Rockstar and Karazhan Part 1
Through an amazing series of events, Rockstar has found himself in the position of being the main tank for Karazhan Group 3 of the Ysera guild Eternal Force. And tasked in the off tank position is friend feral Druid Predictys, also of Eternal Force. Rockstar’s tanking experience is pretty limited…I’ve done about a dozen regular instances, about three heroics, and this would be my first raid. There’s a lot to know in tanking Karazhan, and hopefully the pieces of gear I’ve been collecting over the previous weeks wouldn’t let me (or the group) down too badly.
The first night was Wednesday night. Most first-night Karazhan runs clear through Curator as a goal, plus or minus one boss as the night progresses. Four members of the group had never been in Karazhan before at all. I think everyone was cautiously optimistic, and we would all have to wait and see. Trivia, rogues officer of Eternal Force, would be leading the raid. Predictys and I were promoted to help play with the marks.
It took forever to get the group assembled and ready to roll. Once we got started, the trash clearing to Attumen was pretty smooth. The shackles were good, the trapping was good, and I was able to rotate targets pretty effectively. I felt I was able to build threat pretty effectively.
The Attumen fight was terrific. We one-shotted him in 3 minutes, 44 seconds with no deaths occurring. Predictys of course tanked Midnight, and I picked up Attumen effectively (meaning I intercepted him and took aggro before he could get a shot off on our healers). Using a Disarm and then a Shield Slam against him is pretty satisfying. Rockstar actually attained Friendly status with the Violet Eye as Attumen was slain. Attumen dropped the Harbinger Bands (needed by Lofkalar) and the Spectral Band of Innervation.
We began clearing trash towards Moroes. Trivia put marks on all of the patrolling undead, and Rockstar got a chance to begin the pulls. Between myself, Predictys, and a couple of rogues, no one was dying on the AoE pulls on the stairway…this is a spot for frequent caster deaths. Eternal Force skips the groups composed of all elites, and lets them despawn after Moroes is dead.
Tanking the Moroes fight is great…there’s not too much to do. This fight emphasizes DPS (for dropping the first pair of adds and burning Moroes) but showcases the healers (who have to keep re-shackling, remove Blind effects, heal the tanks, and keep heals up on whoever receives a Garrote). Predictys and I simply have to bash and smash Moroes to keep his attention between Vanishes. We used Calithis, a second Druid, to tank the first couple of adds while DPS burned them down. The group then shifted to Moroes. Rather than exit the room after killing Moroes, Eternal Force chooses to down the remaining adds.
We one-shotted Moroes in 3 minutes, 55 seconds. At the end of the fight, both of our healers Seraphyne and Pithicus were down. Moroes dropped Edgewalker Longboots (needed by Calithis) and the Crimson Girdle of the Indomitable (needed by Rockstar). That belt marks the first loot for my Warrior in Karazhan. The group was doing very well.
Clearing towards the Maiden of Virtue ran smoothly. We didn’t have a Warlock to help with banishing the demons, but that was okay. We shackled the undead and brought the demons forward in the kill order. We got to Maiden, and talked through the fight. It was pretty awkward, because we didn’t have a Paladin in the group to help with Blessing of Sacrifice. A few healing responsibilities were discussed, the option of me bringing Maiden to a healer was discussed, and we decided to give it a single try to see what happened. The result was a quick wipe, with Rockstar down at the end of the second Repentance. Trivia called for a tactical withdrawal, and we would re-visit the Maiden when we had a Paladin in the group the next time.
So, we went to Opera. Clearing to the Opera Event is always pretty fun (at least for me). I love fighting Spectral Performers, especially when they use their Spotlight ability. I was able to experiment with some chain pulls, as the coming and going of patrols in this area allows that to some extent. I’m already looking for ways the tank can chain pull to keep the pace of the group moving right along.
We drew Big Bad Wolf for the Opera Event…this is the simplest in terms of what needs to happen, although it might be the most difficult event to execute properly. But the group was pretty good…we dropped the Big Bad Wolf in one shot (3 minutes, 18 seconds). Sure, several people died (including myself), but this is one of those events where it doesn’t matter so much, as long as there is at least one healer still alive. The Big Bad Wolf dropped Big Bad Wolf’s Paw (needed by Amrys) and the Earthsoul Leggings (needed by Calithis).
Because of time constraints, this is where the raid was called. We didn’t get to Curator, but that’s okay. We were able to one-shot three bosses, which was excellent. We were also able to concede defeat on Maiden of Virtue without a Paladin, but at least the group was able to see how the fight works. All in all, the group did extremely well. With a little more attention to punctuality and a lot less talk between trash pulls, this group was moving as smoothly as any of the others I’ve ever been in.
For now, I’ll have to get a couple of stamina gems for my new belt.
Comments
Leave a Reply