Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

By the time you read this, patch 5.3 should be on live servers. We've already written a couple columns on what patch 5.3 will mean for death knights, but as always, things change on the PTR. With that in mind, this week we'll take a final look at patch 5.3 for death knights and what you can expect and do once the servers are back up (if they aren't already). I also have a couple notes on completing Wrathion's legendary quest line for death knights.

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Filed under: Death Knight, (Death Knight) Lichborne

Patch 5.3 is here. As you read this, the servers should be down to apply the patch. This means you'll want to use this time get caught up on all the latest patch 5.3 news, which, as always, you can find right here. Start off with our patch 5.3 roundup for an overview of everything. You'll also want to check out our exclusive interview with Lead Systems Designer Greg Ghostcrawler Street. Gamebreaker TV also did an interview with Ghostcrawler and Senior PvP Designer Brian Holinka.

You can also check the roundup below for more of this week's WoW news, from patch 5.3 and elsewhere. Realm maintenance begins at 3 a.m. PDT today and is expected to last 8 hours, so you'll have time.

Hot news and features

• Here's what WoW newbies should know about new patches.
• We have a guide to the lore and story of patch 5.3.
• Patch 5.3 will allow you level mining and herbalism exclusively in Pandaria.
• We have a roundup of patch 5.3's battle pet changes.
• We have a preview of some new patch 5.3 scenarios, including The Secrets of Ragefire and Battle on the High Seas.
• Blizzard has posted some patch 5.3 interviews of their with Tom Chilton.
• Check out the final patch 5.3 PTR note updates for March 14.
• Ghostcrawler outlines some Vengeance changes coming to the patch 5.4 PTR.
• Convert to Raid interviews Blizzard's Lead Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas.

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Filed under: Realm Status, News items

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

In a recent update on the patch 5.3 PTR, Blizzard applied an update that applied some unexpected changes to the death knight unholy tree, most of them nerfs.

Blizzard

Death Knight

Unholy

• Festering Strike now deals 175% weapon damage, down from 200%.
• Scourge Strike now deals 165% weapons damage, up from 135%.
• Unholy Might now increases the Death Knight's Strength by 10%, down from 15%.

source

This has, unsurprisingly, left many death knights at a loss. After patch 5.2 seemed to cure unholy's woes and allow it to at least be a viable and fun alternative to frost, these nerfs came as a surprise. Frost is so far still the more damaging death knight DPS spec in patch 5.2, so the idea that unholy is the one that got nerfs was somewhat discouraging.

That said, it might not be as bad as you think. It's worth noting that in the long run, the Scourge Strike buff should cancel out the nerfs to Festering Strike and Unholy Might, at least in theory. This brings to mind one question as to what this shifting of damage toward Scourge Strike is actually meant to accomplish. Essentially, the main purpose here appears to be a nerf to festerblight.

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Filed under: Death Knight, (Death Knight) Lichborne

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. We continue to wait for patch 5.3, with official confirmation coming in yesterday that it won't be going live this week. In the meantime, the test server continues to be updated, and the big news stories are often outside the game, from the news that WoW is down to 8.3 million subscribers to the news Diablo III had to shut down the auction house due to massive gold duping bugs. They've since announced that all money from the illegitimate auctions, including their cut, will be donated to charity.

All this news and more awaits you with our usual roundup below. As of this writing, there is no announced downtime, but even if there isn't, you deserve a break right? Relax and read on.

Hot news and guides

• Check out the latest patch 5.3 PTR patch note updates.
• Blizzard's released an official guide to preparing for patch 5.3.
• Check out this preview of the patch 5.3 Battlefield: Barrens event.
• The Unborn Val'kyr battle pet continues to mystify. It's been captured on the PTR, but no-one can quite figure out how and why it spawns.
• Today is the last day to change attendee information on your BlizzCon ticket.
• Ghostcrawler confirms that the developers have no plans for a talent system overhaul any time soon.
• The new Dark Riders graphic novel is out, and we have a review.

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Filed under: Realm Status, News items

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. We continue to be in a holding pattern of sorts. Patch 5.3 is still going strong on the PTR, but we have no word on a release date. Luckily, patch 5.2 is still going strong as well, with new secrets being discovered as early as just last week. There's also new stuff outside of WoW, from new short stories, to new merchandise, to some interesting viewpoints on the function of gear in the game.

Our usual roundup, featuring all these stories and more, can be found below. Scheduled maintenance today is expected to begin at 3 a.m. PDT and last for 8 hours, so you have plenty of time to read. Keep it tuned here as well. Whenever the patch lands, we'll be here to report on all the details.

Hot news and features

• The latest patch 5.2 hotfixes include nerfs to the Lei Shen encounter in Raid Finder.
• Firecat form has made a secret return in patch 5.2. We'll show you how to get it.
• Blizzard has published an official preview of patch 5.3.
• Heirloom shields may be coming as soon as patch 5.3.
• Patch 5.3 comes with new achievements for collectors.
• Do you feel pretty? Patch 5.3 brings with it the chance to obtain the Gorgeous title.
• We have a temporary fix to that gold seller calendar invite spam.
• Adam believes gear should be abolished. Rossi argues gear is far too important and useful for it to be removed.

