News Roundup UPDATED

Today (November 16) has extended maintenance, probably for them to add Patch 4.0.3 and all its changes in preparation for next week's The Shattering patch (4.0.3a).
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/11/16/tuesday-morning-post-elemental-extended-maintenance-edition/

A bit about Patch 4.0.3
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/11/16/4-0-3-released-no-patch-notes-no-game-changes-yet/

http://www.wowhead.com/blog=173983

Amazon is throwing in Burning Crusade free if you buy WOW.  This is a limited offer, just good during the day after Thanksgiving "Black Friday" sales.  Details here.
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/11/15/pre-black-friday-amazon-offering-burning-crusade-free-with-wow/

Blizzard is giving 7 free days of game play to folks who have unsubscribed.
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/11/15/blizzard-giving-7-days-of-free-play-to-lapsed-accounts/

Part four of the Elemental Invasion is live.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=173902

The old forums are going read-only November 17.  Blizzard is opening the new forums.
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/11/16/official-wow-forums-going-read-only-on-wednesday-new-community/

UPDATE:  Blizzard has released a preview of another new area, Tol Barad.
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/11/16/blizzard-releases-new-cataclysm-preview-tol-barad/

UPDATE #2: Patch 4.0.3a is up on the public test realm.
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/11/17/patch-4-0-3a-the-shattering-is-up-on-the-ptr/

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Patch 4.0.1 Breaks Crucial Auction House Addons

Here's the problem and a workaround using macros and another addon.  This is based on the public test realm version of Patch 4.0.1.
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/10/08/gold-capped-news-critical-ah-addons-broken-by-patch-4-0-1/

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A History of the Big Patches (With What to Expect in Patch 4.0.1)

Aurdon of I Sheep Things believes Patch 4.0.1, the patch that brings all the Cataclysm talents and other changes that will happen with Cataclysm, will hit next Tuesday, so he's doing a retrospective about the other big patches that hit before expansions.  It's interesting to read about changes to the game that these patches introduced but of greater interest is the list of major changes that this patch will bring.
http://www.isheepthings.com/blog/a-look-back-on-the-x-0-patches/

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Addons, Macros and the Public Test Realm

Addons and macros may not work in the public test realm version of Patch 4.0.1 or in Cataclysm.  Some folks have already started planning ahead.  Here's how to copy your addons and their settings to the PTR.
http://outdps.com/2010/10/03/copying-your-addons-and-addon-settings-to-the-ptr/

Here's how Dreambound's druid macros perform and what changes he plans to make.
http://dreambound-druid.blogspot.com/2010/10/40-and-macros.html

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Retribution Paladins in Patch 4.0.1

WOW Insider profiles the retribution paladin in Cataclysm based on Patch 4.0.1 information that's now on the public test realm.
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/09/29/the-light-and-how-to-swing-it-retribution-in-4-0-1/

Teleros is doing the same thing in multiple parts.
http://ferarro.blogspot.com/2010/09/retribution-breakdown-for-cataclysm_28.html

http://ferarro.blogspot.com/2010/10/retribution-breakdown-for-cataclysm.html

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Hunter Prep for Cataclysm

If you plan to play a hunter in Cataclysm, here's what Eidotrope thinks you need to be doing now to prepare.
http://outdps.com/2010/09/26/preparing-for-patch-4-0/

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The Protection Paladin (Patch 4.0.1)

Based on the public test realm information for Patch 4.0.1 (i.e., Cataclysm), here is what the protection paladin will look like once Cataclysm hits.
http://ferarro.blogspot.com/2010/09/protection-breakdown-401.html

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Patch 4.0.1 Talents

Now that character information is on the public test realm in Patch 4.0.1, folks are starting to list the talents for various characters.  Here is what I've seen so far, listed by class.

Healing Priest Talents
http://bobturkey.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/healing-priest-talents-in-4-0/

Healing Shamans
http://www.worldofmatticus.com/2010/09/10/shaman-healing-so-far-in-cataclysm/

Mage Talents Preview
http://www.frostnova.ch/tachyon/blogArticle.do?action=view&id=40534021

Arcane Mage Talents
http://www.frostnova.ch/tachyon/blogArticle.do?action=view&id=40534018

Fire Mage Talents
http://www.frostnova.ch/tachyon/blogArticle.do?action=view&topic=PTR%204.0%20Fire%20Talents

Frost Mage Talents
http://www.frostnova.ch/tachyon/blogArticle.do?action=view&id=40534020

Raiding Discipline Priest Specs
http://www.worldofmatticus.com/2010/09/14/raiding-discipline-specs-for-priests-in-the-cataclysm-4-0-1-patch/
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Frost Mage Talents in Patch 4.0.1

