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.

Hot news and features

• PvP Season 9 is under way!
• Archaeology got a nice little stealth buff in the form of quicker skillups. You can also use archaeology for 5-man Cataclysm dungeon buffs.
• Check out the latest round of Cataclysm hotfixes.
• Still haven't purchased Cataclysm? The new 10-day trial may help you make up your mind.
• The recent Gawker hack has prompted Blizzard to require a password reset for select accounts.
• Having trouble seeing that quest mob through the crowds? There is a solution.
• Lead Systems Designer Greg Tiberius Street, also known as Ghostcrawler, continues to be a blogging fool. This week, he's discussing tanks and threat. (OK, his middle name isn't actually Tiberius, but wouldn't it be awesome if it was?)
• Cryptozoic has unveiled a new community website for the WoW TCG.

Class news and guides

• Scattered Shots has 101 guides for beast mastery and marksman hunters.
• Totem Talk looks at reputation gear for restoration and enhancement shaman. We also have a Cataclysm 101 guide for elemental shaman.
• Lichborne looks at pre-heroic gear for DPS death knights.
• The Light And How To Swing It offers a Cataclysm 101 guide for protection paladins. We also have a pre-raid gear guide for holy paladins.
• Encrypted Text looks at pre-raid gear for rogues.
• Blood Pact looks at Cataclysm gear for warlocks.
• Spiritual Guidance looks at pre-heroic gear for shadow priests. We also have a brand new discipline priest 101 guide.
• Shifting Perspectives has a guide to pre-raid balance gear.
• Arcane Brilliance has a guide to pre-heroic mage gear.
• The Care And Feeding of Warriors discusses tank stat stacking.
• Raid Rx has a reality check for you regarding heroic healing.
• The Art of War(craft) looks at warlock PvP talents.

Dungeons, items, professions, PvP, and more

• Gold Capped reminds you that there's a high price for hoarding stuff that you could be selling.
• WoW Rookie discusses the basics of dungeoneering.
• Alchemists, take note: Your zone location determines how your Volatile Life transmutes.
• Blood Sport looks at the big picture in PvP.

Odds and ends

• Check out the latest episode of Safe Passage, WoW Insider's weekly webcomic.
• Know Your Lore looks at the banshee queen, Sylvanas, and at Shadowfang Keep.
• 15 Minutes of Fame looks at the player campaign behind the creation of goblin NPC Boss Mida.
• The Lawbringer looks at how the armory could get you into trouble in the real world.

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World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.

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Filed under: Realm Status, News items