Well Ladies, Gentlemen, and Foresight…it’s been almost a year and a half since I took over as guild leader, and we’ve done quite a lot with that time. Let’s recap everything that’s taken place for those of you who aren’t playing.

Raids 

Patches 5.0-5.1 

• Man Hug had an incredibly amazing (if not rocky at times) launch! We teamed up with <Rise of The Darkside> (Hail Darkside!) early on to fill our ranks and took a rag tag group into the first 25 man raid <Downfall> had seen in a couple of years. Then we went on to clear 9/16 bosses before The Thunder King reared his ugly head.

• PMS continued on as a 10 man raid from Cata and picked up a couple more people along the way. We lost a ginger during mid-Normals due to work, but then be-friended a kindly Dragon along the way. At the time breathed he fire and ice, but went on to bring the word of the light back in full force. As a raid we cleared all 16/16 Normal and got 3/16 Heroic. A slow start, but a good one.

Patches 5.2-5.3 

• Man Hug breached the walls of the Thunder King’s Palace and went for his heart! And we accomplished exactly that! Early on after our first couple of kills of Jin’rokh The Breaker (First boss), Man Hug had a bit of a problem shoring up its ranks. Grasen, Threerick and Atar all went on a hardcore recruitment spree, and we brought in a TON of raiders into the guild. Some stayed, some left, and some just quit or vanished. But, the ranks were full and Man Hug was raiding again, scoring its LEGENDARY first kill of Horridon. Then, Man Hug faced a trial. Eleven bosses into the raid, our illustrious Raid Leader Atar had to take a step back from WoW to coach a football team. Jobs stepped up, got promoted to the rank of Officer and led Man Hug to its first kill of The Thunder King (2 shot it that night), and for its first time, fully cleared Normal ahead of the curve (a.k.a. before the next tier came out).

• PMS cleared Normal very early in May 2012, and went on to clear 4/13 Heroic bosses. We saw some epic fights and got some epic loots (some of which is still used today -_- ).

• Raid Galaga joined <Downfall> after searching for a place to call home, and we gave them and their friends more than that. They’re now part of the crazy <Downfall> family. In Throne Of Thunder they cleared 9/12 in Normal clearing up to Iron Qon!

Patch 5.4 - now 

• Man Hug went into the Siege of Orgrimmar (SoO) with a plan, a new focus from clearing the previous tier, and an orc to kill. In the first night we killed 2 bosses; 12 days later the next 2 bosses died in a single night. Then real life reared its ugly head for me and I took a step back from helping manage the points and leading. Jobs got Sassyßrat as an officer to help pick up the slack that I had left. Man Hug then went on to fully clear SoO ahead of the curve!

• On October 29th, 2013, PMS killed Normal Garrosh – a server first for Gorgonnash. We scored 4 achievements, got a mount, and a title. As of this writing, we are 8/14 Heroic and we have our sights on Garrosh before we see the end of the Xpac.

• Galaga is doing amazing. They’re working on their first kill of Garrosh are currently 13/14 Normal.

• A new Alt raid from Man Hug formed and named themselves The Implication. They cleared SoO on Normal and are aiming to move onto Heroics. (More info further in) 

And that catches you up for how the raids have fared thus far. I’m proud of every boss the raids have killed. You guys and gals continue to astonish and amaze with your determination and prowess when it comes to bringing together groups of friends and family.

Man Hug as a raid 

As you’ve read above, Man Hug as a 25 man (the only one on the server) has done what several told us was impossible. It has far exceeded my expectations of what 25 man raiding can accomplish in this LFR/10 man world we have now. Anyone that has been a part, or continues to be a part of this, deserves a big pat on the back and should feel damned proud of your accomplishments. As we approach the end of MoP, we start to see (as all raids do) drops in attendance and people falling out. Those people set a goal, they accomplished it, and now it’s time to move on to the next goal they have. No one doing this should be seen in any other light than friend and guildy. We’ve all made sacrifices to raid the way we have, and there comes a tipping point when the other goals outweigh the possible raid goals. I’m not saying everyone will experience this, but many will and it should not be looked down upon. Man Hug is starting to see this happen now that Garrosh has died. People have either stuck around longer than they wanted because they felt an obligation to the raid and the guild, or as I stated, they have just achieved what they came to do.

