Announcements 29 April 2013

From left to right:  Reece, Eric, Mattie, Ryann, Caleb, Ken, Tides, Paul, Junior, Ary.  Pre-kill shot!

   Congratulations on our first run through Terrace of Endless Springs last night!  I should mention that although I made a bold move in having us do the elite kill order on Protectors of the Endless, you all bolstered my faith in you as a raid team. Your efforts were excellent and I am sure when we return next Sunday our eyes shall behold the Sha's booty, both his ilvl booty and his rump roast.  I'd like to give a shout out to Reese (Warpower) for being the first in guild to win a loot drop via lottery roll.  Tonight's lottery number was 74.  Along with the shoulder token drop, he was allotted 1000 gold from the Guild Keep.  Also, I missed raid chat to notice, but Eric's (Frieira) birthday just passed. Happy belated birthday to you, Eric!

The raiding announcements for this week are as follows:

Dismissal of B Team

  Due to constant absences,  I have decided to dissolve B Team.  I have issued many warnings via ventrilo, the guild blog and our guild community website and yet a large number have failed to comply with our simple raid attendance protocols.  As I am busy with my final quarter as a senior at university as well as a Shakespeare production and work on the side, I do not have sufficient time to deal with recruiting to fill the many empty slots on B Team and spending time with said new recruits to make sure they understand and are serious with committing to a team.  At least until I graduate this June, B Team shall remain obsolete.  I have updated the team roster on the guild blog and you will notice that there are eleven people listed.  Over the course of this last week of April and all of May I will be observing raid attendance and whoever falls short I will have to ask to step down and continue to raid with us as an O Team member at least until June when I reintroduce B Team and start recruiting.

Gear Modification

In order to prevent late raid starts, I require everyone to come to raid night prepared not only through an excellent understanding of boss intel, but to show up with gear fully and properly modified. I shouldn't even have to remind you of this, because these are listed in our raid team rules.   If the situation arises where someone is missing proper gems or enchants, I would rather pug someone to replace your slot.  This may be strict but in order to alleviate this, we will do as much as we can to help you with the gems and enchants as long as you approach the officers well in advance, not the night of the raid.  However, do not take advantage of guildies.  I and the officers are keen on who is contributing to the Guild Keep or to other guildies through enchants or gems and if we notice that all you do is take free gems and enchants without repaying through fair trade or contributing Mists of Pandaria trade materials such as herbs, ores, gems, leathers, windwool cloth, items for disenchanting/enchanting, etc, then we will ask you to find another means of obtaining gems or enchants.  If we are aiming for progression, then every ounce of damage or healing counts.  It is not fair to other team mates if we have to halt our raid start to spend time cutting gems and applying enchants.


Raid Progression Plan

I plan for our guild to progress through Throne of Thunder at a reasonable pace.  Before we can focus on just Thunder, I want us to get the Grand Empress Shek'zeer kill in Heart of Fear first, so that we can enter Terrace of Endless Springs without having to rely on Paul (Shegrooves) solely to gain passage because there may come a night when Paul may not be able to raid with us.  As we prepare for Thunder progression, I propose to you a three phase plan:

A Phase (aka GES phase):  Grand Empress Shek'zeer & Horridon not yet terminated

Thursdays, 7 - 10 PM server ~ First x1 hour to be spent in Thunder on Jin'rokh, Death's Crossing (I've deemed the bridge worthy of its own name), and Horridon.  Remaining x2 hours to be spent in Heart of Fear.  HoF raid lock to be kept extended as long as possible to hasten our Grand Empress Shek'zeer kill.  No raid locks on Thunder to allow us more gear drops.

Sundays, 7 - 9 PM server ~ Unless Paul is not able to raid with us, then we will focus solely on ToES.  The raid lock will not be extended because this raid already seems to be very manageable within our two hour frame.  If Paul is not able to raid with us, we will focus solely on HoF.

B Phase (aka Perpetual Flings phase):  GES terminated but not yet Horridon

Thursdays, 7 - 10 PM server ~ First x2 hours to be spent in Thunder.  Remaining x1 hour to be spent on as much of ToES as possible.

Sundays, 7 - 9 PM server ~ ToES alone, continuing from where we leave off on Thursday.

