After running out of raiding time the previous evening, we came back tonight to show Deathbringer Saurfang the power of Pi.

Unfortunately, even in defeat, Saurfang was reluctant to allow us entry to the upper spire and we must wait another 28 days before further content becomes available to us.

The loot drops and winners were as follows:

• Bazzár - Protector's Mark of Sanctification
• Flatbanker - Deathbringer's Will
• Squishypop - Vanquisher's Mark of Sanctification

Over the years Blizzard has created a number of encounters designed to slow down Guild progress. None can be so frustrating as 'Additional instances cannot be launched'.

On a night when we had every opportunity to make some real progress, we were hamstrung by the deficiencies in Blizzard's infrastructure.

Nevertheless, when we were finally able to get going, we did make the best of what little time we had available to us.

First to fall was Lord Marrowgar, an easy opening encounter that went down at the first attempt. Congratulations to go to the following members in receipt of loot:

• Anubii - Band of the Bone Colossus
• Dutchess - Frozen Bonespike
• Pancâke - Loop of the Endless Labyrinth

Following the demise of Lord Marrowgar we moved on to Lady Deathwhisper.

This boss provided a step up in difficulty level which took a couple of attempts to get the balance between burning down her Mana Shield and dealing with the waves of adds right. However the adjustments made between attempts provided us with another easy take down.

Loot drops to follow soon.

The next encounter, the Icecrown Gunship Battle, provided some great entertainment, free loot and a reminder that careless talk costs lives. In future please do NOT talk to NPCs that trigger events!

Loot drops to follow soon.

At this point I should be reporting on the demise of the final encounter in this wing of the Icecrown Citadel. Unfortunately due to the loss of raiding time Deathbringer Saurfang will have to wait for another day.

Another one bites the dust and this time it's Lord Jaraxxus going down at the Trial of the Grand Crusader.

Once again congratulations to everyone who was there and congratulations go to the following members in receipt of loot:

• Ashadel - Ring of the Darkmender
• BiggRed - Cuirass of Calamitous Fate
• Gramps - Charge of the Demon Lord

Just one week after the formation of Eta Beta Pi, the Northrend Beasts went down in 25 player heroic mode. (Mouse over the picture to the left and click for a larger screenshot.)

The kill was almost flawless in execution and an indication that Eta Beta Pi has already started to work well as a raiding team.

Congratulations to everyone who was there and a big thank you goes to those that stood out. Lord Jaraxxus now awaits us and hopefully he will be dispatched with the same efficiency this week before the reset.

The loot drops and the lucky recipients were as follows:

• Lipala - Crystal Plated Vanguard
• Nyvea - Flowing Vestments of Ascent
• Visharel - Steel Bladebreaker

Welcome to the new home of Eta Beta Pi, an Alliance World of Warcraft Guild playing on Burning Blade(EU).

We are a combined force of ex-non compos mentis members who have migrated from Trollbane (Alliance) and members of The Triad who have faction changed from the Horde side on Burning Blade.

If you arrived here via the noncomposmentis-guild.com URL please note that this has now been replaced with a new URL, etabetapi-guild.com. At some point in the future the ncm URL will be dropped.

You should also note that the old non compos mentis forums are now closed and have been replaced with a brand new forum. All Eta Beta Pi Guild members are required to register on the forums. Visitors are also most welcome.

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As we're now getting closer to the release of 3.3.0, we wanted to talk about our plans for access progression within Icecrown Citadel. Icecrown Citadel is going to be broken up into four distinct sections: The Lower Spire, Plagueworks, Crimson Hall, and Frostwing Halls. We plan on releasing these four sections of Icecrown Citadel over time and not all immediately when patch 3.3.0 goes live. At this point we can't give precise dates for these release dates as they are determined by when patch 3.3.0 goes live. Once dates are known with more certainty, I'll update the community so they can plan appropriately.

The first section that opens will include the Lord Marrowgar, Lady Deathwhisper, Icecrown Gunship Battle, and Deathbringer Saurfang encounters. Progress beyond that point will be prevented for several weeks. Then the Plagueworks will open with Rotface, Festergut, and Professor Putricide becoming available. After another period of time, the Crimson Hall will open and you can then fight the Blood Princes and Blood-Queen Lana'thel. The final Frostwing Halls unlock then occurs after that, making Valithria Dreamwalker, Sindragosa, and the Lich King available. We believe a staggered release of the content will allow players to experience Icecrown Citadel at a sustainable, measured, and ultimately more enjoyable pace.

There are other elements that gate access along the way. Players may not attempt any Heroic versions of 10 player encounters until they have defeated the Lich King in a 10 player raid. Similarly, players must defeat the Lich King in a 25 player raid before they can attempt a Heroic 25 player encounter. So players must master every normal difficulty encounter in Icecrown Citadel before attempting Heroic difficulty.

The Lich King may not be attempted until Professor Putricide, Blood-Queen Lana'thel, and Sindragosa are defeated. Furthermore, the Heroic difficulty of The Lich King encounter may not be attempted in any week unless the three aforementioned encounters have been defeated in Heroic difficulty that week.

The Ashen Verdict provides reinforcements and material for players to assault Icecrown Citadel, but this support is not endless. Raids will have a limited number of attempts total each week to defeat the four most difficult encounters in Icecrown Citadel: Professor Putricide, Blood-Queen Lana'thel, Sindragosa, and the Lich King. As these boss encounters are unlocked, the number of attempts available per week will increase. The initial number of attempts provided for defeating Professor Putricide is only five. When Blood-Queen Lana'thel unlocks, the amount of total attempts remaining will increase to 10. Then when Sindragosa and the Lich King unlock, 15 total attempts will be available to defeat all four bosses. After a raid has exhausted their attempts for the week, the Ashen Verdict must withdraw their support and the four most difficult bosses all despawn and become unavailable for the week. The limited attempt system is a feature of both Normal and Heroic difficulty.

There will be no explicit rewards for defeating the Lich King with a specific number of attempts remaining as there was with Trial of the Grand Crusader. There will also not be an achievement to complete Icecrown Citadel without being defeated by a boss encounter, or letting a raid member die. (i.e. A Tribute to Insanity).

In the weeks and months after all twelve encounters are unlocked, additional attempts against the final four boss encounters become available. This represents the Ashen Verdict growing more powerful and gaining a stronger foothold in Icecrown Citadel. To further help raids, Varian Wrynn and Garrosh Hellscream will begin to provide assistance by inspiring the armies attacking Icecrown Citadel. This is represented as an additional zone wide spell effect applied to all players that will increase their hit points, damage dealt, and healing done. This effect will also increase in effectiveness over time. Players may opt out of the spell's effect if they so wish.