Skroesec

We hadn't done Algalon in the while, so we went back to his tree house in Ulduar10... and what did we find? Well it turns out Mister Celestial Defender had been spending a lot of the past year lounging around on the Celestial Sofa eating Papa Gino's, depressed over no longer being "progression" in favor of those new kids with their 277 gear over in ICC. As a result he hadn't showered in months and had grown himself a parasitic FUPA. On the bright side, one swift kick to it, and we had 10 more, newly minted Herald of the Titans! Congratulations folks. We had killed this before (last year, with a whole different group) but it is still a pretty awesome achievement that requires some great play. Well done! On a much more serious note, we usually don't announce leadership changes on the frontpage, but this one merits special mention. The officers of Tyranny - Skroesec, Arij, Eref and Lithid - are happy to announce the promotion of Nytsua to the rank of officer, specifically charged with healer leadership. Nytsua joined Tyranny upon our transfer to Drak'tharon and very quickly earned the immense praise, respect and admiration of the entire guild, but most importantly, his fellow healers. He was instrumental and indispensable in our Lich King Heroic learning process above all, but also every other heroic we've done since arriving to this server. The future of Tyranny's healers can be in no better, smarter or more serious hands as he acts as first among equals with our equally talented and hard working healing team. So congratulations Nyt! It was a long time coming!

Well, as we're cruising to Cataclysm (December 7th! Woo!), and farming Invincibles (11 LK25 Hard Mode kills already!) and Mimiron's Heads, two things of interest happened recently. First Waveofbabies got his long-time-coming Shadowmourne! Congratulations! That's four built by the guild and six in guild. Secondly, and this is going to tickle old time Tyranny members... we finally got around to killing Yogg Sarion with nobody dying and a number of us collected our "Conqueror of Ulduar" title. Yeah. I know what you're going to say. Carried by Legendaries. And you would be 100% right. To celebrate finally actually having done really everything in Ulduar25, an instance released April 14th 2009, below is our achievement along with perhaps our most famous frontpage.... Tyranny proudly presents Freya being raped by a Triceratops! Cataclysm really needs to come out before I make the frontpage any less safe for work. =(

Two groups kill Halion10 Heroic within minutes of each other. One led by Eref, the other by Kimah. Sparks flew! Everyone wins! Well done folks!

Grass is always greener on the other side. Halion Hard Mode down. Very clean kill. Special thanks to Chico for bear tanking! Hardest parts of the fight in order: Keeping tanks up while moving from environmental hazards. Feeding adds to the add tank Keeping DPS balanced around 50 in phase 3 Coming up with lots of witty banter as we wait for our raiders to get past the 25 minute full loading bar of doom. Trying to keep the guild from devouring itself when discussing Hockey and Baseball. So that's it. The end of Wrath of the Lich King! We still have a huge backlog of movies to put out, and a whole lot of media and odds and ends, but from here on out, it's cruising to Cataclysm. It's kind of funny, we started Wrath with a come-from-behind kill of Sartharion on Lothar (sorry Edge!). We end Wrath by putting another dumb dragon to bed, with an former Edge member (Folde!) being a critical part of that kill (and LK too!), taking real control of the healing. World's a funny place. Who knows what Cataclysm will bring.

Grat's Lithid on Shadowmourne #3! He was one shard short of it before our first Lich King 25 Hard Mode kill last week and sure enough, he got it off of Marrowgar today. Still it helped, and later on we managed to get Protigee an Invincible off Lich King hard mode. Maybe if A-Rod had a Shadowmourne, he could hit #600 sometime before the end of the season.

This is our video of our very first Lich King 25 Hard Mode kill from July 20th! This video is part 1 of 3 and has phase 1 and phase 2 in it.. Below are links to part 2 and 3! Part 1 (phase 1 and 2): Part 2 (phase 3 part 1): Part 3 (phase 3 part 2 and end credits): Combined all 3 videos run for about 21 minutes. This fight caps of Wrath of the Lich King, so we figured the video should to. As always you can see all our videos by clicking on the media button at the top. Enjoy!

