An island off the coast of the Eastern Kingdoms, Tol Barad is a historic land now sought-after by the leaders of the Horde and the Alliance.

We're featuring four new pieces of artwork in our Blizzard Fan Art Section today. Have a look at the many different interpretations of the Warcraft universe forged by some very talented artists.

The earth shakes with growing frequency. Elementals pour out of rifts like rodents escaping a sinking ship. Your esteemed faction leaders, barely recovered from the strain of the campaign in Northrend, have been summoned to deliberate on a matter most urgent. And now, doomsayers affiliated with the Twilight's Hammer are gathering openly within the city walls, preaching the coming of something dark and ancient... and the ruination of all.

We’re pleased to announce that during maintenance this week region-wide battleground matchmaking was rolled out in Europe. From now on, all realms for our European players are matched together for battlegrounds. While your teams will continue to consist only of players from your language region, you may meet opponents from all over Europe. Also, there are now four larger groups for dungeon finder use.

With two new playable races just on the horizon, many players have been asking when they'll be able to convert their existing characters into goblins or worgen.

They’re cute, they’re portable, and they’re coming to the Blizzard Pet Store. But before they arrive, we wanted to give you a sneak peek of our two newest companions.

After the appearance of Twilight's Hammer agents in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City, Azeroth's defenders swiftly thwarted the cult's bid to destroy the two capitals. Yet these victories have done little to soothe fears over Azeroth's calamitous state.

As part of an ongoing series, we’ll be highlighting some of the new community site features. First on the list is the new rating feature available for both forum posts and comments on these front page blog entries. Let's explore the ability to judge others' posts, shall we?

To give players greater control over their forum browsing experience, the new World of Warcraft community site now supports Simple and Advanced forum views.

We're featuring five new pieces of artwork in our Blizzard Fan Art Section today. Have a look at the many different interpretations of the Warcraft universe forged by some very talented artists.

The design for combat resurrection effects has changed a good deal for Cataclysm, and we want to make sure players are clear on how spells like Rebirth and Create Soulstone now function. Rebirth has a 10-minute cooldown and Create Soulstone has a 15-minute cooldown.

Welcome to the new World of Warcraft community site live preview! Consider this your home for all the latest happenings in and around Azeroth, featuring an improved media section, contests, community forums, and brand-new functionality that lets you post comments to news items right here on the site. You'll want to check out this news feed regularly; we’ll use it to share community highlights, game information, Arena coverage, and much more.

With patch 4.0.1 now live and the official World of Warcraft: Cataclysm cinematic trailer released at www.youtube.com/warcraft, it's time for you to find out just what's in store in the weeks leading up to Cataclysm's launch on December 7...

Within the Temple of Earth, locked in the heart of Deepholm, lies the Stonecore. It was inside this mysterious domain that the Twilight's Hammer toiled over Deathwing, hammering elementium plates to the Dragon Aspect's skin to hold his tormented body together.

As Gnomeregan's exiles set out to reclaim their beloved capital from the treasonous Mekgineer Thermaplugg, we bring you a first look at how this wondrous techno-city will exist in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

When King Greymane severed ties with the Alliance after the Second War, the kingdom of Gilneas became independent from all other nations and opposing forces.

Today we're covering the changes being made to Ashenvale in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm as the Warsong Outriders and the Silverwing Sentinels continue to vie for domination of the region. Quest designers Eric Maloof and Steve Burke sat down with us to discuss what it's been like iterating on a familiar yet evolving Kalimdor territory.

Delve into the mysteries of Azshara with game designers Craig Amai and Dave Kosak, who talked with us about the Horde's northward expansion and the rise of the Bilgewater Cartel as part of our ongoing coverage of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Adventure, conflict, and, of course, profit await those who enter the newly re-imagined Azshara!

Game designers Luis Barriga and Craig Amai sat down with us to discuss upcoming changes to Darkshore's landscape, the fate of Auberdine, and the challenges of redesigning an old-world zone from the ground up in this World of Warcraft: Cataclysm content preview.

For our ongoing coverage of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, we recently sat down with game designers Dave Kosak and Roman Marotte to ask them about the work they've done on the Southern Barrens, a once-familiar place drastically altered by Deathwing's return and the continuing struggle between the Horde and the Alliance.

Azeroth's inhabitants endure a lifetime of struggle and conflict. They're subject to violence from neighboring enemies and rampaging beasts at an early age, and must learn to take up arms to defend themselves against predators. Regularly forced to cope with the deaths of friends, family, and members of their tribes, clans, cities, and guilds, these scarred survivors become stronger by reinforcing their walls, banding together with new allies, and raising sharp, careful, resilient children. They adapt. They change.

During a bloody civil war among the three dwarven factions of Ironforge, the Bronzebeards ousted the Wildhammer and the Dark Iron clans from the ancient corridors of the mountain city. In the wake of the defeat, the Wildhammers ventured north and forged a new home, Grim Batol, in the mountains of what is now the Twilight Highlands.

Located within the Twilight Highlands, the Twin Peaks remains a crucial point of high ground for staging effective and debilitating attacks against the black dragonflight and the Twilight's Hammer, who dominate this foreboding environment.

As with Uldaman and Ulduar, Uldum houses one of only a few of the known titan constructions, the existence of which predates that of mortal life on Azeroth. For years historians have explored southern Kalimdor for a means of entry into this ancient titan land, searching for more evidence of Azeroth's origins. But the Cataclysm will change everything, for the façade behind which Uldum has been tucked for millennia will be ruptured, leaving powerful mysteries vulnerable to discovery by the bravest, smartest, or perhaps even most brutal explorers.

After years in exile, the Darkspear trolls are preparing to invade the Echo Isles and reclaim the land once bestowed to them by Thrall. Led by Vol'jin, a wise and highly regarded Darkspear, the tribe's bravest warriors will set out from Orgrimmar and Sen'jin Village, seeking to bring about Zalazane's fall and begin the process of rebuilding their homes and villages on the Echo Isles. In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, new troll adventurers will begin their journey on these tiny islands off the coast of Durotar, where they'll be able to experience this time of trial and transition firsthand.