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Filed under: Realm Status, News items

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

With BlizzCon officially announced, the question on everyone's lips is whether or not we'll get a new expansion announcement. Myself, I'm pretty sure it's a done deal, which makes this a perfect time to speculate and daydream about the inevitable changes that will come with patch 6.0. Today, we'll dream a bit about what could be coming for death knights.

Swelling the armies

It's been more or less traditional that we do get a new ability every time the level caps get raised. Whether this tradition will continue or not is admittedly hard to say. A lot of classes are already suffering from "button bloat," and Blizzard may want to shy away from adding new buttons. In addition, not adding new buttons may give them more leeway to adjust other buttons, as well as ensure classes don't get too powerful or infringe on other class' territory.

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Filed under: Death Knight, (Death Knight) Lichborne

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. Today's header is bought to you by the fact that Azure Water Striders have a pretty cool mount special animation. Now, on to the news. The past 7 days have been remarkably busy on a lot of fronts. It's Children's Week, which means you have one more chance to hang out with some cool kids and get some awesome pets in return. We have a guide to doing the achievements as well, of course. Both rounds of BlizzCon tickets sold out pretty quickly, as expected.

The big happenings don't end there, of course. Read on for the usual roundup of all the major news and guides from the past week, including new patch 5.3 PTR news. Realm maintenance starts at 3:00 a.m. Pacific time this morning and is expected to last 8 hours, so you should have time.

Hot news and features

• The developers held a live chat last Thursday. We have a transcript of the questions asked and their juicy, succulent answers.
• The official BlizzCon 2013 contests have been announced.
• Did you miss out on getting a BlizzCon ticket? We have a guide to other ways to experience BlizzCon.
• Check out the latest patch 5.3 PTR notes updates for April 22.
• Check out the latest patch 5.2 live server hotfixes for April 22.
• Patch 5.3 will see a massive nerf to the scaling of PvP power.
• Select pet types may get new passive abilities for pet battling.

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Filed under: Realm Status, News items

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

With patch 5.2 having, if not solved, at least soothed most of our balance problems, patch 5.3 seems like a relatively quiet patch for death knights. Our class changes are a handful of relatively small fixes.

That said, there's still a good amount of content coming. Today, we'll look at patch 5.3 content and what it offers for the death knight. Note that what we're discussing today is primarily PTR content, and thus may not make it live, or will make it live in a slightly different format.

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Filed under: Death Knight, (Death Knight) Lichborne

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. Patch 5.3 continues to be on the PTR, and the changes keep coming. We still have no actual ETA for when the patch will hit live servers, but it's certainly not slowing down. On the other hand, the live servers are hopping too, with Raid Finder finally opening its doors to all comers, allowing us all to take down the notorious Lei Shen. As always, our intrepid team has been out covering it all.

Downtime today is just a series of rolling restarts at 7 a.m. PDT. The process is expected to take about an hour, which is more than enough time to skim our usual roundup of the last week of news. Read on to see what you may have missed.

Hot news and features

• The World of Warcraft community team will be hosting a live Q&A with the developers on April 25.
• Aiming for a BlizzCon ticket? We have a few tips to help you nab yours.
• Check out the latest patch 5.2 hotfixes for April 16 and April 18.
• The Answers to the recent PvP themed Ask the Devs are now up.
• Throne of Thunder Raid Finder is now completely open. We have a quick 5-second guide to each of the new bosses.
• We preview the new patch 5.3 battleground Deepwind Gorge.
• Engineers will be able to make a Bad Robot pet in a future patch.
• Fs, the original world first level 90 who was later rolled back to 87, has had his world first achievement reinstated.
• As of patch 5.3, carrying a flag in battlegrounds will cause a tank to take more damage.
• Legendary metagems are restricted to Throne of Thunder helms only.
• The Shado-Pan Assault trinkets have been hotfixed to be a bit less effective in PvP.

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Filed under: Realm Status, News items

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. It's been an undercurrent for a while now, but a pressing question seems to be sweeping the WoW world lately. Is the Alliance getting a bad deal in lore right now? A lot of people think so. Our writers got in on the discussion too. Anne talked about reactive vs. proactive storytelling, while Alex advocates a return of some Alliance heroes and more equality for the Alliance player character, among other things.

I won't lie, I side with those who are disappointed with Alliance lore lately. I've tried to console myself with cinematics of our glory days, including that one at the top of this article. The other option was ice cream, but I'm trying to lose weight.

Luckily, no matter what you think of Alliance lore, the rest of game is still pretty awesome. For proof, read on. We have a roundup of all the latest news, including some of the good stuff coming with patch 5.3. Realm maintenance starts at 5 a.m. Pacific time and lasts 6 hours, so you have time to read up.

Hot news and features

• Read up on the latest PTR changes for April 11 and April 15.
• Check the latest patch 5.2 hotfixes for April 8, April 9, and April 10.
• Bashiok recently clarified the Durumu hotfixes.
• We have a listing of the new Darkspear Rebellion quartermaster rewards.
• We have a preview of two of the patch 5.3 scenarios, Dark Heart of Pandaria and the Blood In The Snow.
• You can now choose which specialization loot you'll get from Raid Finder and bonus rolls in patch 5.3.
• We take a look at the Darkspear Rebellion faction on the patch 5.3 PTR.

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Filed under: Realm Status, News items