What better way to send a friend your best wishes for the New Year than to send one of our cool new World of Warcraft E-Cards. With three new E-Cards to choose from, take the time to send a friend your own unique message of seasonal cheer!

In our continued efforts to combat cheating in World of Warcraft, more than 105,000 accounts were closed and over 12 million gold was removed from the game economies in Europe, Korea, and the US in the month of November. The closed accounts were associated with activities that violate World of Warcraft's Terms of Use, such as using third-party programs that allow cheating, and farming gold and items. These types of activities can severely impact the economy of a realm and the overall game enjoyment for all players.

We will continue to aggressively monitor all World of Warcraft realms in order to protect the service and its players from the harmful effects of cheating. Please note that selling World of Warcraft content, such as gold, items, and characters, can result in a permanent ban of the involved accounts from World of Warcraft.

Many account closures come as the direct result of tips reported to our GMs in game or emailed to our Hacks Team by legitimate World of Warcraft players. If you suspect that a World of Warcraft player is using an illegal third-party program to farm gold or items, or is otherwise violating our Terms of Use, please report the suspected infraction via one of the means listed above. All reports will be investigated, and those that prove false will not result in corrective action.

As always, thank you for your continued support, and best of luck with your continued adventures in Azeroth!

What's that behind the tree? Another present? That's right, Greatfather Winter hasn't forgotten you!

The Blizzard Holiday Skit (10mb, mp3) makes a comeback after a year's hiatus and features a dramatization of an open casting call for the best undiscovered voice-acting talent in Azeroth. Can the hopeful candidates pull their acts together (and themselves) long enough to land a part in this brand-new production? Will they actually be able to put on their grand debut performance and not fall flat? And finally...are YOU prepared?

From all of us at Blizzard, have a fun-filled, happy, and safe holiday season!

Celebrate the holidays by participating in our Christmas Comic Contest and you could find a Blizzard-themed iPod in your stocking! To join in the holiday fun, download our Comic Templates, fill in the dialogue, and submit the finished comic to us. To learn more about this contest, please check our Christmas Comic Contest page and read our Terms and Conditions.

Happy Holidays!

We have great news for those of you who like to create and participate in player-made events: the community events program is being revamped!

We are launching a Community Events forum with the purpose of making it easier for you to create, promote and coordinate events with other players. The forum will also help those players who are looking for fun, player-organized events, and different things to do in-game or in real life.

To help promote player-made events, we will be gathering and selecting events from the Community Events Forum every week which will be posted on our Community Events page.

Celebrate the holidays by participating in our Christmas Comic Contest and you could find a Blizzard-themed iPod in your stocking! To join in the holiday fun, download our Comic Templates, fill in the dialogue, and submit the finished comic to us. To learn more about this contest, please check our Christmas Comic Contest page and read our Terms and Conditions.

Happy Holidays!

Snowballs zipping through the air; mischevious-looking little people in red and green running all over Azeroth; Greatfather Winter standing by a decoration-laden tree offering gifts to all. What does this mean? That the Feast of Winter Veil is here!

Take a moment to check out our page about the Feast of Winter Veil and see what the season has in store for you!

Happy Winter Veil!

In the wake of its world premiere during Spike TV's 2006 Video Game Awards, we're excited to present the opening cinematic of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. The trailer offers an epic cinematic introduction of the Blood Elves and Draenei, as well as a foreboding message from Illidan Stormrage, who makes an appearance as well. The January release of the expansion is just a few weeks away now, so check out the opening cinematic here, and prepare yourself for the challenges that await you in Outland.

DreamHack Winter 2006 was a great experience for us here at Blizzard, and hopefully for those players who had the chance to meet up with us, try out the expansion, and participate in our contests to win World of Warcraft merchandise and beta access. You can read more about the contests, including how high people managed to level in one hour of play time, in the DreamHack thread.

Also check out the results of GamingEye's WoW contest (PvP) (in Swedish), and the news on the DreamHack website about their visitor numbers and world record.

We had a lot of fun, and hope to see you again another time.

