My Moby Dick is dead.I normally try to avoid gloating posts. They’re really not interesting to anyone but the blogger himself. But this one I’ll make an exception. Since I told you about my Sartharion obsession yesterday, I thought that I ought to tell you that it’s over now. Thursday night we killed Sartharion and his three companions, only after an hour of raiding. It was amazing, and I enjoyed it even more since I was actually alive and kicking when he fell.
This is a completely new situation for me. I’ve never ever been on the edge of the progression before, doing the hardest encounters in the game, at the proper gear level. Since I started to play the Wow pretty late, in February 2007, and didn’t discover raiding until after a while, I did Karazhan in the autumn 2007 and T4/T5 instances in the spring 2008, and I never had a chance to do Sunwell until it was too late. Now I’m on the edge, done with the content, waiting for Ulduar to arrive.
A long way
It’s hard for me to believe, to accept, that this actually happened. Sometimes I pinch myself, wondering: do I really deserve this? Am I really that good? Am I not just some hoax, someone who slipped into this accidently?
But I guess I’ve worked pretty hard for it, when I think about it.
I looked back in my blog and found a few posts that marked big steps in my personal progression. It has certainly been a long way. (Hm, how come that the signature from ST Enterprise is starting to play in my head?)
On February 7 last year I wrote about my first impressions of a 25 man raid. We were all winded up, like school kids on a summer vacation. It was chaotic, big and confusing. But obviously I liked it.
I even liked it so much that I moved to another server and another guild to be able to do some more 25 man raiding. On March 20 2008 I was still a quite shy, starry eyed and very easily impressed little gnome girl, taking her first stumbling steps in big party raiding. For the first time I took a glance at SSC and I all but fainted.
Quick jump to August 15 2008. I had decided to give myself a chance in a little more advanced guild. I entered Black Temple for the first time. The discipline and efficiency was impressing but also a bit scary, especially since I was on trial. I was all excited when I wrote this post about it.
Things worked out though and I was accepted. And with Adrenaline, I’ve been wiping and fighting my way, first through Mount Hyjal and Black Temple (we did all the way up to and including Mother Shahraz before the big nerf) and now through the content of WotLK.
A casual friendly game?
I didn’t win the mount, but who cares? I’ve reached a goal I’ve been fighting so hard for. I survived through void zones and fire walls and hopefully I even managed to do a little bit of damage. I’m so proud over my guild that I lack words for it.
I guess it’s a sign that WoW seriously is casual friendly, when an old lady like me, without any previous gaming experience, in two years time can progress through the game and ending up doing the most advanced things. Some players don’t like this development. They wish that people like me were kept out.
But I seriously don’t care.
Coming from where I am, this IS an achievement. My Moby Dick is dead and I couldn’t be happier.
I guess it’s a sign that WoW seriously is casual friendly, when an old lady like me, without any previous gaming experience, in two years time can progress through the game and ending up doing the most advanced things. Some players don’t like this development. They wish that people like me were kept out.
But I seriously don’t care.
Coming from where I am, this IS an achievement. My Moby Dick is dead and I couldn’t be happier.
34 comments:
Congratulations on besting your white whale, Larisa. I'm glad you were able to compete your most recent nagging goal and feel good about it. Take pride in your success, and enjoy sharing the victory with others.
Progression is a good thing - we're starting to gear up for it in my guild as well, now that we've got enough 70+ characters to make a decent guild instance force. Slow, starting steps, with good, reliable people - that's what I'm hoping for.
So, once again, Larisa, congratulations on slaying your demon - and I wish you much success on your upcoming challenges.
My 2 yen to Larisa,
Akiosama
Congratulations, Larísa!
I've been following your adventures through Azeroth for much longer than I've been blogging, and as I was reading this post I was reminded of how disappointed you were to have killed Illidan after the Great Nerf. (I remember it clearly, because we killed Illdian at about the same time under the same circumstances.) I'm so happy that you were able to defeat 3D before 3.1, while it is truly the cutting edge of progression. For me, personally, it felt a little like vindication after so narrowly missing Illidan.
Also... Don't sell yourself short! Sarth 3D is not a casual friendly fight! Blizzard hasn't lowered the bar on this encounter: you've risen to it, and you should be proud of yourself and your guild. :)
On a completely unrelated note, mage T7.5 makes you look like a little pink porcupine. *melt*
Congrats!
As for difficulty, Gurgthock (guild leader of Elitist Jerks) said that the fight is comparable to Felmyst in Sunwell, and harder than Kalecgos and Brutallus.
So be proud of your guild and your accomplishment and skill. :)
Congratulations, Larísa! :)
Larisa the Twilight Vanquisher of Thirst!
