Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. There were a lot of big stories this week. It's hard to know where to begin. If I had to pick one, I'd say the biggest was probably the purported Blizzard trademark registration for The Dark Below. Is it real? Is it a hoax? Some people (including myself) thought it might be a Diablo 3 expansion, but this website teasing the name Reaper of Souls may have taken that off the table. There's also strong evidence it may be a hoax. Of course, there's also strong evidence that it's not a hoax. In the end, I'm putting my money on Corgis unleashed. That Corgi pet will be mine, I swear!

I guess there was other news, of course, like that whole epic patch 5.4 trailer release. Me, I'm all about the Corgis though. Or the cards. The Heartstone closed beta has also begun, and most of your intrepid WoW Insider staff are in it, so expect to see more news and previews of the game in the coming weeks. In the meantime, read on to see what we've already uncovered. Downtime today starts at 3 a.m. PDT and lasts 5 hours, so you should have time.

Hot news and features

• WoW Insider is looking for a new rogue columnist.
• We played through the Hearthstone tutorial and the Hearthstone Arena, and have previews for you, complete with pictures.
• We got a chance to interview Tom Chilton about the upcoming patch 5.4.
• PvP season 13 ends August 27, possibly heralding patch 5.4.
• Patch 5.4 has also hit the background downloader.
• The real Stormwind Harbor will be intact in patch 5.4.
• Battlefield: Barrens will be coming to an end when Patch 5.4 releases.

• The Vale of Eternal Blossoms will also see some major changes when patch 5.4 goes live.
• Patch 5.4 will not reset your valor points.
• Blizzard has released their own preview of the upcoming Timeless Isle.
• If The Dark Below is a real thing, it may just feature Ozumat, Fiend of the Dark Below.
• Ghostcrawler's tweets suggest that we may see a class ability purge in the next expansion.

Class news and guides

• Are passive buffs a bad thing? Ghostcrawler posed the question on twitter recently.
• Chase Christian submits his last Encrypted Text column.
• Totem Talk discusses the latest restoration shaman news from patch 5.4.
• The Light And How To Swing It discusses retribution tier set bonuses in patch 5.4. We also take a look at paladin tank gear in patch 5.4.
• The Care And Feeding of Warriors tries a little more optimism about the warrior's current plight.
• Lichborne offers up some proposed mastery redesigns for patch 6.0. We also take a look at the latest patch 5.4 news for death knights.

Dungeons, items, professions, PvP, and more

• Want to gear up ASAP? Here's six things you can do to get gear right now.
• Want to start playing WoW? We have a guide to helping you get started.
• Are you a solo player who wants to start grouping? We have a guide for you.
• WoW Archivist looks back at WoW's first legendary quest line.

Odds and ends

• The new Battle.net launcher is now in open beta.
• The Arthas novel Kindle edition is on sale for $1.99.
• Know Your discusses all the forces at play within the current Horde, as well as theorizes on what an expansion entitled The Dark Below could feature in terms of lore.
• 15 Minutes of Fame interviews one of WoW's top Brawler's Guild competitors.
• There was recently a pretty ugly battle over stolen gold that spilled over into a real courtroom.
• What if Gelbin Mekkatorque was an expansion's big bad? Rossi speculates on how it could go down.
• Check out this cool plush Frostsaber mount.

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