The latest Cataclysm screenshot from Blizzard is shown above. This is clearly a goblin harbor, which makes it about the most awesome place on the planet.

If you've missed any of the previous Cataclysm screenshots of the day or you want to see a high-res version of today's image, check out the gallery below.

Filed under: Cataclysm

Either you're in the beta or you're not -- but regardless of whether or not you've gotten the golden ticket (so to speak), there's still plenty to read about regarding the upcoming Cataclysm expansion:

• I Like Bubbles is moving full steam ahead to Cataclysm.
• World of Matticus discusses holy power and more for the post-Cataclysm paladin.
• Daughter of Ravenholdt Manor talks Cataclysm lore -- specifically, the Defias Brotherhood. (Warning: Cataclysm spoilers!)
• Gray Matter talks about the druid changes in the upcoming expansion.

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Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.

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Filed under: The Daily Quest

Choose the adventures of the WoW.com staff as we level our characters in <It came from the Blog> on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H).

Bieber for Sandwichdoc was so predictable. Gregg has informed me that since Queen placed such a close second, he will play that for his next level. Lisiel will be a druid and focus on fishing achievements, and Patent will be getting the It's Happy Hour Somewhere achievement to celebrate Amy's taking of the bar exam.

Here's the schedule for this week:

• Adam Holisky as Adammentat, the level 50 tauren druid, will be on Monday at 11 p.m. EDT
• Anne Stickney as Annephora, the level 41 troll warrior, will be on Tuesday at 1 a.m. EDT (which is Monday at 11 p.m. Zangarmarsh time)
• Robin Torres as Robinemia, the level 29 undead mage: Wednesday, 11 p.m. EDT tentatively
• Amy Schley as Patent, the level 23 troll rogue: Thursday, 10 p.m. EDT
• Lisa Poisso as Prupher the proofreading druid (Lisiel just didn't fit a tauren): Thursday, 10 p.m. EDT
• Fox Van Allen as Foxlight, the level 22 blood elf paladin: Friday, 8 p.m. EDT
• Michael Sacco as Sahko, the orc warlock; Christian Belt, as Selfloathius, the level 16 blood elf warlock; Elizabeth Harper as Faience, the level 24 troll shaman; Matthew Rossi as Andrenorton, the level 17 troll mage; Michael Gray as Grayfields, the level 17 tauren hunter; and Gregg Reece as Sandwichdoc, the level 15 troll shaman, will be making appearances as they can.

I'm just tentative for Wednesday because I'm moving this weekend. If I do play, I will stream it, and there will be more slaughter of those nasty Syndicate types.

I see that many of you want more PvP adventures. I'm taking suggestions for PvP events, games and/or activities in the comments.

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Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) in <It came from the Blog>. Guild ranks of "Blog Lurker" or above can invite, so /whisper Robiness or any online member. You are all welcome as long as you play by our simple rules -- basically, don't be a funsucker! Visit the guild FAQ for more details.

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Filed under: It Came from the Blog, Choose My Adventure

There are several reasons people disliked Stranglethorn Vale in vanilla WoW. I could go into detail about the confusion that The Green Hills of Stranglethorn presents to new players. I could tell you about the lack of coherent direction in questing. I could harp on the horrors of the multiple quests with low drop rates. I could spend an entire article just talking about the amount of running around you have to do.

Alternatively, I could just tell you that it's all fixed in Cataclysm -- all of it. The usual caveats apply: this is spoiler-heavy, some stuff is incomplete and it's from an Alliance perspective.

The first thing you should know, if you don't already, is that Stranglethorn Vale has been split in two by a gigantic whirlpool, dividing it into Northern Stranglethorn and the Cape of Stranglethorn.

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Every Monday evening, WoW.com brings you a long list of WoW podcasts that were published the week (and weekend) before. If you don't see your favorite podcast listed, just let us know in the comments. Be sure to leave a link to it, and we'll pick it up next week.

All podcasts and content belong to their owners. WoW.com is not responsible for what you hear, and some of the content may not be safe for work.

• All Things Azeroth Helooo Miss Shade
  
• Blue Plz! Episode 24
• Rawrcast All About Fun
  

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Filed under: Weekly Podcast Roundup

Holy power is the big conversation topic for paladins right now (well, that and mobility in PvP -- but that's always a topic of conversation for paladins). For those of you who have been out of the loop, Blizzard announced during its last developer chat that for the betterment of the class, paladins would be receiving a new resource called holy power. This would be used in conjunction with mana for a variety of new and existing abilities.

So after having played with holy power on the beta realms, we decided to ask our Twitter followers if they had any questions or concerns about this new system for us to look into.

Soranomaru asks:

"How fast does it accrue? How do you spend it effectively? Is it a mechanic to empower spellcasts or another ressource like mana?"