Last night, after over 3 months of work (since April 11th), 236 individualized man-hours, some five hundred attempts, tens of thousands of gold, dozens of raid members, strat redesigns, and dozens of pages of discussion later, Tyranny has defeated the Lich King (25-player) on Heroic Mode, thus completing Heroic 25-player Icecrown Citadel and the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. This is ranked as the US 80th Kill, meaning Tyranny exits Wrath of the Lich King nearly 40 spots higher ranked than it entered. Two videos will be released in coming days of the kill, with music and with vent. The long fight against the Lich King represents the single biggest investment in time and resource this guild has amassed since it's founding shortly before the release of the Burning Crusade, and historically (if Ruin/Demolition count as its predecessor guilds), perhaps only C'thun represents an equal investment. The amount of work, time and effort we put into this fight dwarfs our work on Yogg+0 (October 2009), Firefighter (July 2009), Kil'jaden (August 2008) and even mighty M'uru (July 2008). By persevering this long, the membership of Tyranny set new high watermark within this guild for devotion to a common goal that will not be equaled for years, if ever. The list of credit for this kill is so expansive, it is hard to do it justice. Every member of Tyranny from April 11th to the present participated in a major way. From the group that was there to the kill to the many loyal and hardworking members who had contributed on our many previous wipe nights, Lich King Hard mode was the very definition of a collaborative project. First credit must be given (because if nothing else, the forcoming video is from the tank Point of View), to our tanks: Rehn, Kimah and Arij. All three played invested near equal amounts of time and rotated through roles. From the intricate rotation of cooldowns and large group of Jobs Rehn handled in Phase 1 and 2 to Kimah's ultra precise boss movements, to Ari being the jack of all trades on the fight, doing everything from tanking Lich King, Shambling Horrors, stunning, leading in Sword Room and so forth, I cannot think of a fight we have done that we've benefited from such talented and smart tanks. Tyranny was lucky, in that unlike many guilds, we began Wrath of the Lich King with Kimah and Rehn as our tanks, and we exited it with them doing the same job. I cannot praise our healing team enough. One of the great tragedies for Tyranny in Wrath was healer turnover and the inability to build a group that could last and collaborate with each other. With Lich King, we finally have that as our healers have truly forged themselves into a cohesive team that is quickly becoming the very heart of what makes this guild great. Our healers, most notably Nytsua, Protigee, Briss, Folde, Weep, Booger, Silverbranch, and Annatom all joined the guild after we transfered from Drak'tharon. They built a community. They designed the healing solution as a group. A truly comprehensive Lich King 25 Hard Mode strat is impossible due to the countless things that these, and indeed all, our remarkable healers, figured out and repeated across hundreds of wipes. I believe what our healers have built here is but a preview of their greatness to come. I think back to where our healing team was individually and as a team in April, and see where you are now... you all have grown so much. Special recognition needs to be given to several individuals in particular from the rest of the guild. Eref is our recruitment officer and is in many ways just doing his job (in addition to being one of the top DPS in the guild). But it needs to be said that this period right now is the most difficult period there has ever been for guilds in World of Warcraft. With 11/12 guilds dying left and right, unable to get past Valks in Lich King, we entered this fight in April asking a very basic question: how do we not let Lich King kill our guild. That we could absorb and surge past what losses we did have, and come out the other side with a larger, better, more hardcore guild than we entered is a testament to Eref's ability as a recruiter for this guild. With many guilds limping into a silent decline, in large part because of his efforts ensuring our future, we thrive. Foker (aka Fork) needs special recognition. This entire expansion he has built a reputation here as one of the finest rogues in the world, our most prolific DPSer, the leader of the melee, and one of the smartest players in the guild. He took control of the course of strat development at two very critical points: Valk DPS (and stuns) and the first half of our Phase 3. We picked up valuable DPS time because of his insights and his example. His phrase "hit it" refering to pots, during the second transition will be remembered in this guild for a long time to come. Waveofbabies took control of melee (and overall raid at points) movement in early June, and it completely shifted the tone of the fight. Valks started going the right way and were grouped, being out of position went away. On top of that he offered insights about defile, about DPS, about broad swaths of the strat that made our win possible. He even race changed to a Tauren to be a more conspicuous group up point. The list goes on and on. Everyone contributed in a major way, and no one played it safe from the sidelines, content to let others do the thinking and foot work for them. Vlade kept us honest. Lithid and Ebnuzenkept us focused. Zenira helped instruct and advise. Locktapus, in addition to being twice the Warlock I am, enlarged our warchest. Justice cannot be done to the members of this guild. But the story of 3 months on Lich King Hard Mode is as much a story about what was tried and failed, as much as it is the eventual kill. And because of that, I don't think that except for any guild that has done it, complete justice can be done to exactly what we went through to do this thing. The nuancy weird stuff people do that is critical to the fight will never be wrote down. The clutch stun that Vlade made on attempt 238 that saved someone from being dropped off won't be known. The countless times we had our priests picked up and only pallies and a druid to cover infest will be forgotten in time. Our obsessing over time benchmarks, from 3:12 minute phase 1s to finding the extra 14,000 raid dps needed to do the 238,000 raid dps desirable on Valks, will be washed over in time. But what we have done here, shouldn't be forgotten. Fights like Lich King come along very rarely, and we have scaled this mountain. In five years of World of Warcraft, across SSC, TK, Sunwell, Nax, Ulduar, ToGC and now ICC, I've never seen such an effective, collaborative, aggressive team of players who were brilliant enough to find solutions where none seemed apparent and strong enough to endure repeated heartbreaking sub 15% wipes. July 20th 2010... Tyranny... the entire guild of Tyranny past and present killed Lich King 25-player hard mode. This is what we do. Oh yeah and congrats to Booger on Invincible!