The exclusive world premiere of the cinematic intro for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade will air this Wednesday, December 13, at 10 pm EST (U.S.) (December 14 at 4 am Paris time) on Spike TV during the 2006 Video Game Awards. You can get a quick sneak peek of the cinematic right now by clicking here. Check back here on Thursday 14th at 10:30 to view the complete localized versions in French, German, or Spanish, as well as English.

Our latest patch "Before the Storm" introduces the much anticipated all new Honor System and brand new talents for every class. It is the last major content patch release before World of Warcraft's expansion, The Burning Crusade!

Highlights of Before the Storm - Patch 2.0:

Revamped PvP Honor System - This new reward system will allow players to accumulate honor points that can be spent like currency to purchase weapons, armor, and various other items beneficial for player-vs.-player progression.
New Talents - Each class will now have access to all-new talents in each of their three talent trees.
Looking For Group Tool - This new tool is designed to assist players in finding groups for instanced dungeons and quests.
Arena Skirmishes - Players will be able to queue for small-group, gladiatorial combat matches by speaking to the Battlemasters throughout the world.
And more!

The new patch, "Before the Storm," implements many changes to the game, particularly to player-vs.-player combat and the Honor System as a whole. With the new Honor System, players will be able to earn honor points for spending on various rewards, from armor and equipment to potions and ammo. Because of this, ranking by honor points no longer occurs, and we have removed the PvP rankings page. You can read more about the "Before the Storm" Honor System changes here.

In addition to the new Honor System, we have introduced the new Arena System in "Before the Storm." The new content update gives players a taste of this gladiatorial combat in non-rated matches, but The Burning Crusade will also include a new PvP ladder based on the Arena System.

The Arenas of World of Warcraft give the most battle-hardened and cold-blooded fighters a place to compete against each other in gladiatorial battles for honor, glory, and power. Beginning this Wednesday, the Arena will be open for skirmish matches between players. Visit the Arena to duke it out with other players in practice matches in anticipation of the complete launch of the Arena system with the release of the Burning Crusade. Only scrimmage matches will be available at this time as the Arena Ladder, rewards, and points will not be available until the release of the Burning Crusade. To learn more about the Arena system, please read our new Arena page.

Since our previous Battle Plan, World of Warcraft has gained a considerable amount of new in-game content, as well as improved and expanded service features- all of which have been focused on enhancing the game experience for our passionate, ever-growing community...

Read the latest Battle Plan from Shane Dabiri here.

Have you ever wondered which creatures kill the most players in Europe? Which object is selling the most on the Auction House? These questions and a multitude of others can now be answered on our Game Stats page! A veritable wealth of statistical information about the game, this great new page is sure to capture the interest of every kind of raider, crafter, or auction house entrepreneur imaginable!

Blizzard will be at DreamHack Winter 2006, the world's largest LAN party, this upcoming weekend!

Starting Friday evening you can meet members of the World of Warcraft Community Team at the Telia section. You can have a chat with them and a look at the upcoming expansion, and can also have your chance at winning some cool prizes, including access to the closed beta test of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade!

Updated information on schedule and competitions can be found on the forums, in the DreamHack thread.

Any gamers out there who are interested in breaking into the game industry should take a look at the numerous positions currently available here at Blizzard. We're looking for talented and passionate individuals to fill roles in our Information Systems department. Every open position we have is listed on our Jobs page. Jump over to the page now to see if there's something listed that looks like a good match for you, and don't hesitate to apply if so. Be sure to check back regularly for new openings, too!

There is something about the nature of MMORPGs that can do more than just connect people to a game world -- it can connect them to each other. In many cases that can mean a friendship in which distance has no meaning. And in some cases it can mean much more. We have just posted the story of two German World of Warcraft players who met through the game, fell in love, married, and began a family. To learn more about this happily married couple, read the story about this World of Warcraft Marriage!

We are happy to announce the winners of our recent Blizzard Costume Contest. Congratulations to V. Vacquand from France, R. High from the UK, H. Lange from Germany, G. Huber from Germany, and K. Sohr from Germany, who have all won a Blizzard-themed iPod. To see the winning costumes, as well as the many Honorable Mentions, please check our Winners page!

