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Tuesday Morning Post: Patch 4.0.6 PTR edition
The past week has been largely dominated by discussion of patch 4.0.6, which isn't completely unexpected. The patch only recently made it to the PTR, and everybody loves talking about the new hotness. Cataclysm is old and busted now, right? Nobody wants to talk about that. All right, all right. I wouldn't call it old and busted, but patch 4.0.6 is bringing a lot of change to an already change-filled expansion. Classes, quests, and dungeons are all being buffed, nerfed, and fixed. Follow us behind the cut below to check out WoW Insider's top posts of the last week -- patch news and otherwise.
Tuesday Morning Post: There's treasure inside
Over the holiday break, thanks to all of the companies that sent merchandise our way, WoW Insider gave away more prizes than we've ever given away for any previous event -- and this comes after our absolutely epic BlizzCon party wherein we gave away tons of goodies, and then the Cataclysm midnight release events where we (nearly) cleaned out the very last of our loot codes. However, now that things have calmed down, we've taken stock of the loot codes that went unused during Cataclysm's midnight release and we just might have some leftovers from WoWTCGLoot.com that we'll be giving away here in the Tuesday Morning Post. However, since these are the precious few pieces of loot we have left for now, we're going to run this thing a little differently. To find out how to enter, you'll need to follow us past the break, check out our top articles of the week, and head down to the end of the post.
Tuesday Morning Post: Festive reflections edition
Happy new year, everyone. The feast of Winter Veil is finally over, and though all I really did for it this year was loot my presents on one or two characters, I have to admit I'm still a little sad to see it go. It was fun to see all the festivities. Even poor shipwrecked sailors huddling in damp caves and praying for rescue couldn't resist putting up elaborate Winter Veil trees. That's holiday spirit, my friends, and we could all learn from that. Luckily, we don't have to wait too long for a new holiday. The Lunar Festival will be up before the end of the month. Will we have to go find dwarven ancestors in the depths of Grim Batol? Will zerging Omen at 85 be any different from zerging him at 80 or 70? We'll find out! For the time being, though, we still have a few weeks free of holiday distractions to continue the Cataclysm grind. You'll be rudely interrupted this morning by a series of rolling restarts at 5 a.m. Pacific time, which gives you some to catch up the latest news right here at WoW Insider. Read on for our usual roundup of all the hottest news and best guides from the past seven days.
Tuesday Morning Post: 'Twas the night after Christmas
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone! With the Christmas holiday in full swing, things were surprisingly short on the new front this past week. Fear not, though, we're making news of our own. With the end of the year fast approaching, we're spending the days taking a look back at our best work from the past year. Is your favorite article on our list? Now that Christmas is over and the presents unwrapped, did you get all the awesome WoW loot you asked Santa for? If not, don't fear, you might just have a second chance. The 12 Days of Winter Veil are in full swing here at WoW Insider, and we're still giving away all sorts of awesome loot. Just keep watching the site. Just because the news was slow doesn't mean the site was, as you can see. Keep on reading for more news and more guides to gearing your class and running the new dungeons. We do have some rolling restarts to deal with this morning, at 5 a.m. Pacific time, but after you've finished reading, you should be clear to jump right back into the game.
Tuesday Morning Post: For Whom The Barad Tols edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone! You know, as things calm down a bit now that we're a few weeks into Cataclysm, I've had time to ask myself one of my favorite questions: What could Blizzard be doing better? Don't get me wrong, Cataclysm's awesome, but there are always a few things to be concerned about. Right now, my big concern is Tol Barad. Tol Barad, as a concept, is pretty awesome. It's an island full of history that old-time Warcraft lore nerds like me can appreciate, and the factions and story are well set up for an epic showdown. Plus, if loot's your thing, the reputation rewards run the gamut from fun to useful. So everything would be great with Tol Barad, except that the mechanics of the battle itself are sort of horrible. Mat's pretty much said what needs to be said on this, so I'll let him tell you all about it. Of course, his wasn't the only awesome article posted on the site in the last few days. As of this writing, there's no scheduled downtime aside from a quick round of realm restarts at 5 a.m. pacific time, but hey, you could stand to take a break and do some reading anyway, right? Continue on for our usual roundup of all the best news, tips, and tricks.
Tuesday Morning Post: Not looking at explosions edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone! So hopefully by now, most of us have had plenty of time to get knee deep in the fastest selling computer game of all time. Some of us are level 85, some of us aren't; some have switched over to worgen and goblins or other characters, some of us are too busy not looking at explosions. Whatever your pursuit, we wish you lots of luck and lots of fun. With that in mind, if you're still confused by all the changes in Cataclysm or you're still struggling to level your character, don't worry. We've got you covered. You can always check our Cataclysm coverage page for a roundup of the best guides and latest news, or you can read on now as we cover everything we've reported on since last Tuesday. Don't worry, the servers are down from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. Pacific time, so you'll have plenty of time to read.