Grats!
grats! that's awesome
Congrats Larisa!
Sounds like it was all worthwhile, I hope it was as much fun as you had hoped.
So where to from here? How will you keep busy till the next expansion?
When is that btw?
I hit refresh on my blog and see a new post under Pink Pigtail Inn. The title catches my eye. Click, read, think: "I told her so." It's weird, I almost have the same feeling as when I get a first kill that is so important.
Congratulations.
Congratulations, not for besting another encounter, but for set yourself an objetive and reach it.
@Akiosama: Thank you so much! And best wishes on your own whale hunt. I'm sure you'll encounter a few on them on your way through the game.
@Elleiras: thank you! And what a good memory you have! Yes, killing Illidan gave far from the pleasure that this kill did. It was nerfed and I lagged and was dead... no that wasn't the same at all.
And yes, I think Larísa looks quite pretty in her current dress. I'm so glad I finally got the rep I needed so I could store the ugly tabards.
@Rohan: Thank you very much! Since I've never been to SW I can't tell, but it's really nice to hear that!
@Aurik: Thank you!
@Gnomeaggedon: Thank you! Yeah, I was quite blood thirsty in this one. Right now I'm pretty satisfied, but I'll soon enough find myself another whale to hunt.
@Jong: Thank you!
@Zupa: Thank you! And yes, it was really really fun. I love that fight. And now that we nailed it... what a feeling! I guess it's a bit early to speculate about the next expansion. But the patch should arrive anywhere soon now... Could be any week really. No one can tell. I'll be off next week for skiing. Maybe it's there when I come home. I've got one big goal right now: to get the last achievement I need for my Glory of the Hero mount. One more time in Occulus and I'm done.
@Klepsacovic: joy isn't for real until it's shared, is it?
@Eishen: thank you! And yes, that's what I do all the time in the game. I'm competing, challenging myself and no one else.
Hello and congratulations Larisa! You did seemed to be pretty motivated - but I hope you wouldn't postpone that skiing trip to be part of guild first?:-)
Ulduar is behind the corner with many more whales (was tempted to write "Dicks" but that would be sooo wrong) to chase! - personally I can't wait although by raiding strictly 10 mans and being lazy raider, I have no chance to beat Your level of content.
Like the dealer talking to his addicts: "well theres allways the 10 manned version".
Big Grats. Obviously in my world this means all my advice helped :p
My first time beeing on the cutting edge was in BT, I remember logging in the day after we had downed Illidan, thinking to myself "now what?".
People who dont think that raiding is like teamsports clearly has never "won" a tournament-instance. Enjoy the sensation, its a great feeling.
"I guess it’s a sign that WoW seriously is casual friendly, when an old lady like me, without any previous gaming experience, in two years time can progress through the game and ending up doing the most advanced things."
No. This is a sign that this "old lady" is, and deserves to be in the top of the players. www.WoWProgress.com says 13% of 6M tracked players (7% of all) did Sarth+3.
"Casual-friendly" would be like 50%. Sarth+0 was done by this amount.
They can nerf the content, but you can always measure yourself to the others. You did what only 7% did and 93% did NOT.
You are not "Twilight Vanquisher" by luck, by chance or by being carried (you was alive, remember).
You are Twilight Vanquisher, because you are really-really good.
I hope one day you'll believe in yourself.
Congrats, larissa :)
And you can't be a bad player or they wouldn't take you along for these fights.
We're still a long way from killing Sarth3D. But we have a few weeks left! Would be fun to kill it once.
Ah, and now all those wipes are suddenly erased and all that time is worthwhile. First boss kills are always the best ones to be on. :)
Grats!
Well done! Enjoy the moment.
Congratulations Larisa! You've now conquered the hardest encounter in WoW 3.0 :)
Congratz! Beating 3D Sartharion as a guild for the first time is a great experience.
I don't think you're gloating. Being able to down Sarth 3D is something to be proud of and I'm glad you shared it with us!
And I feel the same way, I've also never been on the tip of progression myself. It spans back to the days I played Everquest where you had to be seriously hardcore and I knew I'd never see the majority of content in that game.
It shows how much WoW has evolved. Some may complain that there is nothing out there to set guilds apart anymore, but I like the actual obtainability.
Congratulations to you and your guild, Larisa! That's quite an achievement. I hope you bask in the glow of your accomplishment. Well done :)
@Renald: haha, I don't have to think about that now, do I? I'm really glad we got this done before my coming vacation.
About 10 man raiding, as far as I know the 3d Sarth thing is much harder in 10 man. So i guess that's another whale to go for... But since I miss most of our 10 man raids, I've chosen not to sulk too much about it.