Thanks for participating and congratulations!

We have just updated the Burning Crusade FAQ with lots of new information concerning dungeons and travel to and from the Outland. Take a moment to read it and see what awaits adventurers beyond the Dark Portal.

We received an incredible number of entries for this year's Blizzard Art Contest, with more than 3,000 outstanding submissions. We wanted to share some of this great artwork with you, so we've put together a gallery for the 2006 Blizzard Art Contest's Honorable Mentions, featuring more than 100 pieces of artwork representing the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo universes.

We would like to thank everyone for participating and for making this year's art contest a huge success.

The public test realms are live! Players can now try out some of the changes and additions coming in World of Warcraft's latest content patch: Before the Storm. The highlights of this patch include the new Looking for Group system, talent updates for all classes, and a revamp of the Honor System. Read the Before the Storm test realm patch notes to learn more.

Players who had an active account as of November 13th, 2006, can participate in the test realms. To copy a character and download the test realm game client, visit our Public Test Realm page, after reading our Test Realm F.A.Q.

We have just published a new page listing all of the features planned for the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion: The Burning Crusade. Here you can find a list of all of the features that have been previously announced, with links to more information about them, as well as some additional information announced only on this cool, new page. Take a moment to check it out!

Video Games Live will continue its ground-breaking world tour by performing the first ever video game music concerts in South America and England. On November 19th in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Video Games Live will bring its one-of-a-kind entertainment experience including music from World of Warcraft to the continent of South America before continuing to London, England on November 25th to perform at one of the most celebrated venues in Europe, the Hammersmith Apollo. For more information please visit www.videogameslive.com.

Eye of the Storm is an exciting new Battleground located in the Outland zone of Netherstorm that combines capture-and-hold style gameplay with capture-the-flag. The game pits up to 15 high-level Alliance members against 15 Horde counterparts in a battle over two floating land masses. These aerial islands are connected by three bridges. Additionally, four towers overlook the battlefield and serve as focal points for the skirmish, while a single, capturable flag spawns in the center of the map for the teams to fight over.

To learn more about this upcoming battleground, check our Eye of the Storm information page.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade will be in stores on January 16th, 2007 in Europe and North America! The news comes as the player base reaches 7.5 million players worldwide. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade will be available at retail stores at a suggested retail price of 34.99€. A special Collector's Edition of the expansion will also be available, at a suggested retail price of 69.99€. This limited-edition package will include the expansion on both CD-ROM and DVD, the Art of the Burning Crusade coffee table book, an exclusive in-game pet, a behind-the-scenes DVD, two World of Warcraft Trading Card Game starter deck and three exclusive cards, a map of Outland mouse pad and the official soundtrack CD.

"While World of Warcraft has continued to grow rapidly along with its player population, The Burning Crusade will represent our single largest addition of new game content and new features to date," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "With this expansion, we're looking forward to offering the same level of quality that players have experienced in World of Warcraft so far, and we'll continue balancing and play-testing up until launch to ensure that The Burning Crusade achieves that goal."

Read the full press release.

Take a look at our updated spells preview page for priests to learn more about the racial spells which will be available to the Draenei and Blood Elves. Warlocks may also be interested to learn more about Master Spellstones.

We've updated our Burning Crusade F.A.Q. with new answers to questions gathered from the official World of Warcraft forums.

This past summer Blizzard and Xfire hosted a World of Warcraft Movie Contest. The first place entries are The Anti-Elf Anthem (Short Feature), The Ballad of the Noob (Music Video/Dance), Edge of Remorse (Drama/Action), The Brothers Tauren 2 (Comedy). You can view these entries, as well as the other ranking entries, here.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Since the release of the first Warcraft game, the lore of the Warcraft universe has been evolving and expanding at an incredible rate. Today, Warcraft lore is spread across four games and three expansions as well as a number of novels, a pen-and-paper roleplaying game, and even a manga series. Now you can find more information about Warcraft in one official source: The Warcraft Encyclopedia.

