Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. While the patch 5.4 PTR continues on, one of the most talked about stories this week has ramifications well beyond the next patch. The in-game store for patch 5.4 has been announced, as has a round of transmog and TCG-style vanity items to be purchased therein. Personally, I'm all for it, but what I really want to see is a pair of glasses and a leather-looking eyepatch my death knight can wear. You do that, Blizzard, and you have my money.

There's plenty of patch 5.4 news to catch up on as well, with lots of very interesting things coming out of datamining. Downtime today is limited to rolling restarts at 7 a.m. PDT, but it's a good excuse to take a break and do some reading. Read on for the usual roundup.

Hot news and features

• Blizzard's offering free character transfers for select realms until July 25.
• Blizzard has released an official preview of the patch 5.4 Proving Grounds feature.
• Read up on the latest patch 5.3 hotfixes for July 9.
• Check out the latest patch 5.4 PTR patch note updates for July 8 and July 12.
• New textures in the patch 5.4 PTR files may hint at the next expansion.
• We have two new batches of sound files from the PTR. One showcases Wrathion, while another hints at the post-war climate in Pandaria.
• We preview Norushen, one of the Siege of Orgrimmar boss encounters.
• Files on the patch 5.4 PTR point to a possible revamp for Winterveil. We might even finally be getting that elusive corgi for our very own.

• While there's still no sign we'll be able to play it in game, there's new models of a Hearthstone game board in the patch 5.4 PTR files.
• There's new 300 stat food on the PTR, and new ways to make it.
• Darkspear Rebellion battle pet Ghaz'rooki will become a rare drop in patch 5.4 and beyond.
• Holinka recently clarified the requirements for the new patch 5.4 PvP mounts.
• Death From Above, the newest faction short story, sheds light on the history of the Klaxxi.
• The WoW Insider round table discusses the new in-game store.

Class news and guides

• Encrypted Text discusses the new Killing Spree and rogue glyphs.
• The Light And How To Swing It discusses protection paladin changes in patch 5.4.
• The Care And Feeding of Warriors tries to see the forest for the trees with all these patch 5.4 changes.
• Shifting Perspectives continues to look at feral and balance druid changes for patch 5.4.

Dungeons, items, professions, PvP, and more

• Blizzard has released new official battlegrounds guides.
• WoW Archivist showcases 10 more of the greatest non-legendary weapons in WoW history.
• We have a quick roundup of all the patch 5.4 PvP changes thus far.

Odds and ends

• J!NX has new Warcraft-themed clothes and gear for sale.
• In last week's Know Your Lore, Rossi talks about why he loves rambling on about lore. We also have a discussion of Sunwalker Dezco and his possible future in lore and some speculation of the future of the game's lore with Hellscream gone.
• We have some tips to secure your WoW account from hackers.
• 15 Minutes of Fame interviews a guild of deaf raiders.
• The BlizzCon 2013 talent contest is now open for entries.
• The World of Warcraft Ultimate Visual Guide is now available for preorder.

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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