C Phase (aka Thunder Crusade):  Horridon dispatched

Thursdays, 7 - 10 PM server ~ Strictly Thunder progression

Sundays, 7 - 9 PM server ~ ToES alone

* A reminder about guild calendar signups - Simply sign up prior to the midnight deadline for BOTH Thursday and Sunday.  This means that if you plan to join us for Thursday, sign up the midnight prior to Thursday's raid night if you wish to join us.  If you plan to join us for Sunday, sign up the midnight prior to Sunday's raid night.  Absolutely no late signups tolerated.  Also, if you sign up and don't show up, that still counts as a breach of our three strike raid attendance policy.

Beyond our three phase plan, we will shift our focus to Thunder alone for both Thursdays and Sundays to speed our guild progression.  ToES will then be put on farm list along with HoF and MV, which brings me to my next announcement.

Farm Nights

I mentioned in the last announcement post that I would like for us to have another means of raiding beyond our normal raid schedule.  This can be employed through farm nights, in which we do the older raids to help gear alts, allow O Team members to raid more often with us, or just an easy way to gain valor points.  I will need at least one officer to lead these nights so that access to the Guild Keep is available for flasks and to ensure that the friendly and respectful raid atmosphere that we have grown to love can be preserved even in the midst of pugs.  These will be scheduled in the raid calendar as non-progression nights and because they are not required of the raid team members there will be no penalties for late signups.

**************************************************************************
I would like to take the time to thank those of you who have remained committed raid team members.  I want you to realize that you are what makes our guild strong and your efforts thus far are noteworthy and admirable.  Cheers!

Offer me your sword and spells, and I shall bring you victory.  Offer your companionship, and I shall give you loyalty.  Offer your service, and together we shall gain honour. We are Perpetual.

Respectfully,
Ken, Mattie, Mira and Tides

Bonus shot: Tides' UI

First Jin'rokh Kill and Sneak Peek at Upcoming Guild Contest

From L to R: Arystania, Mirandah, Frieira, Shegrooves, Hidytwo, Lildeadman, Tidesroyale, Fistbumps, Blackrocks, Bearlystrong.

  Here is a kill shot from our first guild only Jin'rokh the Breaker kill.  Congratulations, Perpetualeans!  Thank you for your hard efforts.  This kill was last Thursday 18th and was done through the combined efforts of A and B Teams because B Team was missing too many signups.  On a serious note, I am warning everyone right now that your absences and late signups do not go unnoticed.  In order to counter this, the officers have tweaked our guild calendar raid signup rule to be more convenient as far as signups go however it is also very strict.  In order to join your team for their raid nights you must sign up before midnight prior to your two raid nights, Thursday and the Sunday following.  Consult the earlier post about this new rule for a more detailed description as well as my plans for our progression now that we have reached our final pre-Thunder gear check deadline.

  Last Thursday I announced on raid night that Perpetual has been known to hold many contests that award fine prizes such as your choice of mount or pet from the online Blizzard store, and that we are due to have another one soon.  With this next contest I decided on a very handsome grand prize, a Razer Naga gaming mouse, the Razer Naga Molten to be exact.  Due to the expensive cost of this prize I will have to restrict grand prize eligibility only to those on our raid teams (and sorry, just as in our past contests, officers are not eligible) and only to those that have exceptional attendance for the next month of May.  The second and third prizes are open to all guild members except officers.  More details on our upcoming contest will be provided after the officers decide on the contest rules.  Posted below is a direct link to the gaming mouse grand prize.  Cheers!

Razer Naga Molten

Announcements 14 April 2013

This could be us. Let's get our own kill shot!

 G'day, Perpetualeans.  Last night the officers had a meeting to discuss changes needed in order to ensure that A and B Team members are serious about the commitments we all made to be consistent with attendance.  Too many people have been missing raid nights.  This baffles me because I've recruited 98% of both A and B Team members and all agreed to be consistent with attendance.  Having to combine both A and B Teams due to no-shows is a pain because we end up with several extra people trying to squeeze into a ten-man team.  Or some nights we have too little even with those that showed up on both teams and we're having to pug just to fill the empty slots.  In order to resolve this issue we have made a minor change to our raid signup protocol.   