The Encyclopedia will contain information about all major races, factions, and characters, and you will also learn interesting new things about the different worlds that make up the Warcraft universe. The first release of the Encyclopedia focuses mostly on the elves of Azeroth: night elves, high elves, and blood elves, and their relation to each other. You might also want to take this opportunity to brush up on your Darnassian and Thalassian, and if you ever plan to visit the Emerald Dream, it would be best if you read up about it in advance.

This collection of Warcraft lore will be updated several times a year with significant volumes of new information, and in time, it will grow to be the ultimate resource for all your Warcraft story and lore needs. We hope you'll enjoy the Warcraft Encyclopedia!

Our Judges have pored over a large number of submissions to choose our Grand Prize winners and our Secondary Prize winners! There were so many impressive submissions with such great artistry that picking these winners was no easy task. To see the winning entries, visit our Blizzard Art Contest page!

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing you again for our next contest.

If you'd like to participate in the Blizzard Costume Contest, you'll need to send in your entries by Wednesday, November 1. We will be announcing the winners of the five Blizzard-themed i-Pods soon after the contest ends.

Want to try World of Warcraft? We have two very special trial offers at this time. To learn more about these offers, please check out our Trial Offer page and our Teaser website.

Now is your chance to become a member of Blizzard. Our Game Masters are looking for talented individuals with excellent teamwork skills to expand our Game Master Teams. Join Blizzard now and use your unique skills to help us make a great game even better! You can learn more about working at Blizzard and can also have a small glimpse at life on GM Island by visiting our Recruitment section.

The World of Warcraft TCG allows you to play with card decks that reflect many of the elements you can find in the World of Warcraft MMORPG. You will be able to battle against your opponent's deck, and can even play in raids. The cards feature the character classes and their abilities, as well as armor and quests. To learn more about this game, check out our World of Warcraft Trading Card Game page.

To allow more time for closed beta testers to provide us with valuable feedback, we will be moving the target launch date of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade by a few weeks. This will enable us to take a little extra time to polish the content and ensure that the expansion meets our expectations and those of our players. For more information, click here.

With the latest World of Warcraft Insider, we have published two articles with information about The Burning Crusade. Anatomy of a Zone explores how the Burning Crusade development team created the blood elf city, Silvermoon. Also, we have published information about the upcoming Professions Updates. Take a moment to read these two articles and learn more about what awaits you in The Burning Crusade. You can read the entire World of Warcraft Insider here.

After months of anticipation, the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game (TCG) made its debut on October 19th in Europe! Upper Deck Entertainment has partnered with Blizzard to create a new game that stays true to the themes of the World of Warcraft MMORPG while providing a new and exciting TCG experience. In addition, there's a great incentive for World of Warcraft MMORPG players to pick up a TCG starter deck and a supply of booster packs: UDE Points cards and randomly inserted Loot cards can be redeemed for exclusive in-game items! Visit ude.com/wow for more info on the items you can get with Loot cards and UDE points, as well as info on the worldwide Release Celebration!

We've updated our World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade FAQ with system requirements for the new expansion set. Please note that these guidelines are subject to change.

Observed by both the Horde and the Alliance, Hallow's End is a celebration of the break between the Forsaken and the Scourge. From Trick or Treat Bags to the Wickerman Festival, there will be mischievous things to do for all of Azeroth's habitants!

Learn more about this event, which runs from October 18th until November 1st, on our Hallow's End page.

Part of being in a stalwart band of adventurers is assembling that stalwart band in the first place. In the upcoming expansion, a new tool for finding a group will be available: our new Looking For Group interface! Click here to see an overview of this new interface, including details on a few of the new ways to locate companions to share your adventures with.

In our continued efforts to combat cheating in World of Warcraft, more than 76,000 accounts were closed and 11 million gold was removed from the game economies in Europe, Korea, and the US in the month of September. The closed accounts were associated with activities that violate World of Warcraft's Terms of Use, such as using third-party programs that allow cheating, and farming gold and items. These types of activities can severely impact the economy of a realm and the overall game enjoyment for all players.