Tuesday Morning Post: Altoholics Anonymous edition
You know, I was just going to take it easy until Cataclysm, even with The Shattering upon us, even with the new race/class combos. I figured I'd grab a few of the new pets on my death knight and just coast until it was time to start leveling. Then I figured, what the heck, let's roll a gnome priest and check out the new gnome starting zone. You can see from the picture above where that ended up. She's level 39 now and still going strong! I'm not the only one who's rolled a new character, either. I've seen a lot of human hunters and night elf mages around, and I'm hearing horror stories of Orgrimmar drowning in a tide of technicolored troll druids as well. That's right, The Shattering is upon us, and apparently all it's really shattered for most of us is any boredom with the game. There's a lot of good stuff going on right now -- and we, of course, have it all here. With today's extended maintenance of 3-11 a.m. Pacific time, you should have time to catch up, right? Read on for a roundup of all the latest happenings.
Tuesday Morning Post: Shattered edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone! Patch 4.0.3 was released last week, but everyone knows that's not the big news. No, that was just the first rumblings of change. Patch 4.0.3a only just went up on the PTR, but it looks like it's already headed to the live servers. This means we'll be getting a lot of changes, including the new version of the old world and the new race/class combos. Just to be clear, Blizzard is currently saying that you will be able to race change to those new combos right away, no matter what it had said before. Also coming this patch is a nice 20 percent reduction in leveling experience for the level 70 to level 80 grind, as well as changes to the Loremaster achievement. Daunted by all the changes? Don't worry, with a 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. Pacific downtime coming our way, you should have time to read up on all of it. Keep it tuned here for news throughout the morning, and read on now for a look back at what we've already talked about.
Patch 4.0.3a, The Shattering, likely hitting live servers tomorrow
With the announcement of extended downtime for tomorrow already out, the buzz has begun in earnest. We know that The Shattering, the patch that will change Azeroth forever, is coming either this week or the next, and an extended downtime would be the perfect time to patch it in. The Shattering patch will include all the old-world changes coming with Cataclysm, including changes to the Loremaster and Explorer achievements to match, the removal of Zul'Gurub, a reduction in the amount of experience required to level from 70 to 80, and the addition of all of the new race/class combinations. Worgen and goblins will still have to wait for Cataclysm itself, of course. If you don't plan to do any raiding or dailies in Northrend in the next couple weeks on any of your characters, you may also want to move your character to Stormwind or Orgrimmar before the servers go down, as rumor has it that the portals in Dalaran are going away with this patch. If all this change is getting you confused and dismayed, never fear! We here at WoW Insider will be with you every step of the way. Just stay with us for all the latest news and handy guides you need to survive in the brave new world of Cataclysm. 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.
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.
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: Brewfest begins edition
Happy Tuesday Morning, everyone, and welcome to the new WoW Insider! It's time once again for everyone's favorite WoW holiday, Brewfest. Yes, everyone's favorite holiday. If you think it's not yours, you are wrong. It has beer, kodos, and if you're Horde, the ability to see everyone as a hot orc lady. You cannot top that. In addition to the beginning of Brewfest, we've seen some interesting news drop as well, including information on major currency changes coming with patch 4.0.1, new background download data for patch 4.0.1 and a new beta build. The biggest news from the latest beta build seems to the be the fact that worgen get to be their own mounts, but there's tons of other amazing stuff too. We have a list of it, and all the other WoW news, after the break. Don't worry, you have time to read, since we have the usual 5-11 a.m. Pacific downtime today.
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: Mad science edition
Happy Tuesday morning, everyone! We got a new patch in the beta this past week, which has led to much rejoicing, as goblins are playable again. Of course, as one bug is squished, a few thousand more pop up -- but the bug in the screenshot above? I rather like it. My worgen is not only a ferocious werewolf, but also a twisted Victorian mad scientist, his visage forever corrupted by his own experiments, dooming him to stalk the night bereft of love and companionship forever. Never fear, though, the latest patch blitz from the beta servers has bought also brought the good stuff. There's a veritable cornucopia of new goodies to pore over, including new racial character introductions, new guild achievements and updates to archaeology and inscription. There's much more, of course, and you can read all about it here on WoW.com. You'll have plenty of time do so, too, as realm maintenance is scheduled for the usual 5-11 a.m. Pacific time today. And thus, dear reader, read on, for the tragic cautionary tale of Dr. Worgenstein -- I mean, more WoW news.
