It took us awhile to get to this point. We had spent many nights working on the Lich King. With summer upon us and burnout at an all time high, we decided to focus our endeavors on other activities for a couple weeks to rebuild our confidence. It seemed that is all what we needed.
The first couple attempts started out slow. Members had to be reacquainted with the punishing mechanics of the encounter. A new tank had to be briefed on our positions through the phases. Two late coming vets were pulled into the raid.
Suddenly it all seemed to click on the third attempt. Val'kyrs were dying before reaching the edge of the platform and defiles were moved out of the center in time. The second transition phase was hit with the entire raid up and completely unprepared. This was the progress we have sought for weeks.
Of course this is when random bad luck slaps you around a bit. A stray ice burst and the dreaded second defile before the val'kyr landing lead to quick wipes. We got up, dust ourselves off and ran back to setup for our last attempt.
This attempt nearly lead to an early disaster. Two hard hitting dpsers down after the first set of val'kyrs and the remaining druid being helplessly carried off by the second set of val'kyrs... We weren't going to be stopped this time! We downed those val'kyrs and chain-ressed the two fallen dpsers. We pushed once again into the second transition phase fully prepared and came out of it with the raid intact.
The final phase began. The Lich King threw everything he had at us. Defiles were going off and vile spirits exploded all around the platform. Raid members slowly started to fall one by one, caught by the deadly spirit bursts. Our surviving raid members kept their focus and the Lich King's health kept falling. 25%... 20%... At 15% everyone had that moment of clarity, that moment when you know you will win this fight. At 10% Frostmourne was raised aloft and the ending scene began.
With Frostmourne shattered into a thousand pieces and the Lich King dethroned, the Old Guard has emerged victorious out of Icecrown Citadel, the final content for this expansion. This is a victory that not only belongs to all the current members of the Old Guard, but also our friends and former members who helped brought us to this point. Their contributions will not be forgotten.
