Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. It's a busy week in WoW. Not only has Noblegarden begun, but the patch 5.3 news keeps rolling out. Don't worry though. It may April, but we are not fools. We're keeping up with it all and reporting it to you. Downtime this morning is limited to a series of rolling restarts at 7 a.m. PDT, but there's a lot of news to catch up on. Read on for the usual roundup.

Hot news and features

• You still have a week left to win The Art of Blizzard Entertainment from our contest.
• The Overachiever has a guide to Noblegarden 2013.
• Check out the latest patch 5.2 hotfixes for March 27 and March 29.
• There's some new scenarios and some new content with Lorewalker Cho coming in patch 5.3, and we have a rundown for you.
• We have a look at the new Shado-Pan Arena coming in patch 5.3.
• The Barrens and Durotar are undergoing major changes in patch 5.3 as Garrosh's troops take over.
• Even more battle pets have been found on the PTR.
• We take a look at some of the new mount models and achievements in the PTR files.
• We've run some the Heroic Scenarios on the patch 5.3 PTR, and have a report for you.
• These epic cloaks could be part of Wrathion's patch 5.3 legendary storyline.
• Ghostcrawler clarified the meaning of that tri-spec achievement discovery in the patch 5.3 PTR files.

• Hungry for Hearthstone news? We have a roundup of the latest blue posts about the upcoming online CCG.
• Do you hate Throne of Thunder trash? We have a list of 15 horrible trash clears from past raids to remind you how bad it gets.
• Are patches coming too fast?
• Blizzard recently offered a glimpse into the work of their sound design team.
• Nethaera wants to know what makes a compelling character.

Class news and guides

• Encrypted Text helps your rogue adjust to patch 5.2.
• Totem Talk has more advice for restoration shamans in Throne of Thunder.
• Lichborne offers some tricks for getting through the Isle of Thunder's solo content.
• Scattered Shots looks at all those extra pet slots hunters have on the patch 5.3 PTR.
• The Care and Feeding of Warriors looks at more patch 5.2 gear.
• The Light And How To Swing It offers some insight into the role of seals. We also have advice for getting through the Trove of the Thunder King as a paladin.
• Blood Pact has the story of how one warlock gained the green fire.
• Shifting Perspectives philosophizes on the role of restoration druids and the place of healing meters.

Dungeons, items, professions, PvP, and more

• We analyze the latest patch 5.3 PvP gear changes.
• We have a guide to level 90 PvP gems and enchants.
• Are you coming back to WoW? We have a list of resources to help you get back in the game.
• Are you just getting started with WoW? We have a guide for that too.
• Addon Spotlight answers more of your questions.
• Is the heroic dungeon obsolete?
• WoW archivist takes a look back at past WoW April Fool's jokes, and notes which ones have come true.

Odds and ends

• Know Your Lore has some wild theories about that dead titan, and a roundup of some of our favorite wild theories. Finally, we get philosophical about the horde rebellion.
• One teacher has taken inspiration for teaching from World of Warcraft.

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Tags: downtime, last-week-in-wow, maintenance, realm-downtime, realm-maintenance, rolling-restarts, roundup, roundups, scheduled-downtime, scheduled-maintenance, server-downtime, server-maintenance, server-status, tuesday, tuesday-downtime, tuesday-maintenance, tuesday-morning, tuesday-morning-post

Filed under: Realm Status, News items