Effective immediately, in order to join us for raids, you must sign up by midnight the night before Thursday's raid night.  Late signups will not be tolerated.  Also, even if you are present on raid night and ready to raid, we will not take you if you failed to sign up and we will instead pug to replace your slot.

Our three-strike policy remains the same:  If you fail to sign up before the midnight deadline three times, you forfeit your dedicated slot and will be removed from the raid team and demoted.  The same applies if you fail three times to notify an officer ahead of time (don't wait till last minute or even till after) that you will not be able make your raid night.

Now that we're clear on our raid attendance policy, I'd like to outline for you my plans for our guild after our final pre-Thunder gear check deadline.  As a reminder, here it is:

By Thursday, April 18th we need everyone to be ilvl 490+ for the first two bosses in Throne of Thunder. You must know boss intel for at least the first two bosses in ToT.

I have already posted the guides for the first two bosses in Throne of Thunder.  Most of you have already joined us for our practice rounds of Jin'rokh, so many of you only need to learn the normal mode intel for Horridon.  Be sure to watch/read these guides before Thursday.  This Thursday we will focus solely on the first two bosses in Throne of Thunder.  We will not be switching to any other raids on this night.  The reason is because we need time for us to get everyone together before the raid so the officers can inspect everyone's gear to see if gear has been properly modified.  

The weeks to follow, we will be progressing through HoF in order to get the kill on the final boss, Grand Empress Shek'zeer, so that we can enter Terrace of Endless Springs.  Because of this, I may switch some of the officers among the two teams if one of them has obtained the kill achieve because I think the way it works is that the raid leader has to have had the final boss kill achieve for Grand Empress Shek'zeer so that they may grant their raid entry into ToES.  From now on, our raid nights will consist of the first two bosses in Thunder then on to HoF until we clear it, then our raid nights will progress to the first two bosses in Thunder before switching to ToES.  As we get all our raid team members geared, we can add the third boss in Thunder and do less of ToES until eventually we'll be focusing mainly on Thunder.  

While we are focusing on Thunder progression, it may be nice to put the older raids on farm status.  We could schedule a raid-farm night, say on either Friday or Saturday, on which the two teams can combine because obviously not everyone on both teams will be able or should be able to commit to a third raid night.  These raid-farm nights are purely optional and only serve to allow those who are interested and available on an-off progression schedule night to get more gear.  It also gives our O Team (reserve) members more chances to join us for raiding.

One more announcement, the raid team rosters have been updated on our guild blog so be sure to check it out.  Although, a couple individuals still on there are very close to being removed from the teams because of excessive absences without giving the officers prior notice.  You know who you are, and if you wish to continue raiding with Perpetual, please resolve this.  I'm sure everyone wants to be progressing through Throne of Thunder already, but this is impossible if people who have committed to be reliable raiders are constantly absent on raid nights.  If the Thunder is what you want, then you better damn well prove that you are serious about raiding and show up on raid nights.

Please continue to gear up in these last few days before our final pre-Thunder gear check deadline.  In the months to follow I will be setting new gear check and possibly boss kill deadlines to help motivate the raid teams to continue to strive for excellence.  I will continue to keep these goals at a reasonable pace.  I and the officers have thoroughly enjoyed your presence on raid nights and we wish to see more of you.  I look forward to seeing how far we have come by seeing the rise in gear levels this Thursday night.  Good luck, and see you on raid night.  Cheers!

Respectfully, 
Tidesroyale

Horridon: 10M

To join our guild for the first two bosses in Throne of Thunder, you must have an average item level of at least 490+ (absolutely no PvP gear). Raiding requirements can be found through the "raiding requirements" label on the left-hand side of the guild blog. I am providing you with two options to inform yourself on the strategy for Throne of Thunder: by the video posted below or the notes included in the link below. If you opt to watch the video guide, be sure to take notes. If you'd rather read the strategy, here is the link:

Horridon: 10M

Mists of Pandaria is a new challenge for Jealous Sky.  I would like for us to strive for excellence.  I will start to ensure that everyone does their fair share and informs themselves well on the strategy.  We are in a guild that promotes a team-oriented raiding atmosphere and it is only fair that everyone is well-informed.  Having to explain boss intel before fights takes up too much time.  If I find that people are not able to set aside some time and inform themselves on boss strategies, then we will skip the bosses people are uninformed on.  Please do your best to not let the team down; if we are all aiming at heroic progression then we need to be open to a little more responsibility and effort.


