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In its forthcoming “Mists of Pandaria” expansion, World of Warcraft will debut “Talents 2.0,” a system that intends to right wrongs and a provide some actual variation going forward. The cookie-cutter builds, first of all, have been replaced by “specs.” Each class now has a choice between three specs that closely resemble the talent builds/trees of old — Warriors will still choose between Arms, Fury, and Protection for example.

Here’s where it gets interesting: instead of unlocking spells via talents, players will now be awarded them automatically. Some spells are class-specific — all warriors will be given Heroic Strike — but others are spec-specific — only Holy-specced Paladins will get Hammer of the Righteous.

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After long years of patiently enduring and biding their time under the hospitality of their dwarven allies, the gnomes have rallied for one final, valiant attempt to reclaim their rightful home. They now face a battle against the twisted genius of a betrayer, one who is maniacally obsessed with ruling over the gnomish race… or destroying it entirely. With their allies hard-pressed to survive in the aftermath of the Cataclysm, the gnomes must rely upon cunning, cleverness, and courage to take back what is theirs.

Blizzard Entertainment is proud to present the latest entry in the Leaders of Azeroth short story series: "Cut Short"!

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We understand that raw patch notes don’t always provide enough context for changes to the game, so we thought we’d take a moment to explain some of our logic behind the buffs and nerfs coming in the 4.2 “Rage of the Firelands” patch. We particularly want to try to combat the perception that classes end up nerfed in PvE as collateral damage from PvP nerfs (or vice versa). The number of PvP buffs versus PvP nerfs were about equal this time around, and we make careful consideration to keep the impact outside of PvP minimal. So, if we nerfed your class’s PvE damage, it’s most likely because we thought your class was doing too much damage in PvE.

No doubt you’ll disagree with some of our logic – “But we were middle of the pack!” seems to be the common rebuttal these days. Balance is an art, though, not a science. (This topic probably deserves its own blog, but I’ll try to spell it out briefly.)

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Across the breadth of Azeroth, the Horde and the Alliance have dealt crushing blows to Deathwing's elemental minions and fanatic Twilight's Hammer cultists. Through it all, the Earthen Ring has never wavered from its tireless charge, holding Azeroth itself together amid the tidal fury and errant magical energies that churn at the Maelstrom. Yet as the elements continue their chaotic upheaval, it seems that the noble shamanic order might finally be on the verge of breaking beneath the great weight that rests on its shoulders. Even Thrall, for all of his wisdom and skill, has grown aggravated by his failure to effectively communicate with Azeroth's elements. Recently, his calls were acknowledged, but the malevolent entity that responded has only intensified Thrall's fears and doubts....

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You may have noticed we changed class talent trees for Cataclysm. We changed not just the trees themselves, as you might expect for an expansion, but the entire structure of the trees and the way you choose talents. Now that the Cataclysm model has been in play for several months, the team has been discussing what we like and don’t like about it, and I thought that might be of interest to some of you. As always with this series, this is design rumination, not a list of upcoming changes.

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This is the part where I’d really love to share our ideas for how we could address these problems, but some discussions are still a little too rough even for the dev watercooler. When we’re a little farther along, we’ll be able to share more. In the meantime, this is a great topic for further discussion. Players like to evaluate the talents in their particular class, but it’s also useful to evaluate the talent tree system as a whole. It’s an iconic design for World of Warcraft for sure, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.

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A new arrival has just landed in the Blizzard Pet Store: the majestic Winged Guardian flying mount, a titan creation designed to protect Azeroth’s most ancient secrets. As with the Celestial Steed, this Guardian of the Titans will carry you across Azeroth as fast as your riding skill will take you.

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Gather your teammates and prepare yourselves for one of the biggest online Arena events World of Warcraft has to offer; registration for the 2011 World of Warcraft Arena Pass is now open!

This premium service allows players to create up to three ready-made level 85 characters of any regular class and race combination, deck them out in some of the best gear in WoW, and then fight for glory, honor, a special title and even an in-game pet!

Top notch armor, weapons, accessories, enchants, gems, gold, glyphs, training, pets—they’ll all be freely available when you enter the Arena Pass realm so you can fully customise your characters as you see fit. Once you’re ready, all that’s left to do for you and your team is to go head-to-head with others in the Arena, focusing purely on skill and strategy, in a 3v3 format.

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Bug Fixes

* Fixed an issue that sometimes caused player to disconnect when zoning into another location.
* The title Blackwing's Bane awarded for defeating Nefarian on Heroic difficulty is now selectable again by characters who have earned it.
* The targeting reticule should no longer disappear when players cast spells.
* Resolved some issues that were causing Movement Enforcement Errors.
* Resolved an issue affecting death knight runes after switching specializations.
* Party member positions should show up correctly when in dungeons.
* Animations while mounted should work normally again.
* NPCs should no longer be floating... unless they're meant to float.

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We’re currently preparing to bring the first playable iteration of patch 4.2 to the Public Test Realms. A sizable portion of this content has been in development for some time, so let’s get it in gear! With a new raid, a legendary questline, the most diverse daily quest hub to date, major story developments, user interface enhancements, and much more, patch 4.2 is certain to have something for everyone. Check out some of the major patch features you need to know about, followed by the initial patch notes.

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After the druids and their allies thwarted the invasion of Hyjal by the Twilight's Hammer and Ragnaros, an air of peace settled on the sacred mountain. As new growth bloomed across the region, members of the Earthen Ring and Cenarion Circle, along with the noble Dragon Aspects, convened at the ancient World Tree of Nordrassil. Among the gathered heroes were the legendary archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, the former Horde warchief and accomplished shaman Thrall, and his strong-willed companion, Aggra. Together, this illustrious assemblage was to unite its wondrous powers and restore the World Tree for the good of Azeroth.

Yet this auspicious event ended in tragedy. The details are still unclear, but word has spread that an incredibly powerful Twilight's Hammer agent, shrouded to hide his identity, interrupted the ceremony and struck down Thrall with dark magics... casting his spirit into the four domains of the Elemental Plane. If these terrible rumors hold true, the Earthen Ring -- indeed, all of Azeroth -- has potentially lost one of its greatest champions.

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ollowing the Cataclysm, Ragnaros's elemental minions assaulted Mount Hyjal in a bid to set the ancient World Tree of Nordrassil ablaze. Although the Guardians of Hyjal and their allies heroically repelled this invasion, their work on the sacred mount is far from over. In the newly healed Regrowth, Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage and his comrades have transformed the Sanctuary of Malorne into a staging ground for an assault on Ragnaros's domain: the Firelands. Thus far, their efforts have been frustrated by a resurgence in elemental activity that has engulfed the Regrowth and divided Malfurion's forces.


If Hyjal's defenders quell this counterattack, they have plans to create a permanent outpost in the Firelands from which to maintain an eternal vigil over the molten elemental realm. To do so, Malfurion's druids are planning to use an enchanted Sentinel Tree. With its roots sunk deep in Azeroth itself, this extraordinary tree's protective canopy will grow in the Elemental Plane, providing a much-needed shelter for the Guardians of Hyjal. Yet accomplishing such a feat will take weeks of brutal fighting against foes such as the treacherous Druids of the Flame, a splinter group of night elves bristling with Ragnaros's fiery powers. Regardless of the many challenges ahead, Hyjal's protectors and other heroes remain steadfast in their goal to establish a foothold in the Firelands. The safety of Hyjal and Nordrassil hinges on the campaign's success.

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