I remember A_D on one of his many SP pots should have a longer timer rants saying something like, SP Pots are game breaking. With the willingness to drink enough pots almost any content can be completed. I have always argued that a if a group is going to fail they will fail no matter the number of pots drank, but a few drank can make the quest smoother or help cover an unexpected error or tip fail to win if it is close.

Well last night I drank and drank and drank, guess what? We won. By the skin of our teeth. Let me tell you about the most costly shroud for me yet. It was also one of the best DDO rushes in a long time.

Shroud goes up, Torrance(her name sake Clr), Tobril, Fopo and myself on my ClR (Healzyounot). Everyone but myself checks out and does their own thing for a bit as we fill. Right away the question of difficultly pops up. Looking at the people so far and remembering the shroud I ran the other day on normal I figure what the hell lets do “hard”. Swap the lfm, ask if anyone feels they need to leave, etc….

We get a few more people and off we go. Right away Tor and Tobril smell a problem. There are a lot of 4-5 timers here. And a few worried about doing it on hard. Fuck. I went over this on voice and then changed the lfm. Read the Lfm people.

But we move along smoothly enough. Until part four. Somewhere in the first round Tor takes a double fireball/meteorstorm to the face and is out. And I am the sole healer (drink, drink). When the blades get in the group falls back and fails to reform on me. “I am not playing wack a mole” I yell over mic. “Get in here!” And then there were 5. Think there was Tobril, 2 barbs, a caster and me. Fopo may or maynot also have been alive here too.

Over looking the cat calls as to this being a fail, or a wipe we finish in about 3 rounds. About 13 pots used. I have never drank pots like that before and I don’t plan to again. But I am glad I had them to drink.

Rez who we could and move on.

Part 5 was going well again until the barb I was targeting moved back to wait on a heal and all the others that really needed that heal died. We would rez, and people would run back in with death penalties and then die again. There was a 12/6/2 clr build that had an aura but as he got rezed he would get in before healing up and die. I told him to wait until I could fix him up and then get back in but it was clear that it was about to become Defense Guild does the Shroud. People died and got to the point where is was just Tobril,Tor and I. We rez the whole raid group again but it doesn’t take long before it is just the three of us again. Then Tor gets hit hard and dies. A few times. I have been drinking now any time I can’t cast aka the last 15 mins. And I take a big hit and go down. My DI saves me but the follow up finishes me off. Tor drops and it is Tobril alone with Harry at 5% . Tobril Starts really moving and clickles Tor and I to life. Off mic Tor and I make a plan, I will heal Tobril and Dot Harry, she will pick the one of the barbs and dot. But in the end it was the three DG members again standing. I went from 99 majors to 67.

But we won. Tor drank 11ish. People sent some pots and she said she was only one or two down at that point. She got 2 scales I got 3 power cells and an arrow head.

Anyway I hadn’t had that rush in a while and it felt good. Even now as I think about it I smile. In a few days when we are off timer think I am going to try and have a few more DG members around just to make life a little easier.

As the raid leader it was my call and my responsibility to get us through. And thanks to people that wouldn’t give up we got through. All I can say is I am glad I got those store pots back when they were on double sale.

❤