Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. I feel like we're officially in the part of the year where we're all desperate for the expansion beta, but have a sinking feeling it won't be out for at least another month or two. Soon just isn't soon enough. Luckily, we still have some choice WoD news tidbits coming out, as well as a flood of news from the patch 5.4.7 PTR.

With so much to read up on, you might want to get it to. Maintenance today is limited to rolling restarts at 5 a.m. pacific time, but you'll want to take your time absorbing this good stuff.

Hot news and features

• Check out the latest patch 5.4.7 PTR patch notes updates for January 28.
• Check out some of Wowhead's most recent datamined finds from the PTR.
• Read up on the latest hotfixes for patch 5.4.2 for January 28 and January 29th.
• The Charge and Warbringer nerfs on the patch 5.4.7 PTR have been reverted.
• Read up on the latest US connected realms updates for January 31.
• Over 100,000,000 WoW accounts have been made since its inception, and Blizzard's released a cool infographic to celebrate.
• Our friends at Wowhead may have datamined the level 90 boosted character gear from the patch 5.4.7 PTR.
• The patch 5.4.7 PTR currently has a purchasable level 90 option in the online store.

• The PvP dampening nerf has been reverted to 10 minutes for 3v3 and 5v5 arena teams on the PTR.
• Blizzard is hoping to add a PvP toggle for PvE realms in Warlords of Draenor. No more accidental flagging unless you really want to.
• The battle pet level cap will remain at 25 in Warlords of Draenor.
• The Battle.net client may be gaining new social tools soon including chat and the ability to edit your friends list.
• Ready Check got to speak to Ion Hazzikostas and Brian Holinka about PvP, Warlords of Draenor, and more.

Class news and guides

• We have a guide to gearing a new windwalker monk for raiding.
• The Care And Feeding of Warriors offers advice for the new level 90 fury warrior.
• Arcane Brilliance examines the recent heated debate on the usefulness of Alter Time.
• Lichborne examines some death knight abilities that could (or should) get the axe in Warlords of Draenor.
• Blood Pact examines warlock abilities for button bloat.
• Scattered Shots discusses hunter etiquette.
• Totem Talk looks back at restoration shaman armor fashion in Mists.

Dungeons, Items, PvP, and more

• The contents of the Diablo III Collector's Edition have been revealed.
• Blizzard recently clarified how bonus rolls work for pets, mounts, and heirlooms.
• Addon Spotlight looks at addons to help you with macros.
• The dev team is planning to review low level PvP balance with Warlords of Draenor.
• Rossi makes a case for catch up dungeons.
• Olivia asks why we still have separate gear for PvP and PvE.
• WoW blogger Hamlet talks about learning the art of raid awareness.
• Do Battlegrounds need tutorials?

Odds & Ends

• The Blizzard store (for physical gear) has reopened, and for those it don't want to use it on their phone, you can buy physical authenticators again.
• A recent interview with Hearthstone executive producer Hamilton Chu revealed possible details for the first expansion.
• Having technical issues with WoW? We'll tell you how to deal with them.
• The Explore the World addon allows you to turn your WoW exploring into a game within a game.
• WoW Archivist has part 2 of the history of WoW in China.
• Know Your Lore recounts the end of the Cataclysm era. We also take a look at Warlord Zaela and her Dragonmaw clan.
• 15 Minutes of Fame talks to Turwinkle, a gnome whose videos highlight RP server communities.
• Rossi has dreams for the expansion.

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

Filed under: Realm Status, News items