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Tuesday Morning Post: Elementals everywhere edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. While we're all holding our breaths waiting for Dec. 7, don't think things have slowed down, either. The elemental invasion event is in full swing, with a new phase every week. Before you know it, we'll be seeing Patch 4.0.3 and a whole new world (of Warcraft) laid out before us. Get those last-minute achievements done now, folks, it'll be here before you know it. For now, though, we have a few weeks, and Tuesday morning is as good a time as any to stand back and take stock of what's going in the game we all love. We have the usual roundup of hot news and useful guides straight ahead.
Tuesday Morning Post: Countdown to Cataclysm edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. The big news of the moment actually started up last night: The next phase of the pre-Cataclysm world event has begun. This means we're ever closer to patch 4.0.3 and the release of Cataclysm. It feels like we've really cleared a hurdle here, so better get that old content done while you can. Of course, there's plenty of other news to sift through. We have few articles left from BlizzCon, for example. Also in awesome news is that The Shattering now has a much-deserved slot on the New York Times best-seller list. Downtime for maintenance consists only of a quick set of rolling restarts at 5 a.m., but it can't hurt to take a break and do some reading, right? We have our usual roundup after the break.
Tuesday Morning Post: Jaina Proudmoore is awesome edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone, and welcome to the week after BlizzCon 2010. This year was pretty sparse on WoW news, but there was still some cool stuff to see, including the new worgen cinematic. Luckily, the main reason everyone was there went off without a hitch: the WoW Insider reader meetup. Seriously, guys, it seemed like half the BlizzCon was there, including some pretty awesome special guests, and the prizes and alcohol both flowed like water. It was such an amazing party, and we're all looking forward to doing it again next year. Whether you've made it before or not, we'd love to see you there. Now, given the nature of the news this week, I could just throw up a picture of the BlizzCon sign as my header and be done with it. But I'm not going to do that. Instead, have a picture of Jaina Proudmoore. I have to admit, between the state of Dustwallow Marsh and the incidents at Undercity and Dalaran, I lost a lot of faith in Jaina. She just didn't seem to have any dignity or grace anymore. The woman I admired in Warcraft 3 was gone. But Christie Golden changed that. In The Shattering, she let me respect Jaina again, as a strong woman who still loves the Alliance but won't give up on peace, standing up to her King and even, if needed, to Thrall, even as she maintains strong friendships with both of them. Thank you, Christie. Thank you for letting me love Jaina again. Anyhow, with that bit of rampant fanboying out of the way, I should warn you that we do have the usual 5-11 a.m. downtime this morning. Luckily, between BlizzCon and patch 4.0.1, there's plenty of news for you to catch up on. You can start with our usual list, after the break.
Tuesday Morning Post: No pre-BlizzCon lull edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. BlizzCon may be just around the corner, but don't make the mistake of thinking that everything's fallen into a lull because of that. There's a lot of pretty awesome stuff that's gone down in the last few days. Patch 4.0.1 is out, and it's changed the world (of Warcraft) forever. We also got to see the Cataclysm opening cinematic. I, personally, was underwhelmed, but I seem to be one of about three people who feel that way, so I'm sure you'll like it if you haven't seen it yet. In addition, Hallow's End is now on live servers, so you have a few more weeks to grab that elusive horse mount or pet, assuming you don't crash. Of course, my personal choice for the best news of Patch 4.0.1 is the fact that Anzu is up all the time. Don't get me wrong, I had a druid in Burning Crusade, and the epic flight form quest was amazing, but I want a giant frickin technicolored bird on my death knight now, and I'm pretty happy I won't have to drag around a druid for that. There's plenty of more patch 4.0.1 news to peruse and guidance to absorb, and since it's maintenance Tuesday, you should have some time to absorb it all. Check out our usual roundup after the break!
Tuesday Morning Post: The greatest post in the world tribute edition
Happy Tuesday Morning, everyone! All right, I know that there's that silly little patch 4.0.1 going live today, but honestly, that doesn't even faze me. Do you know why? That's because Tenacious D is performing at BlizzCon. Step aside, Ozzy. The true kings of rock are rocking the closing ceremonies. Consider me moved, gentlemen. Consider me moved. But seriously, with patch 4.0.1 going live today, there's a lot of stuff you're going to need to know, and WoW Insider has you covered. With this whole 12-hour downtime thing we got going on right now, it's the perfect time to read up on all the latest WoW news, including a lot of hints and tips to help you get used to the new patch. We have the usual roundup after the break, and you can stay tuned all day for more news you can use.
