra — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:57:47 -0000

Posted 09/22/2009 03:57 PM by Nestra.

Force Recon entered Zul'Gurub last Saturday with an impressive group, determined to discover the fate of the High Priests and to stop Hakkar. In attendance were Draenevil, Falarelle, Fazia, Katagana, Koriander, Lurik, Mariance, Moxe, Narlexia, Nestra, Whien, and Zendorf. We dressed in disguise, hoping to fool the trolls.

Here we are at the entrance:

As we moved through the ancient capital, we kept our eyes and ears open for signs of the High Priests. Unfortunately they had not met a kindly fate. We discovered that they had not been able to resist the influence of Hakkar, and had been subverted into his champions. To free them from this servitude, we were forced to slay them.

Finally only Hakkar remained. We fought our way to his platform to see that he had already been summoned! We were just in time. As a group, we rushed him, determined to end his evil influence over this beautiful city. Down he went!

Here we stand, for a victory shot near his body:

Thanks to all who answered the call for help and came with us on this mission. As always, it was a lot of fun.

Molten Core and Onyxia defeated

Nestra — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:03:24 -0000

Posted 09/15/2009 11:03 AM by Nestra.

Thanks to everyone who answered the call for brave adventurers to explore the depths of Molten Core and rid Azeroth of the danger posed by the elemental Firelord, Ragnaros. He was no match for our combined strength and bravery of guild members Ceora, Falballa, Fazia, Katagana, Mariance, Moxe, Nestra, and Valaevil.

After his defeat, we paused for a moment to reflect on our achievement.

Exhilarated by our success, we decided to try our luck with Lady Onyxia, the daughter of the mighty dragon Deathwing. We re-assembled at the entrance to her lair in Dustwallow Marsh and proceeded to defeat her. Divot was so inspired by this that he led us in routing all the members of the Black Dragon Flight that we could find inside her cave. Hopefully that will set them back for some time, at least.

Several members of the group took home trophies and mementos of our successes. Congratulations to everyone on these victories!

Founder's Day events wrapup - Arena showdown and Lake party

Nestra — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:27:19 -0000

Posted 09/06/2009 01:27 AM by Nestra.

It all came down to pally versus pally.

On Sat 8/29, members of Force Recon joined together with friends and met in the Stranglethorn Arena to slug it out in individual and team PVP competitions.

First came the individual competition. After several minutes of freewheeling practice, we got down to business. It was every man, woman, cat and tree for themselves out on the arena floor. Many went down quickly. Soon there were only two left standing - Nathelien and Brigan. Brigan was in trouble from the beginning with low health and low mana. As Nathelien wore down on him, it seemed that Brigan was always able to sneak in that heal and suddenly he was at full health again. They continued to battle, but only one could emerge victorious. And in the end it was Brigan who stood triumphant on the field. Congratulations Brigan!

After we had all dusted ourselves off, we met again in the archway of the arena entrance. Kori called each contestant forward, they ate the fish, and were transformed into either a Pirate or a Ninja. The teams ended up being:

Pirates: Stele, Forgiven, Ceora, Koriander, Brigan (and Cathleen, Founder & honorary spectator)
Ninjas: Sydonie, Terrandil, Nathelien, Verdantine, Nestra

Here are the two teams:

We squared off. Many intimidating glances were thrown at the opposing team. Back to our corners we were sent. And then - GO! The teams rushed at each other. Forgiven went down quickly in a tangle of leaves and branches. The Ninjas swept mercilessly through the remaining pirates and finished with all standing.

We decided to try a round 2. The Pirates were up again, scowling at the Ninjas, and making plans in their corner. The Ninjas plotted as well to try to gain a second victory.

Then the fight was on again. Forgiven was a bear and lasted longer! Ceora immediately began to cast aoe spells, trying to break Nestra's and Verdantine's stealth. Kori set traps. There were casualties on both sides as the Pirates took their revenge! Eventually it was all pallies again as Nathelien and Sydonie of the Ninjas wore down Brigan from the Pirates. With two against one, Brigan wasn't able to pull off another upset victory. He fell, and the Ninjas were victorious again. Congrats to the Ninjas! And congrats to everyone for making it such a fun and sportsmanlike competition.

