News
Archive - November to May - 2010
kerafyrms awakening cut
short by Freelance!
Thursday: Korafax cleared,
Warrens - Crystal Core.
Friday: Korafax - Pallorax
(HM), Crystallos - Air, Earth, Fire Wings.
Saturday: Crystallos - Ice
Wing, Brood Mother, Kerafyrm (attempts).
Sunday: Crystallos - Kerafyrm!
As scheduled, we got in our weekly farm targets, and gave high priority to revisiting Crystallos after our minor hiatus from the zone.
Opening with Air wing, we blew Aerius away for a warmup. We then took on our nemesis Vyskudra and aired out his crib. Through all the wipes prior to date on this event, the practice and persistence paid off. In what is by far one of the best designed encounters in game. It offered a challenge at both the individual level, as well as requiring raid discipline and co-ordination. Following Air wing, we cut down Earth and Fire, with a close call win on the Tjudawos to end the night!
Starting fresh on Saturday, we began melting Ice wing, followed by Brood Mother Visziaj on the second attempt. We had a sneak peak at Brood Mother back during the Dragons 3x LL event, which gave us some idea what to expect. Excellent job following through with your assigned areas and adjusting when called on, as event elements changed unexpectedly.
Following Brood Mother, we finished up the night with two Kerafyrm attempts to size up the encounter. Both engagements were strong, reaching around 54%. Taking note of our trouble spots, we closed out the night, with plans to return for a special Sunday night run.
Our Sunday night run would have normally conflicted with Circle of Prophets guild events. However, CoP offered to cancel their raid night, allowing Freelance to take the timeslot. This action was greatly appreciated, and special thanks to Circle of Prophets and all their members for the gesture.
Sunday, Kerafyrm attracted a large crowd as expected. On our
first attempt, we improved compared to the night prior, reaching the
45% mark. After a minor adjustment, we defeated Kerafyrm on the
second attempt. Although there are other mechanics in play
during the encounter, the main trick was dealing with the spell
interrupt AE. Once we had a handle on the timing, it became
easier to work around it. Outstanding play by all those who
attended! Congrats on your Dragonkin suffix!
Kerafyrm
& Vyskudra Screenshots
Bumkus took some snapshots during these events. I stored them
in the Screenshots archive area located here.
Crystallos Rk3 Unlocks
Upon completion of each event inside Crystallos, you receive a hidden character flag. Completion all the events, combined with ally faction, will unlock an Rk3 spell/tome from Sydria the Elder. Sydria is a green drake, located in the valley outside the cave as you head towards Crystallos.
Have a safe week, see you at raids!
Loot lists have been updated.
Posted by Furro on Monday, May 24, 2010
weekend update!
Thursday: Korafax cleared.
Friday: Korafax - Pallorax
(HM), Warrens - Crystal Core, FoS - A Council Divided.
Saturday: Korafax -
Venom Lord (HM), FoS - Felbane, Final Confrontation.
This past weekend, we did a FoS theme backflagging run for Rk/Zeb
unlocks. Although we've done some FoS events several times, we
had only a single win on FoS1 prior. A Council Divided took a few
attempts, but with a tactical change, combined with raid focus, we got
it down. Congrats those who needed the unlocks, and thanks to all
who were able to attend and for your dedication on FoS1 in particular.
With our weekly clearing of Korafax, our Tower flagging efforts are coming along at a steady pace. On the Hard Mode front, along with Pallorax, we've recently added Venom Lord Ksathrax.
As of late, we defeated Showdown at the Crystal Core, and been
keeping it on lockout weekly.
We've started work on the Rathe theme, with attempts on The Brothers
Zek event. I'm not discouraged by our recent runs at this
encounter, as we're still in the early learning stages.
This past weekend, Crystallos was slotted in, but it wasn't set in
stone. Higher priority was given to the FoS theme unlocks
instead, as they provide important power gains overall.
Crystallos is a secondary goal, that has been bumped in the cycle for
the last couple months due to our SoD push and the LL/Anniversary
events. However, the goal remains to defeat Kerafyrm, and
complete the SoF expansion.
In keeping with our objectives, we will be revisiting Crystallos in
the upcoming weeks, in addition to our regular SoD progression
priorities.
Have a safe week, hope to see you at our next raid!
Loot lists have been updated.
Posted by Furro on Monday, May 17, 2010
Mindshear Personalities
Shattered!
Thursday: Korafax -
Pallorax (HM/Normal), BB/QM
Friday: Korafax - Venom
Lord. Anniversary: Steel Behemoths attempts.
