Hello there Internet!

Y'all may have logged in and seen that things are very, very quiet around these parts. We're not out there hunting the poor rabbits of Azeroth, no, unfortunately we're not out there very often at all.

You'll still hear the occasional Wimper. And Quessir, and SVX. Doing their PVP thing. And Camaron's still trying to get more achievements than Alphalaxer. And the Canadians may be trying to console themselves after that embarrassing first round exit of their favorite hockey puck thingy team. But most of us have departed this world of raid finder pick up groups. Deathwing can have the place.

Some of us are playing Borderlands, Aion, League of Legends, SW-Tor, and anxiously awaiting Diablo III. And many of us seem to meet-up on the Vent server - you'll honestly find more people there than in-game most nights.

Inevitably some will be back on board to play a panda, for others, the game has lost its luster, and the bloom may be forever off this rose.

Either way, Quessir's currently holding down the GM fort, so hit him up if you need something, something...

UD4Life,

- Resj

The 12 Days of Warcraft Christmas (From an Alliance perspective)

On the first day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me,
A daily quest near the world tree!

On the second day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…two brutal nerfs,
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the third day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…a three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs,
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the fourth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs,
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the fifth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me, FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the sixth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the seventh day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…seven farmers farming
Six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the eighth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…eight measly gold
Seven farmers farming,
Six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the ninth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…nine more daily quests,
Eight measly gold,
Seven farmers farming,
Six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!
On the tenth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…ten buggy bosses
Nine more daily quests,
Eight measly gold,
Seven farmers farming,
Six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…eleven hours of wiping,
Ten buggy bosses,
Nine more daily quests,
Eight measly gold,
Seven farmers farming,
Six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Blizzard gave to me…twelve recycled dungeons
Eleven hours of wiping,
Ten buggy bosses,
Nine more daily quests,
Eight measly gold,
Seven farmers farming,
Six losing BG’s,
FIVE! GANKING! HORDE!
Four failed pugs,
A three day forum ban,
Two brutal nerfs
And a daily quest near the world tree!

Merry Christmas everyone!

-Rahnir

Ragnaros, we're coming for you!

In typical UD fashion we seemed to have picked the most difficult fights to perfect first. We got Shannox and Beth'tilec pre nerf - after a pretty meager amount of solid attempts on each. Since then, like it was predicted, the bosses have been dropping like flies.

Walking a mile in Rhyolith's shoes was a walk in the park. Three shot

All we needed for Alysrazor was a little practice tornado dancing. Five shot.

Fly you fools! Right on past Baleroc who provided no problems what-so-ever. Three shot, and the second attempt produced a 31k hp wipe.

Majordomo Staghelm - Majordeado. Three shot.

Ragnaros - your time is soon

-Ben / Resj

And take those mucky boots off! I don’t want you tracking spider guts into the house!

It took hours. It took days. It took blood, sweat and rage. It took getting overrun by tiny little bugs. And it took falling down from webs when we stepped in the bad stuff. But, in the end, we made a boss dead. Be proud United Defense. We are now officially exterminators of the arachnid variety. Tales will be told of this day for ages to come. When you’re regaling your grandchildren with stories from the good old days of sitting in front of your computer on a video game with your internet friends, you will tell them that you killed the biggest spider you had ever seen. And it was on fire. And you did all walking uphill. In the snow. Wearing your oldest, dingiest sweatpants. AND YEH DERN RITE LIKED IT THAT WAY!

Take in the glory.

Next up...a big rock dude. Which should be weak against my Vaporeon.

-Rahnir

Shannox is dead, many, many more to follow

After several >5% wipes, we finally downed our first boss in Firelands. " Just our first boss?" you say, "after all this time?" Valid question - but remember this was only our third real trip into Firelands together as a group, and only our second night of solid attempts on Shannox. Our first night of attempts saw several >5% wipes as well, primarily due to the fact that neither night were we able to bring a heroism. On our kill, an epic one last man standing nail-biter, we survived five magma ruptures - you're really not supposed to be able to do that.

Additionally, and more importantly, I thoroughly believe that this kill is a harbinger of great things to come. Recently United Defense has been bolstered by the return of some old friends like Servet and Vahlanos (and some silly warlock who just hit 85!) as well as seen some solid new additions arrive like Cupquake. We've spent the time necessary farming old content to get geared up, we've been running Firelands dailies like mad, we've been crafting the new epic gear, we've been farming our valor and justice points. We also have a stable roster that provides Miracleblade with some options, multiple heals, tanks and dps. In short, we are ready.

As such, we intend to make both Monday and Wednesday night raid nights = Firelands raid nights. We've seen enough of BWD, BOT, and To4W. We'll go back there and romp through from time to time to gear up folks who need it, but our progression focus is now solidly fixed on the elemental plane of fire. As such, it's time to educate yourselves. Look to these message boards this week for thorough boss strategies and tactics. Fill out those empty slots and be sure you've done everything you can to maximize your dps/hps. Free up your commitments for Monday and Wednesday night. It's on.

Ragnaros, here we come.

-Ben / Resj