Tuesday Morning Post: I'm dreaming of a Cataclysmic Christmas edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. The past few days saw a lot of Cataclysm release date rumors flying around. It seemed like Amazon was constantly waffling between January, December and November, and everyone was reading secret codes on Blizzard's websites and game data. Luckily, however, we do not need to guess anymore. Blizzard has officially announced that the Cataclysm expansion will release on Dec. 7, just in time for both Matthew Rossi's birthday and the feast of St. Nicholas, which is a traditional day of gift-giving in many cultures around the world. Yes, these are hints. Of course, before Cataclysm, we have patch 4.0.1 to contend with, but the exact date it's going live is still up in the air. Still, with the current arena season ending as early as Oct. 12, it's probably soon. Of course, for those of you who are still sort of confused as to what Cataclysm is and what all the hubbub is about, well, we can help with that too. Of course, all this stuff is off in the future. In the here and now, we have the usual scheduled maintenance window of 5-11 a.m. Pacific time. That means you have plenty of time to catch up on all the news from the past few days, and we have it all right here on WoW Insider.
Tuesday Morning Post: A farewell to portals edition
The most staggering news to come out of the Cataclysm beta has hit: There are no more portals in the neutral hubs. That's right, camping out in Dalaran or Shattrath won't get you anywhere anymore. You're going to be moving to Stormwind or Orgrimmar whether you like it or not. There have also been a bunch of wild rumors flying around about Cataclysm's release date. First, Amazon.com started sending out bunches of emails about release date changes which put the release at late November, and now there are rumors of a December release. Of course, they're all rumors; only Blizzard knows for sure, and it isn't talking. Still, 4.0.1 is on the PTR, and the background downloader is chugging away, so it feels like we're on the home stretch, regardless. Maintenance this week consists of rolling restarts at 5 a.m. Pacific time, although a small handful of servers will get the normal 5-11 a.m. downtime. No matter which server you're on, there was a whole lot of interesting news from the live servers, from the beta servers and from the PTR in the past 7 days -- so how about catching up on it right now?
Tuesday Morning Post: Gnome power edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone! In some news that is both Cataclysm related and non-Cataclysm related at the same time, it looks like live servers are finally getting something to cheer about. Not only are the gnome and troll events now live, but patch 4.0.1, which features the Cataclysm class and talent tree changes (but not the geographical changes to the old world), is on the PTR. Could this be a sign that Cataclysm is closer than we think, or will we just have a lot of time to play around with our new talents and content? It's hard to say either way, so be sure to get those events done if you want them. There's no telling how long they'll be on the live servers, and anyway, rumors are placing Cataclysm's release on Nov. 2, closer than you think. You'll have plenty of time to read up on all the news and rumors during the usual downtime this morning, from 5-11 a.m. Pacific time. Whether you're interested in live servers, in the 4.0.1 PTR, or the Cataclysm beta, we got plenty of news to keep you reading, so read on.
Tuesday Morning Post: Adventures in beta patching edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. The big news this week has the been the beta test of the new patch process and launcher, which allows you to play even when your patch is only partially done. I've tried it out myself, and I must say, it's quite a feeling logging into Acherus to see nothing but the Eastern Plaguelands spread out below you for miles as the hold itself shifts into being around you. It's sort of crazy. Still, I imagine most of the time I'll just wait for the download to finish. There is, of course, plenty of other news to catch up on. If you're waiting out this morning's rolling restarts, why not check and see if you missed anything from the past few days? Our usual roundup awaits after the break.
Tuesday Morning Post: Suspect timing edition
Happy Tuesday Morning, everyone! In what may or may not be a mea culpa for the massive amount of downtime, both expected and unexpected, last week, Blizzard's announced that there will be no downtime this morning. That's right, we won't even get rolling restarts. Now, usually I'd be pretty grateful for this. It's always nice to know the server's going to be up and ready for you when you get a chance to play. But today, of all days, is the day they chose? Honestly, I wouldn't even be phased if they put my server on the 24-hour downtime list for today, because I'm just going to spend all my free time playing Starcraft 2. Actually, never mind. It's pretty clear to me now why they're keeping the servers up. Obviously, the server maintenance team would rather take the day off and play Starcraft II too. If you're still agonizing over whether to play Starcraft or log on and do your dailies, maybe you should stop by WoW.com while you think. We have a lot of juicy Cataclysm news for you to catch up on, and more coming throughout the day.
