25 - Military Wing Down

I somehow managed to get into a guild Naxx run. This is rare since I never seem to be on at the right time or there are more serious people already on, filling the raid. Anyway, we were doing 25-man and I was prot.

It was fun.

Trash.
Instructor Razuvious was a little dull for me. My job was to tank one of the adds away from the group. Easy and simple, but at least I had a clear view of the zerg near the boss. We one-shot him thanks to our priests getting it right on their first try, some were new to the fight.
Trash.
Gothik the Harvester was really fun to tank. I was on dead side. At one point we had to yell at the live side to slow DPS for a sec so we could catch up. Our DPS was fine, but we tanks were getting worried with so many mobs all at once. We got him the first try.
Trash.
Four-horsemen were a challenge. We didn't fully understand the fight and it's a bit weird to hear without seeing. Still, after about five tries, they finally died. The second or third to last try it was just me and the boss with about 9k health. I hadn't noticed everyone else die and vent was pretty quiet, so I just went on with my normal routine of healing myself while others did pew pew. Looking back, I probably could have killed him. Pop my bubble, shield, shield, hammer of the righteous, hammer of justice, shield, shield, pop LoH if he's still not dead... I felt silly after that. Unfortunately this fight was pretty boring for me. I was a back tank, which really just meant throw on healing gear and distract the bosses from AoEing the raid. I entertained myself by throwing around sacred shields, which might have helped out a bit.

Gear-wise, not a pinata for me. The tanking mace dropped from 4H, but it was a much bigger upgrade for one of the warriors, so I passed it to him. I said need in chat, then inspected, then said approximately "I pass, his weapon is terrible."

The fights were definitely different from the 40-man. I never actually did it at 60, but I did a few times at 70 and I think I can figure out what the fights were supposed to be. So, I guess I have three experiences: 40@70, 25@80, and what I was supposed to have seen with 40@60.

Instructor Razuvious: At 70 we just tanked him with a warrior and I took the all the adds away. We only have maybe 15 people, so not enough priests. At 80 I think it's a lot closer to the intent at 60, with priests and MC being the tank. This fight translated very well I think. Apparently in 10-man there are MC orbs, not quite the same, but it works.

Gothik the Harvester: Seemed about the same as at 70, except more difficult. The number of spawns seemed to be about the same, which makes it more interesting with fewer tanks. However we do have much better AoE now, so it works out. I have no idea of the 10-man.

Four Horsemen: Eh. There was clearly not a 5-8 tank rotation. Honestly it looked more like two tanks alternating mobs while a few healers distracted the casters in the back. Overall it had a feel a lot more like perhaps Thaddius with the individual side switches. This fight did not translate well. However I must concede that this may be a good thing. Needing 8 tanks, at the time of all one class, out of 40 people, was a really awful idea. Now it's much better balanced with two tanks and a choice of four different classes for them.

Overall it was a fun night. Not too many wipes. No loot, but I don't care too much. Loot will come, and besides, I'm still in the phase of enjoying the experience. I'm looking forward to getting into more runs in the future.