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.
Hot news and features
Coming back to WoW for Cataclysm? We have some advice to get you back on track.
Blizzard is merging more battlegroups in preparation for rated battlegrounds in Cataclysm. It also released a rated battlegrounds FAQ to clear up some lingering doubts and concerns.
Now that it's got the hang of it, Blizzard plans to use in-game cinematics a lot more in the future.
Lead Systems Designer Ghostcrawler had a lot to say about class design philosophy this week, including DPS spec design and rotational complexity between tanks, DPS, and other classes.
Check out the new worgen flight form.
New hairstyles are trickling in to the Cataclysm beta. We have a few pictures of the new dwarven female looks.
According to Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Morhaime, that Moonkin Hatchling pet will be coming out this month. Look forward to it!
The new WoW community site is now available for preview.
Thinking of lowbie ganking? Think twice. Newbie zone guards are level 90 in Cataclysm.
Check out how Cataclysm's changing The Wetlands.
Class news and guides
Totem Talk reviews the latest in restoration shaman news and elemental shaman news.
Lichborne discusses diseaseless blood tanking.
Encrypted Text answers some pre-Cataclysm rogue questions.
Spiritual Guidance answers some pre-Cataclysm shadow questions and looks at healing Cataclysm heroics.
The Light And How To Swing It discusses protection paladin glyphs and the return of the shockadin.
Scattered Shots has a guide to the new spell alert system for hunters and an argument for ranged weapon reforging.
The Care And Feeding Of Warriors looks at the patch 4.0.1 protection spec.
Arcane Brilliance looks at Cataclysm fire mage talents.
Shifting Perspectives introduces you to night elf druid lore and discusses balance PvP.
The Art of War(craft) discusses mage PvP talents.
Raid Rx looks at the latest discussions on healer mana regeneration.
Dungeons, items, professions, PvP and more
There are new raid markers in the Cataclysm beta.
Combat rezzes are getting some pretty hefty limits in Cataclysm.
Gold Capped discusses putting out bait on the auction house.
The OverAchiever discusses getting those disappearing mounts.
Blood Sport discusses transferring realms for PvP purposes.
Addon Spotlight looks at patch 4.0.1-ready addon packages.
Odds and ends
We review Shaman, the latest Warcraft manga volume from TOKYOPOP.
Ever wanted to conquer Azeroth? In Civilization 5, you can.
Know Your Lore looks at the origins of goblin and worgen death knights.
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.
