The Minions Marauders entered the Ruby Sanctum for the first time last night.  Unfortunately, we were unable to drop any of the bosses in the time we had allotted for the raid, but we did handle the trash without incident, and we had fun learning the new fights.  Next time we enter the Ruby Sanctum, we will devote a whole evening to learning these fights, and be better prepared to deal with the antics of these two villains.  We expect to clear the Ruby Sanctum before the Cataclysm.  Bring on the dark dragons!

Facing Baltharus the Warborn

Baltharus is a huge pain in the rear with a HARD HITTING whirlwind attack.  He also acquires a mirror image of himself at 50% health.  That was where we ran into problems.  I have no doubt that with some practice, we will be able to drop this guy.

Minions Marauders stare down Saviana Ragefire

As with Baltharus, Saviana proved to be a little tougher than we were expecting.  The Saviana Ragefire fight has some interesting mechanics, which will make dropping her a satisfying victory.  Our best attempt on her was a little worse than our attempts on Baltharus, but Ruby Sanctum is new to us, so we expect some improvement next time we visit..

Professor Putricide is dead!

The Minions Marauders entered ICC 10 with the Lower Spire cleared, and looking for vengeance.  For the last couple of weeks, Professor Putricide has been a brick wall that we just could not get through.  That changed tonight.  After attempts well into phase 3, we saw continuous improvements... 13%, 8%, 7%, and then... DEAD!  This has been a great week for our guild raiders!

I would like to thank our Marauders for their tenacity.  You guys are a fantastic bunch of people, and I take great joy in recognizing your achievement.  Not only did we have one of our fastest trips through the Lower Spire, but we finally got a boss that has given us fits for a while.  We may not be setting realm first records, but you have accomplished a lot in a very short amount of time.  I'm so proud to have you all on the Minions team.  You truly make logging on to World of Warcraft fun, and tonight was particularly special.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all so much!

Azeroth's inhabitants endure a lifetime of struggle and conflict. They're subject to violence from neighboring enemies and rampaging beasts at an early age, and must learn to take up arms to defend themselves against predators. Regularly forced to cope with the deaths of friends, family, and members of their tribes, clans, cities, and guilds, these scarred survivors become stronger by reinforcing their walls, banding together with new allies, and raising sharp, careful, resilient children. They adapt. They change.

Few places on Azeroth exemplify this ever-changing dynamic more than the Twilight Highlands of the Eastern Kingdoms.

New Dungeon: The Ruby Sanctum

The sacred Chamber of the Aspects beneath Wyrmrest Temple has seen kingdoms and armies rise and fall throughout history. For over ten millennia, the dragonflights' five sanctums have remained hallowed ground for dragonkind, undamaged by the chaos of the Demon Soul's creation and protected from the ravages of the Scourge thanks to a rare instance of cooperation between members of all five dragonflights. The red dragonflight, dedicated to the preservation of all life on Azeroth, has been at the heart of a tentative partnership between dragonflights, known as the Wyrmrest Accord, which the red dragons have guided from their sacred Ruby Sanctum. Draconic unity, at least in the face of grave danger, seems a real possibility.

And yet, suspicion has gnawed at all of the dragons of the Wyrmrest Accord from the moment of its creation. Immediately following the events that sparked the Nexus War, the leader of the red dragons, Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, instructed her children to scour the accord for any further evidence of danger from within. The red dragonflight swiftly uncovered the location of a clutch of twilight dragon eggs, the twisted creations of Deathwing the Destroyer, hidden away in the black dragonflight's Obsidian Sanctum.

