Filed under: Realm Status

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. Well, things may seem deceptively lull-like, signs seem to point to the idea that the Pandaria train is building up steam. This week bought us an update to the Mists of Pandaria talent calculator. You can check the class news section below to see if we've dissected the updates for your favorite class yet. If we haven't, it's coming soon (maybe even today!).

Scheduled maintenance this morning is from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST, so you should have time to catch up on all the latest WoW news while your realm's down. Read on for a list of some of our best articles from the past seven days.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. As expected, we marked yet another week without any significant Mists of Pandaria news, but it's all good. We did get some gaming news about another pretty huge upcoming release, including a glimpse at the girl I'm spending Valentine's Day with. So I'm fine. Pandaria can wait.

That said, there was still some prime WoW news in the pipeline over the last week. We had the Activision Blizzard investor conference call, where we learned that WoW lost only 100,000 subscribers since last count, mostly on the strength of the WoW annual pass. Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street held a discussion on class roles. We also got a new Blizzard representative on the story forums, Nyorloth, who's already starting things off we a bang with a shipping thread. Heck, we even heard that a Warcraft Monopoly game is in the works. There's a downtime filler for you.

Downtime this is week is from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST, so in lieu of Warcraft Monopoly, we have plenty of stuff for you to read, both in the paragraph above and in our usual roundup below.

For the past few weeks, Blizzard's toyed with us just a bit. Monday night bought a posted announcement of extended downtime, only for the morning to feature naught but rolling restarts. As of this writing, we're once again starting with a 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST downtime announcement. Will it stick this time? I suppose by the time you read this, we'll know.

Still, it's a win-win situation. If I'm right, I'm right. If Blizzard changes back to rolling restarts, we get to play the game again sooner. In the meantime, there's still stuff to read while the game's down. The biggest news we've gotten out of Blizzard thus far has been one of negatives: BlizzCon is gone, at least for this year. This means we'll have to party even harder in 2013, but what do we do in the meantime? For now, I suggest we catch up on reading. We've kept busy even with the dearth of news, offering guides and opinions you'll want to read. While you wait for the servers to come back up, why not read on? Our usual roundup of the best stuff from the past seven days awaits.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. The steady trickle of blue posts hinting at the possibility of maybe kind of sort of somewhat having some new news about Mists of Pandaria keep coming, but they also speak of a long time before we get something like an alpha test or any meaty updates. And so we are in something of a drought, and it looks like we'll be journeying toward Pandaria for some time yet.

Of course, that's not say we've had no news at all. The Dragon Soul nerf news came down the pipe this week, for example, and as you might expect caused a whole lot of uproar. In addition, the Lunar Festival has started up for the year, and we have our usual achievement guide ready to guide you. We even have an interview with a guy who made 1 million gold and gave it all away. Realm maintenance this morning is a nice, extended 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST, so you'll have plenty of time to get caught up on everything. Read on for our usual roundup.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. The big news of this week is probably patch 4.3.2, which is on the PTR. For the most part, it's bringing us minor balance changes and bug fixes, but there are a few big things in there, including a 64-bit client and the advent of raiding with your cross-realm friends. You still can't raid Dragon Soul with your friends from that PvP server you refuse to roll on, but you can at least do Raid Finder runs, as well as any classic raid your heart desires. Now you can sucker even more people into those legendary farming runs!

With a new patch on test the servers and the last of the post-holiday doldrums more or less shaken off, you better believe there's plenty of good news and interesting stuff to read from the past week. Downtime this week is a series of rolling restarts at 10 a.m. PST, which of course gives you time for a nice mid-morning or early afternoon break to catch up on the news. Read on for the usual run-down.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. This week has had its share of silence, for sure. I'm not sure if the folks at Blizzard's just enjoying the last bit of the holidays or secretly playing that other game, but either way, they didn't have much to say this week. That's not say there wasn't activity and stuff to discuss, not at all. The Darkmoon Faire's back in town, for one, and we've all been looking back at some of the best and worst stuff to come out of 2011. This is also the week we had to say goodbye to that freaking sweet corgi in the picture above. We can only pray Blizzard gives him back to us a pet some time in the future. If they do not, it shall surely go down in the annals of history as one of the greatest MMO tragedies of all time.

