In response to player feedback, Blizzard has decided to revert the requirement for 'the Exalted' title back to 40 exalted reputations. The team recently bumped it up to 50 reputations in an attempt to keep it a difficult reward in Cataclysm and beyond, but many players were frustrated to lose their title with the change. Blizzard took the constructive posts to heart and will be switching back to 40 reputations through a hotfix or client patch.

If you're wondering why 'the Exalted' title isn't grandfathered like 'the Loremaster' or 'the Explorer' titles, Community Manager Bashiok explained in his post that it's simply a technical issue. While Blizzard can't do it now, they're "working on such a technology that will allow players to keep items or titles associated with achievements even if we decide to change that criteria."

Check out Bashiok's full post after the jump.

Back in October 2010, Blizzard hosted a benefit for the Children’s Hospital of Orange County Children's Foundation. Guests were invited to mingle with game developers, artists, executives, community managers, and other Blizzard Entertainment representatives.

The benefit was a huge success and on January 7 the team was able to present a check to the CHOC Children’s Foundation totaling $75,000. A representative for CHOC recently said:

"We extend our thanks to the BlizzCon VIP attendees for their philanthropy and for making it such a wonderful evening."

UPDATE: Blizzard's been busy. The 4.0.6a patch notes were updated again on February 11 at 8 p.m. PST. The updated notes can be found after the jump.

Blizzard just released a small World of Warcraft update called patch 4.0.6a that fixes a variety of bugs. You can read the relatively short patch notes after the jump.

The 4.0.6a notes were published in Blizzard's regular hotfixes post, which lists all the changes that have been implemented since patch 4.0.6 went live on Tuesday.

UPDATE: The site has been updated with a new video called "A Message from Blizzard." Mike Morhaime and Frank Pearce take a moment to thank players for years of support and dedication.

When you think about it, it's rather amazing that Blizzard has been able to come so far developing almost purely on their three main IPs: Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo (ALSO LOST VIKINGS). This month marks the beginning of Blizzard's 20th Anniversary Celebration, and to kick it all off they've launched a nifty... blue site with a brief blurb and not much else. That being said, there does promise to be a ton of personal Blizzard content uploaded there, including videos, interviews, a Blizzard timeline, a photo gallery, a highlight of community events, and what appears to be a "in the studio" visit, as indicated by their "behind the gates" section.

All of the above are coming soon, so keep your eyes glued to that site if you want to celebrate all that is Blizzard!

Patch 4.0.6 just went live yesterday, but Blizzard has already implemented a batch of hotfixes. It's a relatively short list compared to the massive patch notes, so check out all the changes after the jump.

What are your thoughts on patch 4.0.6 so far? Join in on the discussion in this thread in our WoW general forum.

UPDATE: The official patch notes have already been updated to include a new Achievements section, a paladin bug fix concerning Holy Power, a number of changes to current raid boss encounters, and a note about Inscription Ink Traders. Check out the complete notes after the jump.

It's official: World of Warcraft patch 4.0.6 is going live today. This beast implements a number of updates. Here is just a small sample of the changes:

• Worgen and troll druids now have new art for Swift Flight Form.
• Players no longer need to discover Cataclysm dungeon entrances in order to access them via the Dungeon Finder.
• Many rare creatures that went into hiding upon Deathwing's emergence into Azeroth have made a return! In addition to finding new homes in a post-Cataclysm world, they drop new, improved loot, provide a healthy experience bonus, and respawn much more quickly when killed.
• The Luck of the Draw buff has been increased to 5% per player, up to a maximum of 15%. Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street outlined the change in a recent blog entry.

The patch notes are simply massive, so it's a good idea to read through them to see which changes affect you the most. Check out the full patch notes after the jump and discuss them in our WoW general forum.

Blizzard just announced that BlizzCon will return to the Anaheim Convention Center from Oct. 21-22! This will be the sixth BlizzCon convention, so clear your calendar now if you'd like to attend or watch live coverage of the event. As always, BlizzCon will include a mix of discussion panels, tournaments, hands-on gameplay, contests and much more.

Details regarding ticket information should be released in the coming months. Tickets to BlizzCon 2010 cost $150 each and sold out in minutes on June 2 and 5 last year.

Love is in the air once again in World of Warcraft. The Valentine's Day event kicked off today and runs through Feb. 20, so you have two weeks to earn your achievements and purchase some seasonal goodies using your Love Tokens.

As always, Wowhead has an updated guide to help you make the most of this event. Check it out for details on all of the festivities, from the quests to the Apothecary Hummel boss fight. The necklaces dropped by Hummel have been bumped up to level 85 and are now item level 346 and rare quality.

Between the Love is in the Air event and the Lunar Festival, there are a lot of parties going on in WoW right now. Enjoy the festivities!

World of Warcraft's latest New Player Tips series is out and this time the topic is "Don't Fear the Reaper." Help new players overcome their fear of PvP!

"Not everyone begins their illustrious PvP career so confident and self-assured. It takes time for the nerves to become focused excitement and to overcome the initial fear of falling to the enemy. But, everyone falls. It's whether you can pick yourself up and persevere against a skilled foe that will prove your mettle."

So share some of your knowledge with a newer player. What advice you can offer to those who are new to the PvP scene?

Before the Cataclysm hit World of Warcraft, I never set foot in Silverpine Forest except to run to Shadowfang Keep. I'll admit it: I never played a Forsaken. I found the undead storyline to be distasteful and often downright evil, and I couldn't separate myself enough to actually enjoy leveling up an undead (nor looking like something the cat literally dragged in). But I'm really glad I gave them a chance now, because the new story rocks.