Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. While we haven't had a global apocalypse this week, WoW news is still staying lively with the announcement of patch 5.1, mere weeks after the release of the expansion. Sure, it includes some game play tweaks and convenience changes, but what's really intriguing is the amazing new lore events.

Of course, if you don't want to get spoiled until the patch comes out, don't worry, there's still plenty of news to read from the live servers, as well as many class, faction, and rare mob guides to help you tackle the new content. As of this writing, realm maintenance is expected to start at 3 a.m. PDT and last for 8 hours, so you should have time to do some site browsing. Read on for our usual roundup.

Patch 5.1 news and features

• The patch 5.1 PTR is upon us, and we have the patch notes.
• There's a lot of new lore content coming in patch 5.1. If you want to be spoiled, we have links to datamined voice files (including a second post with more of them), as well as new cinematics for each faction.
• There's also new scenarios coming in patch 5.1, and they send us to some unexpected places.
• Cooking bags for storing all your meats and veggies will be coming in patch 5.1.
• Maybe you can't stack stag form anymore, but you'll still get Stackable Stags in patch 5.1.
• Patch 5.1 will bring crowd control notifications to your screen.
• Check out some of the new achievements coming in patch 5.1.
• Darkmoon Faire is getting some new rides and rewards in patch 5.1.

Other hot news and features

• Ink traders are finally accepting the new inks as currency.
• The Fire Kitten is a brand new pet coming to the Blizzard pet store.
• We have a guide to the Anglers faction.
• We also have a guide to starting your Klaxxi dailies.
• We have a guide to getting started with season 12 PvP.
• Your Tillers farm could have its very own dog.
• We offer guides to defeating the hozen and mantid rare elite mobs.
• Have you met the amazing Blingotron yet?
• Blizzard offered a quick walkthrough on starting your rep grind with the Golden Lotus faction.
• Blizzard was at the NYCC, and we have a look at some of the new books they announced and previewed there.
• We interview the Maine senate candidate who came under attack for playing WoW.

Class news and guides

• We have a guide to monk talents for all specializations.
• Spiritual Guidance has a guide to holy priests in Mists of Pandaria.
• The Care And Feeding of Warriors talks tanking.
• Totem Talk takes a quick inventory of restoration shamans in Mists.
• Lichborne examines heroic dungeon gear for death knights.
• Scattered Shots covers hunter enchantments for Mists.
• Shifting Perspectives helps you gear your restoration druid for heroics. We also discuss the Heart of the Wild and Symbiosis hotfixes.
• Encrypted Text compares rogue and DPS monk rotations and playstyles.
• Arcane Brilliance has tips for leveling a mage from 85 to 90.

Dungeons, items, professions, and more

• If you're starting to run dungeons again (or for the first time ever), you'll want to brush up on our dungeon etiquette guide.
• Addon Spotlight covers some reputation addons and an addon designed to make your pet battle experience more like Pokemon.
• WoW Archivist looks back at the history of Meeting Stones.
• While leveling in Pandaria, you might just stumble on some incredibly fast temporary mounts.

Odds and ends

• Know Your Lore has a few theories on the true danger behind Pandaria and the true history of the Mogu.
• We interview the guy behind The Undermine Journal and more of your favorite WoW data-parsing sites.
• This tauren druid hit level 90 the pacifist way.

---