Gabestah's Guide

Jin'rokh the Breaker: 10M

To join our guild for the first two bosses in Throne of Thunder, you must have an average item level of at least 490+ (absolutely no PvP gear). Raiding requirements can be found through the "raiding requirements" label on the left-hand side of the guild blog. I am providing you with two options to inform yourself on the strategy for Throne of Thunder: by the video posted below or the notes included in the link below. If you opt to watch the video guide, be sure to take notes. If you'd rather read the strategy, here is the link:

Jin'rokh the Breaker: 10M

Mists of Pandaria is a new challenge for Jealous Sky.  I would like for us to strive for excellence.  I will start to ensure that everyone does their fair share and informs themselves well on the strategy.  We are in a guild that promotes a team-oriented raiding atmosphere and it is only fair that everyone is well-informed.  Having to explain boss intel before fights takes up too much time.  If I find that people are not able to set aside some time and inform themselves on boss strategies, then we will skip the bosses people are uninformed on.  Please do your best to not let the team down; if we are all aiming at heroic progression then we need to be open to a little more responsibility and effort.


Gabestah's Guide

Announcements 1 April 2013

"Perpetual, you shall not pass!" ~ Sha of Fear

G'day, Perpetualeans.  Many of you have missed more than three raid nights (remember, three-strike raid attendance policy) without giving any officers a heads up by means of in-game correspondence and have thus forfeited your raid slots.  The raid team rosters have been updated on this guild blog, simply click on the label "raid teams" on the left-hand side of the guild blog. A Team is missing one ranged deeps and B Team is missing a restoration shaman (much needed for the Blood Lust).

Our first gear check deadline has already passed and our upcoming gear check deadlines are:

• By Thursday, April 4th we need everyone to be ilvl 485+ for Terrace of Endless springs.  You must know all boss intel for ToES.

• By Thursday, April 18th we need everyone to be ilvl 490+ for the first two bosses in Throne of Thunder. You must know boss intel for at least the first two bosses in ToT.

 In the time between the two deadlines we will either be doing Heart of Fear or Terrace of Endless Springs to help score gear for the team members but more importantly we will start doing Throne of Thunder garbo runs.  These are runs in which we'll go to kill garbo mobs inside Throne of Thunder to gain reputation with the Shado-Pan Assault so that we can access shiny new loot through their quartermasters.  If you are already capped on the reputation then you can still come in to gain epic loot drops from the garbo mobs or just hone your raid skills because the garbo mobs even in LFR mode are intense.  You may want to refer to these two links:

• Ten Ton Hammer's Shado-Pan Assault Reputation Guide
• Shado-Pan Assault Faction Quartermaster on wowhead

Because of the new raid team compositions, I have changed the partners you are assigned to.  The new partner assignments are listed at the bottom of this post.  I am not asking you two to do much, just get together for an hour or two at least once a week and help each other through dailies, heroics, or crafting professions.  We already do this as a guild (and if you aren't joining us for them then you should), but I'd like for you to pay special attention to your assigned partner.  You are then to meet with any of our officers in ventrilo for just a minute or two to let us know how your gear is looking.  We will be inspecting you on WoW Armory throughout the weeks and we want to know what you have accomplished in one week's time.  Throughout the weeks to come I will be meeting with the partner teams as well as everyone individually to chat you about your position in our guild and on our raid teams.  Take these partner systems seriously, it's not much to ask for.  We are not an elitist guild, but we are a team-building guild.  Everyone I recruited was told this from the start and if you are not liking any of this then you are welcome to leave.

