Dwarf Babble

ICC 25 man GKP.

So I finally attended my first ICC GKP Run. I have had my name down for a few weeks but because they have so many wanting spots It was many weeks of standby before i finally got a chance to be "Confirmed".

Now I'm no hardcore raider, so I always get extremely nervous about doing things in pugs. And worse doing new content with pugs, which is why I tend to avoid them.

However I wanted to attend this particular one for the opportunity to buy some upgrades and for the potential of progression.

I might be uncomfortable in pugs but I do attend them because I know that there are valuable things to be learnt, alternative ways of doing fights, raid leading tips etc etc and most of the time i can pull myself up and get on with it without to much drama, because worse come to worst I don't have to raid with these guys again....

However this was different because i DO want to be invited back.



As the new kid on the block I felt out of my depth and terrified -  I have this facade that I wear a lot of the time that screams "Trust me guys, I know what I'm doing" When deep down I have my insecurities locked away. Now when it comes to pugging anything but heroics, all those insecurities rise to the surface and I'm terrified someone will scream "The King has no clothes on" and everyone will know I'm just a part time clueless raider. I guess what it comes down to is not wanting to fail, not wanting to be the one who cocked it up for everyone else.

This was bought home to me in a 25 man VOA the other night... I multi shot at the same time as a pissed off tank pulls the boss and drops group. All anyone in the raid sees is that the only raid damage to the boss is from me the hunter and I get kicked from the group. I'm sitting there saying to myself OMG I pulled the boss - how the hell did i do that - OMG I'm so fail... it was only because a couple of people saw what happened that i got re invited to the group. I go back and stand where I had apparently shot the boss from before... hes not in my range and only then do i believe i wasn't the fail. Despite reassurances from others that it was the pissed off tank and my shot just happened to hit him as he was being dragged thru the raid.

So I get to the ICC 25 and I'm shaking.... don't fail, don't fail....

Ive done the first four bosses on 10 man countless times and am not new at it in 25 man having pugged it before but i am still nervous. I register as 14th on the DPs overall despite apparently being 5th for gear - FAIL

But anyway i digressed....

A good many of them have been here done this before so instructions are scarce...My partner is in the same run and I hope I can count on him for guidance. Vent details - how does the loot bidding work, who is the tank to MD on, all the simple stuff suddenly becomes Big deals in my mind. (I now have been reminded and have empathy for those who are recent recruits to the guild, sometimes we forget having done things countless times that others aren't sure what, how or why we are doing things)

The run was actually without to much incident. Marrowgar - nice and easy, Death whisperer - check , Gunship -check,  (the first time i have ever done that fight not on a cannon and I even got over to the ship and back without falling off!),saurfang - dead easy check. I am now expecting to head towards fester and rot but the group tromps off to the Blood princes - Mild heart attack - Ive NEVER done this. MAJOR HEART ATTACK I get singled out for a role.... I'm not "One of the Dps" I'm Catreann to take the middle orb" Oh crap I can now not hide at the back and try and work out the fight, I have a role to do. And in my mind that becomes the most important thing in the fight... keep those orbs up. After one wipe (people not staying at range and an AOE that creates havoc ... NO NOT ME WOOT) we go back in and I have now seen the orbs, I know the orbs, I keep those orbs bouncing. I have no idea what else was going on in the room but i didn't fail at my appointed task. Bounce my little yellow orbs bounce. Boss dies, I am clueless as to what happened in the fight but I shot orbs and somehow that was a good thing.

Then festergut and rot face. How can it be that I have now done more on 25 man than I have in 10 man?!
The run has a 3 hour time limit and we still have time left so they head towards lady death whisperer and this is where the glue becomes unstuck. Again I have a heart attack because I am given the role as one of the three hunters to kite Blistering Blobbies. My partner shows me what I am looking for so I can recognise it, however I get the wrong end of the stick and fail completely as to whom I am suppose to be dragging where. Seems everyone else does to and we wipe. Back in for another shot - after a little clarity in private whisper to the main hunter I am now clearer what I am suppose to be doing, Its an improvement tho Its still a pretty atrocious effort by me but by everyone else too and we wipe.

Back for a third time - you CAN teach an old dog new tricks and I am kiting those blistering blobbies left right and centre. Alas other things in the group were going wrong, we have now hit our time limit and on this wipe it is called. Everyone meets at the front door and queues for a share of the pot.

I didn't get to bid on many hunter upgrades as they seem to be few and far between - i got a set of 254 shoulders for 1K that aren't an upgrade per say - more an alternative set trading hit for haste. there was a lovely BOE ring i fancied for the Druid that my partner bought, I thought he was bidding on it for me - he was in fact bidding on it for sale. He got it for 6000 odd and i ended up buying it off him.

So at the end of the run I had a ring for the druid 6200, shoulder for the hunter 1000, new experiences and after the share of the pot I was only about 200 odd gold down on what i had started with WIN.

I hope that the group allows me to come again on the hunter, but i REALLY hope I can get to take the druid for some upgrades too.

The first time you do something it is always terrifying ( for me anyway) but because no one was sat there screaming "The king has no clothes on" I feel a lot happier about going again. And who knows I might actually get my shot rotations in order when I am more relaxed.