We will continue to aggressively monitor all World of Warcraft realms in order to protect the service and its players from the harmful effects of cheating. Please note that selling World of Warcraft content, such as gold, items, and characters, can result in a permanent ban of the involved accounts from World of Warcraft.

Many account closures come as the direct result of tips reported to our Game Masters in game or emailed to our Hacks Team by legitimate World of Warcraft players. If you suspect that a World of Warcraft player is using an illegal third-party program to farm gold or items, or is otherwise violating our Terms of Use, please report the suspected infraction to the Game Master team using the In-Game Help Request. All reports will be investigated, and those that prove false will not result in corrective action.

As always, thank you for your continued support, and best of luck with your continued adventures in Azeroth!

The finalists for the Xfire Summer Movie Contest have been announced! You can now watch the final entries in the categories drama, comedy, music/dance and short feature and then vote for your personal favorite. To watch the movies and cast your vote, visit the Xfire Summer Movie Contest page.

Enjoy the show!

We've just released the hunter talents and spells preview for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. This preview features new spells, such as Snake Trap and Kill Command, abilities and talents* that will be available to hunters in the upcoming expansion.

*The talents, spells, and abilities shown in this preview are not final and may be subject to change in final release.

The Azeroth population is increasing steadily, and to accommodate this growth we have opened a new realm: Alonsus! This is a normal / PvE realm named after Alonsus Faol, archbishop and reformer of the Brotherhood of Northshire, who helped to raise enough money to rebuild Stormwind. The realm will not receive any migration prior to being open for Paid Character Transfer when it's 6 months old.

See you on Azeroth!

We're happy to announce that World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade will ship in standard as well as Collector's Edition packages. The Collector's Edition will come in a special box that contains many exclusive extras to enhance your adventure into Outland. For more information about what awaits players in the Collector's Edition, check out our Burning Crusade Collector's Edition page.

We are happy to announce the beginning of our Blizzard Costume Contest! The best five costumes will win a Blizzard-themed iPod! To enter, simply design and model a costume based on any Blizzard game, take a photograph of yourself before you put on the costume, and then one of you wearing it. Send in both photographs and you could win. For more information about this contest, check out our Blizzard Costume Contest page and our Terms and Conditions for this contest. Good luck!

Win a place in the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Closed Beta! If you fancy a chance to test The Burning Crusade with your guild, grab your Guild Master and put on your best clothes, for The Burning Crusade Closed Beta Screenshot Contest is upon us! Submissions must be made by the Guild Master of the guild and should show the guild stood next to a well-known NPC. Remember you only have a few days to get those pictures in, as the contest ends on the 5th of October, so head over to the contest page and be sure to read our full terms and conditions before entering.

World of Warcraft is going to be featured in the first episode of South Park Season 10! Click here to check out a sneak peek of the show. The new season of South Park is set to debut this Wednesday, October 4, at 10:00 PM Eastern/Pacific Time on Comedy Central. Read the full press release here.

Beginning today, Spanish-speaking players can purchase a fully-localized version of World of Warcraft in gaming stores! You can learn more about the release of World of Warcraft in Spanish by reading this press release. If you are interested in playing on the new Spanish realms, you can download our Spanish Language Pack by going to the Account Management section of our site.

We are happy to welcome Spanish-speaking players to the world of Azeroth! May your blades never dull!

Throughout history, many have given their lives to aid their allies. Every year, members of the Horde and the Alliance set aside time to honor the memories of the fallen and to pay tribute to those whose memories are held most dear: Uther Lightbringer, for the Alliance, and Grom Hellscream, for the Horde. Heroes take time from their adventures to visit the graves of these two great persons and to leave a tribute to them at the memorial.

Learn more about this event, which runs from October 3 until October 9, at our Harvest Festival page.

As we draw closer to the official launch of World of Warcraft in Spanish, we are pleased to announce the launch of our Spanish out-of-game support services. Beginning today, Spanish Billing and Technical Support are now available and Spanish-speaking players can also now access our account creation, account management and login support applications in Spanish!

Our Technical Support Forum is already active, and there you can find quick, first-hand assistance from both our technical team and other players that will help to solve any issue related to installing or running the game.

