Guild:The League (Sentinels US)

Guild Information

 * Server: US-Sentinels
 * Faction: Horde
 * Focus: PvE, large-group (25s) raiding
 * Guild Administrator: Peitho Pon'dera
 * Guild Officers: Athidus, Craatus, Domar, Eladren, Evelinda, Luinil, Orcossax, Pander, Phicossax, Reeman
 * Formed: November 19, 2007
 * More Info: 

Guild History
 was formed in mid-November, 2007, with the intention of reorganizing many of the Horde's leading raidfolk under a new banner. Most of the initial membership were previously members of , and  was started to preserve much of the progress of that former group after its dissolution. Since its founding, the guild has attracted many of the faction's most accomplished raidfolk, including folk from former guilds , , , , and .

From inception,  has been built and administered toward large-group raid progression. Along the way, we've developed effective systems, learned more than a few lessons, and enjoyed modest success in reaching our raid progression goals.

The Early Days: Zul'Aman and Tier-5
During a short period of recovery from the upheaval which accompanies guild dissolution and reformation, the guildfolk focused on the relatively new challenges in Zul'Aman, netting several realm-first accomplishments therein. After a period of recruitment, the guild quickly picked up where  had left off, with Horde-leading progress in Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep, dispatching both of Illidan's lieutenants.

Accomplishments

 * realm-first Zul'jin kill
 * realm-first second and third timed chests
 * realm-first Amani War Bear (Pander)
 * Horde-first kills of Leotheras the Blind, Morogrim Tidewalker, Fathom-Lord Karathress, and Lady Vashj
 * Horde-first kills of Al'ar, High Astromancer Solarian, and Kael'thas Sunstrider
 * first and only Horde group to complete The Vials of Eternity before attunement removal

The Crusade: Tier-6
After unlocking access to the venues of Hyjal Summit and the Black Temple,  made steady progress through both venues, accumulating Horde-first kills of each of the opponents therein. The guild's progress remained significantly behind that of the leading Alliance raiding groups, owing to some personnel turnover and the relative scarcity of skilled and dedicated raidfolk on the Horde side of the realm. Overcoming these challenges and continuing to make steady progress towards Illidan administered some valuable lessons on personnel management, and several policies and systems were updated along the way to better serve the whole of the guildfolk. After dispatching Archimonde on March 13, 2008,  achieved the Horde's first kill of Illidan on May 19, and on our 23rd kill of the fellow (October 29), the rogue Krothius received the only Horde-side Warglaive of Azzinoth obtained before the release of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.

Accomplishments

 * Horde-first kills of Rage Winterchill, Anetheron, Kaz'rogal, Azgalor, and Archimonde
 * Horde-first kills of High Warlord Naj'entus, Supremus, Shade of Akama, Teron Gorefiend and Gurtogg Bloodboil
 * Horde-first kills of Reliquary of Souls, Mother Shahraz, Illidari Council, and Illidan Stormrage
 * first and only Horde-side Warglaive of Azzinoth (Krothius)

The Brick Wall: Fury of the Sunwell
After traveling the Tier-6 venues for several weeks,  made its first forays into the final content area of the game's first expansion, the Sunwell Plateau. As with many guilds behind the leading edge of progression, we found the challenge level of the encounters in the place to be a stiff obstacle to achieving much, and for several months, we settled for clears of the trash packs before the first boss and focused on clearing the Tier-6 venues to obtain maximal gear levels. Eventually, the guild was able to defeat the Kalecgos event, earning a Horde first on August 17, 2008. Moving beyond to Brutallus proved extremely difficult for the group, as the encounter tuning and raid structure of the time required a significant amount of class stacking to provide much chance of success. With the low population of the realm and our inability to field the precise raid group structure required to progress, the guild and its folk had reached a crossroads. Several folks opted to step away from the game, and those who remained contented themselves with routine clears of the Tier-6 venues each week. A similar strain had been felt on the Alliance-side of the realm, and the prominent raiding guilds and  on that side dissolved during this time, with members transferring or leaving the game. With some recruiting and a few members changing roles, we managed to keep the group together and looking forward to the forthcoming expansion.

With the introduction of the Patch 3.0.2 game version on October 14, the addition of new talent trees and the significant reductions in the health of opponents at last opened the doors to progress in Sunwell Plateau for the guild. Shortly thereafter,  became the first and only group to defeat the final four opponents of the venue, albeit with the caveat that the kills took place "post-nerf". While awaiting the expansion, the guild notched a total of four clears of the first expansion's final content area, carrying some momentum into Wrath of the Lich King.

