As previously announced and hinted at, attendence for our weekly 25-man raiding has been dropping off and dwindling for some time.  Last night was the second night with only 15 members online, definitely not enough for a 25-man raid, and arguably too small to even both pugging.

As such, due to the general lack of interest, we are suspending the 25-man raid schedule for the time being.  Once Cataclysm is released, or if the interest level changes, we will re-evaluate, but for now this frees up everyone's schedule and opens up another night for the 10-man teams to progress.  EPGP values will remain in place, until we decide if we will be continuing with it into the Cataclysm expansion.

Separately, we have completed our testing of the new Mumble voice system (the alternative to Ventrillo).  Reviews from the guild are practically unanimous, the quality is better and the latency is virtually non-existent, both of which are big benefits.  In addition, the montly cost is $1-2 cheaper than ventrillo.  The end result is that our existing Ventrillo server will be discontinued at the end of our current contract period (8/18/2010), and the guild will be using Mumble from now on.  Please reference this Forum thread for full configuration details.

Winteraven has offered the use of his own Ventrillo service, in the rare occasions where we need to use Vent again (for example, with large pug groups).  As soon as I have those details, I will post them.

With regards to Team1, it appears that the pre-Cataclysm lull has affected it as well.  With Mahnamahna and Picmynose both unavailable for raiding, the team finds itself without a Team Captain, and without tanks.  If anyone cares to take over the leadership, please let Snivel/Jjenn now asap, otherwise for the time being consider Team1 to be disbanded.  Members are welcome to join in as substitutes or full members on Team2 and Team3 as they desire, or enjoy some down time before the new grind begins.  Team Captains, be aware of the new crop of eligable members for your raiding needs.

Right now, many of you have noticed that the game is in a lull, with little new content and a long period before that changes.  Ruby Sanctum has been out for a month now, which Blizzard has announced is the last content patch before Cataclysm.  And Cataclysm, although still confirmed to be out "within 2010" has no firm release date yet.  It could be as early as next month, or as late at December, or even slip into next year if the beta has issues.  All we know for now is that it will be a while, and that Warcraft is in a drought of content.

As a result, some of the runs we normally have scheduled will no doubt go into hibernation at some point.  Team1 is basically at that stage already, unless a new captain cares to volunteer.  Most likely, the 25-man raid will be suspended soon as well.  Neither is anyone's fault, it is simply the natural progression when content dries up, the interest starts to wane.  The 25-man seems to be more of a lack of interest in attendence for the guild.  Team1 is more of a "been there, done that" mentality.

With that said however, Teams 2 and 3 are still going strong, and likely might be able to expand their raid nights and teams.  Both teams are still working hard on their defeats of the Lich King, and both teams are sitting matched at 10/12 bosses defeated.

As one effort fades, another takes priority.  I would encourage all guild members to help out as much as possible with both teams, and assist them in reaching the goal of the Lich King.  If you have alts, advice, or just words of encouragement, it can all help get another 20 characters thru to the Kingslayer achievement.

As part of our ongoing efforts to test out Mumble as a replacement for Ventrillo, I am asking all guild members who will be attending the next 25-man raid on Tuesday, August 3, to have Mumble loaded.  The installation and configuration is pretty simple, you can find full details and instructions HERE, along with download links.  We will be using Mumble for the run, with the full raid, to make sure that the performance is the same in large groups.  Your assistance in making sure that we do not delay the raid unnecessarily is appreciated.

Congrats to Team2, for a first time kill of Blood-Queen Lana'thel.  This brings the team up to an impressive 10/12, and tied for progression with team3 again.  Both teams are now working on Sindragosa, attempting to reach the Lich King.  Understanding the difficulties team2 has had with attendence and member reliability makes their victory all the sweeter.  Congrats, and keep up the good work.

It has been suggested that we test out the Mumble Voice Chat software, as an alternative to Ventrillo, based on a recent article on WoW.com.  Basically, Mumble is considered to be much lower latency, meaning when you chat, we hear it much faster.  Right now with Ventrillo, we frequently call out to "move out of the fire", and the person is dead before it comes thru on Vent.  Mumble supposedly doesnt have as much of an issue, which is why it is much more popular in the first-person shooter arena and other pvp based games.

There is also a slight cost savings, on the order of $2 per month, to use Mumble instead of Vent, though the software for everyone is still free.

At this time, consider this optional.  We will be testing it out in a couple of the 10-man runs, coordinate with your Team Lead if you are interested in trying it out.  The deadline for testing and a decision is August 10, in order to catch our billing cycle, if needed.

For details on our test server settings, and to download the software, as well as provide your feedback, use this Forum posting.

Team2 had a strong night last night, with their first successful kill of the Blood Princes encounter.  This brings their total up to 8/12 bosses of ICC, and in a good position to make significant progress forward.  In addition, they managed to bring the Blood Queen down to 20%, only a short distance from another new kill.  Kudos all around.

Congratulations to Team1, for a Guild First Kill of Halion and defeat of the Ruby Sanctum, on 10-man. The fight cost Morggan her life twice, and a few others once, but in the end, the overgrown pink dragon was no match for the might of Juggernauts.

Although we had a smaller than expected turn out (only 10-15 managed to show), we had a productive guild meeting on Friday.  Hopefully we covered most of the concerns everyone had, and we have a clear picture of the weeks ahead.  For those who missed the meeting, I have posted the cliff notes version in the Forums.  Feel free to respond or comment there as well.