You beta believe it!

So, I'm feeling pretty lucky right now.

      Lets review the raiding for the week first shall we? On Tuesday we started Flex wing 1 and managed the first three bosses.   I hadn't tanked this content for a good while and it showed.  When we fought Sha of Pride I know I made several mistakes, and between that and some other unlucky issues like people DCing etc... we didn't get the last boss of the wing down.

      Wednesday I went ahead and lead us into wing 4 again.  We did better then last week but still there are too many issues there.  I think this next week I may start wing 1 the first night and move to wing 3 the second as I know we can down malkorak and treasures of Pandaria continues to elude us.

       I think we have had more content resets with the raid team this expansion then we ever have.  I hope leading out of this one we will get time to down Garrosh before 6.0.  I know people are still predicting the next expansion to be out November/December.  I am more optimistic then that.  I am sticking to my guess of the expansion in September.  I think we can bet on 6.0 in mid to late August and to have the game out before Blizzcon.

      I know this isn't the popular guess.  I am still thinking that the Beta is going to be surprisingly short this time around.  We don't have to have access for over a million free passers this time, and if Pandaria has had one major success it is to show that Blizzard can put out content quickly, I even have said and still think too quickly at points.   As they continue to refine the process I think we may be pleasantly surprised this time around.  If I am wrong, I will accept it but I have high hopes that Blizzard will surprise us all.

       I went into the Mysts Beta a couple times when I had it.  This time I plan on delving a little deeper.  I am hoping to get my live stream going so I can comment and give my opinion on the things I am seeing.  As soon as everything is live I plan on going through the Alliance side on Lazyeye my hunter, and Rhapsidy my Rogue will sneak around some of the Horde content.  I am not sure how deeply I want to delve as I've always hated having to redo content or spoil myself too badly.  At  the same time I want to embrace this Beta as a new opportunity to play with some other stuff I've wanted to do.

    If I can I will even let people know when I'm streaming beta so they can hop in and watch if they like.

     We are one step closer, and before you know it, Warlords will be upon us.

Lag/Lazyeye/Dizzty

Carry on, carry on!

A lot of things are coming up again.

     Tuesday we had a Flex wing 3 run.  We managed to down Malkorak but didn't get any further.  We kept getting shredded by treasures of Pandaria.  We have lost a couple more players so balancing the group was a bit trickier, and by the end it proved to be just to hard for us to push through.

     Wednesday we went ahead and took a couple whacks at Blackfuse.  The trash almost did us in and he walked all over us.  After a few tries we decided to hop back to wing 2 and took down Galakras just so a few people could have a chance at loot.  Galakras himself was a bigger challenge then normal, because once again we are feeling the absence of those who left us, that used to do a couple jobs like the towers that had to be covered by new folks.

      The problems we are facing right now are the result of 2 things.

      1.  We are playing with several individuals.  Schedules change, needs change, the way we play the game changes.  This leads to people leaving or going elsewhere or looking elsewhere for new challenges.  We have lost more then a few people because we are a laid back group who takes their time to work through content instead of yelling/pushing/being extreme.

      2.  We are in the end of expansion slump.  If your like me this is the time it's hardest to log in and play sometimes.  We have been playing the same content since December, and it feels there is nothing new to see.  This is the period I spend more time on other realms and leveling alts.  It feels extremely harsh this time because Blizzard managed to push out content so quickly in Mists of Pandaria.  In truth we are looking at about the same about of time between final patch and the the new expansion as we always have.  It's just falling because that new content every 3-4 month push they managed that is making it so painful.

      Part of raiding is rebuilding and relearning.  It wouldn't  hit us as bad if we were one of the teams who goes hardcore and has the content chewed up in a month or two, but with the way we raid it means we spend a lot longer on the content, so we have a lot longer to lose and have change happen on the team.  This has hit us particularly hard this time around and it feels like every time we have gained traction the dynamic has been shaken up and we are relearning how to balance with each other.

     I will tell you the one thing that drives crazy is when we get on a run, are downing new bosses every other week and people leave so they can see the content quicker.  I have never understood the desire to jump in with a new group when you are already making progress.  I will admit I have a dark chuckle with myself when these people leave and a two months later the new guild/raid team implode and those folks who are left in the dust are once again looking for a new home.  Some of them come back to us... most keep wandering and I hope they all eventually find a new home that suits them.  When someone leaves I do sincerely with them good luck, I just am not surprised when they don't find it.

    So we trudge on... This next week we will be starting Wing 1 again to once again build and help bring more people into a working position on the team.  I am tired of re-hashing this, but I will keep going on until the new expansion hits.  Then I will get the same break as everyone else as I level my characters, and will be looking forward to the new content with everyone else.

Lag/Dizzty/Lazyeye

It's getting closer......

And knocking on our doors!

     Anyway, Tuesday we went through the first wing again.  We didn't get as far as we did last time, but it was still a fun run.  My hunter got the last piece of gear he needs for flex, and will now only be making appearances on progression nights.  Yes, I'm  a jerk like that.  I will still pull him in if we are having trouble, but I want to spin a little more flavor into raiding for myself.

      Wednesday, I didn't schedule raid as a couple peeps were out of town and I selfishly took the opportunity to got see the new X-men Flick with me brudder.  (Go see it, it's good)

       As far as next week goes, I am stuck working Tuesday night and will only be able to do a Wednesday night raid.  We will be going into wing 4 so tighten your belts and sharpen your swords, we are once again pounding our faces against Blackfuse who continues to be the most irritating fight so far. I know we can down him though, it's just a matter of pushing ourselves a little harder.

       Now, the door is knocking and if you open it you will be bombarded by information from Warlords of Draenor.  The Friends and Family Alpha is no out and information is starting to leek into the inter-webs on different information regarding our upcoming expansion.  If you are a spoiler free person, now is the time to plug your ears and avoid your internet.

      The first thing I find interesting is that while they are inviting people from outside Blizzard in to experience the content now, they are still referring to this as an alpha.  I don't know if this is a move to make sure people don't think they are further along in the process then where they are, or if there is some other difference between Beta and Alpha I'm not getting, but here we are with people streaming and showing off quests/information.

      From the bit I've seen the new models that have been released look good.  Most of what I've seen is Frostfire Ridge from the Horde side, but more and more areas/information is sure to be released as we go.  As far as guessing a time for release I still think it's going to be September before Blizzcon.  I'm also very sure this is later then Blizzard intended.

     I won't go into any spoilers here, but if you want to see what's happening Wowcrendor had been streaming, and so had Wow insider on their homepage.  Check it out if you want to, if not don't.

Lag/Dizzty/Lazyeye.