There are two things I really need to mention about gearing concerns:

1. A few of you have been equipping PvP gear in order to be eligible to enter the higher ilvl LFRs in order to obtain gear.  While I appreciate the idea of you doing so for a higher chance of obtaining gear through LFRs, this is absolutely forbidden in our raids, and I've mentioned this before as well as posted it clearly in the guild rules blog post.  Do your best to replace your PvP gear ASAP.  You are giving up very useful secondary stats for PvP stats which are obsolete in a raid environment and it is detrimental to your healing or deeps output.
2.  I have noticed some of you working on alts.  There is nothing wrong with this and by all means we always tell everyone to play the class they enjoy most but as a registered A or B Team member you have given your consent to reaching the gear check deadlines I've established.  By working on your alts when you should be getting your gear up, you are letting your teammates down.  The gear check deadlines are there for a reason––to get us into Throne of Thunder raids ASAP.

 There are four things I need to mention about raiding improvement:

1. In the last announcements blog post I mentioned about doing spontaneous boss intel checks to make sure people are either watching or reading the boss intel guides.  While I haven't done them yet, don't think I am going easy on you.  I do 100% of the recruiting for our guild and I know that everyone who joined our guild is here because they would like to raid successfully with a guild that preserves a friendly, team-building environment.  We are in no way an elitist guild and I will never let our guild take that path but as guild leader and out of respect for everyone's desire for progression without the cost of a friendly, respectful atmosphere, I will ensure team-building initiatives.  So do your boss intel, meet with your newly assigned partner at least once a week and let the officers know once a week about your gear progress (anything from new gear, modifications, new rotations, etc.), and continue signing up for your raid nights in the in-game calendar at least three days in advance.  These are all simple tasks and if you think they are too much or if they seem elitist to you, then we are not on the same page.
2. Have fun.  Many of you are new to the raids, or to raiding in general.  I assure you, we are an optimal guild for you to start learning the raids with.  As long as you are doing everything listed above, you'll do fine.  Don't worry if you make mistakes.  We all do.  But don't feel ashamed.  As long as you are willing to learn and put in the time, that's all that matters.  
3. I have been looking at the heals and deeps per second on Recount addon and some of you could be doing heaps more for the gear you're in.  Calling people out in raids is not really my style as a leader.  Make sure you have the proper gear modifications.  Websites like askmrrobot and noxxic are very good for this.  Or you could be having trouble with your rotation or talents.  Consult noxxic, icy-veins, or mikepreach on Youtube.  If I continue to see low heals or deeps for the gear you're in, I will chat you privately and see if I could get someone in guild to help you out.  We are all a part of a team, and we are most willing to help you out because in the end it will make us stronger and more optimal as raid teams.
4. Some of you have been leaving raid nights well before the scheduled end time, many of the times you are leaving thirty minutes before 10 PM server.  All of you agreed to the scheduled raid time of Thursdays and Sundays from 7 to 10 PM server.  I understand if someone needs to drop raid because of real life obligations or something comes up, but you did agree to the schedule times and I am seeing people leave excessively.  This is not fair to the rest of the team because we have to stop raid and pug since most cases the people on our reserve team are not online.  Please plan accordingly on raid nights, make sure you finish tasks in real life so you won't have to worry about them during raids.  If you cannot for the most part stick to the 7 to 10 PM schedule then you should consider joining O Team.  Chat me in ventrilo if you feel you need to explain. 

New Partner Assignments
A Team

•  Chenstout (Mattie) and Pigbawg (Julian)
• Hidytwo (Ken) and Alala (Gary)
• Bearlystrong (Ryann) and Mirandah (Mira)
• Fistbumps (Caleb) and Blackrocks (Junior)
• Tidesroyale and X

B Team

• Bluze (JOe) and Arystania (Ary)
• Shegrooves (Paul) and Rinzee (Eli)
• Troxus (Tyler) and Mormogh (George)
• Krendistus (Dillon), Playpenz (Bret) and Frieria (Eric)

* Officer names in green.

I hope many of you understand that all these initiatives are being taken to ensure our success and to promote team-building. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to chat myself or my officers.  I will also be implementing some fun, non-raid team-building events along the way that I'm sure will help boost morale and motivate everyone as we aspire to reach our Throne of Thunder gear check deadline of Thursday, April 18th.  I as well as the officers look forward to joining you for the partner assignment activities as well as raiding with you all in the weeks to come and helping you reach your full potential.  Cheers!

Respectfully,
Tidesroyale  

  

Protectors of the Endless:10M (Elite Order)

* This guide is for the elite order of boss kills, which will score us higher ilvl gear.

