Happy Tuesday Morning, everyone! Probably the biggest news this week is the state of patch 4.1. Not only will it not include the Firelands, it won't have any raid content whatsoever. Of course, if our first runs are any indication, the new heroics may be epic enough to make up for it, and patch 4.2 will supposedly show up on the test servers almost immediately after patch 4.1 goes live. I'm pretty sure the delay is so Ragnaros can work on toning up his lower body a bit, though, so the delay's for a good cause.

We'll only have to deal with rolling restarts at 5 a.m. Pacific time today, so you should be able to hop back on WoW pretty quickly. Still, while you're waiting for things to settle down, you may want to catch up on the latest happenings in and around the World of Warcraft. Check our usual roundup after the break.

Hot news and features

• We ran Zul'Aman over on the PTR, and we have pictures, video, and descriptions for your browsing pleasure.
• Check out the updated PTR patch notes for patch 4.1 for March 1 and March 3.
• Check out the latest patch 4.0.6 hotfixes for March 1.
• Forget patch 4.1 -- are you still trying to master patch 4.0? We've recently updated our guide to Cataclysm just for you.
• Tom Chilton was at the GDC 2011, and we have a look at what he said regarding the Cataclysm revamp, among other things.
• Blizzard isn't completely ruling out triple specs, but don't expect them any time soon.
• Reader UI of the Week discusses UIs for disabled players.
• WoW Rookie helps you learn how to tank.
• Rumors are flying: Are Blizzard and Tokyopop parting ways?

Class news and guides

• Scattered Shots helps you find the right hunter spec for the job.
• Lichborne takes a first look at some of the patch 4.1 PTR changes for death knights.
• Check out our first look at the patch 4.1 PTR warrior changes. Rossi also had more to say about everything in The Care And Feeding of Warriors.
• Shifting Perspectives looks patch 4.1 for balance druids. We also have a look at bear weapons, trinkets, and relics and a look at addons for feral cats.
• Encrypted Text talks about the patch 4.1 PTR for rogues.
• The Light And How To Swing It looks at patch 4.1 for retribution paladins. We also have a look at holy paladin best practices.
• Totem Talk looks at restoration's DPS-focused talents. We also have a guide to Nefarian for enhancement shaman.
• Spiritual Guidance discusses the hybrid tax and how it related to shadow priests. We also have a guide healing through a couple more Blackwing Descent bosses.
• Raid Rx looks at healing Halfus.
• Blood Pact is staying alive.

Dungeons, items, professions, PvP, and more

• The blues offered some explanation for the varied archaeology cooldowns.
• The Overachiever helps you get The Limnologist achievement.
• Addon Spotlight looks at the Daily Grind.
• Gold Capped has a guide to the use of the TradeSkillMaster addon.
• Ready Check looks at using macros for raid calls.

Odds and ends

• The Drama Mamas deal with the unfortunate realities of minors and romance on WoW.
• Check out the latest installment of Safe Passage.
• Know Your Lore has some crazy theories about time wizards and the Infinite Dragonflight this week.
• 15 Minutes of Fame talks with one voice-over artist about how her WoW playing led to her career.
• The Lawbringer looks at the unique challenges of launching WoW in Brazil.
• The WoW TCG has released the Assault on Icecrown raid deck.

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Tags: downtime, maintenance, realm-downtime, realm-maintenance, rolling-restarts, roundup, scheduled-downtime, scheduled-maintenance, server-downtime, server-maintenance, server-status, tuesday, tuesday-morning, tuesday-morning-post

Filed under: Realm Status, News items