We've just released the druid talents and spells preview for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. This preview features new spells, such as Flight Form in the Outland, abilities and talents* that will be available to druids in the upcoming expansion.

We have also updated the talents and spells for all of the other classes. Check them all out!

*The talents, spells, and abilities shown in this preview are not final and may be subject to change in final release.'

Update: The Key-Logger which steals account names and passwords continues to circulate. We remind players to be especially vigilant when being directed to external websites and to update the security on their computers.

This account-theft scam is being circulated via email, game forums, in-game chat, and other mediums. We'd like to make the community aware of this scam that involves fake URLs or hyperlinks which, once clicked, will install harmful "key-logging" software, which will then attempt to steal your World of Warcraft account name and password.

The scam comes in many forms, including URLs advertised as links to class guides, gameplay videos, and, in many cases, user-interface (UI) modifications. For these reasons, it is very important that players take caution when being directed to external websites and update the security on their computers accordingly.

A complete guide to avoid being scammed is now proposed in the Game Masters forum. Be sure to check this page.

We are happy to announce the release of World of Warcraft in Spanish. For our Spanish-speaking players, World of Warcraft boxes will be available in stores on September 29. You can learn more about the release of World of Warcraft in Spanish by reading this press release.

Beyond the Dark Portal lies the shattered realm of Outland: the broken remains of the orcs' homeworld, Draenor. Those brave enough to make the journey through the Dark Portal will find new allies, new enemies, and limitless adventure.

Arm yourself with knowledge of each zone's faction bases, dungeons, and neutral cities and prepare for the challenge which awaits you in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade with our interactive world map.

We've just released the priest talents and spells preview for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. This preview features new spells, abilities and talents* that will be available to priests in the upcoming expansion.

*The talents, spells, and abilities shown in this preview are not final and may be subject to change in final release.

Xfire has decided to give aspiring movie makers an additional two weeks to put the final touches on their machinima masterpieces. It usually takes longer than you might think to make a quality video and it is important that all entrants get the proper amount of time to finish their work! The new deadline is midnight of the 25th September. To find out more about the contest, check out our contest page here.

Dramatic events and changes are casting their shadows, threatening to shake the very foundations of the world. The blood elves, rebuilding their homes in Quel'Thalas, seek out new magical energies. The draenei have landed on Azeroth and are preparing their next move. Nozdormu has detected a threat to his domain. Old enemies have returned in Silithus and in Naxxramas. Read more in this Story Overview of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

We are happy to announce the launch of our new Spanish World of Warcraft website! In addition to being a locus for the Spanish-speaking community, Spanish players will be able to read news in their own language and communicate with our Spanish Localization and Game Master teams through the Spanish forums. In the coming days, the Spanish web site will grow as more pages are translated and more news is posted.

World of Warcraft continues to grow, and we're happy to announce that we have opened two new English realms. These are fresh realms, meaning they are opened with no migration to the realms. The new realms are:

• Darkspear (Normal / PvE)
• Darkmoon Faire (Role Playing)

The first Spanish realms will be opened beginning of September! Soon, and in fact some time prior to the full launch of World of Warcraft in Spanish, we will be opening a set of realms for our Spanish speaking players. These first realms will be migration realms and for a limited period of time we will be offering only Spanish players free migration to these realms from current realms. Players may also migrate at a later date through the Paid Character Transfer service, although this will be subject to the normal restrictions.

The migration realms will be Player vs. Player (PvP) and Normal (PvE) realms. Role-Players that do not wish to transfer to non-RP realms will be able to migrate to Spanish RP and RP-PvP realms at a later time.

Read the detailed news in Spanish here and get the updated list of realms eligible for migration here.

We are happy to announce the opening of our new In-Game Customer Support Forum! Our Game Master teams will be checking and posting in this forum regularly, offering help on a number of in-game issues such as:

• Common quest, profession, loot, item, character, or interface-related issues
• Information on the latest issues and the status on correcting them
• New FAQ topics
• And insight into just what Game Masters do!