Short answers: Currently, every 3 seconds for ret, 4 seconds for prot, and 6 seconds for holy due to the abilities and talents they'd be using to earn it. Usually, three points is the most efficient. It's a secondary resource, like runic power is to runes on a death knight, and there are certain abilities that use it and other abilities that have nothing to do with it.

Long answers: Holy power is a secondary resource that you'll have along with your current mana bar. As retribution and protection, you'll be using Crusader Strike to build up your holy power points (HPP). If you're holy, you'll still have access to Crusader Strike, but you will also be using Holy Shock to build up that HPP. The most HPP you can build up at a time is three, so you'll be earning and spending fairly quickly. Some abilities give a flat rate based on how much holy power you put into it (Word of Glory), while others get much more efficient with the more points used (Templar's Verdict).

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Filed under: Paladin, Cataclysm

Want to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women? Blood Sport investigates the entirety of all things arena for gladiators and challengers alike. C. Christian Moore, multiple rank 1 gladiator, examines the latest arena strategy, trends, compositions and more in WoW.com's arena column.

Listening Music Nine awesome minutes of Elton John's "Rocket Man." Enjoy.

Last Week My PvP perspective on new talent trees might shock you. For example, I advocated last week to remove every PvP talent!

Goals The No. 1 issue players have to deal with when they decide to go for gladiator isn't about gear, teammates or even skill. If you are a dedicated raider in a competitive progression guild, you can relate to what we'll be discussing today. The issue is the desire to attain goals and sacrifices that must be made.

Some players want gladiator far more than others, just like some players want to be the first on their realms (or first in the world) to slay dragons. I'll be the first to admit that I don't care a whole lot about slaying dragons. I was once in a top 50 U.S. guild but left it because raiding required too many hours -- hours that could be spent playing arena (which I enjoy considerably more) or doing necessary IRL stuff.

Let's compare PvE and PvP goals.

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Filed under: PvP, Blood Sport (Arena PvP)

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more.

I've been reading an anthropological analysis of the World of Warcraft for an upcoming 15 Minutes of Fame that talks about the game as an "active aesthetic experience," a collective expression in which the participation of all is key to the entire experience. One of the things I'm most looking forward to talking about with the author is the incredible creative energy that WoW breathes into so many talented artists, writers, crafters and musicians. From WoW-themed arts and crafts that tickle our fancies to re-imaginings of the very artistic underpinnings of the game soundtrack and art itself, the World of Warcraft has inspired so many people across the world.

While obviously we could invite you to scroll through our backlog of World of WarCrafts columns (and indeed, if you're interested in any sort of creative effort, we think you should), we decided to make things simple. We'd like to invite you to our new resource guide, Arts and crafts in WoW. From how-to instructions for arts and crafts, to recipe "strats" bringing you the flavors of Azeroth, to soundtracks and artwork and fan fic and more, we've gathered the best of our galleries and in-depth features together in one place. We hope you find it as enjoyable and inspirational as we do ... Welcome to the sights and sounds of the community of World of Warcraft!

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World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including arts and crafts, fan art, WoW-themed recipes, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself by emailing lisa@wow.com with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations.

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Filed under: World of WarCrafts, Arts and Crafts

Every week, Gold Capped brings you tips on how to make money on the auction house. This article from inscription specialist Steve Zamboni has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com.

With its myriad of materials and finished items, inscription can be one of the more complicated professions for a crafter who's trying to track his expenses and profits (or even to know if he's made a profit at all). Herb prices have changed dramatically over the past several months, dropping to record lows as farming bots proliferate and climbing just as dramatically during the ban wave that followed. After months of being spoiled by a market overflowing with cheap herbs, many players stopped paying attention to what they were paying to make each item. Now that herb prices are climbing, it's left a number of sellers scrambling to reprice their items and to take a closer look at what they're paying for their supplies.

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Filed under: Guest Posts, Gold Capped

Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook, available from No Starch Press.

Last week, I began addressing what is one of the most complex and difficult duties an officer or raid leader must occasionally perform: giving out unsolicited constructive criticism. As the email that sparked this discussion proved, such conversations can be volatile. With the wrong approach, you can destroy friendships and lose guildmates. Let's continue to examine the right approach.

To recap, here are the first two steps from part 1:

1. Consider your guild's criticism culture and adapt your approach accordingly.
2. Plant the seed of taking personal initiative to research and improve play.

At this point, you have to be a little bit patient. If your guild is on the brink of collapse over performance issues, you can't always afford to let this situation play out. However, the safest bet is to give the underperforming player another week of raids to show an improvement. Keep a close eye on him during this week. Examine his spec and gear to see if he's made any adjustments. Record a combat log to see if he's using the appropriate class abilities. Watch him during boss encounters to see if he is following instructions and executing the fight properly.

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Filed under: Officers' Quarters (Guild Leadership)