After all that blood and sand, we adjourned to the Wellspring Lake in Teldrassil. It was a great party and even more friends were able to show up to partake in the festivities. Stele and Terrandil turned the water solid for us and we danced, ate, drank, and lit fireworks to celebrate Force Recon's 4th Anniversary & Founder's Day.

Here we are posing on the boat in the lake:

Thanks again to everyone who attended. We especially thank our friends from other guilds who went out of their way to celebrate with us. It's these types of bonds that make this a fun and memorable game to play.

Here's to another great year!

Founder's Day Events - Pirates vs. Ninjas & Lake Party

Nestra — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:06:35 -0000

Posted 08/25/2009 03:06 PM by Nestra.

Founder's Day Events

Join us this Saturday, August 29th, as we celebrate our 4th Founder's Day. Given that Force Recon was founded out of a desire to bring peace and harmony to all the races of Azeroth, we feel it is fitting to commemorate this occasion with an all-out PVP bloodbath at the Gurubashi Arena, followed by a dip at the Wellspring Lake in Teldrassil.

Events:

7 pm - Pirates vs. Ninjas Arena Slaughter

We'll convene at the gates of the Gurubashi Arena at 7 pm to begin the night's festivities. In case you aren't familiar with the Gurubashi Arena, it is a PVA (player versus anyone) area in the middle of Stranglethorn Vale. This means you can fight anyone of any faction as long as they aren't in your party.

First we will all venture into the Arena and slug it out in a "last man standing" competition. The winner will be, well, the last person standing. The prize will be 100g out of the guild bank.

Immediately following will be the team competition. We will all eat a special food and be transformed into either pirates or ninjas. Pirates will form into one team, and ninjas into the other. Then - Fight! Fight! Fight! When all of one team has been killed, the standing team will be the winners. There will be a gold prize to be divided amongst the winning team.

Depending on time and how fast this all goes, we might run the team competition again for fun. We'll decide that the night of the event.

Rules - The rules are pretty simple. We expect everyone to behave honorably at all times. Don't do anything to cheat (such as running back in after you die and eating another fish). If the teams are massively unbalanced (10 pirates and 1 ninja or 8 80s versus 4 60s), we reserve the right to have some of one team eat fish until they become the other. This is just for fun so don't go crazy.

Then...

8 pm - Party at Wellspring Lake in Teldrassil

Bring your festive gear, picnic baskets, pets, and desire to have a good time! We'll cool off with a party at Wellspring Lake, which is located in northern Teldrassil. There will be food and drink. Stick around for the fireworks as well.

Check your in-game calendar for invites to these events. Please let us know if you plan to attend so we can have enough supplies for the Arena event and the party. Please only reply on one of your toons so we don't double-count.

A Midsummer Morning's Raid

Nestra — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:45:34 -0000

Posted 06/25/2009 11:45 AM by Nestra.

On Sunday, 6/21, Kori organized a raid on the horde leaders for the double purpose of getting more people their war bears, and to extinguish the flames in the Horde cities for the Midsummer Fire Festival. The raid was a great success! In all, eight members of Force Recon attended and five got their war bears. Congrats to Eriene, Floradelle, Nestra, Terrandil, and Zendorf on their spiffy new mounts.

Here are some of us with our bears:

Kori has posted in the forum that she might organize another raid in case anyone missed this one. Please post in that thread if you are interested.

Thanks again to Kori for organizing the raid, and thanks also to Kirsdarke for helping out during the raid with flame locations and more. :)

FR Begins Raiding Ulduar and Downs 7 Bosses in the First Few Weeks

Koriander — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:42:41 -0000

Posted 06/18/2009 07:42 PM by Koriander.

Set Team kills 3 Ulduar Bosses in the Dungeon's First Release Week and Continues Adding New Bosses for the Next Two Weeks

* Note - This article was written to cover the first few weeks of the new patch. Another will be written for the newer news items.