Accomplishments

 * Horde-first kill of Kalecgos (pre-3.0.2)
 * Horde-first kill of Brutallus (post-3.0.2)
 * realm-first kills of Felmyst, Eredar Twins, M'uru, and Kil'jaeden (all post-3.0.2)
 * only raid group to complete Sunwell Plateau prior to second expansion release

A New Dawn: Wrath of the Lich King
The arrival of the retail release of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion (November 13, 2008) began a new era for <The League>. From the ashes of the Burning Crusade expansion, the guild entered the new frontier of Northrend with a fair amount of optimism. The first days of the expansion focused on advancement to level 80 and saw many of the Realm First achievements gained by the guild membership. Several folks who had taken a break during the Sunwell struggles returned, and the group moved quickly to become ready to tackle the newly-available Tier-7 raid areas. Scarcely a week after release, members of <The League> entered Naxxramas's 10-person version and over the three days of November 21-23 became the first folks on the realm to defeat each of its opponents, along with realm-first 10s slayings of Sartharion and Archavon the Stone Watcher. The guild capped off the 10s achievements with the realm-first defeat of Malygos-10 on November 24.

The arrival of the expansion had also brought about a resurgence in Alliance-side raiding on US-Sentinels, with the return of <Acies> and the arrival of <Abaddon>, a group of folks largely new to the realm. Several of the folks from the Alliance raiding scene banded together to make the first forays into the 25-person versions of the Tier-7 venues, including many of the early large-group Naxxramas progression kills. Their kill of Sartharion on November 28, accompanied by the Realm First! Obsidian Slayer server announcement, served to galvanize the members of <The League> into taking up the pursuit of the large-group raiding scene more rapidly than planned.

Several members who had been leveling at a leisurely pace quickened their efforts, and the guild's first 25-person group in the new expansion was fielded on December 3, with a realm-first kill of Patchwerk. The following day, <The League>'s raidfolk notched the realm-first kills of the remaining three opponents in The Construct Quarter, Sapphiron and Kel'Thuzad. That last earned the members present the Realm First! Conqueror of Naxxramas achievement and corresponding title. A few days later, on December 7, the 25-person version of Malygos was defeated for the first time on the realm, earning those guildfolk the Realm First! Magic Seeker achievement. The guild went on to accumulate realm-first defeats of Sartharion in his two- and three-drake versions on both 10- and 25-person variants, as well as the server's first completion of the Glory of the Raider (10 player) meta-achievement. Only an inopportune Kel'Thuzad mind-control death at 3% of an attempt at The Immortal (achievement) prevented a guild completion of the 25-player meta-achievement before the drake rewards were removed with Patch 3.1.0.

Accomplishments

 * realm-first clears of The Arachnid Quarter (10 player), The Military Quarter (10 player), The Plague Quarter (10 player), and The Construct Quarter (10 player)
 * realm-first kills of 10-person Sapphiron and Kel'Thuzad
 * realm-first kills of 10-person Sartharion, Archavon the Stone Watcher, and Malygos
 * realm-first completion of The Twilight Zone (10 player) and Glory of the Raider (10 player)
 * Horde-first kills of 25-person The Arachnid Quarter (25 player), The Military Quarter (25 player), and The Plague Quarter (25 player)
 * realm-first kills of 25-person The Construct Quarter (25 player) and Sapphiron
 * Realm First! Conqueror of Naxxramas and Realm First! Magic Seeker
 * realm-first completion of The Twilight Zone (25 player)

The Titans: Secrets of Ulduar
With a solid position as the leading progression guild on the realm, <The League> renewed its focus with the introduction of Ulduar on April 14, 2009. The guild continued its progress with realm-first kills of many of the normal-difficulty opponents in the Titan stronghold on both 10- and 25-person versions, culminating with defeats of Yogg-Saron-10 on May 1, and the large-group version two days later. The guild then looked towards the hard-mode versions of the events, securing realm-first completions of all but one 10-person hard-mode event and all of the 25-person hard-modes. On July 6, Evelinda was the first person on the realm to complete the Val'anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings construction quest for her legendary healing mallet. <The League> became the first group to gain access to Algalon the Observer (25) on October 1, and a short while later, became the first group to defeat him, earning the Realm First! Celestial Defender for those intrepid souls present. Members of the guild were also the realm's first to complete Glory of the Ulduar Raider (10 player) and Glory of the Ulduar Raider (25 player) to earn their proto-drake mounts.

Considerably later, following triumphs in the Crusader's Coliseum and Icecrown Citadel, <The League> returned to Ulduar to defeat the 25-player version of Yogg-Saron without the assistance of the Keepers, earning the Realm First! Death's Demise achievement on March 14th, 2010.

Accomplishments

 * realm-first kills of 10-person XT-002 Deconstructor, The Antechamber of Ulduar (10 player), The Keepers of Ulduar (10 player), and The Descent into Madness (10 player)
 * realm-first hard-mode kills of 10-person XT-002 Deconstructor, Assembly of Iron, Hodir, Thorim, Freya, Mimiron, and General Vezax.
 * realm-first completions of Three Lights in the Darkness (10 player), Two Lights in the Darkness (10 player), and One Light in the Darkness (10 player)
 * realm-first kill of 10-person Algalon the Observer
 * realm-first completion of Glory of the Ulduar Raider (10 player)
 * realm-first kills of 25-person Razorscale, XT-002 Deconstructor, The Antechamber of Ulduar (25 player), The Keepers of Ulduar (25 player), and The Descent into Madness (25 player)
 * realm-first completion of Val'anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings (Evelinda)
 * realm-first hard-mode kills of 25-person Flame Leviathan, XT-002 Deconstructor, Assembly of Iron, Hodir, Thorim, Freya, Mimiron, and General Vezax.
 * realm-first completions of Three Lights in the Darkness (25 player), Two Lights in the Darkness (25 player), and One Light in the Darkness (25 player)
 * Realm First! Celestial Defender
 * realm-first completion of Glory of the Ulduar Raider (25 player)
 * Realm First! Death's Demise

