Join in the celebration as Lunar Festival kicks off not with a whimper, but with a BANG on Sunday, January 23. Seek out the elders throughout Azeroth and receive their wisdom... as well as a token of their gratitude. Gather these Ancient Coins to purchase festive attire or the recipes to craft outfits of your own.

Guilds have existed in World of Warcraft from day one, but we've always wanted players who were in guilds to have some progression to work toward with their friends and guildmates beyond simply downing bosses, as well as a way to better recognize their accomplishments and show them off.  In Cataclysm we've added some features to support that goal in the form of a new guild UI, levels, perks, achievements, reputation, and rewards.   Jump inside for the deetz.

The Blizzard Fan Art Section has been updated with four new pieces of fan artwork set within the Warcraft universe.

We were amazed by the deliriously delicious delights and tantalizing treats you tempted us with! After reviewing all of the entries, we came away more than a little hungry (send cupcakes, pls), but we were finally able to get over our grumbling tummies to select these truly mouthwatering winners. Feast your eyes on these five fantastic finalists, and please join us in congratulating them on their leet baking skills!

The New York Times best-selling novel The Shattering chronicles the heart-pounding events that took place leading up to World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. If you're an aspiring loremaster looking for a chance to add this tome to your library, then we invite you take part in our latest contest. All you have to do is read excerpts from the novel and take a quiz about what transpired for a chance to win one of 20 copies signed by the author, Christie Golden. Ready to enter? Check out the rules, then visit the contest page for all the details.

Prepare yourself for the Cataclysm with the new line of World of Warcraft® gaming gear from SteelSeries. The World of Warcraft®: Cataclysm™ MMO Gaming Mouse, SteelSeries Shift: Cataclysm Gaming Keyboard, SteelSeries Shift Keyset: Cataclysm and three SteelSeries QcK Mouse Pads -- Worgen, Goblin, and Deathwing Editions, are now available for sale at Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon and Future Shop. For more information, please visit www.steelseries.com/cataclysm

We'd like to thank the artists and designers who made our 2010 holiday season just a little warmer by participating in our second annual Blizzard Holiday Card Contest. We asked you to craft festive cards inspired by Warcraft, StarCraft, or Diablo -- and you delivered more holiday cheer than we could have ever imagined! Please join us in congratulating these creative card crafters, and feast your eyes on their awesome entries.

The Blizzard Art gallery has been updated with nine classic pieces representing the Warcraft universe. These pieces offer an inside look at the creative process behind building this virtual world.

King Varian Wrynn, Queen Sylvanas Windrunner, King Genn Greymane, and Trade Prince Gallywix—these are just a few of the leaders who continue to shape Azeroth's destiny. They are the embodiments of their races' strongest traits... and at times their greatest failings. In the coming months, Blizzard Entertainment will be releasing short stories that will peer into the hearts of these legendary heroes and offer insight into what new trials might lie ahead as they lead their people in a world forever changed by the Cataclysm.

The Blizzard Fan Art Section has been updated with four new pieces of fan artwork set within the Warcraft universe.

Want to bring the music from the latest World of Warcraft expansion with you anywhere you go? The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm soundtrack is now available as an iTunes LP from the iTunes Store, featuring 17 eminently epic tracks as well as special bonus content including artwork, liner notes, and behind-the-scenes interviews. If you previously purchased a copy of the Cataclysm soundtrack album from iTunes prior to the release of this special LP version, don't worry -- you'll be able to receive the bonus content at no additional charge. For more information or to purchase the Cataclysm soundtrack LP, visit the iTunes Store.

We have just updated our World of Warcraft Wallpapers section with a new wallpaper featuring Deepholm.

Raid your home or office with two new World of Warcraft stoneware mugs now available at www.wowsteins.com! The Undercity mug features a panoramic scene of the Horde's capital of the undead while the Ironforge mug captures the cavernous city of the Alliance's dwarven domain.

Thanks to the amazing support of our community of players, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has sold more than 4.7 million copies as of its first month of release, setting a new record for monthly PC-game sales. Don't all stand in the fire at once! Check out the press release for all the details, and thanks again for playing!

We've recently implemented a number of hotfixes directly related to guild achievements, flasks, and cauldrons. When first designing the guild achievements, we overestimated the number of flasks that guilds would be able to make by the time they reached guild level 10, and set the number of Cataclysm flasks required for the two related guild achievements to 10,000 (Mix Master) and 25,000 (Better Leveling Through Chemistry). In reality, most guilds have made fewer flasks than we had originally anticipated they would at this point in guild progression, and many players will soon be unlocking a guild perk (Chug-A-Lug) directly related to cauldrons and flasks.

We've just released a free update for the World of Warcraft Mobile Armory.

Merry New Year! The celebration begins at 6:00 p.m. realm time tonight (December 31) with fireworks in the skies above the cities, and repeats every hour on the hour.

Presents! There's now a presence of presents under the tree near Greatfather Winter in Orgrimmar for Horde, and in Ironforge for Alliance. Be sure to stop by and pick up this year's exclusive gift.

The forces of the Alliance return from Northrend, victorious in their battle against the Lich King, but not without casualties. The loss of Highlord Bolvar Fordragon has taken its toll on the forces of the Alliance, most notably on King Varian Wrynn. Unfortunately the sands of time flow without pause, and there is little time for mourning. Deathwing has erupted back into the world, and he has left a trail of destruction in his wake. Just as Stormwind lies shattered beneath the Dragon Aspect’s might, Deathwing's return may have caused some unforeseen results. The nation of Gilneas, isolated since the end of the Second War behind Greymane’s Wall, will return to rejoin the Alliance and bring with them a feral rage like no other.

You did it! The combined efforts of the Alliance and the Horde have paid off, the final reward on the Your Fortune Awaits page has been unlocked, and the Cataclysm Print Ad and YouTube Commercial Contests have both come to a glorious end! Thanks to all of the talented artists and members of the community for seizing this opportunity and making these contests such a shattering success! It was tough to choose winners from such an amazing batch of entries, but you can read on to see which Cataclysm-inspired ads, commercials, and PSAs proved to be the most creative and persuasive.

The second issue of Curse of the Worgen, the newest miniseries in the bestselling World of Warcraft comic line, is now available online and in stores nationwide.

From everyone at Blizzard to you and yours, have a safe and happy holiday season!

BlizzCon presents an opportunity for real-life tailors and engineers to take up their needle and thread, their cardboard and spray paint, to create amazingly realistic recreations of their favorite Blizzard Entertainment characters. We invited the winners of this year’s costume contest to write guest articles on the art of costume-craft for us to share with the community. Here’s the last of three, written by Armando, who won second place for his towering and fearsome reproduction off Illidan Stormrage.

Show off your epic crafting skills in the latest image submission contest for a chance at prizes including your very own Frostmourne replica! Participants will create a full-sized, player-made weapon replica of their choice based on an in-game item from World of Warcraft. Winners will be selected based on their accuracy and creativity.

The return of Deathwing has forever changed the face of Azeroth in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, and the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game is ready to match these world-altering events with its upcoming set Worldbreaker. Featuring the addition of two brand-new races -- goblin and worgen -- Worldbreaker will also begin to introduce the great Dragon Aspects from World of Warcraft.