Cataclysm is officially live on North American servers! I was able to log in after about 8 minutes of connection issues. Hopefully this means that NA players will have better luck getting into the game than the European players did during their launch about nine hours ago.

If you're looking for details on the expansion, Wowhead has all sorts of information to help you out. You can also read Blizzard's concise list of Cataclysm features from their launch Q&A after the jump.

So what's the first thing you're going to do? Create a goblin or worgen? Start leveling to 85? Do something else entirely? Personally, I'm going to take a moment and enjoy flying around Azeroth. See you in-game!

Cataclysm is officially live on European servers! And yes, there are login issues. Those of us on the North American realms have a few hours to go before we can get our hands on the expansion, but you can kill some time by reading the Q&A Blizzard just posted that answers any last-minute launch questions you may have.

Regarding the actual launch of Cataclysm, Blizzard has no maintenance or downtime planned tonight. Once you've installed the expansion from your DVD or completed the background download, you're ready to go. If you're in-game when Cataclysm goes live, you'll receive a message asking you to exit to the login screen and then log back in.

Keep reading after the jump for the full Q&A, which explains how to get to Hyjal and Vashj'ir and covers exactly what you'll gain access to by upgrading to Cataclysm.

Tonight is the night we've been waiting for since Cataclysm was officially announced last year at BlizzCon 2009. At midnight PST, the third World of Warcraft expansion will launch on all North American realms and give us access to the playable goblin and worgen races, a new level cap of 85, new zones to explore, two new battlegrounds to conquer, and much more. So how are you celebrating tonight?

Various retailers throughout North America will be hosting midnight launches, including GameStop, Best Buy and Walmart. Blizzard will also be hosting special events at select retail stores worldwide that will feature members of the development team and include autograph sessions and contests. The North American parties will be held at Fry's Electronics in Fountain Valley, CA and GameStop in Toronto, Ontario. The southern California event begins at 9 p.m. PST and will include a performance by The Artists Formerly Known as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain, so you know it will be a good time. If you attend, keep an eye out for Malgayne from Wowhead.

Speaking of parties, the hosts of the Legendary WoW video podcast will be celebrating the midnight release of Cataclysm beginning tonight at 8 p.m. PST. ZAM's own Mike B. aka Fony will be at GameStop in San Francisco, CA and TankSpot's Josh "Lore" Allen will be at Best Buy in Grand Rapids, MI. GameBreaker TV's Gary Gannon will be in Los Angeles, CA manning the controls in the studio. Head over to GameBreaker TV's live feed tonight to join in on the action.

In case you haven't noticed, Blizzard's new World of Warcraft community site is now live! The site offers a ton of new stuff, including improved forums, beginner's guides, raid progression and recommendations on the Armory, and more.

And here's the best part: You can now find links to Wowhead all over the Armory database! Item pages, character pages, search listings, and even the talent calculator all have convenient links to Wowhead.

You can read Blizzard's list of all the new features after the jump. What are your thoughts on the new site?

UPDATE: Rob ultimately dinged 85 in the final hour of the WoW marathon. While he didn't achieve his goal of a world first level 85 character, his team did raise more than $1,600 for Free Wheelchair Mission.

It's safe to say that most World of Warcraft fans have plans for tonight. Once midnight PST hits, Cataclysm will go live and bring with it a new level cap, two new races, new zones, and much more. Your guild is ready, friends are standing in line with you at your local video game store (unless, of course, you digitally pre-ordered the expansion), and copious amounts of caffeinated beverages have been purchased. What could be better? How about playing a game you love for a good cause? That's exactly what a group of players in California are doing for the next two days.

Rob “Scrawn” Flaska is an avid WoW player who has achieved several milestones since he started playing in the friends and family alpha, back when the highest level was 10. Once Cataclysm launches in a few short hours, Rob will be attempting to be the first person in the world to reach 85. Yeah, yeah, him and about a million other people, right? Well, Rob has a little experience in this area, including several server firsts when Wrath of the Lich King was released. And while it may be his personal goal to race to the level cap, his main motivation is to raise money for charity.

More hotfixes! Blizzard continues to squash bugs related to patch 4.0.3a patch as we all wait for Cataclysm to launch in a few short days. Despite the pressure surrounding the release of such a major expansion, these hotfixes prove Blizzard hasn't lost its sense of humor:

• Players can no longer skin Crushcog Sentry-Bots or Crushcog Battle Suits in Dun Morogh... because they don’t have skin.
• Crafty players again found a way to catch Cataclysm fish. Crafty designers have made this impossible without a Cataclysm key attached to a player’s account.

The most recent batch of hotfixes can be found after the jump.

In last week's BFF Report, Mike B. aka Fony decided to start leveling past 80 in Cataclysm by exploring the underwater zone of Vashj'ir. This week, he brings you highlights from his journey through the center of the world (of Warcraft), Deepholm. Check out episode 48 of the BFF Report after the jump to see what awaits you on Dec. 7!

Speaking of Cataclysm's launch, Fony and the gang from Legendary will be celebrating the midnight release of the expansion beginning on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. PST. Fony will be at GameStop in San Francisco, CA and Lore will be at Best Buy in Grand Rapids, MI. Gary Gannon will be in Los Angeles, CA manning the controls in the studio.

The last piece of unlockable content has been unveiled on Blizzard's Darkmoon Faire promotional site, and the final reveal is a new Cataclysm video called "The World Reborn." Click through the jump to take a fly-through tour of the zones players will explore when the expansion launches on Dec. 7.

So how long did it take for both the Horde and Alliance to hit 100% on the site? Two weeks. Be sure to check out the rest of the unlocked content, which includes artwork, music, a "making of" video and excerpts from "The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm" by Christie Golden.

Episode 7 of the Legendary WoW video podcast is now available for your viewing pleasure, and the guys focus on the supposed leak of Blizzard's product schedule that's circulating the Web. It's important to note that there is absolutely no proof whatsoever that this document is official. Regardless, it's still fun to watch GameBreaker TV's Gary Gannon, ZAM's Mike B. aka Fony and TankSpot's Josh "Lore" Allen talk about it. Both the video and rumored schedule can be found after the jump.

For more details on the document, check out TheOnyx's investigative reporting over at Wowhead. Again, it's all just a rumor. In fact, here's Blizzard's official response to Wowhead:

"As always, we appreciate the interest in Blizzard's current and upcoming games, but we don't comment on rumors or speculation and we don't have any new announcements to make. Right now we're fully focused on the upcoming launch of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, and we're very much looking forward to celebrating that event with players around the world starting on Dec. 7."

If you want to talk more about the supposed product schedule, join in on the discussion in this thread in our WoW general forum.

With both Cataclysm and the holidays right around the corner, Blizzard has been busy posting all sorts of updates. Instead of separating them into individual articles, here's a rundown on some recent World of Warcraft news:

• BlizzCast #15 is now live and focuses on Cataclysm. The team discusses world-building, music and sound design, voice acting, and class and systems changes.
• Blizzard has kicked off its holiday contests. Submit your Blizzard-themed dessert or card by Dec. 16 for a chance to win prizes like signed collector's editions of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.
• The Darkmoon Faire promotional site has been updated with music and artwork from the WoW Trading Card Game. Both the Horde and Alliance have almost hit 80%, so expect more unlocked content in the near future. (UPDATE: The Alliance beat the Horde to 80% and unlocked more artwork.)