Just when it looked like it was going to be a slow news week, here comes Blizzard to the rescue with a few nice little chunks of Cataclysm news. Now I'm not implying anything really, but isn't it sort of funny that only days after Rossi talked rage normalization, we get a nice new writeup on the future of rage in Cataclysm and good old Heroic Strike and Maul? Luckily, Rossi came right back with a quick and dirty guide to the new rage stuff. Of course, if you're not a feral druid or a warrior, you might be more interested in the new information on dispel mechanics in Cataclysm.

Of course, As awesome as WoW is and as much as we're eating up this new Cataclysm info with a spoon, everyone needs a break now and then, and on April Fools, we took a few stabs at some new blog concepts. I was very pleased that even my fellow Bloggers are on Team Jacob, that we are willing to publish an awesome guide to the best Mass Effect class ever, and that we were able to use the phrase "Love Glue Gunnin" on the site in a completely legitimate manner. I'm not as pleased about the zombies on my lawn, or that creepy muscle building bear now haunting my dreams, but what can you do? If our little bit of fun didn't satisfy you, you can check out our roundup of some of the other WoW-related April Fool's shenanigans around the web as well, or marvel over the existence of a real version of the EPEEN meter.

Whatever strikes your fancy in WoW news, you have plenty of time to read it thanks to today's 5 AM to 11 AM pacific downtime. Continue on for a list of some the best and most interesting news and guides from the past 7 days or so.
Hot News and Features

• Eyonix is headed for greener pastures. He was a cool dude. We're going to miss him!
• Noblegarden is in full swing, and we have an Overachiever's guide for all your holiday achieving needs.
• Blizzard introduces the Story Forum, for all your lore discussion needs.
• The Icecrown Citadel raid buff is now at 10%.
• WoW.com's Elizabeth Harper represented WoW geeks everywhere on NPR's On Point.
• Keep a close eye on your launcher. Some new viruses are using it to scam you.

Class News and Guides

• Totem Talk looks at haste for the restoration shaman and leveling enhancement from 21 to 40.
• Pimp My Profile helps out a Mutilate rogue.
• Spiritual Guidance looks at professions for the shadow priest.
• Shifting Perspectives looks at balance DoTs.
• The Light And How To Swing It looks at overcoming the limitations of the GCD for holy paladins.

Items, Dungeons, Professions, PvP, and More

• The blues clarify exactly what silence means.
• Gold Capped helps you make money with Jewelcrafting.
• Ready Check helps you freshen up your raiding resume.
• WoW Rookie helps you level through the old world before Cataclysm comes.
• AddOn Spotlight helps you enhance your chat experience.

Odds and Ends

• 15 Minutes of Fame checks in with a group that's questing through the Old World before Cataclysm changes everything forever.
• Activision's done a little bit of management restructuring.
• Since Blizzard didn't have a major presence at PAX East, our own Sacco had a chat with Turbine, the makers ofLOTR Online.
• Know Your Lore discusses blood elf politics.
• The Lawbringer explains why gold sellers are criminals.

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