The Interviews: Saurfang PVE with Ajantis (Horde)

The Interviews are a series of one-on-one conversations between myself and the GM's/Raid Leaders of the guilds of Saurfang that are likely to feature in the race for PVE supremacy. They are designed to provide an insight into the community before the release of the Mists of Pandaria expansion and to generate interest in what is likely to be a fascinating next few months.

Next on the interview list is a guild that is obviously close to home for me. I spoke with Medissalyn who is the GM of <Ajantis> (Horde). Ajantis has been a premier guild on Saurfang ever since the birth of the realm, but went through a tough time in Cataclysm. Signs are positive however that the current group of members are ready to lead the way into a new age.

Nastre: Mists of Pandaria is mere sleeps away. What's the general feeling in the guild like heading into the fourth WoW expansion?

Medissalyn: The guild is humming with excitement. I feel most people are completely 'over' Cataclysm, and in particular Dragon Soul.

Seen enough of that raid for a lifetime?

Very much so. Although I personally enjoy some of the encounters, many of them (Spine and Madness) are tedious and horrible to constantly complete.

Well we can only hope Blizzard follows through with their promise to release content more regularly in the future. As a guild what are your ambitions for MoP in terms of raiding accomplishments?

 Ideally to improve upon our end ranking at the conclusion of Dragon Soul. In terms of specific targets we ended Dragon Soul ranked 385 in the world for 25 mans, so anywhere between 300-350 would be nice. Lower is always good though.

Give an overall impression of the Saurfang PVE scene and who you consider your main rivals for server first kills.

In the 10 man scene I feel <Blizzard Mentor Horde> may reign supreme, followed by <In Another Castle>. However, as Cast said in his interview IAC could nab some early server first kills due to their earlier raid times. I can't comment on the other 10 mans too well as I have no idea about them.

In 25 mans I believe Ominous have moved back to the 25 man format but I am unsure as to how they are going so I can't give a good answer for that. However I have confidence in Ajantis' raid team and I feel we can come out on top in MoP

A diplomatic and fair answer. The 10 man vs 25 man debate. What are your thoughts on the merits and future of each format?

For me the two formats have too many inconsistencies to be compared properly. This isn't a "my difficulty is harder than your difficulty" statement, it simply shows that the two can not be compared properly as they aren't in the same classification. 

However it is undeniable that 25 man raiding took a dive in the last expansion. Many guilds (including Ajantis itself) almost died and went to 10 man raiding. I feel that the logistic side of management is the primary reason for this movement.   

I might be biased, but I think you and the other officers have done a wonderful job to navigate what was a tough expansion for Saurfang's oldest topflight raiding guild. It appears everyone agrees Ajantis is in a much stronger position for MoP than it was in Cataclysm. Surely you take heart from that?

I do. Tier 11/12 were difficult times for various reasons that you know about. When I was handed the GMship in the later portion of Firelands, I was not confident in the guilds ability to go forward in the future of the game. However, we had a startling turnaround come Dragon Soul. There were challenges aplenty with an almost entirely new roster (Mhorac was the only consistent healer). We managed to overcome our obstacles and the guild is now in its strongest position since the kill of Heroic Lich King in Wrath. 

I'm proud to say that the officers and I turned the guild around, from a time when I wasn't sure we could do it.

 You have to choose one player from Saurfang, past or present, Horde or Alliance, and who is not currently in your guild to take in your raid (any class). Who do you take and why?

Tough question - I would say Eternal, but he is still techinically in Ajantis. I don't know all that many people on Saurfang. Probably Lithh as a lot of people who I would nominate are still in guild but retired in Ajantis. Lithh was a holy paladin in Ajantis in Tier 10, great healer, great guy. Last we talked he had become an officer in < Ascension >

He was a major asset in the Heroic Lich King kill for sure. Last question, describe your guild and what you hope to achieve in MoP in three words

Discipline, Focus, Intelligence.

Awesome Medi, that's a wrap. Very professional and well spoken interview, thanks for your time.