Anyone who wants to go should know that Crucible is NOT for the faint-hearted: you don't get a guaranteed safe area to sleep, eat, or relax. This Crucible was no different, but had the extra difficulty of being about 10 degrees hotter than last year. The OOBI staff needed to haul an extra 150+ gallons of water up the mountain throughout the event to replace water supplies of all the factions. Myself (Panda) and Cable also had the personal issue of really bad allergies which hindered our performance. 24 hour allergy relief meds last about 2 hours before getting overwhelmed from constant outdoor exposure. I had actually rubbed my nose raw at some point and noticed blood on some parts of my uniform where I had wiped my nose. Oh well. Onto the real AAR.
Cable, Consuela, Bones, and I left for West Virginia at around 1830 on Friday, May, 8th. With our stops, we ended up getting to the Super 8 Motel we stayed at around 2230. We very wearily checked in and began doing our pregame preparations, such as charging batteries, testing radios, and loading mags. Obviously no guns or military gear was brought into the hotel, before anyone jumps us. It was all stuff to go into our rucks. At about midnight, everyone settled into bed and rested for the next day, which would start the actual Crucible experience.
Everyone was up and getting breakfast from the nice breakfast bar they had at the Super 8 by around 0800. We finished packing up and loaded the car with our packed rucks and were checked out at 1030. I wanna take the time now to highly recommend the Super 8 Motel in Ripley, WV. The staff were very friendly and the rooms were great in all ways. I really couldn't have asked for more considering we spent about 160 all told on 2 rooms. For 40 a person, it was very much worth the money. We arrived at the staging area and immediately got to work turning in waivers, chronoing guns, and getting all set for the ride up to the briefing area.
At 1320, the briefing started and we were told the general ins and outs of the event; it was nothing new for people who had read and understood the player pack, but there definitely were people that didn't. After briefing, we hiked to our base and home for the next 24 hours, which had been established and prepared by the awesome ESA recon team that went in 24 hours prior. Crucible IV started promptly on Saturday, May 9th at 1500. Bravo squad, the squad RAID was in, was set with base defense for the first phase of the game. We took the time to take inventory and set ourselves up.
This Crucible was slower for the RAID guys that attended due to the more difficult conditions listed earlier. However, from about 7:30 to 9, Cable helped shuttle resources from Wellhead 2 with great efficiency. At nightfall, Bravo again went back to base defense, since Bones is a minor and thus couldn't leave the main base between 0000 and 0600. Panda and Cable spent from 0300-0500 at OP McKenzie (named for the player who established and manned it most of the event) and at the unnamed OP near the main entrance of the base. We only sustained 1 small attack the whole night which was quickly repelled by NOD squad (3 players had night vision). I personally slept from about 0700-1000 in on-and-off cat naps. Cable and Bones ran some more resources from Wellhead 2 and Consuela went where needed during this time.
At around 1300, I took place in a secret assault on the UCA at wellhead 4. As it turns out, it wasn't so smart, since we couldn't violate treaty without admin approval. It was a very sullen 1+ mile walk back to base afterwards since our vehicle had been moved by staff. Upon return, I returned to help watch OP McKenzie until it was time to start packing up for endex. The game was ended at 1500 on Sunday, May 10th. We tore down and policed the base as much as we could, leaving most of our defenses in position for next year. We all returned to the parking lot/staging area to pack up our cars and await the results of the raffle. Consuela won a new pair of Boogie Regulator Goggles. We packed up and began the long ride home back to Kentucky.
We left Sandyville at around 1800 on Sunday and made our pit stop at the original Bob Evans Farms and Homestead around 1900. It is a tradition of sorts among our group of friends to make the stop. After we had our fill, we left and continued our drive to Kentucky. We returned to town around 2300 and were all home by midnight on Sunday. For at least the RAID members I can speak for, returning home was almost as great as getting onto the mountain. I think I speak for everyone when I say that taking a shower and going to bed was probably the best experience all year.
I would say Crucible is for anyone who wants to attend an event that will make them feel miserable and test them in a way that no other event could. It is not steps above an open play; it is a whole other county. The OOBI staff really make an event that will punish and reward you for attempting to complete it. I'm proud to have participated in Crux 4 and will definitely be returning for Crux 5, which is scheduled for September 18-20, 2015. Although the ESA placed last by 100 points, we are not demoralized and will return in September with more motivation and willpower than ever, and hopefully no allergies or desperate need of water.
Panda out.
