Throughout the years, World of Warcraft players have opened up their hearts to the community and shared with us their inspirational stories of romances found, friendships built , and hardships overcome. With Pilgrim's Bounty just on the horizon, we've selected three uplifting stories to share, submitted for your reading pleasure. These are personal accounts from your fellow World of Warcraft enthusiasts that touch upon the importance of family, love, and laughter and remind us that there's so much in our lives for which we should be thankful.

Little progress has been made toward mending Azeroth's dire condition. Thrall has nonetheless continued forging ahead in search of answers. Most recently, he journeyed to his ancestors' lands in Nagrand on the shattered world of Outland. At the fabled Throne of the Elements, he has met with other wise shaman, including the venerable dwarf Gavan Grayfeather, hoping to glean even the smallest shred of insight that could help him save Azeroth from ruin.

We have some tasty leftovers from our community comic contest to share. This comic was submitted by Hulda. Check out the full gallery here.

Earlier this week, we revealed how the new forum and comment rating system will help players promote positive and engaging discussions all on their own . Now it's time to explore another useful tool on the World of Warcraft community site: the search feature.

As part of an ongoing series, we'll be highlighting some of the new World of Warcraft 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?

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. What in the Light's name is going on? With the world in upheaval and its people in a panic, it's time to prepare for the worst. If the end of Azeroth is indeed at hand, how would you want to spend your final days?

It's a question you've been asking us for a little while now. And, based on all the posts, emails, petitions, and letters we received following the announcement that the Insane in the Membrane achievement would no longer be in available in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, we started to wonder if maybe we had gone a bit loco.

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.

Attention, Cataclysm beta testers! Want your shot at camping developers at the graveyard? This Thursday, November 11 beginning at 4 p.m. PST, we'll be holding a focus test for Rated Battlegrounds on the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm beta realms. If you want to participate, all you have to do is form a raid group with nine other players and queue for Rated Battlegrounds. We'll be conducting this test in a 10- vs.-10-player setting using Warsong Gulch, Twin Peaks, and Battle for Gilneas as the locations, so be prepared for some sweet, sweet ownage.

Well met, travelers! Welcome to the first entry in our ongoing Explorers' League Journal. Together, we'll embark on frequent journeys through the fascinating World of Warcraft community and investigate the latest developments and topics of interest being discussed throughout the lands. It wouldn't be a proper start without drawing your attention to the exciting live preview and impending official launch of the brand-new World of Warcraft community site! Now, let's dig deeper and explore the riches.

We have some tasty leftovers from our community comic contest to share. Check out the full gallery here.

Over the years, Blizzard has provided players with various tools and resources, such as the Battle.net Authenticator and Account Security Awareness pages, to help you keep your account information safe, secure, and in the right hands. As part of our ongoing commitment to account security, we’re happy to announce the release of a new account security feature, the Battle.net Dial-in Authenticator.

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: Lil' Ragnaros and the Moonkin Hatchling. As announced at BlizzCon, the Moonkin Hatchling will follow in the charitable footsteps of the Pandaren Monk, with sales helping to benefit a good cause. More details, including the availability date and specific plans for the charity partnership, will be announced in the weeks ahead, so stay tuned!

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. Earthquakes continue shaking the world with greater frequency than ever before. Wayward fire spirits have engulfed Orgrimmar, threatening to reduce the proud Horde capital to ash. Across the Great Sea, a sudden influx of earth spirits has rocked the foundations of Ironforge, pushing the once-indomitable dwarven bastion to the brink of collapse.

The comic contest is back! If you’ve ever read the Sunday morning funny pages, then you already know what to do. Make a comic that will split our sides (a little artistic skill doesn't hurt either...) and you may be among one of three winners chosen every other month. We'll display the winners proudly on our websites and send their creators a good-as-cash gift card. We’re opening the contest up to all Blizzard Entertainment franchises, so you can now create a fun, silly, or interesting comic based on the themes and characters from the Warcraft, Diablo, or StarCraft universes to enter. For details, or to submit your entry, hit up the official Blizzard Comic Contest page.

We have updated our World of Warcraft Wallpapers section with two new calendar wallpapers for August, 2010.

To help prepare the denizens of Azeroth for life after The Shattering, we've been exploring a variety of dungeons, zones, and Battlegrounds that will be featured in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, highlighting their key gameplay elements and delving a bit deeper into the characters that make these environments unique. If you missed out on any of these environment previews, search no further! We've compiled and organized them by their respective categories for you below. Be sure to check back periodically, too, since we'll be continually updating this page as new information is revealed. Enjoy!

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.

The Cataclysm looms near, and you can be ready to play the minute the servers go live by pre-purchasing the expansion digitally on Battle.net now. Simply complete the digital pre-sale process on Battle.net, and your account will be flagged for automatic access to Cataclysm when it launches at 12:01 a.m. PST on December 7.