Saturday: Korafax -
Mindshear! Anniversary: Steel Behemoths attempt.
Over the last few weeks; combined with our mix of SoD farm targets,
we've been focusing our efforts on Korafax and the Steel Behemoths
Anniversary Event.
Saturday, we ironed out our biggest issues on Mindshear, resulting
in our first kill and complete clear of the zone! Raid discipline
and strong focus as a team were the major contributing factors to our
victory on this event. Outstanding job everyone!
Mindshear win, coupled with Pallorax and Venom Lord, completes the
Tower Flag for several individuals who recently won keys. Repeats
of this event is essential to continue the flagging process. In
addition, it'll increase our weekly Tower Key intake to six, and the
gear contributes to overall power gains as a force.
Aside from minor tweaks to optimize our performance on Korafax
events, the goal is to clear the zone in a single night, with a
rotating cycle. That means, shifting the day we do Korafax runs
to cover the most people.
Korafax Hard Mode has been phased in, with the start of Pallorax
over the last two weeks. We'll be increasing our efforts in this
area, as we acclimate further to the events and gain in overall power
from the resulting gear. These runs are normally slotted in just
before normal start time (earlybird), or tail end of the night.
As always, this depends entirely on setup and attendance at the time.
Steel
Behemoths - Anniversary Event
We devoted several nights over the last few weeks to this
event. Although we didn't win, it was time well spent learning
the encounter and meshing as a team. Along with several strategy
adjustments, raid focus and ability to react to emotes, we saw steady
progress and general improvement with each attempt. As with any
event, there's a learning curve, and in working through the process,
we're stronger as a force in the end.
We took on this event as a challenge, to pit ourselves up against a
Tower level encounter. This is part of raiding, in it's truest
form. As a raid force, we accept death in the name of progress
for overall gains in covering ground and the rewards that come with
it. A no fear mentality serves a purpose to hone our abilities as
a raid force and push the envolope.
Thanks everyone for your relentless efforts against this
encounter! When this event goes live again, we'll revisit the
Amalgamated Steel Behemoth and enact revenge upon it! Rawr!
Hope to see everyone at our raids!
Loot lists have been updated.
Posted by Furro on Sunday, April 25, 2010
venom lord defanged!
Thursday: Korafax -
Pallorax, Venom Lord!
Friday: Korafax - Mindshear
Attempts
Saturday: SoD - BB
(HM/Normal), LL - Dragons, Dragons, Dragons!
Thursday, following Pallorax, we muscled through our first win on
Venom Lord Ksathrax! Our attempts prior, aided in refining our
tactics for this event. However, this wouldn't be possible
without your support and persistance, as we tackle and learn new
events. Thanks to all those who were able to make it out, nice
job!
Friday, we spent the evening throwing ourselves at Mindshear
Avatar. Although we wiped multiple times, the results were
productive; as they revealed more clearly the mechanics at play.
This event is mostly about raid discipline, with focus on a couple
chaotic factors. Nothing we havn't done in the past, and with
some practice, I'm confident we can defeat it. Thanks again, for
being patient between attempts, as we worked through our event trouble
spots.
Saturday, we kicked off the night with some regular farming.
Afterwards, we hit up the Anniversary Event - Dragons, Dragons,
Dragons! We improved our dragon kill count compared to last
year. This time, we reached Brood Mother Visziaj! Although
we didn't defeat her, it was our first look at the event, and allowed
us the opportunity to size it up.
Have a safe week, hope to see you at our next raid!
Loot lists have been updated.
Posted by Furro on Sunday, March 28, 2010
korafax entered!
Thursday: SoD - QM (HM),
Korafax - Pallorax, Venom Lord (43%)
Friday: Crystallos - Fire
& Earth wing, SoD - Rottrued (HM)
Saturday: SoD - QM/BB, Crystallos - Ice wing, Air1
We had our first hand look at two Korafax events on Thursday.
We defeated Pallorax on our first attempt and finished out the night
with a run at Venom Lord Ksathrax. Great work everyone!
Aside from breaking new ground in Korafax, we filled in the rest of
the weekend with some much needed farming.
Our Crystallos focus is still strong, and recent progress on
Vyskudra encouraging. Item demand in Crystallos remains
significant, with very few pieces going OPEN. As I've stated in
the past, this zone provides a healthy supply of gear per run for our
time spent. Our continued efforts in this area are productive,
progressive, and strengthen us as a force.
