Expansion Named, New Class & Race Included

• Race: New playable Pandaren race
• Class: Monk
• Pet battle system
• PvE scenarios
• New talent system
• New continent
• Level cap increase to 90
• Challenge mode dungeons

BlizzCon 2011: Day one round-up

• The WoW Insider/Wowhead reader meetup The now-famous annual party, co-hosted with Wowhead, Members of ZAM Network, TankSpot and WoW Interface, smashed previous attendance records (and, we're told, the Annabella Hotel's liquor supply). We were a little the worse for wear the day after, but not so much so that we couldn't bring you a gallery of the night's debauchery.
• Liveblogs If you aren't at BlizzCon and don't have the livestream, fear not: We've got you covered. The Opening Ceremonies, the Mists of Pandaria Preview panel, the Class Talent System panel, and the Dungeons and Raids panel are here in all their liveblogged glory.
• World of Warcraft: Those Crazy Bastards Did It Technically the next expansion's name is World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, featuring -- what else? -- a new race, the Pandaren, and a new class, the monk. So who gets Pandaren, Alliance or Horde? Turns out it'll be both. Not only do we have the first trailer for you, but we also got an early peek at their racials, and Joe Perez played through the Pandaren starting area for a bit. By the way, it turns out the Pandaren started with a picture that Samwise Didier drew for his daughter.
• What to expect in the next expansion Quite a lot, as it turns out. Of interest to all players will be the WoW annual pass (giving a free digital copy of Diablo 3 and a new mount, Tyrael's Charger), an overhaul of the talent system (with pictures of all the new talents for each class), new PvE scenarios, an adios to melee weapons for hunters and the ranged slot for everyone else, dungeon and raid changes, and -- let's not forget -- WoW's version of Pokemon. On which I believe our commenters Cyanea and Arcanum have had the final and best words on.
• Fun, games, and random news We've already got one slot knocked off our BlizzCon bingo cards. Check out the last batch of readers' predictions in the few hours before the convention started here. We got some great shots of the cosplayers running around the convention. In a pleasant surprise for everyone, Murkablo (the special pet awarded to BlizzCon attendees and purchasers of the livestream) is available early. And don't forget Blizzard's auction of server blades to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

BlizzCon 2011: Day two round-up

• Liveblogs If you aren't at BlizzCon and don't have the livestream, fear not: We've got you covered. The Classes, Items, and Professions Q&A, Open Q&A, and Lore Q&A panels were all faithfully liveblogged for you. Brace yourself for the aforementioned angry players in the former two.
• News tidbits from the panels There were a surprising of changes either announced, confirmed, or clarified during the Saturday panels. To answer the question that we've gotten more than any other, yes -- Blizzard is working on new character models for the older races! Enchanters will go back to creating wands (don't forget, wands can be primary weapons for casters in Mists of Pandaria). For all those of you who loved Scholomance and the Scarlet Monastery during classic, heroic versions of these dungeons are also being designed for the next expansion. We got a peek at the art going into Pandaren and their starting zone, and a preview of the Pandaria dungeons. In more immediate news, the guild transfer and guild name-changing services should go live in about two weeks, and Blizzard plans to publish both a graphic novel and a four-part novella concerning the Pandaren.
• People, interviews, and events G4 got some professional studio pictures of some of BlizzCon's most famous cosplayers, and we have a gallery of Friday night's costume contest. Episode 216 of the WoW Insider Show was recorded from the convention and features 7 staffers discussing the Friday announcements. Lisa interviewed a couple honeymooning at BlizzCon, and Gray made the rounds on the floor show with a camera. New to BlizzCon? Sue, the convention center's nurse, has some good advice for you.
• Commentary In which Rossi turns out to have been slightly psychic, Blizzard weighed in on the Guardian Cub controversy, and readers shared their thoughts on the Friday announcements.