Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street just posted a blog entry explaining the purpose behind the new passive ability Vengeance. The ability is gained by choosing a tanking tree and grants the tank an attack power bonus based on the damage taken. Here are Ghostcrawler's main points:

• "Vengeance was designed for a single purpose, which is to make sure tank threat scales as other players improve their gear." As tanks focus on survivability and DPSers focus on damage, threat can become an issue in the higher tiers of Cataclysm content. Vengeance helps address that problem.
• "Vengeance is not supposed to solve the threat problem completely." It shouldn't be needed in the first six seconds of combat or the first couple tiers of Cataclysm content.
• "Vengeance also isn't supposed to make you scared to attack a tank in PvP." Single players shouldn't trigger the full effect of Vengeance, and it can be dispelled like an Enrage effect.

As always, Vengeance may need some tweaking to get it just right. You can read Ghostcrawler's full blog entry after the jump.

The Shattering of Azeroth has changed the level ranges of many zones in World of Warcraft, so it should come as no surprise that the corresponding dungeons have been adjusted to match. Community Manager Daxxarri has posted a a handy list of all the level 1-60 dungeons that shows their level range and the minimum level required for entry in parentheses. You can view it after the jump.

Later in the thread, Daxxarri reminds players that Blizzard is still planning to split Uldaman into two instances in the future. Which dungeons have you run since the launch of patch 4.0.3a?

Blizzard has outlined the new Battleground brackets in a blog entry on the official site, and they span five levels each except for the final bracket for level 85 players. Blizzard believes these brackets will match up teams more evenly and "should offer players a more consistently competitive experience in the Battlegrounds as their characters level." Here are the new brackets:

10-14               30-34               50-54               70-74
15-19               35-39               55-59               75-79
20-24               40-44               60-64               80-84
25-29               45-49               65-69               85

Players will also be able to enter Arathi Basin at level 10, Eye of the Storm at level 35 and Alterac Valley at level 45. Will you be queuing for Battlegrounds as you level a new character in Cataclysm?

Blizzard applied a new batch of hotfixes today, and one of them significantly reduces the amount of experience that level 1-60 dungeon quests award in Azeroth. According to Zarhym, the change was introduced to make sure that WoW players can enjoy dungeons without outpacing the leveling flow:

"While dungeons should remain integral to our evolving storylines, and great places to collect gear in cooperative environments, we need to make sure each player’s questing progress remains relevant as dungeon quests are completed. In many cases we’re seeing players enter dungeons to complete quests, only to come out ahead of the leveling curve for the zones they’re in."

At this time, Blizzard has no plans to reduce the exp for dungeon quests in Outland, Northrend and Cataclysm. So what do you think? Is it a good idea or too harsh a nerf? Also, you can check out the rest of today's hotfixes after the jump.

When you launch a patch that completely shatters the world, it's going to take a little time to pick up the pieces. That's why it's certainly not surprising that Blizzard has been implementing a series of hotfixes since last week's launch of patch 4.0.3a to address various bugs and issues.

The most recent hotfixes can be found after the jump. If you'd like to look back at all of the hotfixes since Nov. 23, check out Blizzard's blog entry.

Just as a reminder, players who log into World of Warcraft between today and Dec. 14 will receive the "WoW's 6th Anniversary" feat of strength. The game actually turned six years old on Nov. 23, but now you have a full two weeks to grab the achievement before it disappears. Everybody who logs in for the launch of Cataclysm on Dec. 7 will earn the feat of strength, so it's a pretty easy accomplishment.

You won't receive a pet this year, but you will get a note in your mailbox from the dev team. You can read it after the jump. How long have you been playing World of Wacraft? What's the "/played" time on your main?

Just in time for the holidays, Blizzard has added the Lil' Ragnaros and the Moonkin Hatchling pets to the Blizzard Store for $10 each! The Moonkin Hatchling features unique Horde and Alliance versions, but that's not the only thing that makes the pet special. For every Moonkin Hatchling purchased from Nov. 29 through Dec. 31, Blizzard will donate 50% of the $10 purchase to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Thanks to the sales of the Pandaren Monk pet last year, Blizzard was able to donate $1.1 million to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Will you be purchasing a Moonkin Hatchling? If you need help deciding, check out the videos of the pets in action after the jump.

This week, our featured blog gets us in touch with our demonic side as we take a look at a Warlock blog. Killing ‘em Slowly features the ins and outs of a 10s-only raider with an affliction Warlock and a frost Death Knight, among other characters.

The blog contains a number of good how-to posts on playing a Warlock. The articles cover glyphs, rotations and spec. There’s a conscious effort to take the more hardcore theory-crafting that happens at other websites and break it down into easier to digest morsels.

On the lighter side, there are also some short stories written around the blogger’s characters. They can be a good break from the more theory-heavy posts. There are also a good number of other articles on miscellaneous topics, as well as thoughts and reflections on current events in-game. Feel free to check it all out!

As always, if you know of a blog you’d like to have featured in this space, please let us know. You can e-mail us at zamfeaturedblogs@gmail.com or send a PM to someproteinguy on the forums.

After the jump, we have an interview with the writers of the blog.

We've reached the halfway point of the Darkmoon Faire promotion, and Blizzard has shared an interesting video to celebrate the milestone. This behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Cataclysm cinematic provides a sneak peek at the Collector's Edition DVD. You can watch it after the jump.

In addition to the video, other recent unlocked content on the site includes clips of music and excerpts from "The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm" by Christie Golden. There are still nine more unlockables to reveal before Cataclysm launches on Dec. 7, including one final video.

Legendary Episode 6 is out, and your hosts tackle patch 4.0.3a and remind viewers that authenticators aren't chewing gum. Follow along with GameBreaker TV's Gary Gannon, ZAM's Mike B. aka Fony and TankSpot's Josh "Lore" Allen after the jump.

Also, this is a good time to remind you that the trio will be celebrating the midnight release of Cataclysm 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 will be in Los Angeles, CA manning the controls in the studio.