So last week (7/12) we put LK 10 man hard mode in the dirt. What was it like? Well this is the closest thing that was taken for a "kill shot" because everyone thought the person to their right was taking it. Video soon. Uhhh...great work everyone, especially dealing with Tank DCs!

If it was (A) The Dead Purple Dragon (Halion)......................................................................... you need to get out more. ( B) The Hope Diamond............ well it's yours, just mind the laser beams (which you probably didn't see). © Miss Catherine Zeta- Jones, teaching us how to dodge laser beams..................... you're doing it right. Oh yeah. We're recruiting experienced, well-geared, and serious Warlocks, Mages, Prot Paladins, Feral-Tank Druids, and Resto Druids. Apply!

Shadowmourne #2 has been completed. Congratulations to our main tank Kimah! A legendary weapon is the only thing suitable for one of the best players in the world. I wish I had the self control to not indulge in Auzzie jokes, but after 5 years of playing with Kimahrii/Kimah/Kimposible I can't help myself!

This is our video of our Saurfang Hard Mode kill last Tuesday (5/18). Our First Kill of Saurfang Hard Mode was March 2nd, 2010. Music is Upside Down Kingdom by As I Lay Dying. Our strat is pretty simple: we spread out ranged in specific spots, DPS saurfang and have specific ranged DPS pull the blood beasts across. We maximize DPS time on the blood beasts by using two warlock AoE stuns and then a boomkin knockback.

<cke:embed src=" " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" "="" width="100%" height="720" wmode="opaque"> So here is our Blood Queen kill from this past Tuesday complete with new intro. The music is Set the World on Fire by Symphony X. Great group! Our first kill of Blood Queen Hard Mode was March 3rd 2010, so we haveve been killing her for nearly 3 months at this point. If you wanna see something hilarious, look at officer chat right before combat starts, then look who gets bit first. Gold star to anyone who says how that was pulled off.

So this is the Lady Deathwhisper Hard Mode kill from this past Tuesday (our 10th kill or something). Our first hard mode kill was March 17th. As you can see from the video, our strategy is a bit different from what a lot of guilds use (look at what Kimah does very carefully in Phase 2). But hey, it makes for a damn fast kill. Also, if you need another reason to watch our videos, its because we use actually awesome music (Blind Guardian ftw), and not shitty Euro-techno. Tomorrow: Blood Queen.

Last night as part of our normal ICC25 Heroic clear to Lich King we recorded pretty much every fight so we could share what a Tyranny raid looks like. Over the coming days and weeks, we will be uploading these encounters so people can see how we do them. This is a video of our Sixth Kill of Putricide Hard Mode.

