Happy Tuesday Morning, everyone! The biggest news this week is, of course, the dawn of the Patch 4.2 PTR. The long-awaited Firelands raid is upon us, along with a bunch of other cool stuff. While Blizzard's dialed it back a bit on official previews as compared to last week, the dataminers have found a lot of delicious stuff to hold us over.

If you don't want to partake of patch 4.2 just yet, don't worry, we have plenty of news, guides, and features for other things as well, including a nice little speculation post on the cast of the WoW movie and a guide to aging your elf. With downtime stretching from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. PDT this morning, you should have plenty of time to read it all.

Hot news and features

• Check out the official notes for minor patch 4.1.0a.
• Check out the official patch 4.2 PTR notes.
• Check out the patch 4.1 hotfixes for May 2 and May 4.
• Anne has a few ideas for a WoW movie casting call.
• WoW Archivist checks out beta patch 0.12.
• CM Zarhym has a few words to say about blues and forum communication. He also said a few words about WoW's premium services.
• WoW's dropped to 11.4 million subscribers, the fastest post-expansion dip thus far.

More patch 4.2 news (Warning! Spoilers ahead!)

• Blizzard's offered more information on the new Hyjal dailies.
• Dataminers have pulled out over 800 new items from the patch 4.2 PTR files.
• Check out some of the new patch 4.2 vanity pets.
• Check out 3-D models of some of the new bosses and NPCs in patch 4.2.
• Check out the warrior tier 12 armor set.
• The tier 12 set bonuses have also been datamined.
• Rossi has some analysis of the latest lore spoilers for patch 4.2.
• PTRs can be a little buggy. Here's how we're dealing with some of the worst patch 4.2 PTR bugs.

Class news and guides

• Totem Talk looks at some patch 4.1 restoration questions. We also have a look at the tier 12 enhancement set bonuses.
• The Light And How To Swing It looks at patch 4.1 for holy paladins. Also, don't trust your mana bar.
• Shifting Perspectives has a Restoration Druid 101 guide. We also take a look at the patch 4.2 balance druid changes.
• Lichborne helps PvE DPS death knights stay alive.
• Encrypted Text looks at the new Zandalari heroics for rogues.
• Spiritual Guidance has shadow priest reactions to patch 4.1 and hopes for patch 4.2. We also look at the tier 12 priest set bonuses for healing priests.
• Scattered Shots discusses the best hunter racials for raiding.
• Raid Rx takes a look at the new tier 12 healing set bonuses.
• The Care and Feeding of Warriors opines on the Dungeon Finder Call to Arms.
• Blood Pact helps you level your warlock to 60.

Dungeons, items, professions, PvP, and more

• Icy Prism's cooldown is gone.
• Vendors in capital cities now sell profession recipes that were once hidden away in Twilight Highlands.
• Gold Capped has part 1 of a guide to selling glyphs in Cataclysm.
• Just hit level 85? WoW Rookie can help you plan your next step.
• The Overachiever takes a look at mounts that drop in raids.
• Ready Check helps you navigate disagreements with your raid leader.
• Blood Sport continues our guide to rolling a new character for PvP.
• Registration for Arena Pass 2011 is open.
• Addon Spotlight takes a look at AdiBags.

Odds and ends

• Know Your Lore discusses the repercussions of Vol'jin's war against the Zandalari. We also have the first part of a look at the latest lore on the Scythe of Elune and worgen curse.
• World of WarCrafts interviews Blizzard fan fiction contest runner-up Saif Ansari.
• 15 Minutes of Fame talks to a particle physicist.
• The Lawbringer has a few observations on the new charity hippogryph pet.
• All The World's a Stage helps you figure out the age and knowledge level of your elven PC.
  

  ---

  The news is already rolling out for the upcoming WoW Patch 4.2! Preview the new Firelands raid, marvel at the new legendary staff, and get the inside scoop on new quest hubs -- plus new Tier 12 armor!
  

  ---

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

Filed under: Realm Status, News items