We've just released part one of the talents and spells preview for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. This preview features new spells, abilities and talents* that will be available to the mage, paladin, rogue, shaman, warlock, and warrior classes in the upcoming expansion. Be sure to check back often for the next update with the other three classes' new and improved abilities.

*Note: The talents, spells, and abilities shown in this preview are not final and may be subject to change in final release.

We're happy to announce the full release of our new official World of Warcraft Forums. Over the past months, we enlisted your help in trying out and testing many of the features and functions of our new setup. Once again, thank you for your contributions in improving this service; we look forward to receiving further feedback from you now that the new forums have been deployed.

Some of the new features:

• Updated Character Avatars
• Displayed Talent Builds
• Easier Navigation and Menus
• Increased Signature Space
• Honor Rank Display

Our old forums will be open in read-only mode for one week so you can check and copy your old important messages and repost them in the new forums.

The World of Warcraft team is happy to announce the release of "Drums of War," the new 1.12 content patch!

Highlights of Drums of War - Patch 1.12:

Cross-Server Battlegrounds: For the first time in the history of World of Warcraft, you will be able to face off against players from other realms in the Battlegrounds. PvP Battlegrounds link Alterac Valley, Warsong Gulch, and Arathi Basin so that players from several realms will be combined into one huge matchmaking pool. Replenish your mana, sharpen your blades, and get ready for some brand-new challengers!

World PvP: The stage is set for intense, objective-based land battles as Horde and Alliance vie for control over important strategic positions and resources around Azeroth. Head out for Silithus and Eastern Plaguelands to engage the enemy on the field! For a peek at what awaits players in the Eastern Plaguelands, check out this gameplay trailer.

Updated Rogue Talents

And more! You can read the entire patch notes here.

We are happy to announce the opening of our new In-Game Customer Support Forum! Our Game Master teams will be checking and posting in this forum regularly, offering help on a number of in-game issues such as:

• Common quest, profession, loot, item, character, or interface-related issues
• Information on the latest issues and the status on correcting them
• New FAQ topics
• And insight into just what Game Masters do!

We've just released part one of the talents and spells preview for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. This preview features new spells, abilities and talents* that will be available to the mage, paladin, rogue, shaman, warlock, and warrior classes in the upcoming expansion. Be sure to check back often for the next update with the other three classes’ new and improved abilities.

*Note: The talents, spells, and abilities shown in this preview are not final and may be subject to change in final release.

We’re happy to announce the full release of our new official World of Warcraft Forums. Over the past months, we enlisted your help in trying out and testing many of the features and functions of our new setup. Once again, thank you for your contributions in improving this service; we look forward to receiving further feedback from you now that the new forums have been deployed.

Some of the new features:

• Updated Character Avatars
• Displayed Talent Builds
• Easier Navigation and Menus
• Increased Signature Space
• Honor Rank Display

Our old forums will be open in read-only mode for one week so you can check and copy your old important messages and repost them in the new forums.

The World of Warcraft team is happy to announce the release of "Drums of War," the new 1.12 content patch!

Highlights of Drums of War - Patch 1.12:

Cross-Server Battlegrounds: For the first time in the history of World of Warcraft, you will be able to face off against players from other realms in the Battlegrounds. PvP Battlegrounds link Alterac Valley, Warsong Gulch, and Arathi Basin so that players from several realms will be combined into one huge matchmaking pool. Replenish your mana, sharpen your blades, and get ready for some brand-new challengers!

World PvP: The stage is set for intense, objective-based land battles as Horde and Alliance vie for control over important strategic positions and resources around Azeroth. Head out for Silithus and Eastern Plaguelands to engage the enemy on the field! For a peek at what awaits players in the Eastern Plaguelands, check out this gameplay trailer.

Updated Rogue Talents

And more! You can read the entire patch notes here.

Curious about flying mounts in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade? Intrigued by the dungeon design and difficulty settings system in the upcoming expansion? Would you like to know what the future has in stock for the fishermen of World of Warcraft? Then see what Frank Pearce, Senior Vice President of Blizzard Entertainment and Executive Producer of the Burning Crusade, has to say in this interview with the European Web team.