Well that was fast! It wasn't too long ago we were nubile refugees on a scary new server filled with *gasp* alliance that could kill you (all 3 of them). A few weeks later we're 11/12 we're battle-hardened vets with 3 of the 5 "hard" fights down since we moved here (4/5 total). Let's party! Great job everyone! Special kudos to Moonfannia for disease management and Marconos for the healing breakthrough! Oh yeah he still hasn't dropped the caster sword. FML. Also Deph didn't like the front page for Shadowmourne. Talon asked if I was on acid. I was inclined to agree, so I made something far more appropriate. Here's Dephness with some of Canada's finest hoisting Canada's new flag.

The most self explanatory pic in Tyranny history. Who doesn't want to be this gui?

Last attempt of the night. 'nuff Said. Hi5 to Arij and Rehn for Tank transitions as smooth as a baby's bottom. This was a big fight for us. We had to rebuild our healing a bit after the transfer to Drak, and our squad, all of them, stepped up admirably.

Due to the efforts of far more than 10 people, Tyranny tonight got its first 10 man Frostwyrms with the completion of Glory of the Icecrown Raider (10 Player). This is US 50th! Server first of course. What was the hardest achievement? Sindragosa's stacking one apparently! Congrats everyone! Now on to 25 man! Made.For.Death.Knights.

So last night after quite a bit of work and about half a dozen major strategy changes, we killed Lady Deathwhisper Hard Mode. We are now 9/12 Hard Modes and this is our first new boss kill on Drak'tharon. We didn't cross the streams. Although we might as well may have. Our kill was 8:24, faster than most guild's out there. Although truth be told, the end of life on Earth would have been preferable to another detonating ghost heartbreak. How good were we? On our kill attempt, no one died until sub-40, and even then, we managed to kill it with a res to spare. If you've done this fight, and know the kind of crazy crap that can happen in Phase 2, that's really saying something. Of course, if you were to believe Wowprogress, we can kill Deathwhisper Hard Mode but not Marrowgar Hard Mode! Also Dephness is now half way done with his Shadowmourne! Few more weeks! Also a bit of self promotion. The guys at Ventchat.com had me (Skroesec) on for an interview about years of end game raiding and Tyranny. I personally hate interviews; you can never be comprehensive enough in giving credit where credit is due. But they really were great about. Thank's again for the opportunity Ventchat! I loved answering your very thoughtful questions. Check out the interview here. Next up.... Sindragosa. Oh boy....

There was a time, a long time ago when I actually knew what I was doing... I love this fight: it lets us bring almost all our healers in and is about as hectic as the last level of Smash TV (guess what my backup front page idea was). Amazing job Healers especially, and also DPS and tanks!

We almost one shot her save for some messy communication towards the end at one point. Great job everyone on every aspect of this bleeding vagina.

It took about 4 attempts tonight, but I guess easy fights are easy. Only like 2 people died and we managed to get [wowitem]The Orb Whisperer[/wowitem] in the process again. Also we've started to name all our strats... Yes. For some reason we seriously did Festergut and Saurfang before Princes.

Most fights, when we win, I celebrate very happily. This one, I just said "thank fucking god" and put my head on my desk. Mark + Blood Boil is and will remain retarded until everyone gains 30% more HP, at which point this fight will be like normal mode. But nonetheless, to beat the fight, we developed a kick ass strat. We usually don't name our strats, but this time we did. Behold.... Congratulations to our Foker, Vlaid, Kezzra, and Know for some of the top ranking DPS parses in the world. Also congratulations to Rehn for Lothar's first piece of 277 Tier 10, and Lithid on Heroic [wowitem]Deathbringer's Will[/wowitem] And not to be out done, here's the crazy fucking job our healers did this fight. Not a bad start for the first day of our last week on Lothar.

By the power of Trump, the second gaseous bag of lard has fallen! US #74. [glow=red,2,300]This was pre-5% buff. [/glow] How did we do it?? We did about about 170k rDPS and even then it was down to the wire. Special recognition needs to be given to Zenira who went so far beyond the call of duty on this fight by pulling high numbers while calling slimes every single attempt (and never missing a beat). What a ridiculously well tuned fight. On another note, this coming week will be Tyranny's LAST raid week on Lothar. That's right. We're moving to a new home (we'll say where soon!) on March 8th. We're going to make this week special, so check back here every day or so for both new ICC25 Hard Mode kills and retrospectives of Tyranny's last three years on Lothar (and back to early vanilla if count Ruin/Demolition as the same guild).

The best part about this fight: we developed a hard mode strat that is easier than normal mode.