Tuesday Morning Post: Never tear us apart edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone! You know, I feel like I really should say something. Blizzard, despite all the rockiness, be it the Real ID fiasco or the huge 31-point talent tree changes, I still love you. I don't think anything can tear us apart. You know, except a 24-hour downtime. Luckily, my server's not in today's batch of downed servers, but Zangarmarsh, home of <It Came From The Blog>, is; yours may be as well, so be sure to check the list. If your realm is listed, that just means you'll have plenty of time to look back all the big news from the past seven days, such as the new 31-point talent trees or the massive Twitter developer chat. And anyway, we do have normal downtime at the somewhat early time of 1-7 a.m. Pacific, so you may still have a bit of a time to read up regardless. With all that in mind, we have the usual roundup of news, opinions and guides from the past seven days ready for your perusal. Once you're done reading those, you can prepare to join all the 24-hour downtime refugees on Shadow Council.
Tuesday Morning Post: Real ID ruckus edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. It's been a surprisingly busy and controversial week in WoW. The ill-fated Real ID forum integration has come and -- after extensive community outcry, rampant rumors and multiple attempts to explain themselves on Blizzard's part -- gone again, and we're all hopeful that we can go back to the carefree slaughter of internet dragons. In actual gameplay news, everything we know about our classes may be changing with the extensive new talent revamp that limits trees to the 31-point tier and gives level 10s signature abilities from their chosen tree. There's plenty more beta news and (for those of you avoiding Cataclysm spoilers) Ruby Sanctum guides to browse through, and since we have the usual 5-11 a.m. Pacific downtime coming down the pipe this morning, you'll have time to tackle it, I'm sure. Read on for all the latest from the past few days.
Tuesday Morning Post: Return of the 24-hour downtime edition
It's back! 24-hour maintenance day returns today, this time for a different batch of realms. Everyone else still has to deal with the normal 5 a.m.-11 a.m. Pacific downtime label. Whichever group you fall into, don't despair. It was a pretty busy week news-wise, so we have plenty of stuff for you to catch up on, and we'll have more fresh news throughout the day. Let's start the roundup. Hot news and features Still have trouble keeping up with Ahune? Check out our video guide. Patch 3.3.5 has hit live servers. Here are the patch notes. Getting errors with the new patch? You aren't alone. Patch 3.3.5, as you might expect, isn't bug-free. Check out this list of new and existing in-game bugs. Blizzard has announced its intent to begin throttling inspect requests from addons such as GearScore. The Ruby Sanctum isn't activated yet, but Blizzard has released more information, including the storyline. Director Sam Raimi's been talking about the upcoming Warcraft movie. Our Wrath retrospective series continues with some opinions on death knights.
Early maintenance announcement includes 24 hour downtime for select realms
Blizzard's already let us know the scheduled downtime for Tuesday, June 29th, quite a bit ahead of their usual late Monday night announcement time. Right now, most realms can expect a normal downtime window of 5 AM to 11 AM Pacific time on Tuesday, June 29th. However, it is time for the next batch of US servers to go down for 24 hours, from 12:01 AM, June 29th to 12:01 AM Wednesday, June 30th. As with the first batch, the 24-hour downtime will likely be used to get the servers in shape for Cataclysm's launch, and if we're lucky, should mean less downtime in the first few days and weeks as everyone comes in to check out the new content. Check out the full list of servers with extended downtime behind the break:
Tuesday Morning Post: Burning for you edition
Happy Tuesday Morning, everyone! Rumor has it that Patch 3.3.5 may drop this morning, and with a 3 AM to 11 AM pacific downtime coming our way, the points are racking up in favor of such a conclusion. Either way, you'll probably know by the time you read this, and either way, the downtime's coming, so either way, you'll probably want to settle in and join me on catching up with the latest WoW news. It's been a relatively slow news week the past 7 days, but the Midsummer Fire Festival is in full swing, complete with a level 80 Frost Lord Ahune bearing new ilevel 232 loot -- and lacking his scorchling pet, sadly enough. There's more news to peruse as well, and you'll want to keep an on eye on the site throughout the day and coming weeks for more news and guides on the coming Patch 3.3.5 content.