Anniversary Raids
We are revisiting the anniversary events this year. Including the new raid Steel Behemoths!
The goal this week is to mix in some of these events across our three day schedule. To allocate the time for these raids, I've pushed out some regular targets temporarily. However, I've maintained priority on our progression goals, and Tower keying efforts. Details are outlined on the forums, upcoming events section.
Have a safe week, see you at raids!Loot lists have been updated.
Posted by Furro on Monday, March 22, 2010
short update!
Thursday: Rottrued (Hard
Mode), FoS3 - Final Confrontation
Friday: Crystallos - Air1,
Vyskudra (11%)
Over the last couple weeks, our Crystallos efforts have focused exclusively on the Vyskudra event. On Friday, we had our best attempt to date, getting him down to 11 percent! Outstanding performance everyone!
Have a safe week, see you at raids!
Loot lists have been updated.
Posted by Furro on Monday, March 15, 2010
Weekend update!
Thursday: Queen Malarian
(Hard Mode)
Friday: Rottrued (Hard
Mode), and Showdown attempt (Tyranont 72%)
Among the regular farming targets this weekend, we improved our efforts on Showdown at the Crystal Core event in Warrens. On our second attempt, we managed to get Tyranont down to 72 percent! Considering we only had one enchanter, the results were encouraging. We'll shoot for two enchanters next time, and change our engage strat slightly to get the timing down better. Overall, strong attempts, and marked improvement compared to our prior run.
In conjunction with the above targets, we continued our split night
schedule and assisted CoP in Mansion for backflags. Meldrath fell
on Sunday again to CoP, wrapping up another twelve flags for
Crystallos. Congrats CoP, friends and those who won flag
pieces!
Regular Schedule
Frostfox and Navien, having taken into account last nights flagging, informed me they'd like to hold off on another run and resume both regular raiding schedules. I agree with this analysis, as it's not efficient to clear a zone to flag a couple people.
If you are not flagged for Crystallos, but would like to raid with us there, please feel free to do so! Attending our raids, without the flag, isn't a detriment to your potential to be a contributing factor during our raids. In addition, your presence helps us gauge where we stand on unflagged numbers, and in turn, can signal when we need another backflagging run once they reach a certain point.
Crystallos - Air Dragon Vyskudra
Our nemesis dragon in Crystallos! It's been a few weeks since our last attempt on this event. Having ironed out our strategy based on prior runs, it all comes down to execution at this point. This event is blocking our path to Broodmother, Kerafyrm and rightfully our Dragonslayer titles!
Vyskudra is one of the most challenging, and exciting events in game, hands down. Even at our increased levels and gear, by mere mechanics involved, it has the potential to stop a raid force easily. However! We know Vyskudras tricks, we know what to do. We have the skill, co-ordination, and drive to defeat this dragon of air! If you ever wanted to slay a dragon, this is the one to say you did!
For those regulars who attend, and newcomers, to prepare yourselves
for this epic battle, please review the strategy and mechanics posted
in the Upcoming
Events section. In addition, come prepared by having your
triggers setup in advance. I'd strongly encourage using GTT also
if able. Details are provided in the above link.
Hope to see everyone at our raids!
Loot lists have been updated.
Posted by Furro on Monday, March 01, 2010
emperor ganak grounded!
Thursday: QM & BB
(Hard Mode)
Friday: SoD - Felbane,
Final Confrontation (FoS3)
Saturday: SoD - Showdown at
the Crystal Core (Attempt only)
On Friday, following Felbane, we took our first run at FoS3. After some attempts to refine our tactics, we completed the event. This was the final raid within the FoS theme, resulting in further unlocks for many classes. We'll be repeating these raids again for those who missed, and for gear upgrades.
Saturday, we made our first attempt at the Crystal Core event in Warrens. Although it was a chaotic start, we held up well. Our engage tactic had some flaws, but as a result of the run, adjustments are in place for the next attempt to correct the issues. Overall, it was time well spent sizing up our first SoD Tier 3 event. The face time and information gathered will aid us in our next attempt. Thanks everyone for giving it a go!
As planned, part of Friday and Saturday were dedicated to helping CoP and friends in Mansion. The time was put to good use for both these nights, covering five of the six events. Sunday, CoP wrapped up the zone with their first Meldrath kill! Congrats CoP and friends on your win!
As expected, demand for Oils on Sunday was sizably present, but managable. Split night raids will continue for the next couple weeks, to fulfill those missing flags. In addition, Friday will become a split night as well. This will help prevent Saturday from running into overtime.