The FR Set Team was very excited to begin raiding Ulduar in its first release week. We headed in there with a few friends on Apr 17 and 19th. The first encounter is the Flame Leviathan and pre-FL area. This is a very interesting idea and encounter. In this area, every member of the raid must either be a driver or passenger of a vehicle. A few of these vehicles are similar to those found in Wintergrasp, so that is a good practice area for those who might want to try their hand at vehicle combat beforehand.

There is a gauntlet of iron dwarves, enemy vehicles, and towers that must be destroyed using the various vehicles before you can engage Flame Leviathan. Similar to Obsidian Sanctum, there are also various hard modes that can be engaged. With Flame Leviathan, there are four Towers in the gauntlet area. Each one you leave up increases the difficulty of the Hard Mode and makes the Flame Leviathan fight more difficult, both with additional health and damage from the Flame Leviathan itself, as well as various other items in the encounter such as extra adds or patches of flame to avoid, etc.

Once you finish clearing the gauntlet area of adds and buildings, you can engage FL. During this fight, FL picks one vehicle to chase. That vehicle has to stay away from FL, while the other vehicles continue to do as much damage as possible and use their abilities to slow down the FL, as well as interrupt the FL's abilities so the pursued vehicle takes less damage.

For our first attempt, we decided to try this event in one level of Hard Mode with one tower up, and we were able to successfully defeat the Flame Leviathan. Here we are with the destroyed vehicle:

This is the achievement for getting him with the 1 tower up:

Next we headed off to Ignis and Razorscale. They were both extremely difficult and we didn't down them on our first day in Ulduar. Normally most of our set team in Naxx10 does 2500- 3k DPS. However DPS was lower in Ulduar to about 1800-2500 due to the difficulty of the bosses. Our first attempt at Ignis, had us all dead within about 5-8 seconds. He hits that hard!

But we went back and on Day 2 of that first week, we were able to down both Razorscale and XT, which unlocked the next area of Ulduar. Razorscale is the Proto Dragon from the quest chain in Ice Crown. This fight has 2 phases. The first requires alternating damage between adds, as well as the Proto Dragon. During this phase, Razorscale can only be damaged when she is brought to the ground. NPCs are present during this phase. They help fight adds as well as repair some gun turrets on the ground. In 10 mode, they can repair 2 turrets and when both of those are activate, Razorscale is brought to the ground for a short amount of time.

In order to get to phase 2 of this encounter, you must get Razorscale to 50% health during the times she's on the ground. Once phase 2 begins, Razorscale no longer flies out of combat range and must be tanked on the ground until defeated.

Here we are with Razorscale's corpse:

We managed to do this fast enough to get the following achievement:

Next up was XT. XT is a large robot, who also calls series of robots to the fight, some of which heal XT, so the adds and XT must be taken care of. He has 2 alternating phases, regular phase and heart phase. Heart phase happens every 25% of his health decrease. During Heart Phases, his heart is exposed and doing damaged to his heart increases the damage done to him. It is also during this phase that he calls additional adds. Here is a picture of XT defeated and the achievements we were able to obtain with that first kill:

We've been returning to Ulduar on a weekly basis. On Apr 25, we successfully completed a few achievements with XT and our first kill of Kologarn.

The XT achievements are:

For Kologarn's fight, he has 3 areas you can attack on him - his torso, his left arm, and his right arm. To defeat him, you must get his torso to 0 health. However, killing either arm causes him to lose 15% of his torso's life. In addition, the arms respawn. Each arm has different abilities as well. So while they are "alive" they do different things to the raid. For example, his right arm will occasionally grab and hold a raid member. For this raid member to be release, sufficient damage must be done to the arm or it must be defeated. Here is a picture of us standing on Kologarn's rubble:

During the following week, our 3rd in Ulduar, we managed first Kills of Ignis, Auriaya, and the Iron Council. Here are shots of us over their defeated bodies:

Ignis:

Auriaya:

Iron Council:

Come back soon for more tales on our work in Ulduar.

Kori