To join our guild for regular Terrace of Endless Springs raids, you must have an average item level of at least 485+ (absolutely no PvP gear). Raiding requirements can be found through the "raiding requirements" label on the left-hand side of the guild blog. I am providing you with two options to inform yourself on the strategy for Protectors of the Endless: by the video posted below or the notes included in the link below. If you opt to watch the video guide, be sure to take notes. If you'd rather read the strategy, here is the link:

Protectors of the Endless: 10M

Mists of Pandaria is a new challenge for Perpetual.  I would like for us to strive for excellence.  I will start to ensure that everyone does their fair share and informs themselves well on the strategy.  We are in a guild that promotes a team-oriented raiding atmosphere and it is only fair that everyone is well-informed.  Having to explain boss intel before fights takes up too much time.  If I find that people are not able to set aside some time and inform themselves on boss strategies, then we will skip the bosses people are uninformed on.  Please do your best to not let the team down; if we are all aiming at heroic progression then we need to be open to a little more responsibility and effort.


Gabestah's Guide

Tsulong: 10M

To join our guild for regular Terrace of Endless Springs raids, you must have an average item level of at least 485+ (absolutely no PvP gear). Raiding requirements can be found through the "raiding requirements" label on the left-hand side of the guild blog. I am providing you with two options to inform yourself on the strategy for Tsulong: by the video posted below or the notes included in the link below. If you opt to watch the video guide, be sure to take notes. If you'd rather read the strategy, here is the link:

Tsulong: 10M

Mists of Pandaria is a new challenge for Perpetual.  I would like for us to strive for excellence.  I will start to ensure that everyone does their fair share and informs themselves well on the strategy.  We are in a guild that promotes a team-oriented raiding atmosphere and it is only fair that everyone is well-informed.  Having to explain boss intel before fights takes up too much time.  If I find that people are not able to set aside some time and inform themselves on boss strategies, then we will skip the bosses people are uninformed on.  Please do your best to not let the team down; if we are all aiming at heroic progression then we need to be open to a little more responsibility and effort.


Gabestah's Guide

Lei Shi: 10M

To join our guild for regular Terrace of Endless Springs raids, you must have an average item level of at least 485+ (absolutely no PvP gear). Raiding requirements can be found through the "raiding requirements" label on the left-hand side of the guild blog. I am providing you with two options to inform yourself on the strategy for Lei Shi: by the video posted below or the notes included in the link below. If you opt to watch the video guide, be sure to take notes. If you'd rather read the strategy, here is the link:

Lei Shi: 10M

Mists of Pandaria is a new challenge for Perpetual.  I would like for us to strive for excellence.  I will start to ensure that everyone does their fair share and informs themselves well on the strategy.  We are in a guild that promotes a team-oriented raiding atmosphere and it is only fair that everyone is well-informed.  Having to explain boss intel before fights takes up too much time.  If I find that people are not able to set aside some time and inform themselves on boss strategies, then we will skip the bosses people are uninformed on.  Please do your best to not let the team down; if we are all aiming at heroic progression then we need to be open to a little more responsibility and effort.


Gabestah's Guide

Sha of Fear: 10M

To join our guild for regular Terrace of Endless Springs raids, you must have an average item level of at least 485+ (absolutely no PvP gear). Raiding requirements can be found through the "raiding requirements" label on the left-hand side of the guild blog. I am providing you with two options to inform yourself on the strategy for Sha of Fear: by the video posted below or the notes included in the link below. If you opt to watch the video guide, be sure to take notes. If you'd rather read the strategy, here is the link:

Sha of Fear: 10M

Mists of Pandaria is a new challenge for Perpetual.  I would like for us to strive for excellence.  I will start to ensure that everyone does their fair share and informs themselves well on the strategy.  We are in a guild that promotes a team-oriented raiding atmosphere and it is only fair that everyone is well-informed.  Having to explain boss intel before fights takes up too much time.  If I find that people are not able to set aside some time and inform themselves on boss strategies, then we will skip the bosses people are uninformed on.  Please do your best to not let the team down; if we are all aiming at heroic progression then we need to be open to a little more responsibility and effort.


Gabestah's Guide