Many wipes and one kill

One of our strengths when raiding I think is the patience guild members show when things doesn't go smoothly or according to plan. Last night we were in Ulduar and wiped repeatedly on Ignis. Although we are improving slowly we haven't really got the hang of how to manage the golem adds who tend to run off and kill the healers before they can be shattered. After several tries we gave up on Ignis (or rather told ourselves that he might weaken a bit if we left him to stew for another week) and moved on to Kologarn which we usually down quite easily. Not tonight though. I think it took us five tries to kill him and on at least three of the tries Kologarn was under 20% when things went bad and we died.

This much wiping in one night can really put a strain on a raid party. People can get irritated and start blaming each other, complain about repair costs or just quit group. But that didn't happen. Instead we managed to focus on that we at least lasted longer on Ignis than last time we tried him and that being close to down Kologarn on the failed tries meant that we would probably make it next time.

I think this attitude is a very valuable thing. I think one of the fun things with the game is to experience new places and new bosses and to do things that is a challenge. Then you can't give up too easily and you shouldn't be afraid of failure every now and again. Most boss fight is very much about learning what to do without having to think too much about it (run in the right direction, move to the right place, heal people extra at certain times, avoid fire/ice/flying objects) and that takes practice even if you are well geared. And if you look at it that way then wiping isn't just wasted time, it's learning that takes you closer to the kill.