Caledonian Crusaders

Congratulations all you guys who have reached 85 and those who are soon to get there! It went quickly didn't it? and we'll be there for another couple of years. For me personally, I don't feel any need to rush towards raiding, but no doubt some of you will be dying to get stuck into it. Berty-boy suggested that we might be ready sometime in mid-January, but I can honestly say I have no idea. Some guys are gearing up fast from heroics and others are taking a more leisurely pace. We will need to decide when the time is right, when enough guys of the right class balance are fully heroic geared, gemmed and enchanted to the hilt! Heroics seem to be a challenge at the moment, and I think that is a very good thing for really learning your new class abilities. I have to admit, I am enjoying the new challenges that healing poses, but am nervous as hell about doing my first heroic. One thing is certain, I won't be pugging anything!

Come Jan/Feb ...whenever it happens...we will be needing some raid leaders. So do let me know, those who haven't already -if you would be willing to lead, or assist in leading a raid or event on at least a weekly basis. Either by PM on the forum or in-game is fine.

Many of us have raided several times a week for the past two years. It won't do us any harm to have a brief break while we gear up through normal dungeons and heroics as well as doing dailies for faction rep. When we do set foot inside the first Cata raid instance we will be all the more prepared than if we rush in there undergeared.

The guys who have been farming heroics every day are probably best placed to dip their toes into the first raid...peeps like Vic, Hippie, Dwarffie, Jonsey etc. I'll happily sit the first one out in favour of class balance and I think (correct me if I'm wrong here Dan!) Tyrious has already offered to lead the first raid. Please try to be patient and realistic, there will be loads of opportunities to raid over the coming months but we have to start somewhere. Let's make sure the first Callies Cata raid is composed of the best prepared and geared group, and give them our full support. I expect that after the initial week or two we will be able to do two 10 man runs per week, resetting each week to farm content, and perhaps when we have enough geared up and familiar with the fights we might want to schedule in a 25 man run every 2-3 of weeks for the extra loot. I don't think we should plan too far ahead at this stage though, let's see how the first raids go.

For those still levelling or gearing up through quests and normal instances, there is no rush! Take your time and enjoy yourself, gearing up will be a long, slow process and a few weeks either way will make absolutely no difference in the long run. As a columnist on WoW Insider put it:

Those of us who are used to having the gearing process spoon-fed to us by the past year or so of the Wrath endgame progression are likely in for a bit of a shock. Plentiful and easy-to-obtain purples like those offered in normal 5-man instances like Trial of the Champion and the Icecrown instances are nowhere to be found here. There's no short-cut. This is the beginning of the endgame, and baby steps are still required.

I have no idea how difficult the entry raid encounters are, or which of the raids should be tackled first (Bastion of Twilight?) but we should specify a minimum gear level of 346 attainable through faction rep rewards and heroics, as well as a couple of crafted or rep reward epics. Once we have 10 peeps at that level and of the appropriate classes and roles then we're ready. That might be a few weeks away yet, perhaps I'm being over-cautious and we're closer to being ready than I thought. What are everyone else's views on this?

It goes without saying that for raiding you should be gemmed and enchanted to the hilt. i346 is entry level raiding gear and should be treated as such, the tooltip colour is irrelevant.

Hopefully we will have the new [Seafood Magnifique Feast] soon. Access to the recipe is granted when we get the guild achievement "That's A Lot of Bait" (10,000 pool catches) - how are we doing so far on progress toward the achievement?

If you feel like doing some fishing, the GB will need the following mats for each feast:

4x [Highland Guppy]
4x [Lavascale Catfish]
4x [Fathom Eel]

http://www.elsanglin.com/fish/seafood_magnifique_feast.html

Flasks. I will check with Mag but I'm sure that all flasks will be provided from guild bank funds.

That's all I can think of for now - any thoughts or ideas welcome

Throne of Four Winds

Al'Akir
Conclave of Wind

Bastion of Twilight

Cho'gall
Halfus Wyrmbreaker
Valiona Theralion
Lady Sinestra
Twilight Ascendant Council

Blackwing Descent

Atramedes
Chimaeron
Magmaw
Maloriak
Omnitron Defense System
Onyxia and Nefarian

I completely agree with what Shaun says. It will more then likely be the case of having a raid composition of competent crowd controllers! I for one will strife at getting this healing business nailed down. Also boss tactics needs to be tattooed into everyones arms even trash pulls with cc etc because we can't be relaying on the raid leader to stop and go over tactics all the time.
I for one (as I have said to Dan) am strangely looking forward to getting absolutely beaten senseless by the first set of mobs then finally making it to the boss for another kick up the behind! I love the learning curve sense and finally cracking it. Even though sometimes it can start irritating! lol. Ive not spoken out much during the restructure business but I'm more then happy to do some raid leading again like back in Ulduar days and ICC the legendary no nonsense Derek Trotter raiding!
But remember don't sprint a marathon! Gear in your own time making sure tour comfortable with the new aspects of raiding before you jump in!

All true! and after healing my first heroic yesterday I fully understood what people had been saying about healing. Its different, and at least at the present gear level there is no room for mistakes, so all have to play their part in getting every pull right, using cc properly etc. On the whole I think the game is a lot more satisfying.

I think a lot of us already have, or will need to review the way we play our classes, and refine it. No easy gearing up. What a lovely challenge!

Flasks will ofc be free from the GB - Sweetie may take some time to get her skills up so I would love to hear from alchemists with Master of elixirs who would be willing to make GB flasks in the meantime.

Raid repairs will also be free as long as the bank balance remains healthy. Fun times ahead!