Blizzard has chosen 500 winners of its Cataclysm Beta Guild Contest, and the winners have been notified via email. For the beta contest guild leaders had to submit a 250 word essay explaining why their guild was deserving of an invite into the Cataclysm beta. The winners receive 10 Cataclysm beta invites -- one for the guild leader, and nine for guild members of the guild leader's choice.

As with anything involving beta, this is also a prime time for phishing emails trying to steal your account info. If you received an email about winning the beta guild contest, here is what to look for to determine if it is legitimate:

• The legitimate email contains no links. You just reply to the email with the information requested.
• The legitimate email will ask for the full names and battle.net email addresses of yourself and your nine guild member selections.
• You will not be asked for any password information.

The contest rules originally stated that 100 winners would be chosen for each of the five weeks of the contest, so it seems as though they've decided to invite them all at once. Note that the contest period is now over -- you are no longer able to enter the contest.

Filed under: Blizzard, Cataclysm

The latest Cataclysm screenshot from Blizzard is shown above. That's purple like you mean it!

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

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

There's nothing like a good yo mama joke. (And that's nothing like a good yo mama joke. /end tea party on the ceiling.)

The results are in! You voted:

• Deadmines for Elizabeth Harper's beta dungeon crawl
• Female shaman for Michael Sacco's goblin, Shockbroker
• Roblinator the goblin huntress for my beta play

On Wednesday night, I'll be streaming my Roblinator session and taking requests from the chat room. So you will be able to choose my adventures live. Here is the rest of the schedule:

• Adam Holisky as Adammentat, the level 51 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 Roblinator the goblin huntress: Wednesday, 11 p.m. EDT
• Amy Schley as Patent, the level 23 troll rogue: Thursday, 10 p.m. EDT
• Lisa Poisso as Prupher the proofreading druid: Thursday, 10 p.m. EDT
• Fox Van Allen as Foxlight, the level 22 blood elf paladin: Friday, 8 p.m. EDT
• Michael Sacco as Shockbroker, the goblin shaman; 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 16 troll shaman, will be making appearances as they can.

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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

Can't we all just get along? It's a frequently asked question -- and in bigger groups and guilds, the more people you shove in, the more you hear it. With so many different types and personalities, you're bound to have clashes happen. What's guild to do when it comes to keeping things organized? What's a player to do, when dealing with a lot of people they might not be compatible with? Well, it looks like once again, the blogging world of Warcraft has some words to say about it.

• Deuwowlity talks about guild structures, people and what's important.
• Pugnacious Priest responds with a discussion on why who you play with matters.
• Meanwhile, Bible of Dreams has four tactics to running more effective officer and guild meetings.
• And lastly, The Pink Pigtail Inn has some advice about making an unforgettable guild anniversary.

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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

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: Radiohead's Street Spirit (fade out) and Karma Police. I've featured Radiohead three times now and no one else twice. Sorry about that, and you're welcome. Nico Di Mattia is a pretty awesome artist too.

Last Week: We talked about accomplishing your PvP goals. This article is kind of an extension of it, hooray!

This Week: I started enjoying 5v5 at the end of season two. For a large part of my time in WoW, 5v5 was by far and wide my favorite arena bracket. It's also the bracket I've gotten most of my rank #1 titles from (clearly no coincidence to being my favorite bracket *wink*).

The 5v5 bracket is a far different beast than 2v2 or 3v3 and is far more misunderstood. I've met 2v2 and 3v3 gladiators who just cannot comprehend the differences in the 5v5 bracket. 5v5 is the Rodney Dangerfield of arena. The bracket just doesn't get enough respect. The biggest misconception centers around 5v5 being a "zerg" bracket.

You like how I throw around StarCraft terms like cowpies? Mhmm.

Read more →

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, PvP, Blood Sport (Arena PvP)

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 The Dating Game
  
• Blue Plz! Episode 25
• Rawrcast Rick My Crit
  
• The Instance Second Breakfast
• Twisted Nether Blogcast RP in the Stream

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Filed under: Weekly Podcast Roundup

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on WoW.com's Arts and Crafts in WoW page.

That's right, folks -- you could do better at BlizzCon 2010 than a Three Worgen Moon T-shirt. No, we're not going retro on you and suggesting you turn back to the original Three Wolf Moon tee. What you need is something more au courant, like the Three Dragon Azeroth from MagicalMelonBall at DeviantArt.com. Sadly, this cataclysmically excellent design isn't actually available for purchase on a T-shirt ... Still, we felt the design represents a worthy upgrade from its howlingly lunar predecessor.

Ready for more fresh takes on art about Azeroth? Join us after the break for a buffet with a little something for every taste.

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Filed under: World of WarCrafts, Arts and Crafts

The people are quiet, with red eyes glazed and empty as they stare off into the dark distance. They move slowly, as if anchored to the worn bodies dragging along behind them. Is this a scene of war? A B-rated horror movie? No. It's Monday, the poisonous end to the weekend and dawn of the dreaded work week. But fear not, for Eli Khoury has your cure: a bloody Mary and Blood Pact, freshly poured and on the house. Drink up.

Ah, affliction. How I love thee. Nothing says "warlock" more, in my mind, than slowly withering enemies away with powerful damage over time spells -- spells that will continue molesting their target long after the warlock has moved on, cursing his next victim to an eventual death with banes and profanities. Where destruction and demonology warlocks explode their targets, the affliction warlock forces them to suffer within the grief of their incoming demise. That is, in a word, pure evil (okay, two words), and the current affliction tree (live realms) is a testament to the atrocious, having stood the test of time near the top of single-target damage meters since patch 3.0 and enjoying much PvP success as well.

When early beta patches showed minimal changes to affliction, I will admit that I was a little if not completely relieved. Aside from the filler talents that I am happy to see removed from their unimportant duties, the tree has a balance to it that I hope remains undisturbed. The DPS rotation is as smooth as a mage's bottom (they all cry like babies, after all), and PvP options are aplenty.

But changes are coming, and they are coming fast. The modifications to the affliction tree that we were promised amidst the barrenness of previous beta builds are beginning to show their faces. So, are they sister's-best-friend fine or frying-pan ugly? Let's take a closer look at the major differences amongst the old and the new and find out, shall we?

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Filed under: Warlock, Analysis / Opinion, News items, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Cataclysm

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.

Normally, for the introduction to this weekly feature, I write a little bit about the topic at hand before I post the email that will serve as the focal point for the discussion. This week, however, I don't want to spoil the tale for you before you read it. So, let's dive right in!

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Filed under: Officers' Quarters (Guild Leadership)

Ian Beckman is the mad genius behind Azerothian Super Villains. He was apparently recently inspired by a similarly named DiCaprio movie to create this fake trailer for Perception. It's fairly brief, and be assured that there is no full-length movie currently set to follow.

I think Perception is a little more than just a parody of the Nolan's original. I think that Beckman is playing with some of the same concepts and ideas as Inception, though I don't know if he's doing that on purpose. Ultimately, for a brief little send-up, this is a fun trailer to watch.

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Filed under: WoW Moviewatch