Armored Justice

There are a lot of comments to ensure accreditation on a kill of Heroic Spine.  For attendance, for contribution, for the wipes put in place that were oh.. so... close...  

But before we go further, it's probably worth starting with a simple number- an aggregate from last evening only.

Last evening, on Sunday, out of 849 possible dispels, 846 were nailed. 844 by Jazzies alone.  That's a success ratio of 99.646643%.  In short, in one word, phenemonal.

It's the type and level of excellence that allowed the rest of the raid to focus on each individual component- tanking (especially in phase 3), DPS, Fiery Grip breaking, heals, cooldowns (DPS and otherwise).

As the evening began, after the close wipes last Monday, after the inadvertant miscommunication that led to an ad hoc impromptu siesta on Wednesday, we still knew that kill was on tap Sunday evening.

And so we started, Hunter light, but spirits high pushing near-immediately to tendon 3+.     Excellent.  A great, auspicious beginning...

Followed by a quick (1 of 3, over 15 attempts, including the kill) Dispel wipe.

And so it went, right up until a 600k wipe on the last tendon.  Looking over the times- the fight is long.  12-13" minutes.  We 'could' have popped Heroism twice, but we - as our fluidity increased and our DPS increased- opted to go with the traditional use on the 5th tendon.

'DPS', I echoed, 'doesnt matter until it does.'

It matters on the tendon- 12, 23 second experiments in pure burst DPS.  A coordinated effort between grips- a grip that will assuredly cause a wipe if not cleanly handled.  And that's that.  Until you reach the 3rd, and final, tendon.

At that point, DPS matters everywhere.

And it was that our last tweak proved, in fact, to be the nuance required to finalize the kill.  A small group of melee (Durendal, Apak, Red (until he had to step away and Funky) targetting bloods while the rest of DPS burned the abomination down.   

It's a simple fight, at the atomic level. Heroic Spine on 25H.   As with a marching band, where different band sizes are graded to higher difficulty based on number of members, the amount of nuanced coordination is pretty awesome.

For DPS, there is the requisite focusing gearing and reforging required for the 23second burst damage.  There's the focus required to shift to tendons to break Fiery grips- and to recognize that you may, in fact, be the backup for it.  There's the control required to cease DPS on the abomination until it's time to down the abomination.

For healing, there's the role required to dispel.  To not miss the dispel- the price being an instant wipe.  There's the focus required to keep aggregate health UP, as hit points decrease.  There's the mentality of triage- of focusing heals on those with Fiery Grips and Searing Plasma.

For tanking, it's a scaling fight.  Something that can be- with some dancing- one tanked on LFR and possibly on normal- requires 2, and finally 3, tanks.   Dropping bloods in a line by the spine.  Calling out Abom cease points, walking through the bloods.  And finally... finally... dancing the dance and kiting the kite for nearly 3 minutes hoping against hope that heals come through, that life grips come through and that DPS... finally gets it done.

That's why raiding is a team sport.  That's why it's harder to do things on 25man.  That's why we do what we do.  We do it because we can.  We do it for ourselves.  We do it for each other.  We do it because we can.   

And so as Teamspeak became harried, as we approached the 5th tendon, as all primary grip breakers- ALL OF THEM- were gripped and Deathwing conspired to make a wipe and we didnt.  

As we lost Apak.  As we lost Waren.  As we lost Marci.  As we lost Funky... as the last tendon raised.

As the Parade went round and round.  As healths sat precariously.  As the timer ticked away.  

We knew.

We knew.

This was our moment.   

See the Movie Here.

We are Armored Justice.  Be the Hero.

We had a great Wednesday.  Everything clicked.   5 heroics up and 5 heroics down, with most being 1-shots.  Take it.  Enjoy it.  Savor it.  Those nights don't come along frequently.  We even spent about an hour on the Warmasterlordthingguy.

Sunday, then, we were due for a letdown.  And it started inauspiciously- we had a several players indicate they wouldn't make it for various reasons ('Rasslin! Family!); we had a tank that indicated he'd be late...  Ahh... the memories of Wednesday- so close, and so desperately far away at the same time.  

So we began, eventually on the Warmaster.   That boss of bosses where we're simultaneously blessed and cursed by the absence of trash.  

Wiped?  Excellent!  Move it back and do it again.  And again.   

And the hours silp by.  And good, solid progression- learning and continuing- becomes slightly harder as the attempts become blurrier.

And BAM.  We're there.  At 40%... we wipe, sure, but like a pack of hungry jackals- we've got the kill in our sites.