Downtime this morning is a series of rolling restarts starting at 10 a.m. PST, so you should have time to dig in to all the retrospectives and guides we have ready for you. Read on for the usual roundup.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. I would just like to make it known that I agree with Sacco. In fact, just to show solidarity, above please find the most awesome karaoke rendition of the song yet distributed via mass media.

As far as WoW news goes, the post-patch 4.3 world has been, as expected, a bit tumultuous. Paragon was sorry they cheated by exploiting the Raid Finder, but Blizzard handed down some hefty bans anyway. Still, don't let all that drama that dampen your spirits. Patch 4.3 is pretty awesome, and Blizzard's even offering some sweet deals if you want to buy it for a friend or get yourself a second (or even first) account. It's a great Christmas gift idea, right?

Maintenance this morning is short, from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. PST, but there's plenty of stuff to catch up on, from hotfixes to raid boss guides. Read on after the break for a full roundup.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. It's Darkmoon Faire week this week, and since this is also the first week of patch 4.3, that means it's a brand new faire. There are new games, new quests, and new mount and pet rewards to get excited over. If you haven't visited yet, I strongly suggest you do. I don't think you'll regret it, unless you hate fun or something.

If you're still trying to get a grip on the wide, wide world of patch 4.3, be sure to check out our patch 4.3 guide. I've also put a pretty awesome fan-modified version of the patch 4.3 trailer above for your amusement. If you're in the midst of pugging those new dungeons, you'll also definitely want to check out our 5-second guides to each of the new bosses. They're perfect for pasting into chat just to make sure the other newbs in your group know what's up. We also have a 5-second guide for the bosses of Dragon Soul's Raid Finder version.

Scheduled maintenance today is from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST, so you should have time to read up. Check out our usual roundup after the break.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. CM Bashiok has already confirmed that patch 4.3 will going live today, after the traditional 3 a.m.-to-11 a.m. Pacific downtime. The patch may even be downloadable by the time you read this. With that in mind, it may be a good idea to spend this downtime getting ready and reading up on some of the week's news. To start, I'd strongly suggest you check our guides to the three new 5-man dungeons:

• End Time
• Well of Eternity
• Hour of Twilight

You'll probably be queuing up soon to get your first valor points, so make sure you're in the know. Beyond that, we'll have more patch 4.3 FAQs and guides for you as the day goes on, and you'll want to check our guide to patch 4.3 as well. Our usual roundup of the past week's news awaits you after the break.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. The biggest news we're likely to see in a while, is, of course, not coming this week. Patch 4.3 will remain on the test servers for at least one more week, as Nov. 29 marks the projected end of the latest PvP season.

That said, there's plenty of new to be had this week, from Black Friday sales to more ways to earn conquest points. We have the usual roundup after the break -- but hey, if reading bulleted lists isn't your thing (or even if it is), why not try it in video form? Right up there, our own Mat McCurley delivers the big headlines of the past week, and he looks and sounds prettier than I do while doing it. You can catch him every Friday right here on the site.

With that, we pretty much have a way to deliver the news to whichever sense you like. Want to watch it? We have video. Want to hear it? We have a podcast. Want to read it? That goes without saying. We're still working on tasting it, but give us a few years. Whatever way you take your news, downtime today is a quick set of rolling restarts starting at 10 a.m. Pacific, so you'll have at least a little time to get caught up.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. While we received notice this past week that PvP season 10 could end as early as today, a later tweet from Bashiok confirmed the actual end date will be Nov. 29. Alas, this means we can't expect patch 4.3 until at least that date, meaning this will end up being the longest half a month ever, and I won't be able to spend my Thanksgiving vacation running End Time until my eyes bleed.

