Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. We continue to wait for patch 5.3, with official confirmation coming in yesterday that it won't be going live this week. In the meantime, the test server continues to be updated, and the big news stories are often outside the game, from the news that WoW is down to 8.3 million subscribers to the news Diablo III had to shut down the auction house due to massive gold duping bugs. They've since announced that all money from the illegitimate auctions, including their cut, will be donated to charity.

All this news and more awaits you with our usual roundup below. As of this writing, there is no announced downtime, but even if there isn't, you deserve a break right? Relax and read on.

Hot news and guides

• Check out the latest patch 5.3 PTR patch note updates.
• Blizzard's released an official guide to preparing for patch 5.3.
• Check out this preview of the patch 5.3 Battlefield: Barrens event.
• The Unborn Val'kyr battle pet continues to mystify. It's been captured on the PTR, but no-one can quite figure out how and why it spawns.
• Today is the last day to change attendee information on your BlizzCon ticket.
• Ghostcrawler confirms that the developers have no plans for a talent system overhaul any time soon.
• The new Dark Riders graphic novel is out, and we have a review.

• We recently asked you what you'd add to improve WoW. Now, we have a compilation of some of the best answers.
• Did you forget Mother's Day? Quick, get your mom one of these WoW-related gifts to make it up to her.
• We offer a list of 10 of the most beautiful spots in WoW.
• Rossi argues against the split between casual vs. hardcore. Dawn thinks it's still worth making the distinction.
• Rossi argues that WoW was pretty easy back in the day. The real hard stuff wasn't really mechanics-based.

Class news and guides

• We take a look at what patch 5.3 will bring for monks.
• Totem Talk guides restoration shamans through the Throne of Thunder.
• The Light And How to Swing It offers some Throne of Thunder raiding advice for protection paladins.
• Shifting Perspectives helps feral druids get the most out of the Rune of Re-Origination.
• The Care and Feeding of Warriors offers an experiment in talent switching, or lack thereof.
• Blood Pact continues to dig through warlock logs, this time with a discussion on buffs and debuffs.
• Encrypted Text discusses mobility for rogues and what it may not matter as much as you think.
• Should you be playing a warlock? Let us help you decide.

Dungeons, items, PvP, professions, and more

• Learn the basics of weaponry in WoW.
• WoW Archivist looks back at some of biggest class issues from back in the day.
• Gold Capped shows you how to check the Black Market Auction House without even logging in.

Odds and ends

• Check the screenshots of our 2013 running of the orphans event.
• Know Your Lore discusses why we went to Karazhan and theorizes on the true nature of the curse of flesh.
• 15 Minutes of Fame interviews the leader of an all-orc clan.
• Have you left WoW while your friends stayed behind, or vice versa? We have some tips for staying in touch.
• Blizzard recently hosted a livestream of the upcoming Hearthstone card game. You can see video at the link.

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Filed under: Realm Status, News items