During a bloody civil war among the three dwarven factions of Ironforge, the Bronzebeards ousted the Wildhammer and the Dark Iron clans from the ancient corridors of the mountain city. In the wake of the defeat, the Wildhammers ventured north and forged a new home, Grim Batol, in the mountains of what is now the Twilight Highlands. However, although they worked tirelessly to create a better future for themselves, the Dark Irons, who established the city of Thaurissan in the Redridge Mountains, could not move beyond the memory of their defeat. Consumed by the desire for revenge and desperate to control the entire dwarven region of Khaz Modan, the Dark Irons led a two-pronged assault on the Bronzebeards in Ironforge and the Wildhammers in Grim Batol. Despite their past differences, these two embattled rivals joined forces and drove the Dark Irons out of Khaz Modan, decimating the armies of the treacherous clan's sorcerer-thane, Thaurissan. Yet victory carried grave consequences. Although Thaurissan's wife and queen, Modgud, was slain during the attack on Grim Batol, her death tainted the mountain fortress. While the Bronzebeards rebuilt their glorious city of Ironforge, the Wildhammers felt forever changed by the horrors they witnessed at Grim Batol. They fled their cursed home and never returned.

Minions Marauders Take Down Rotface

Wednesday night, the Minions Marauders entered Icecrown Citadel for the second week in a row, intent on furthering our raid progression.  We cleared the Lower Spire in about an hour, which was a dramatic improvement over our previous raid.  Additionally, we were able to 1-shot every boss until we got to the Valithria Dreamwalker event.  After two attempts, we agreed to call it a night and try again later in the raid cycle.  More to follow...

Minions Clear the Lower Spire and Defeat Festergut!

Tonight the Minions Marauders entered ICC 10 with a couple of friends from HIRED TO KILL.  We had hopes of getting to Saurfang, but were pleasantly surprised with a 2 attempt kill against Festergut.  Unfortunately, we were bested by his cohort, Rotface, but  the Marauders did get him down to 25%.  We fully expect to get him next week, and progress even further into the Icecrown Citadel.

Trial of the Crusader Cleared

Last night the Minions Marauders entered the Trial of the Crusader and defeated all bosses, including Anub'arak.  While we've already had some success with guild runs into Icecrown Citadel, this particular group of raiders consisted of players who had not completed ToC before.  We were happy for the opportunity to get so many of our players together on a Friday night, especially since most of our students are on Summer break, and are out enjoying social activities with RL friends.  We also made some new friends in a guest help Paladin tank, Rikalli, and a Warlock, Redblueblur, both of whom joined us for this run.  We'd like to extend our thanks to them as well for their contributions to this successful raid.

Twin Peaks

Located within the Twilight Highlands, the Twin Peaks remains a crucial point of high ground for staging effective and debilitating attacks against the black dragonflight and the Twilight's Hammer, who dominate this foreboding environment. And now, two previous occupants of the nearby city of Grim Batol vie once again for control of the peaks' defenses. The Wildhammer clan, architects and original owners of the once-great fortress city, maintains some operations in forested outposts of the highlands. The Wildhammers now call upon heroes of the Alliance to help claim the peaks and fend off the Dragonmaw orcs. The Dragonmaw clan, having spent years working to enslave red dragons, once again provides strategic importance to the Horde. As the Dragonmaw and Wildhammers fight for territory they once called home, the Alliance and Horde carry out the struggle to control the Twin Peaks.

As with Uldaman and Ulduar, Uldum houses one of only a few of the known titan constructions, the existence of which predates that of mortal life on Azeroth. For years historians have explored southern Kalimdor for a means of entry into this ancient titan land, searching for more evidence of Azeroth's origins. But the Cataclysm will change everything, for the façade behind which Uldum has been tucked for millennia will be ruptured, leaving powerful mysteries vulnerable to discovery by the bravest, smartest, or perhaps even most brutal explorers.

The Halls of Origination in Uldum is a level-85 five-player dungeon available in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, featuring an unparalleled journey through the timeless titan construction and seven unique boss fights. Hidden deep within its halls lies an ancient treasure that, if placed in the wrong hands, could endanger all life on Azeroth. Should players survive the perils of Uldum, they will be called to help Brann Bronzebeard unlock the mysteries within these treacherous titan halls and protect the titans' ancient secrets.