That’s right.  On September 1st Disgruntled downed the Lich King for the first time in 25 man.  This is a huge accomplishment not only for the regular faces in the 25 man team, but for the guild itself.  The hurdles that had tripped people up suddenly disappeared and it ended in success.

In previous runs the main mechanic that was causing problems was defile.  Maybe the pressure of downing the valks had caused folks to forget about the defile, and there were a few wipes early on where folks just weren’t taking the defiles out far enough.  Luckily everyone is a professional (not to mention stubborn) and gave that extra ‘umph’ needed to finally get past the mechanic and down the Lich King.

Everyone did an astounding job and all deserve a pat on the back.  Not only for the actual achievement of downing the Lich King, but for offering suggestions, not giving up, tweaking and adjusting last minute and most of all for being patient.

Congratulations, Disgruntled!

This week’s chosen Raider of the Week has been an integral force to our raiding.  She’s been a driving force in the raids (as well as this blog!).  Might I add that this has been a long time coming?  This week’s Raider of the Week is none other than the top-knotted, green skinned hunter Phlygurl.

Skinjin had this to say about Phlygurl: This week’s raider of the week is a hunter of the very best variety. Phly, or philly as she is known to the most endearing of friends, does all the things in the raidgroup that I refuse to. She handles much more than a person should, and still puts up epic numbers. We wouldnt be raiding without her, so heres to you phly. Youre the bestest.

This is a bitter-sweet award as Phlygurl is leaving Disgruntled.  Her boots will be hard to fill, and she will be sorely missed.  Very well deserved, Phlygurl!

This week’s Raider of the Week hails from Thunder Bluff.  Not only where the buffalo roam, but where they train skills, fish, dance, and withdraw from a bank.

Skijin had this to say about this week’s raider Brithar: This week’s raider of the week comes to us straight from the forest. This epic tree is a healing dynamo, and HILARIOUS. He provides a fantastic pine fresh aroma to most open spaces, and while he was gone, I missed him greatly. Grats to you sir.

Phlygurl had a few things of her own to add: Grats, Brinthar. I think most people know that Brinthar is amazing at his raid job, but not everyone may realize the man is a serious number cruncher. He can evaluate and dissect combat logs like no one I have ever seen. Thank you sir, for helping behind the scenes so much and teaching me about healing logs. A tree good with logs; who knew?

All good things have the capacity to be evil and this week’s raider is an example of this philosophy.  Skinjin said, “This week’s raider of the week comes to us from the shadowy depths of priestery. Oh Man Halliday roasts the meters, typically has a nice general outlook and provides me with a ton of suggestions. Halliday is a good dood, and if I had more like him, the rest of my raid would be translucent.  Grats Dood!”

Congratulations, Halliday!  Well deserved.

This week’s raider comes to us from the twisting nether of apocalyptic evil.  She summons demons, steals health and souls from enemies, and sets even the most frozen of bosses on fire with a short Immolate cast.  All this evil is of course balanced out by her ability to bind an ally’s soul to this plane, and those delicious green jawbreakers she makes!

August 4th Raider of the Week is Diva.  Skinjin had a few things to say:  ”Well, long overdue, this week’s raider of the week comes to us from The Scary Dark Place that Warlocks do. She has made 1000 suggestions to me, healthstones when I ask, portals when I need, and spec changes when I inquire. The Diva, Nyte, (once Glynnda fyi), whatever you call her, theres only one word to describe her….epicsauce. She is a long time and close friend of mine, and the reason why I came here. Grats Diva.”

Congratulations, indeed!

Alts.  They’re great, aren’t they?  We all have at least one and the insane few have five or more.  One brave raid leading soul, Skinjin has an insatiable hunger to lead more raids.

The Alt ICC 25 man raid is slated to start August 14th – and there has been quite a bit of excitement about it.  Right now the raid is scheduled to take place each Saturday which means the raid will run from 7pm-11pm server time.  Having a single day raid every week does mean an extra hour of raiding – but it also means more opportunity for reputation to help your alt along the long, frozen path that is Ice Crown Citadel.

All those interested in joining the raid are encouraged to express that interest on this forum post.

Several raiders were awarded the honor of Raider of the Week during July. Let’s recap them here. First up, for the week of July 11, is Bellshaw. Skin said “You know him, you love him, he is everyone’s favorite elemental shaman hailing from the frozen north. He provides awesome suggestions, jaw-dropping deeps, a generally positive and unshakable attitude and a sense of adventure! Self-ressing problems aside, an amazing raider. Congrats buddy!” Bellshaw had raided with Disgruntled in Burning Crusade and rejoined us as we began our assault on ICC. I feel extremely lucky that he decided to come back. Not only is he a very good raider, but he is huge asset to the guild overall. He has organized several legacy raids, and recently coordinated an Undying run. Poor thing pursues the craziest goals though; he has Loremaster and Insane to his name. Who knows what’s next?