Thanks all those who were able to attend for CoP's Mansion efforts this weekend. Your dedication to helping others is greatly appreciated! Let's continue to show our support by attending future runs!
Have a safe week, see you at raids!
Loot lists have been updated.
Posted by Furro on Monday, February 22, 2010
council divided &
felbane defeated!
Thursday: QM & BB
(Normal and Hard)
Friday: SoD Kithicor. SoF -
Crystallos Air1, Fire wing
Saturday: SoD - Council Divided, Felbane
On Saturday, we pulled off our first Council win. The previous weekend, we sized this event up, and used the experience towards improving our strategy.
Following Council, we went in to take a look at the Felbane event in
Kurn's Tower. Not anticipating doing the event that evening, I
had not written anything up! Therefore, during prep, we pieced
together info from online sources and others who had done the event
before. With the basics covered, we took a run at it and pulled
off a win on the first attempt! Amazing effort by all those who
attended!
These raids are all part of the Field of Scale theme (FoS), and
considered Tier 2. The tier consists of three events: Council
Divided, Felbane, and Final Confrontation. Each event unlocks
Rk.III spell/discs via Zeb in the void. As with Kithicor, it will
be necessary to repeat them a few times to cover as many people as
possible. Aside from helping our fellow raiders obtain these
unlocks, the additional gear gained will no doubt be put to good use.
Completion of each of these raids was necessary in order to unlock
the next within the theme. This is why we started with the
Council event first. This upcoming weekend, we should be able to
take our first look at FoS3 - Final Confrontation.
Split Nights
The Circle of Prophets guild and friends, have recently started raiding Mansion. Their goal is to defeat Meldrath, and cover some backflagging for Crystallos.
Many of their members, regularly attend Freelance raids. As
such, their backflagging efforts will directly contribute towards our
overall attendance on Freelance Crystallos runs.
To aid in their efforts, our upcoming raid nights will sometimes end
earlier then normal. This will allow CoP to call and host their
own Mansion run for the remainder of the evening. The goal of
this tactic is to break up the zone over several days, instead of two.
As fellow Freelance raiders, success of this plan depends on each of
us showing our support by attending and helping our friends reach their
goal. This effort displays your true strength of character, by
contributing your time, skill and experience towards a noble cause,
that of helping others.
Details for Split Nights, are posted on the forums here.
Have a safe week, hope to see everyone next raid!
Loot lists have been updated.
Posted by Furro on Monday, February 15, 2010
bloodshed in
kithicor! General Bahgresh demoted
Thursday: Crystallos Fire1,
Air1. SoD - QM (Hard Mode)
Friday: SoD - QM, Rottrued,
Kithicor
Saturday: Crystallos Earth
and Ice wing, Fire2
Friday, we managed our first Kithicor win. Our prior attempts
paid off, as it allowed us to refine our tactics and avoid earlier
mistakes. Overall, raid discipline and strong effort on all
fronts were instrumental in our win. Outstanding work everyone!
This event unlocks Rk.III spell/discs via Zeb in the void. As
such, it'll be necessary to repeat it a few times to cover as many
people as possible. Aside from the unlocks, it provides valuable
drops which will serve us well for future encounters.
Kithicor raid is considered Tier 1, in with QM/BB. Comparing
the three raids, I'd rank this one as the most challenging and
rewarding. Perhaps the step up in difficulty is by design, to
prepare us for the next tier of encounters. On this note, a Tier
2 raid scheduled for this upcoming weekend.
Thursday and Saturday, we finished up our weekly Crystallos farming
cycle. On the Vyskudra front, we've made strong attempts over the
last few weeks. As a result, we've developed a working strategy
to cover the event mechanics. At this point, it's a matter of
execution
and practice.
Our continuous Crystallos
farming is filling in much needed gear gaps for many of our active
members. We now clear half the zone in a single sitting, and I'm
confident we can push even harder to get a couple more events in.
The more we clear in a single night, leaves us open for other targets
to further our progression.
From a drop perspective, I monitor our loot intake closely.
Aside from the odd charm or cultural drop going FFA or OPEN, nothing in
Crystallos has rotted. This is
a strong indicator of demand, especially for weapons, visible
armor, and runes. Our weekly haul from clearing seven events
in Crystallos is significant for the short time spent in the
zone. These drops, coupled with our SoD intake; aid in increasing
our overall raid power, and
greatly improve our survivability as a force.
