Happy Tuesday Morning, everyone. Right now, we're sort of hip deep in holidays. Not only is Love Is In The Air winding down, but the Lunar Festival is in full swing. As always, if you need help getting acclimated, we're here for you with an Overachiever guide, which itself includes an elder finding guide.

There's been other things going on in and around WoW, of course. The biggest buzz has been from the past few days: Yes, Upper Deck is losing the WoW TCG license, but Blizzard says the game is not going away. Unfortunately, the exact form the new version will take, and who will run and distribute it, are still firmly in the realm of conjecture and rumor as of this writing.

If there's one comfort with all this turmoil, it's this: That the World (of Warcraft) is Awesome. Unfortunately, that awesome world will be down for the usual 5 AM to 11 AM pacific time maintenance window this morning, so you'll have plenty of time to catch up on all the news of said world. As usual, we have a list of the some of the most interesting news and other stuff from the past 7 days.

Hot News and Features

• In a recent conference call, Blizzard confirmed that Cataclysm is scheduled for release this year. But do not fear, there's additional new content coming beforehand as well.
• Speaking of Cataclysm, here's an interesting question: Now that the Lich King is dealt with, will the Alliance look at retaking lands closer to home?
• Blizzard's planning to offer new plush pets that come with a similar in-game pet.
• Android users can now get their own mobile authenticator app.
• Here's an interesting fact: 70% of trial account users quit before they reach level 10. What does that number mean? Some of us have theories.
• Check out the first issue of Gold Capped, our new column on making money on the Auction House

Class News and Guides

• Scattered Shots looks at the raiding viability of beastmastery.
• Shifting Perspectives offers a Cat 101 guide for all your John Madden DPSing needs. We also have a Balance 101 guide for you abominations against Elune - I mean, moonkin.
• Lichborne has a Blood 101 guide.
• The Care and Feeding of Warriors offers an Arms 101 guide.
• Totem Talk picks through the minefield that is enhancement shaman damage rotations.
• Encrypted Text has yet more tips for raiding Icecrown Citadel for rogues.
• Spiritual Guidance takes a look at the Lich King's loot from a shadow priest perspective.
• The Light and How to Swing It takes a look at paladin loot in Frostwing Halls.
• Arcane Brilliance discusses trinketing for mages.

Dungeons, Items, Professions, PvP, and More

• Raid Rx offers tips for healing Valithria Dreamwalker.
• Toravon is the newest occupant of the Vault of Archavon. We're here to help you bring him down.
• The Art of War(craft) offers some tips for fighting mages.
• Some new mounts have shown up in the game files, though there's no indication yet where or if they drop for players.
• WoW.com's latest guest post offers tips for DPS in heroic dungeons.
• WoW Rookie offers some pro tips for lowbie dungeon runners.
• Speaking of dungeons, Addon Spotlight offers a look at the Elitist Group addon.

Odds and Ends

• Know Your Lore delves into the complete history of the Lich King, both as Ner'zhul and as Arthas.
• Reader UI of the Week is back with a new writer.
• There's a preview of the new Battle.net up. While this one focuses on Starcraft 2, chances are we'll see a lot of it in our WoW play too.
• WoW may be back on track for China, as Burning Crusade has been re-approved.

Tags: downtime, maintenance, realm-downtime, realm-maintenance, realm-status, roundup, scheduled-downtime, scheduled-maintenance, server-downtime, Server-Maintenance, server-status, tuesday, tuesday-maintenance, tuesday-morning, tuesday-morning-post

Filed under: Realm Status, News items