Welcome to the Explorers' League Journal, our weekly recap of news and events from around Azeroth. Each week we'll cover a variety of topics including patch notes, hotfixes, contests, helpful guides, and recent blue posts to keep you up-to-date on the latest game and community developments.
Find out what happened last two weeks below. If you missed our previous entry, you can check it out here.
Headlines
Patch 4.1: Rise of the Zandalari Preview -- Will you rise to the challenge?
Raid Progress -- Lead Systems Designer Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street tackles the topic of raid progression.
Dev Water Cooler: The View From 10,000 Feet -- This week, Ghostcrawler also kicked off a brand-new series of blogs designed to give players a window into the development process. First topic up? Hit and Expertise on tanking gear.
Ask the Devs Round #2 Answers -- The second round of answers from the developers is now up!
Guild Transfer and Rename Services In Development -- Learn a bit more about our upcoming guild transfer and rename services.
Memories of Blizzard Video Contest -- For two decades, players like you have provided us with wonderful memories, and we'd love to know how our games have been a part of yours. Unleash your creativity and capture your favorite Blizzard game-related memory on video.
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's... - Coming soon to the Blizzard Store.
Patch 4.1 PTR Notes (Updated 03/15) -- The latest PTR patch notes are now live. Learn more about upcoming changes to classes, dungeons, raids, and more.
Recent Hotfixes(Updated 03/16) -- Keep tabs on recent hotfixes following patch 4.0.6. You can also visit our Bug Reportforum for a list of known issuesstill under investigation.
Survival Guides
New Player Tips: When in Orgrimmar -- What advice would you give newer players looking to brush up on their in-game etiquette?
New Player Tips: Your Level Best -- If you were to start fresh today, how would you go about leveling? And what kinds of tips would you give to those players currently in the process of leveling themselves?
Is There a Blacksmith in the House? -- Did you know that you don't have to ask members of your guild for links to their professions?
TankSpot’s Guide to Heroic Magmaw -- Learn how to take down this lava-grinned beastie on Heroic mode with help of TankSpot’s Aliena.
Around the Community
Turtle Mount -- GUComicsreveals that not all mounts are created equal in the realm of PvP.
Tiers of Sadness -- The Daily Blink asks, “are we traveling on the shoulders of giants, or just giant shoulders?”
Heavy in Your Arms --Haromproductions weaves a chilling tale of eternal love in this video set to Florence + the Machine’s “Heavy in Your Arms.”
Magical World -- Check out the latest from machinimist RavenSylphe. It’s gorgeous!
Bad Enchants -- WoPairs teamed up with Letömi to create an excellent parody of Lady Gaga’s hit song “Bad Romance.”
Deepholme -- A new Letömi original!
Stormwind (SWD) -- Head down to Stormwind town with Sharmand Nananea.
Better Gear -- MelodeeNagrand sings her heart out in this World of Warcraft-themed parody of Esmee Denters’ “Outta Here.”
And here's some epic fan art, too (in addition to our gallery update):
Forsaken Queen -- by HeeWonLee
Vereesa and Rhonin -- by ladyavali
Rushmore Azeroth Memorial -- by linxz2010
World of Warcraft Fanart -- by ZsoltKosa
Recent Blue Posts
Why Are Rated Battleground Players Allowed to Queue For Non-Rated Battlegrounds?
Have We Seen the Final Model for Ragnaros’s Legs Yet?
A Thought on Buffing Players in Cataclysm Raids
So, What Exactly Are “Guild Challenges” Anyway?
Why Are the Zandalari Suddenly Evil?
What’s the Value in the New Rise of the Zandalari Heroic Dungeons?
Did High-Level Guards Ruin World PvP?
Where Can I Find Official Rated Battleground Ladders?
Why Do Auction House Timers Continue to Expire During Maintenance?
Are Raid Bosses Designed with Pick-Up-Groups in Mind?
Why Hasn’t Content Discussed at BlizzCon Been Implemented Yet?
See you next week!
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If you have any suggestions for community-created comics, guides, artwork, machinima, realm events, or forum posts that we should feature, please feel free to send us an email at WoWCommWatch@Blizzard.com. Include a link to the content and a brief description of why you think that item should be featured, and you may see it in the next Explorers' League Journal!