Next up is the Raider of the Week for July18 – Kronos. “This week’s raider of the week comes to us from the realm of dps dk’s. Mr. Stannis, aka Mr. Kronos has an uncanny knack for asking the right questions at the right time, and being able to provide good whispers of fight suggestions and more awesome. Thanks dood!”, said Skinjin of the award. Kronos is the consummate professional when it comes to raiding. He is completely prepared and is aware of multiple strats. He is also well-versed in the capabilities of many classes, and can provide insight into the raid as a whole, not just his class.

And the final July Raider of the Week was awarded on July 25 to Nalraen. Skin said “This week’s raider of the week comes to us from the land of the Belves. Nalraen is one of the purest and most flawless dps I have ever had the pleasure of raiding with. As I mentioned in raid tonight, if you do not know where to stand, looking where she is can always be a good plan. Nal puts up just scary numbers and has always had excellent observations about the fights, and lets not forget an unwavering sense of optimism. She has also overcome personal adversity to be with us. Thanks Nal and for anyone who questions, ‘can you deal with it’?” Nal has been responsible for so much more than being a top DPS in raid. Behind the scenes, she has been a recruiting guru. Many of our recent recruits are here as a direct result of Nal’s hard work. I personally owe her a huge debt of gratitude; thanks, Nal.

Yes, I was slacking; no excuse. Let’s get right down to catching up with Skinjin’s Raider of the Week receipients. First up is the June 6 RoTW — Bettebe, unholy DK extraordinaire. Skin had this to say:  “So this week’s raider of week comes to us in the form of an amazing Death Knight. Betterbe provides fish, suggestions, amazing deeps and a wonderful outlook. Pair that with the fact that he smells refreshing and you get the combination for the best of raiders. Thanks buddy, youve earned it.” I have to add a personal note here. When Betterbe joined Disgruntled, he has been 100%  behind us from the start. Even during rocky times when it might have benefited him personally to leave, he always said he was in it for the long haul.

Next up is Brahman, our main tank upon whose shoulders we have riden through most of Icecrown Citadel. When Skin named him RoTW on June 13, he had this to say: “Well, you know him, you love him, the brick wall out front. This guys catches things all the time that I miss, and puts in 110% to be here and rock it out every week. I am partial to warriors, but even moreso to the same extent im partial to Great tanks, and he is one. Grats buddy!” Some of our newer members may not realize, but for a long time Brahman raided on his hunter, Sneetch. So when I was putting the 25-man together, and he contacted me about being the MT, I was like “A hunter? MT?”. Once I recovered from my initial surprise about his (to me unknown) warrior, I never looked back. In addition to being another in a long line of great Disgruntled main tanks, Brahman helped me keep my sanity and perspective as the raid was being built. Thank you, sir. <3

And the most recent RoTW was awarded to one of our newer members, Olympae. Skin said of Oly, “This week’s selection comes from the huntery side of things. Oly has helped with recruitment, with suggestions and has really stepped up her production. Grats!” That’s actually a huge understatement, lol. Olympae came into Disgruntled full of energy and passion, and hasn’t lost a beat yet. She is constantly improving her play, and has become a key member of the raid. Just as important though, she has been an active voice for the guild, with recruitment and pug raids. She is always there to welcome new members, and help them aclimate to the guild and server. Here’s to you Olympae!

On May 23, our 25-man raid paid a visit to the trio of Princes. With a little practice, we saw these guys drop, putting our 25-man progression at 9/12 and headed to the Blood Queen next on our list for progression. Thank again to Olympae for the killshot.

The Memorial Day holiday weekend was a good reason for a brief break for the 25-man raid. However, some people just had to get their dose of raiding in, so they organized a 10-man ToGC run. Darn it all if they didn’t get Tribute to Skill, and some of the members had no ToGC experience. Way to go guys!

And last, and most certainly not least, a HUGE congratulations to the ICC 10-man group led by Geddo. Monday night, on the last pull of the night before raid end time, they defeated the Lich King. Great work, Kingslayers!

Oops, I fell behind in posting and missed a Raider of the Week. Time to play catch up! First up is Skin’s pick for May 16: Wyndwalk. As Skin said, “Wynd has provided some great tips, a fantasitc attitude, and more feathers than we need in one place. Wynd switched specs, works really hard to improve himself and if I do say so myself (and I do) is a pleasure to raid with.” We concur, Skin. Congrats, Wynd; we are so glad you joined us.

Next up is Skin’s RoTW for May 23.  In his post, he stated “Well, as mentioned in raid, it was time to recognize a healer. This healer not only does amazing things, and has overcome great adversity, but she also brings a certain southern flavor to the raidsauce. She doesnt say much in the raid, but if she does key the mic, you NEED to listen.” This week’s RoTW is none other than Nannelles (aka JJ, JenJenny, or Jen). Congratulation, Jen; you are definitely the heart of the guild and we are so privileged to have you in raid.

That is a total of 3 RoTWs and three Primordial Saronites awarded. Who will be next? The new raid week starts tomorrow!