We recently sent out the latest edition of the World of Warcraft Insider, featuring an in-depth, 30-minute audio interview with lead game designer Tom Chilton about the future of PvP in World of Warcraft. Learn about the planned Arena System, the continuing evolution of the Honor System and Battlegrounds, and much more.

Issue #9 also features some brand-new information about the eagerly anticipated World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, set to be released in October, and a small reminder about our first annual Blizzard Art Contest, which includes some awesome prizes such as a cutting-edge PC and a weekend trip for two to Los Angeles.

The bestiary page for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade has been updated with a new creature from the upcoming expansion. Learn more about the Naaru, a race of benevolent energy beings who hope to forge an army of the Light to stand against the Burning Legion.

Check out the updated bestiary now!

Each Thursday in the coming weeks, we will be adding new screenshots from the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, The Burning Crusade. Take a moment to check our Burning Crusade Screenshots page to see what awaits adventurers in the future of Azeroth and beyond the Dark Portal...

Blizzard Entertainment is proud to announce the first annual Blizzard Art Contest! We're looking for talented artists to create their favorite characters, monsters, or locations from the Warcraft, StarCraft, or Diablo universes in both 2D and 3D formats. We'll be posting the winning submissions on our sites, and we're also offering some really cool prizes. Interested? Click here for more information.

Deep within the Caverns of Time, the brooding dragon Nozdormu has awakened. Since the world was young, the bronze dragonflight has safeguarded the winding labyrinth, monitoring the shifting timeways to ensure that the delicate balance of time is upheld. But now the ancient Dragon Aspect Nozdormu has been roused by an elusive threat to his beloved caverns…

Take a moment to check out our newest addition to the Burning Crusade site: The Caverns of Time.

Update: We have opened a further 25 realms for the Paid Character Transfer service, bringing the total number of eligible realms to 161! You can find the complete list of eligible realms here and find the answers to many of your questions in our Paid Character Transfer F.A.Q.

To start transferring your characters, just login to the Account Management section and click the Paid Character Transfer button. Please note that the Paid Character Transfer service may be unavailable during the scheduled weekly maintenance.

Patch 1.12: Drums of War draws closer and with it Cross-Realm Battlegrounds! For the first time in the history of World of Warcraft, you will be able to join allies and face foes from other realms in the Battleground of your choice. Sharpen your weapons, replenish your mana, and hone your skills, for the battles will soon commence!

Take a look at our Battlegroups page to see which realms are in your Battlegroup and whom you’ll meet on the field of war.

With the dangers and rewards beyond the Dark Portal coming ever closer, which classes will be available to the two new races in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade? Will the blood elves be able to use the arcane arts or the draenei wield elemental magic?

Take a look at our draenei and blood elf pages to find the answers and to learn more about these two mysterious races.

The next patch for World of Warcraft will include significant new updates to PvP gameplay with two outdoor world PvP objectives. The first of these will see players struggling for control of four towers in the Eastern Plaguelands, whilst the second, based in faraway Silithus, will see the Horde and Alliance racing to collect silithyst, and return it to their faction’s encampment.

Learn more about these epic, objective-based, land battles here.

Have you ever wondered what to do if your account is hacked? Our brand-new article about compromised accounts gives advice on how to avoid the trauma of logging on to find a once resplendent character, reduced to a cowering and scantily-clad remnant of its former epic-clad glory. Ignore it at your peril!

With the dangers and rewards beyond the Dark Portal coming ever closer, which classes will be available to the two new races in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade? Will the blood elves be able to use the arcane arts or the draenei wield elemental magic?

Take a look at our draenei and blood elf pages to find the answers and to learn more about these two mysterious races.

The next patch for World of Warcraft will include significant new updates to PvP gameplay with two outdoor world PvP objectives. The first of these will see players struggling for control of four towers in the Eastern Plaguelands, whilst the second, based in faraway Silithus, will see the Horde and Alliance racing to collect silithyst, and return it to their faction’s encampment.

Learn more about these epic, objective-based, land battles here.