That was our high water mark.  I surely wish it wasn't.  But we started regression on progression from that point.     Breakdowns everywhere- a few tank misses, a few barrages to the face, a few extra cleaves, and before you know it...

Timeout.  2minute break.    It's time to stop the counter-attack that the Warmaster has on us.

And we return.   It would be snarky, but appropriate, to note that we normally follow a late evening break with another round of unfocused rectal discharges... and...

As Funkymonkay was pancaked on the first onslaught, and Raykey shortly thereafter... it looked like we might.... but we held the line.

We held the line.

And fires were on our side... by our side- I mean nowhere near us.... And Grombrindal is down...  and Ressed... That's 3.... We're on the clock....

Goriana... falls....

Move the Warmaster to the center...

Round and round the maypole.  Cooldowns as necessary....

DEAD.

Movie here.

We are Armored Justice.  Go Big or Go Home.

In AD 195, Septimus Severus was emperor, having been the victor of the post-Commodus' Year of the Five Emperors.

There are 195 - as of January, 2012- recognized countries by the US State Department on the planet Earth.

There are I-195s in Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia.

And on March 19th, 2012, Armored Justice embarked on its 195th attempt on Heroic Zon'Ozz.

Now we should back up a bit- and be clear: there were indeed 195 attempts, although that includes the wipes by the errant Pet Pulls.... The wipes from the well-intentioned by ultimately 'bad' 4 peeps with Raid Cooldowns and stack the raid and Watch the Balls Go Astray Method (easily accounting for 100+)....

That includes the wipes, so many that there were, associated by the heightened creeping internal doubt of 'can this be done'.   The growing absence of focus.  The misaligned perception that the fight was harder then it was.

Yes, of course, this is 25man Heroic.  The big leagues.  It's the game we play.  The arena we call home.  

But Zon'Ozz is an execution fight- when all is said and done... and we weren't executing.  We didn't execute.  Except on fail.

I have to admit- we nearly lost our way- I could sense the same incoming pain that we had earlier this expansion on Double Dragons (H), and whispers of the pain on Archimonde from Hyjal.  In one, we overcame.  In the other, we set it aside and continued.

Life, then, is a struggle- I reiterate it every day.  Nothing is free.  Nothing is for granted.  Every breath you breathe, every sight you take in- it may be your last.  Savor it.  Savor them.  The laughs and profanities of your friends.   

When you get your ass whipped in sports.  When you lose the girl.   When your favorite pet dies.

These and more are the challenges we set.

And WoW, the virtual bed in which we lie- and raiding therein- is the sport and hobby of our time.   People mistake WoW, and shortchange themselves, when they view it solely as a game (although shortchanging is acceptable, if you're comfortable with that knowledge).

It's a social experiment and experience in the most vivid sense of the word.  It is ultimately less important then any and every moment with your partner, or child, or sibling. 

But the lessons learned here- of meeting strangers, of forming bonds, of respecting yourself, and your peers.  Of setting high bars, and meeting them- of the success of persevarance and the detriment of the blaise- those are Universal.  I repeat them here, as I do in raids, due to the importance.

Every lesson you learn here - in progressive raiding- translates to a life experience skill worthy for a professional career.    The fact that we do it with 25 makes it all the more valuable.

You see- you can ultimately control only yourself.   You can only excel individually, in the sense of direct impact.   As a unit, we must trust.  We must believe.  We must berate, conjole, and console.  We must push.  We must drive.  We must learn when to step back and when to push forward.

These are the lessons of the hear that WoW brings forward.  This is who Armored Justice is.  This is who I am- and the belief structure that drives me (in WoW and life).

And so, on Sunday evening, when the glass ceiling cracked.  As we pushed Zon'Ozz to a guild best 4% (from the low 50s), the doubt fled.   The determination renewed... and yet we were short, as it turned out.

On Monday, then, we returned.

I could bore you with stories of how we got it.  WE got it.  How 25 people bonded together, many more over hours of time, and nights of attempts.  How we had abandoned Zon'Ozz and smoked Yor'Sahj and Ultraxion and returned.

How we are, with little doubt, a group of individuals, committed to excellence- striving, seeking, and not yet attaining perfection- but that ultimately is not the direction I wish this post to be.

Rather, let the demise of Zon'Ozz be this:  Determination.  Drive.  Bigger Arenas are worth the effort.   Don't settle.  Never settle.  Even after 195 attempts.

Super short, one of a kind, Zon'Ozz Movie

We are Armored Justice.   Go Big or Go Home.