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!

Hot News and Features

• The newest Warcraft novel, The Shattering, is out. We have a review!

• Headed for BlizzCon? We hope to see you at the WoW Insider reader meetup!

• Patch 4.0.1 does still have some bugs.

• Parts of the new guild UI have been implemented in patch 4.0.1.

• Patch 4.0.1 is a little imbalanced, but don't panic, they've already started rebalancing it.

• The new Tree of Life form is now on the beta servers.

• Warlock pets got renamed in patch 4.0.1, but the old names should be coming back soon.

• Some items will no longer be available in patch 4.0.3. Better get them now!

• Check out some of the lastest tier 11 class armor sets from the beta servers.

Class news and guides

• Shifting Perspectives has advice for the patch 4.0.1 cat druid and DPS rotations for the patch 4.0.1 balance druid.

• Scattered Shots looks at patch 4.0.1 hunter talent specs and rotations, as well as hunter gems and glyphs in patch 4.0.1.

• Lichborne has talent specs and rotations for the patch 4.0.1 death knight.

• The Art of War(craft) looks at death knight PvP talents in patch 4.0.1.

• Spiritual Guidance discusses shadow priest raiding in patch 4.0.1 and adapting to patch 4.0.1 priest healing.

• Encrypted Text discusses rogue talent specs for patch 4.0.1.

• The Light And How To Swing It discusses retribution rotations in patch 4.0.1 and the invincible holy paladin.

• The Care And Feeding of Warriors discusses patch 4.0.1 DPS.

• Arcane Brilliance looks at getting your mage up to speed in patch 4.0.1.

• Raid Rx looks at patch 4.0.1 raid healing.

• Totem talk discusses restoration shaman stats and spells at level 85 and enhancement theory in patch 4.0.1.

Items, dungeons, professions, PvP, and more

• Check our impressions of the beta test of Cataclysm raid boss Halfus Wyrmbreaker.

• Having Addon trouble in patch 4.0.1? We have some advice for you and a guide to some of the best addons that have already been updated for patch 4.0.1.

• WoW Rookie covers patch 4.0.1 for rookies.

• Gold Capped looks at the patch 4.0.1 fallout for auctioneers.

• City tabards give reputation in dungeons in the latest beta build.

• Gems changed a bit in patch 4.0.1. We have a rundown of the new gem changes.

• Reforging is here! Check out the official preview.

• Blood Sport has more gladiator PvP secrets.

• Rejoice, holiday achievement seekers. Long, Strange Trip will continue to award Master Flying.

Odds and Ends

• Check out the latest installment of WoW Insider's weekly webcomic, Safe Passage.

• The Lawbringer looks at real money transactions.