There will definitely be new whales incoming soon.
And thanks for the visit to our server the other day! It was quite a surprise and very nice to see a reader coming by just to say hi.
@Dw-Redux: Ofc it was thanks to you... :)
I know about the 10 man thing, but currently I just enjoy the sweet, sweet victory. I think I deserve to just be plain happy and not frustrated for a little while.
@Gevlon: thank you so much for reminding me. You give a lot of advice. Often you're right. Sometimes I don't agree. But in this case I know that I should listen to you and stop talking so much rubbish, putting down myself where there's no need to.
@Carra: thank you! I was a little disappointed that you weren't online so I could share my joy right away... :) I hope I'll be online when you get your trophy. I love to hear happy outcries.
@Cassini, Vlad, Josh and Herc: Thank you all!
@Daria: yes, even if I shouldn't diminsh the work I've put into this, it definitely shows that doing all the content in the game IS doable these days, even if you're not raiding more than 2 nighs a week, as I am. You don't have to be a "no-lifer".
@Aleathea: be assuread that I do that. Thank you!
You can't keep a good mage down! BIG gratz, sweety-pie!
First off, hello! I've enjoyed reading Pink Pigtaill Inn for ahwile, and it's just so hard not to love a post like this, so much so that I had to comment.
Your history with raiding is similar to my own, and I remember starting SSC with the notion that our guild was unstoppable. My wife and I believed that we would eventually overcome any challenge it presented. Not killing Vashj or Ka'el before the huge nerf was such a devastating defeat.
So, when our guild finally finished Sartharion +3, it was like washing away a terrible stain on our past. When Elleiras says "vindication", I think we all know exactly what she is describing. Here's hoping we all rise to the next set of challenges together!
Awesome work litte lass, You did the right thing when you transfered :)
We are still stuck on Naxx(just 4 KT kills), havent killed malygos yet and are scared of Sar+1 :)
(10-man ofc, since we are such a tiny guild still..)
Go Larísa!
Being one of Larisa's guildies it makes me smile with joy to read her blog, which I do on a regular Basis.
Last night Sarth 3d was awesome. Think our GM has Maly 6 mins on the roster next which'll prove interesting
Gotta love the way you put things larisa
much <3
Solid
P.s - think you might've convinced me to start giving this thing a go :P
Congratulations on achieving your goal - you go girl!!!
Grats! Next is Ulduar!
@Pew Pew Lazerz: thanks!
@Ashellia: Thank you. I know exactly what you mean. Let's stay on the edge from now on!
@Flawlless: Oh, you're at least back to raiding. That's wonderful to hear! Don't understimate yourself, you've cleared Naxx and that isn't bad. I'm kind of hooked on 25 man raiding, but Spirande indeed meant a lot to me and you've still all got a reserved place in my heart.
@Solid: I can't believe this! Another guild blogger, yay! All of my lies will be mercilessly revealed... :) You're genually welcome to the blogosphere, I hope you'll enjoy it! (Honestly it gives me almost as much fun as the game iteself - sometimes more!)
@Ziboo, Krizzlybear and Syrana: thanks!
Congratulations on your accomplishment! it IS an accomplishment and its as much personal as it is team based. it wouldn't be possible if you didn't do what you needed to do to assure success of your team.
never doubt your ability and your worth :) hone it, improve upon it, but don't doubt it :)
Congratulations Larisa, i wasn't able to make that raid, but i can't wait till we do it again :).
Moby dick is dead, eh?-
and i can see why you say some players dont like the development of you becoming equal to them-
some people love to belittle others- some love to play with others- some love themselfs.
It was makes me glad to be part of Adrenaline as even though there is officers there really isn't anybody better then the other, which helps prevent the risk of favoritism and what not- making kills like this a guild effort.
I feel kinda strange to be able to say my guild's done the kill, but not been there..
Big gartz!
Recently the guild I'm helping lead cleared it's first three drakes on it's first day of attempts.
From the first pull or Sartharion to his defeat, it took us a mere 30 minutes! Though, might I add, half of us has the Twilight Vanquisher title already.
(We broke off from a guild that was lacking in the leadership department.)
In any case, congrats! I love my T-V title. When we go for "Of the Nightfall" today its going to be a tough decision of which to wear!
@Leah: thank you!
@Kromus: you really had as much part in this as anyone else. But yeah, the ideal situation would be that EVERYONE was there. But it's not possuble. :( Anyway, I bet our second kill will be almost as hard and challenging as thee first one. This fight won't be on farm for a very long time.
@Theawakening: thank you! Sounds fantastic to get 3 d achievement at first attempt. Well done!
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