On Monday, January 13th, there was an initial vote about the 25 man continuing into Heroic SoO, and 5 voted against. While 20% of the raid seems like a small margin, think of trying to fill those spots with undergeared or underperforming raiders that need to be carried and continuing into Heroics. That can also mean running Normals several more times to try and gear those replacements up. After examining the list and discussing it, Jobs decided to hold another couple of polls. On the following Wednesday, January 15th, two polls were held live during the Man Hug raid time (servers were down due to DDOS). The first poll asked how many wanted to continue the 25 man format, and 12 voted against. The second poll asked how many would raid in a 10 man if given the opportunity, and a whopping 21 of you said yes. By the numbers, that’s 1 too many for two 10 man raids. Almost perfection in my books, as long as the comps work and there are enough “support” members (tanks and healers).

The Implication

As mentioned above in the raid’s accomplishments, a new raid formed in SoO comprised mostly of alts from the 25 man. The Implication is continuing on with SoO now that Man Hug is no longer going to raid. This raid, led by Trazy, Shatner, and Painhax, will be pushing Heroics and looking to score themselves a Heroic Garrosh kill before WoD. Their roster is not 100% finalized, so talk to them about what they need to fill their ranks.

Elapsed Flexes

For anyone who really wants that social aspect of raiding with a big group and doesn’t care about Heroics, My Flex continues to run strong on Saturdays 6pm PST (Man Hug’s normal start time) till 9pm. This week we cleared wings 2-4 in two and a half hours, so next week we aim to clear all 4 wings! We often field ~20 raiders but have had room for 2-7 raiders (as long as we have the healers for it).

A Call To Arms! 

The officers are looking for someone from Man Hug to step up and lead another 10 man! For obvious reasons neither Jobs nor myself can just point at a person and say, congrats you’re leading a 10 man raid! We need someone who WANTS to raid and wants to raid enough that they will lead and organize the raid. Reply below if that is you! We want another 10 man to thrive; we want people to stay on and active! But we cannot do that without you!

Badpenny promoted to officer!!! 

At the end of our officer meeting on Thursday, January 16th, a vote came to the officers. There has been a guild member and raid leader who has stood out as a true leader in the guild. Badpenny has led Galaga, and will continue to lead a raid into WoD (more on that as xpac info arises). Congratulations to Penny and Galaga on their accomplishments. You’ve become amazing members of our family and were so happy you joined us. You now have a strong voice in the officer ranks. I want to see more of you all online as often as possible!

Baby News 

Finally, it seems with every passing year there’s new <Downfall> babies.  You guys have proven that you all enjoy the hell out of sex, and that’s great.

• On April 11th, 2013, Samantha Reed was born to Tim (Mehguy) and Candice (Firekeeper)
• Lisa (Elektraqt) and Matt (Lucidream) are expecting their first on February 20th, 2014
• Tom (Katzeus) and Amanda (Meowia) are expecting sometime in June 2014
• And, at the officer meeting we got the amazing news that Austin’s (Atar) wife is pregnant!!!!

Congratulations to all of you, you’re raising the next generation of <Downfall>er’s. Make them gamers, and make them nerdy!

(If I left anyone out, which is possible please let me know and I will update this)

Downfall, you’re the best of communities to be in. I always brag about the community I lead to others who don’t play the game. I will continue to lead the guild into WoD and in the future. In the coming months you’ll see my plans and other’s plans to raid in WoD, and even leveling strategies as we find out more from Blizz. Until then, keep raiding to your fullest, keep running scenarios, keep running arenas and BGs together, and keep having a good time.

P.S. Mythic Raid details will be posted soon as we ourselves get more info.