This is the benefit of working on multiple expansions at the same
time. We gain from the influx of gear, and prevent stagnation by
continued progress within each area.
There is no question, our time spent farming Mansion, Crystallos and
SoD
to date has made a noticeable difference. Let's continue our
efforts in these areas, to further advance our progression goals.
Thanks again all, for your continued time and dedication to helping
others experience the content and enjoy raiding to it's fullest!
Loot lists have been updated.
Posted by Furro on Monday, February 01, 2010
December update!
Thursday: SoD - Bloody Kithicor attempts
Friday: Crystallos - Fire
& Earth wings, Ice 1 (attempt), Air 1
Saturday: Crystallos - Ice wing
Over the last few weeks, we've made steady progress in Crystallos. We're acclimating quickly to the zone and events. As a whole, the encounters are a refreshing change from our Mansion farming.
With Mansion off our regular schedule, it opens up a large block of time to dedicate to Crystallos and further our progress into SoD content.
Last Thursday, we made our first attempts at the Bloody Kithicor raid. A challenging event, and step up from QM/BB. Each attempt resulted in a significant improvement, and I'm confident based on the data obtained from these runs that we will defeat this encounter in the near future.
Friday, we pushed through Crystallos Fire and Earth wings expeditiously. We took our first look at Ice1, and made it to stage2. Following some effort to iron out our strat, we set it aside and finished up the night with Air1.
We returned to Crystallos Saturday, and opened with Ice1. A tactic change, tested late after raids on Friday, proved successful against stage2. As a result, we successfully defeated Ice1, and proceeded to Ice2.
Ice2, took a couple attempts, each requiring a strat adjustment. In the end, we defeated the encounter, finishing up our progress in Ice wing and wrapping up the evening.
Christmas Break
This year, Christmas and New Years land on a Friday. As a
result, it's
unlikely we'd see adequate attendance for our regular raid
nights. Therefore, no raids are scheduled for the following
dates: Dec 24-26, Jan 1st.
Our raid schedule will resume in and around the first week of January. Keep an eye on the forums for details!
Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a happy new year. Be safe, see you in game!
Loot lists have been updated.
Posted by Furro on Monday, December 21, 2009
Crystallos entered!
Thursday: MMM - Breakneck,
Krond
Friday: MMM - Brinda,
Tinkerson, Prototype, Meldrath
Saturday: SoD - Rottrued, Queen Malarian, Crystallos - Earth 1
Crystallos flagging is coming along nicely. Our weekly focus
on Mansion clears as a priority, is ensuring we flag as many people as
we can. In addition, the gear obtained is supplementing our force
with the necessary upgrades we'll need to aid in our survival of
Crystallos encounters.
Following our regular targets late Saturday, we entered
Crystallos! We fielded just enough flagged numbers, and managed
to add in several eager pigs; maximizing our potential. Although
it was late, we managed to drop Earth 1 event - Keeper of the
Stones! It took a couple attempts, but we rallied and pulled
through on the second try! Nice work everyone!
Thanksgiving Weekend:
A holiday weekend can affect our numbers. However, I went
ahead and scheduled raids anyway. As always, raids are tentative
pending turnout. Those who are celebrating Thanksgiving, I wish
you all the best! Save me some pie please!
Have a safe week, see you in game!
Freelance Raid Guidelines have been amended.
Loot lists have been updated.
Posted by Furro on Tuesday, November 24, 2009
weekend update!
Thursday: MMM - Breakneck,
Krond
Friday: MMM - Brinda,
Tinkerson, Prototype, Meldrath
Saturday: SoD - Rottrued, Queen Malarian
We opened with Breakneck on Thursday, and finished up with Krond. Returning fresh on Friday, we cleared the remaining events, including Meldrath. Over the next few weeks, I'm confident we can tighten up our event times even further.
On Saturday, with Mansion cleared, we were able to get in both Rottrued and Queen Malarian. Nicely done all.
Minimum Level Requirement:
As we close in on entering Crystallos, and further our progress into
SoD, we can no longer operate efficiently with a 10 level spread.
Our current content demands we raise our minimum level requirement back
to 80.
Many of you already meet this requirement. However, for those
who do not; I've set a grace period. For clarity, below is the
exact date/level the change will be instated:
Effective Date: November 12,
2009
Minimum Level: 80
Thanks for your understanding. Have a safe week! Hope to see you at raids!
Loot lists have been updated.
News Archived - August to October
Posted by Furro on Sunday, November 01, 2009