Tuesday Morning Post: Elemental extended maintenance edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. We're barreling headlong into the Cataclysm opening event, including fighting in the cities, so if you've been lax in logging on, now might be a good time to start. After all, there's loot and achievements to be had, and stuff.
That said, you won't be able to log on for a bit this morning, as the servers are going down for extended maintenance from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST. Personally, I'm blaming this on the fire elementals. I bet they got into the hardware. Luckily, we got your back with lots of good stuff to read from the past week while we wait for the servers to come back up. Keep it right here with us, and we'll get through the downtime withdrawal together, I promise. We have our usual list of hot topics and useful guides below.
Hot news and features
Want to play a goblin on launch day but don't want to deal with the pain of leveling again? Race changes will be available immediately at Cataclysm's launch.
No matter when or how you buy the expansion, you won't be able to play Cataclysm on the North American servers until midnight PST.
Blizzard has posted screenshots of the upcoming Lil' Ragnaros and Moonkin Hatchling pets.
Blizzard rolled out yet another account security tool this past week: the Dial-in Authenticator.
BlizzCon 2010 livestream subscribers have started to receive their BlizzCon 2010 pets!
Troll druids just got a very unique and very awesome flight form of their very own.
If you're planning on going for Insane in the Membrane, here's some good news: It's not going away in Cataclysm, and it's getting easier.
Denizens of Orgrimmar, beware: Gamon's beefing up for Cataclysm.
Check out what's new in Azshara with Cataclysm.
Class news and guides
Totem talk answers more restoration shaman questions.
Scattered Shots looks at hunter tier 11 gear.
Arcane Brilliance discusses mage frost talents.
The Light and How to Swing It talks avoidance for paladin tanks and the lowdown on Light of Dawn.
Spiritual Guidance discusses the demise of Vampiric Embrace, the level 80-85 grind, and the latest beta priest changes.
Encrypted Text interviews rogue spreadsheet maven Aldriana.
The Care And Feeding of Warriors looks at mastery.
The Art of War(craft) looks at paladin PvP talents.
Raid Rx looks at the differences between 10- and 25-man healing in Cataclysm.
Shifting Perspectives discusses tauren as a druid race and balance dungeon diving in patch 4.0.3 and beyond.
Items, dungeons, professions, PvP, and more
Having trouble getting the Razzashi Hatchling? Don't worry, it'll show up again in Cataclysm.
Cataclysm gets rid of the clown suits for all levels.
Ghostcrawler talks Vengeance in PvP.
Getting a new PvP teammate via realm transfer? There are some red flags to watch for.
Insider Trader reveals some bad news about professions alts in Cataclysm.
Gold Capped covers the Auctionator addon.
Addon spotlight looks at some offbeat and amusing addons.
Odds and ends
Cryptozoic has announced a release date for the new WoW TCG expansion, Worldbreaker.
15 Minutes of Fame interviews Laura Shigihara, the Singing Sunflower.
The Drama Mamas discuss choosing between family and fun.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion (available Dec. 7, 2010), from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.
