Icecrown, the last major patch, is upon us. Most pundits expect to see it in the next month. We will continue to push the ten-man content. We have fallen off the 10-man strict ratings but we will be back when 3.3 comes out.

Moving forward we will be having two sets of ten-man raids. Gear runs will be on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Invitations will be sent to all level 80’s in the guild. Sign up, show up and we’ll try to get as many people geared as possible. We will progress as far as the party can go.

Wednesday night and Sunday night we will be farming ToC, running hard modes, etc in an attempt to push progression and gear our top raiders. Invitations to these raids will be much more selective. We have more than 10 people capable of participating in these raids. We will select from those who signup and are online. We have to have tanks, healers and the right balance between range and melee DPS.

So how do you show us that you are ready for the progression raids? Run Naxx and Ulduar and show us what you are able to do. We are looking for several things:
• Play your class well. For DPS classes this means being able to maintain 3k+ dps consistently.
• Show up when you sign up for raids and show up prepared. Have whatever consumables you need. Several of us have fish feasts but it sure is nice when someone else steps up and provides one. (Kudos Satinna). If we’re counting on you a quick post to the shout box when something happens to keep you from coming helps a lot.
• Get along with the raid, in vent and in the raid. Follow our lead. While there is rarely only one right way to do a fight everyone needs to be on the same page. If a raid leader or tank says move just do it.
• Wear a headset in vent. If you don’t have a headset, don’t talk. (It is possible to use a desk microphone instead of a headset but game noise and ambient room noise have to be kept to a minimum. A mike built into your computer won’t cut it.)
• Don’t PUG something until after the guild run. Seems obvious but if you’re not available when one of the regular raiders can’t be there it’s hard to break in.

I just want to expand on and add on to a couple of things Malpeg mentioned here, dealing with the gear runs in specific.

1st
On a couple of occasions we have had close to 20 people on who were willing and able to go on gear runs with us. Selection for these runs is generally first come first serve, unless we are looking for something specific (like a healer or a range DPS). If you are not chosen to go on one particular run with us, do not worry. The best effort will be made to get you worked either into a run next week or another run in the same week.

2nd
While either fights are being explained or loot is being distributed, please remain quiet in vent. This helps the communication of important information tremendously and helps smooth things out. If there are ANY questions regarding how an encounter works, do not hesitate to ask; we will do our best to clarify any confusing piece of information.

3rd
For anyone who has not raided with us yet or is just starting raiding with us, our loot system may seem confusing to you. We use a loot system called EPGP (Effort Points/Gear Points). During a raid that you are participating in, you will earn small number of effort points (usually 10 or 15) every 15 minutes for just being there, and a larger amount of points for each boss kill you participate in. When a piece of gear drops that is an upgrade for you and you receive the item, you will get Gear Points, or GP. Your priority on the loot list is your EP divided by your GP. If you raid a lot but don't take a lot of gear, you will consistently have high loot priority. If you don't raid as much but take a lot of gear, you will have a low loot priority.

4th
On the subject of loot, and this will be true particularly in Naxx, some or most of the items that drop may not be an upgrade for you. Something to remember now and when 3.3 comes out is that you are receiving Conquest (and Triumph when 3.3 is out) emblems. Conquest's can be used to purchase iLevel 226 gear (T8), and when 3.3 hits, Triumph's can be used to buy iLevel 232/245 gear (T9).

Finally, 5th
We hope that you have fun on our runs and get good knowledge (and gear) from participating in them. If you have any general questions or concerns now or specific questions/concerns during a raid, do not hesitate to contact Malpeg or one of the officers and it will be addressed as quickly as possible.

I was really hoping to get more play on this thread. People constantly want to be included in runs, and that is great, but participation on the forums in an attempt to help low-gear/low-dps would go a long way to convincing me people are actually serious about pushing content. 3k DPS is not difficult for pretty much any setup. Cali went feral with no previous melee experience, and was doing over 3k raid damage in less than a week. Pentarch is geared through H ToC, and can do over 3k as a Shadow priest. I have an ele set made out of Resto gear, and I can push over 3k. Those in a raid situation who aren't pulling well over that need help with gear, enchants, gems, and rotations. I would really like to see more of the people who want to raid so bad looking for input, and advice here on the forums. We have people who can help with almost any DPS setup.

I have not said anything because I don't think I am high enough level to start participating in this stuff. I am, however, very interested. I guess the question I need to ask, is until I am the right level... what do I need to be working on? I am not sure even what I should be trying to get involved in!

Appreciate it hun, but this all Applies at 80. ^^ As soon as you're there, We'll be happy to get you set up. Hunters do very good damage end-game.

This may sound odd at first but if you want to raid you need to be doing daily quests. At least you need to do something to earn gold and reputation. High level enchants aren't cheap, even when you buy the mats from the guild bank. It seems like every gear upgrade I get cost me 200g or so between enchants and gems. Unless you're an inscriptionist you need Sons of Hodir rep for shoulder enchants and you need rep for helm enchants as well.

Thanks!! I will work on that when I am "of age!"

ghergo can pull 3k on most bosses, raid buffed that is...

if i were to want to get tanking up wat would i need for mitigation?
obv i wouldnt MT or OT in group 1, but even for like ToC 10 OT, cuz obv we can bring 2 decent groups in there soon

The key is never dropping below 3k DPS except on fights like Faction Champions.

3k is fine if you're the 4th or 5th DPS in ToC 10 Man, provided the others are pulling 4.5k or better.

For us to succeed in Icecrown, all DPS needs to pull a consistent 4k minimum in ToC.

yesterday ghergo pulled 4k ony valkyrs and anub combined, should be up to 4500 soon was wondering what we are looking at for DPS to go into IC?

4k On Valks is nothing... Keep in mind, my damage varies from 6-10k on that fight. Anub is a better Guage, but it s still a fight where a warrior can inflate a bit... 4k on Anub should be minimum for moving on. Also, I know I hate saying this, but you need to start considering Fury. I love Arms, I prefer Arms, but with current scaling, after a certain point, going Fury is needed if you wanna raid well. One Arms warrior in a 25-man can be a blessing, but in 10s, it's just not gonna be worthwhile enough to watch your damage continue to scale poorly. Fury does have some differences in initial setup compared to Arms. I will be happy to help you make the transition if you are interested in raiding as DPS.