We weren't expecting it, but it came just the same. Dropping in like a thief in the night, the patch 4.1 PTR showed up early last week and began slowly worming its way into the news cycle and into our hearts. There's a lot of pretty amazing stuff coming in with it. Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman are back as heroic dungeons. You can walk right into Old Ironforge. Hunters can tame hydras. The Wintersaber mount grind is getting easier. There's a whole ton of new pets and mounts, along with achievements for collecting more of them. There's a new looking for guild feature. We may even see a caster legendary. There's also hints of a new Hallow's End, and with it, new lore for the Forsaken and the worgen.

That's just the tip of the iceberg, of course. You can check out more articles on all the latest changes behind the break. With realm maintenance lasting from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST this morning, you don't have anything better to do, right? Be sure to stayed tuned throughout the day and coming weeks for more news as well.

Hot news and features

• Check out the original patch 4.1 PTR patch notes. You can also check out a complete roundup of our patch 4.1 coverage on our patch 4.1 guide.
• Check out the patch 4.1 PTR patch note updates for Feb. 28.
• Check out the new animation for the Every Man For Himself racial ability.
• Check out our first hand look at the new Zul'Gurub 5-man dungeon.
• Could this datamined model be the new caster legendary?
• The PTR also brings with it new TCG loot.
• Check out the latest tier 12 trinkets discovered on the PTR.
• Hierloom tabards in patch 4.1 will make the guild reputation grind easier for your alts.
• We speculate on where the newest patch will take WoW's story. We also have some speculation about the exact origins of the rumored caster legendary.
• Check out the patch 4.0.6 hotfixes for Feb. 22 and 25.
• Mages rejoice, the devs are dedicated to ridding you of Ignite munching.
• Hardcore PvPers, rejoice: You can now purchase 2,200 rating weapons.
• Account-wide achievements aren't showing up any time soon.
• The BWD elevator got you down? Patch 4.1 will remind you of your failure.

Class news and guides

• Raid Rx takes a first look at the patch 4.1 PTR healing changes.
• Arcane Brilliance takes a first look at the mage changes on the patch 4.1 PTR.
• The Care And Feeding of Warriors also looks at the patch 4.1 PTR changes.
• Spiritual Guidance discusses the patch 4.1 PTR for healing priests. We also have a list of the top shadow priest raiding trinkets.
• Totem Talk looks at Patch 4.1's buffs to elemental shaman AoE. We also have a look at the latest restoration shaman buffs and a guide to enhancement stats in Cataclysm.
• Shifting Perspectives discusses the possibilities of a new restoration druid cooldown. We also have a balance guide to the Bastion of Twilight.
• Lichborne has a patch 4.1 death knight wish list.
• Encrypted Text looks at rogue roles in PvP.
• The Light And How To Swing It laments the sorry state of the holy paladin tier 11 set.
• Blood Pact has some stuff to say about Soul Shards.

Items, dungeons, professions, PvP, and more

• Blood Sport discusses PvP keybinding.
• Addon Spotlight helps you get through losing control.
• Gold Capped reviews the WoW Prospector website and the recent explosion in ore supply.
• The Overachiever has a guide to getting The Oceanographer achievement.
• WoW Rookie has advice on starting your mount collection.
• Ready Check discusses calling your raid.

Odds and ends

• Check out the latest edition of Safe Passage.
• Know Your Lore discusses Illidan's role in the War of the Ancients and continues the story of Garona.
• Blizzard recently posted more art to the official site.
• The Lawbringer answers reader mail.

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Tags: downtime, extended-maintenance, maintenance, realm-downtime, realm-maintenance, roundup, server-downtime, server-maintenance, server-status, tuesday, tuesday-maintenance, tuesday-morning, tuesday-morning-post

Filed under: Realm Status, News items