I remember, as a kid, being bet $5 by my parent's friend that I couldn't reach level 100 in Stealth ATF Fighter .. this was by no measure to be considered a small feat during the time where many games didn't have the option to "continue" after your 3 lives were up. It would obviously be a frustrating time for anyone to try to play for that long without dying and even then, even if you were on lvl 99, if your last life was consumed, it was over.
I promptly one-shot it. $5 = 10 Jack In The Box tacos these days. Clearly a significant sum of money for a child. (Though I had not yet discovered the wonder that is Jack In The Box)
Not only was there the monetary reward, but the sense of accomplishment, even for something as simple as reaching level 100 on a C rated, repetative, yet rare Nintendo game is something that I have carried through life as an example of my resolve, as an example of a time when I exemplified the word tattooed on my right wrist: Perseverance
(Aha! You knew this would find a way to tie into WoW!)
Brief rundown:
Starting Wednesday night, the guild ventured forth into Icecrown Citadel. Little did anyone know just how much we all wanted to win this.
After being told "we couldn't" for long enough, I had grown very anxious to prove the naysayers wrong. There was much drama that ensued when the vast majority of Requiem of Decay decided it best to come over to Perseverance. There were many upset people (who conveniently were NOT invited due to their severe, SEVERE mental incapability) and there were /whisper Kelenya's that said we'd NEVER see the inside of ICC and our guild would FAIL.There were times that real life kept several members away, and still does, and we went through a period where things were very stagnant in the early parts of our conception.
Those whispers haunted me. Everytime I logged on I was always afraid to look at our guild log and find a mass exodus, the same way we had done to Requiem of Decay. I really believed we had the right foundation, I just couldn't imagine them wanting to continue to pay for content they were never seeing. (No matter how awesome we are)
Fast Forward:
Recruiting has been done, officers have been appointed (very good ones, I might add) and the guild is observing a far more regular schedule. This week: Wednesday/Thursday Icecrown Citadel 10 man.
I don't know what the expectations of everyone were. We'd taken a few pokes, unsuccessful pokes, at Lord Marrowgar (that usually ended up somehow landing right back in our OWN eyes). While I feel like the videos and information Shannon had posted were insanely useful, I didn't really know if everyone would adhere to the coordination that is required to down that encounter. (Plus, not everyone will go to the Guild Portal site....some refuse...) In the end, Lord Marrowgar lay in a heap of bones on the floor after only one attempt. A one-shot. I felt very good about this, and even though that big three-headed asshole didn't drop my axe, I was happy to see that the loot that was being dealt out was stuff that was useful to people.
On to Lady Deathwhisper, this is where the resolve, dedication, and communication of this group REALLY showed through to me. (This is also where I began to realize that the illness I had was actually SUPERAIDSARRHEA and I was gunna start having trouble soon) I didn't keep track, I don't know how many times we failed, but no one, NO ONE even suggested calling the raid and trying again some other time. After every attempt it was "What did we do wrong? What can we do different? Who DID put the bump in the bump-dee-bumpty-bump?" By the time we were finished with that, we did it so easily that I could definitely see us downing that fight as well on a weekly basis.
Next up: Lootshi...er Gunship Battle! The same process that had taken place on Lady Deathwhisper took place here, but with less failures. After each attempt there was discussion about what we could do differently or what mechanic we weren't doing so good at. In the end, Skybreaker sank to the ground (as aforementioned, with Kelenya's mangled body onboard)...and the party arrived at Deathbringer's Rise to face Deathbringer Saurfang.
Deathbringer Saurfang was NOT an easy fight, and the first night, as it got later, we didn't finish it....we decided that while we were progressing, we had far overachieved our expectations for the night and we'd come back on Thursday and attempt him.
I went to bed Wednesday night very proud of the progress we'd made. I always knew in my heart of heart's that we could do this despite what I'd been told. I wanted to believe it...they gave me what I wanted: proof that my desires were realizations.
Thursday morning came. (Sadly...FYI..Douglas Adams has proclaimed that the world will end on a Thursday...) I spent part of my morning looking at video of the Deathbringer Saurfang encounter and reading up on it. (Then aptly posted this information on Guild Portal!) Time passed, I got home, we did Vault of Archavon while waiting for our snuggly-wuggly chicken-bear-dude, Twinleaf, to show up.....and then we got back after it.
We really struggled on that fight. We failed time and time again...but the true perseverance of Perseverance (lol! That will never get old) shone through. No matter how many times we tried, we always seemed to be willing to try again and try something else...even to the extent of one of our members swapping toons for the sake of the group on that run.
Right before the final attempt, I remember Neytiry saying with great confidence, "We've got this next time guys."
Every attempt seemed to get us closer, and we engaged for the final time that night. The mechanics of the fight were being handled well, everyone was doing appropriate DPS, and the tanks were getting healed well.
I heard Anodomini's voice at 30%, "Keep it up guys."
15%, "Good job guys, keep it up, we've got this."
9%, there is a ball in my throat the size of the state I was born in. (If you don't know, it's a rather large state...)
Scrolled all the way out at 4%, I'm looking at what's going on. The ranged DPS are frantically scrambling about trying to avoid but kill the adds. The healers are now in a constant spam of big heals on our tanks....
I glance back to Deathbringer Saurfang just in time to see the achievement for downing him and clearing that wing of the Citadel pop up. Immediately, my face buried itself in my hands. Emotions wracked my body as I thought about each and every member of the raid and how well I've grown to know them each individually. This was a well fought, hard sought after, extremely profound victory for our "little guild".
From a group of players who were told they couldn't, to a group of players that DID...and all along the way, strengthening friendships forged over the little chat room with a theme, World of Warcraft. :o)
Having done this only proves that we can continue to. The sense of accomplishment is huge. The pride I have in our members is unparalleled ... I can think of no better name for a guild that exhibited the traits these guys have in the last couple of days than the one we have:
Perseverance
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