In an effort to keep myself entertained in the meantime, I've turned to one man: the Guy on a Buffalo. This man is the paragon, nay, the pinnacle of what humanity can be. Let his power and majesty inspire you, with dreams of his ruggedness filling the nights and days until patch 4.3 drops. ... Also, the song is pretty catchy.

Buffalo riding aside, there is a lot of cool stuff going on in WoW news, right from the class balance Q&A to WoW Insider's first children's book and first weekly WoW news vidcast. Downtime today is a quick series of rolling restarts starting at 5 a.m. Pacific, so why not take some time and get caught up? Our usual roundup awaits after the break.

The big WoW news this past week was probably the new Darkmoon Faire that just debuted on the patch 4.3 PTR. It has tons of stuff to see and do, and you'll want to attend.

• Need a tour? We've got a video tour.
• There are new replica gear sets and new ways to buy heirlooms.
• There are new pets and mounts ready to bolster your collection.

And that's just the beginning. There are new dailies, new ways to level your professions, and more. The Darkmoon Faire's so amazing, the other four weeks of the month are going to be sort of sad.

There was also some interesting news from GuildOx. They sent us a list of the most popular WoW character names by both race and class. As a lapsed RPer, you will excuse me if I trudge off to this corner and cry. I swear, my panda shaman will not have a "bear" or a "shock" anywhere in its name, with God as my witness. ... Then again, Bearshock is pretty catchy ...

Scheduled maintenance today is from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST, so you'll have plenty of time to catch up on all the news from the past week. There's a lot of it, from supporting the squish to Guardian Cub price wars, and we have it all for you after the break.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. I hope no one overindulged too much in candy or alcoholic beverages last night -- or if you did, I hope you're not too bad off. Myself, I'm finding that while I avoided getting the con crud, I seem to have picked up the Halloween party pestilence instead.

Downtime this morning consists of a series of rolling restarts starting at 10 a.m. PDT. So whether you're fighting off a fall cold, a hangover, or a tummy ache -- or if you're feeling fine, you lucky bum -- you should have some time to read up on the week's news with us. There's a good mix of patch 4.3 and BlizzCon 2011 stuff to review, so you'll probably want to read on.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. BlizzCon is over, and we're all recovering here, more or less. However, the news cycle marches on, and we've already received our post-BlizzCon bombshell: In a future content patch, Theramore will be destroyed by the Horde.

I'm not going to lie. As a die-hard Alliance player, I'm more than a little crestfallen. Jaina Proudmoore means a lot to me, and so does the city she built. But I have found one surefire way to cure these doldrums. To all my Alliance brothers and sisters, I invite you: Watch that video up there, and remember. This is what we Alliance can do. We didn't need the Horde, and we didn't need the Argent Crusade or the Cenarion Circle or any other neutral organizations. Glory to the Alliance.

While you bask in the power of the Alliance, I should also tell you that we have no reported downtime yet for this morning as of this writing. If it comes, though, have no fear. After the break, you'll find a roundup of all the BlizzCon news you may have missed over this crazy weekend, as well as everything else worth knowing about from the past seven days. Read on.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. Once again, Blizzard's let the big news wait until Monday. Yesterday, we learned that the Blizzard store will feature a bind on equip Guardian Cub, allowing you to place it on the auction house. Essentially, you'll be able to spend 10 dollars to buy an unspecified amount of gold. As you can imagine, people have opinions on this. Me, I'm just thinking Cats4Gold was a little ahead of its time. The time of the kitten based economy is upon us. How many cats do you think it'll take to buy a Vial of the Sands?

In addition to the cat stuff, we also have more news from patch 4.3 and elsewhere to cover. Downtime this morning is from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. PDT, so you should have time to get caught up. Join us after the break for a roundup of all the best stuff from the past week.