Passing Time: Call of the Crusade
The release of game version 3.2.0 in August 2009 heralded the arrival of new content in the form of the Crusader's Coliseum. The slow pace of content rollout in this new venue prompted the Leaguefolk to continue to spend much of their raiding time in Ulduar, though each normal-difficulty event in the Coliseum was swiftly dispatched as it became available. With the defeat of Anub'arak in the 10- and 25-person normal versions, the guild gained access to the slightly-more-challenging heroic versions of the events, achieving realm-first 10-person kills of Northrend Beasts, Twin Val'kyr, and Anub'arak, along with realm-first 25-person kills of the first four events.

The absurd tuning and performance requirements of the 25-person Anub'arak event proved too much to overcome at the time, especially given the latency and disconnect issues which even now continue to plague the venue. With little else to pursue, we continued to log attempts on Anub'arak, though without much success. As the months wore on, the four-way lockout of the limited and uninteresting content took its toll on the motivations of the guild to continue traveling it, and the guild was only too happy to move on to Icecrown Citadel when it became available.

Much later, after a realm-first kill of Anub'arak-25 was logged by Abaddon, <The League> returned to the Coliseum to complete a realm-first of A Tribute to Mad Skill (25 player) on June 23, 2010, followed shortly thereafter by the Realm First! Grand Crusader achievement on August 1st.

Accomplishments

 * Horde-first kills of 10-person normal Northrend Beasts, Lord Jaraxxus, Faction Champions, Twin Val'kyr, and Anub'arak
 * realm-first kills of 10-person heroic Northrend Beasts, Twin Val'kyr and Anub'arak
 * realm-first completions of A Tribute to Skill (10 player), A Tribute to Mad Skill (10 player), and A Tribute to Insanity (10 player)
 * Horde-first kills of 25-person normal Faction Champions, Twin Val'kyr, and Anub'arak
 * realm-first kills of 25-person heroic Northrend Beasts, Lord Jaraxxus, Faction Champions, and Twin Val'kyr
 * realm-first completion of A Tribute to Mad Skill (25 player)
 * Realm First! Grand Crusader
 * Horde-first defeat of 10-person Onyxia's Lair (10 player)
 * realm-first defeat of 25-person Onyxia's Lair (25 player)

Wrath's End: Fall of the Lich King
With the introduction of the final major content of the game's second expansion in Patch 3.3.0 on December 8th. 2009, members of <The League> were ready to take the fight to the Lich King's doorstep. As each new wing of the normal-difficulty content was released, the guildfolk quickly learned their intricacies and overcame them. <The League>'s raidfolk earned realm-first kills of all but one of the 10-person event versions, as well as the majority of the 25-person events. This steady progress culminated with a realm-first defeat of the 10-person The Lich King encounter on February 14th, 2010, followed by a similar triumph over the 25-person version on March 11th.

The defeats of Arthas opened up the heroic-difficulty versions, many which the guildfolk found less challenging than they might have hoped. Half of the 10-person heroic events were dispatched in realm-first fashion the week after they became available, and <The League> went on to claim realm-firsts for each of the 10s events, with a triumphant victory over the heroic 10-person The Lich King event on August 3rd, 2010. The 25-person versions of the heroic events proved similar, with the guild claiming realm-firsts for each of the first eleven events from March through June.

Along the way, <The League> completed the first Glory of the Icecrown Raider (10 player) and Glory of the Icecrown Raider (25 player) meta-achievements on the realm, earning frostwing drake mounts for those folk. The retribution paladin Reeman became the first person on the realm to forge the legendary axe Shadowmourne on April 22, 2010, followed thereafter by his counterpart Voronwe.

Accomplishments

 * realm-first kills of Storming the Citadel (10 player), The Plagueworks (10 player), The Crimson Hall (10 player), and 10-person normal Sindragosa
 * realm-first kills of Heroic: Storming the Citadel (10 player), Heroic: The Plagueworks (10 player), Heroic: The Crimson Hall (10 player), and Heroic: The Frostwing Halls (10 player)
 * realm-first defeat of 10-person normal and heroic The Lich King events
 * realm-first kills of 25-person normal Deathbringer Saurfang, Professor Putricide, Blood Prince Council, Blood Queen Lana'thel], [[Valithria Dreamwalker, Sindragosa and The Lich King
 * realm-first kills of Heroic: Storming the Citadel (25 player), Heroic: The Plagueworks (25 player), Heroic: The Crimson Hall (25 player), and Heroic: The Frostwing Halls (25 player)
 * realm-first completions of Glory of the Icecrown Raider (10 player) and Glory of the Icecrown Raider (25 player) achievements
 * realm-first completion of Shadowmourne forging quest (Reeman)