Tacyon goes over the talents for frost mages on the Patch 4.0.1 public test realm.
http://www.frostnova.ch/tachyon/blogArticle.do?action=view&topic=PTR%204.0%20Frost%20Talents

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Exploring Cataclysm in the Public Test Realm

With the 4.0.1 Patch available on the public test realm, folks willing to download the 16 gig file who aren't in the beta can explore Cataclysm's new classes and talents (but not any of the new quests or raids).  Blessing of Kings is looking at the paladin in the two links below.
http://blessingofkings.blogspot.com/2010/09/40-early-paladin.html

http://blessingofkings.blogspot.com/2010/09/40-early-levels-part-ii.html

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Public Test Realms Live for Patch 4.0.1

You can now download the 16 gig Patch 4.0.1 is now live and downloadable.  This shows the class changes (including the new talents I believe) and the changes to the UI but the new Cataclysm content such as zones or quests or the new characters is not available.
http://www.wow.com/2010/09/11/patch-4-0-1-ptr-patch-notes-ptr-is-live/

Blessing of Kings started a new paladin to experience the new leveling.  You can read what he thinks here.
http://blessingofkings.blogspot.com/2010/09/40-early-paladin.html

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Real ID Discussion (Patch 3.3.5) UPDATED WITH SECURITY CONCERNS

The next big patch (3.3.5) will include a new instance (Assault on Ruby Sanctum) and also something called Real ID will appear in Battle.net.  Here's a bit about Real ID, how it is supposed to work and what Mana Obscura thinks about how successful it will be.
http://www.manaobscura.com/?p=651

UPDATE:  WOW Insider writes briefly about how Real ID will work.  The best part of the article are screen shots from the Public Test Realm.
http://www.wow.com/2010/05/13/patch-3-3-5-ptr-battle-net-real-id-system/

UPDATE #2:  Lissanna has some concerns about Read ID and the Friends of Friends feature you might want to read.
http://www.restokin.com/2010/05/getting-personal-or-not/

UPDATE #3:  WOW Insider thinks any security concerns are overblown.  Given that the Solo MMO Player believes that his email address used for logging into the game (which has never been used for anything else so where do all the phishing emails and gold seller spam come from?) has been hacked, they are wrong.
http://www.wow.com/2010/05/28/real-id-security-concerns/

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From the Public Test Realm: Converting Marks to Honor

Here is the Battlegrounds currency conversion from marks to honor as seen on the public test realm, with a list of mounts, armor, weapons and other items you can buy with this stuff.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/26/patch-3-3-3-ptr-new-battleground-mark-conversion/

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Patch 3.3.3 Changes UPDATED

UPDATE #2:  WOW Insider is keeping a list of expected changes to the game from Patch 3.3.3 and updating it as more information comes out.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/20/patch-3-3-3-ptr-what-weve-seen-in-the-last-24-hours/

Blizzard is announcing upcoming changes to the game thick and fast.  Patch 3.3.3 has a public test realm that is up and running now, or about to be.  I think the link below is where you access the PTR (public test realm).
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/ptr/

Here is what to expect from it.  Note that the random Battleground system is included in this patch.  You can't use this unless you are wearing a Level 80 character.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/19/patch-3-3-3-ptr-patch-notes/

A more complete explanation of the changes to Battlegrounds, as well as a list of other changes.
http://mmorpgs.pvpee.com/patch-3-3-3-ptr-notes

Patch 3.3.5 apparently has a new raid called Assault on the Ruby Sanctum.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/19/assault-on-the-ruby-sanctum-coming-in-patch-3-3-3/

There is going to be some tinkering with Wintergrasp specifically in the "next minor content patch" which I suppose means Patch 3.3.3.  WOW Insider is excited about the mechanics of Wintergrasp which Blizzard explains here.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/19/wintergrasps-hidden-balance-mechanics-revealed-minor-changes-c/

More details on the Wintergrasp changes.
http://mmorpgs.pvpee.com/upcoming-wintergrasp-changes

Note this about the authenticator from WOWHead's blog entry about the 3.3.3 patch notes--
"Authenticator Frame: If a player has a Battle.net Authenticator attached to his or her account and selects Remember Account Name at the login screen, the next time that player logs into World of Warcraft, a field to input the Authenticator code will be displayed below the password field."

http://www.wowhead.com/?blog=145532

The Auction House will have major changes and there will be profession changes, too.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/19/patch-3-3-3-ptr-major-changes-to-the-auction-house-and-game-eco/

Changes to the dungeon finder.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/20/patch-3-3-3-ptr-random-dungeon-finder-changes/

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