Tuesday Morning Post: The press gang edition
Happy Tuesday Morning, everyone! The past few days have been pretty busy as far as shiny new Cataclysm news goes. First we saw the first few class talent previews go up for druids, rogues, priests, and shamans. We, of course, have analysis of all the ins and outs of the new trees, as you'd expect. But the big news of the week was, of course, the Cataclysm press event. We got a massive info dump of juicy information, including interviews with Ghostcrawler. Among some of the other highlights: New juicy lore tidbits, including information on the Archeology skill. New raid lockout mechanisms. A complete overhaul of the guild leveling mechanic. The complete scrapping of the Path of the Titans system, and some adjustments to glyphs to compensate. Video previews of the new Orgrimmar and Stormwind. Confirmation of a War of the Ancients raid. In addition to that, there's plenty of other awesome news tidbits to catch up on this morning. You'll have the usual 5 AM to 11 AM pacific downtime, so you'll have the time to do some reading. Read on for a list of the latest stuff.
Tuesday Morning Post: The long downtime of the soul edition
Happy Tuesday Morning, everyone! If you were part of the massive rush to get BlizzCon tickets this past week, I hope your luck was good, because they are now officially sold out. If you didn't get one, there's probably nothing left to do but hope you win one as a contest prize! Whether you were successful or whether your hopes were dashed, you will, alas, have quite some time to brood or celebrate if your characters are on a list of servers slated for a 24 hour downtime today. Of course, even if you dodged the bullet, we still have the normal 5 AM to 11 AM Pacific time maintenance period coming for all servers. Luckily, there's plenty of news to catch up on, including a good selection of official news on patch 3.3.5 and some of the new features of the Cataclysm expansion. Read on for all the latest, and keep coming back all day for the latest news, tips, and guides. Whether your server is down for the morning or down all day, we'll be here for you.
Tuesday Morning Post: Gnomeregan rising edition
Good Tuesday morning, everyone! It's been a surprisingly slow news week as far as new Cataclysm stuff goes, but luckily, we have the PTR to keep us busy anyway. With Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall active for testing on the PTR, now's the perfect time to go test out some fun new world events and show your own patriotism for your favorite refugee race. If you'd rather stay on the live servers, we do have a nice picture gallery of the Zalazane's event for your perusal. The PTR is also being used to test the new Real ID functionality, which makes it an excellent time to caution you: Be careful who you trust with your Real ID. Perhaps the most "surprising" news this week may be the fact that there is absolutely no downtime anticipated for today. That's right, early morning pacific coast Tuesday players, you can keep right on trucking. But just in case you need a break, or you're stuck at work or school and can't play, we've got the usual roundup of all the good news from the past 7 days or so after the break.
Tuesday Morning Post: Ferengi are cooler than Goblins edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone! This week has actually been pretty good for news that is not directly game related. BlizzCon ticket frenzy is nearly upon us. They'll go on sale June 2nd and June 5th, which means you only have around a week to get ready to click madly to get into that queue and get another chance to see Jay Mohr. In possibly even cooler news, Aron Eisenberg, better known to geeks like us as Deep Space 9's Nog, was the subject of this week's 15 Minutes of Fame and our special guest co-host on the podcast. The usual 5 AM to 11 AM pacific downtime is go, so you'll have plenty of time to join us in geeking out with Nog, or read the rest of the latest news. We have the usual roundup after the break.
Tuesday Morning Post: Sanctum's closed edition
Happy Tuesday Morning everyone! It's mostly business as usual here in WoW land. The Cataclysm friends and family testing is trucking right along, as is the patch 3.3.5 PTR. Although there was supposed to be Ruby Sanctum testing happening, bad lag prevented testers in the US from doing much of anything, and the European testing was canceled altogether. Luckily, even without the sanctum, there's plenty of news and other things to look at. There's the usual downtime this morning, from 5 AM to 11 AM pacific, so you'll have time. Check out usual roundup after the break. The Cataclysm leaks and spoilers are in their own section, so you can skip those if you're trying to stay pure.
