Last week on Blizzard Watch: Preparation for patch 6.1

Patch 6.1 is going live on North American realms today. Realms will be down for maintenance this morning and are expected to become available once again at approximately 11:00 a.m. PST. We’ve spent the bulk of the last week preparing for it — in addition to the guides you’ll see on our site today, our class columnists have already been busy bees going over the changes. Below you’ll find our best (or most important) content of the last week — from patch 6.1 guides to rumblings of major Overwatch news on the horizon.

World of Warcraft Features

• Bosses in 5 Seconds: Blackround Foundry LFR – The Slagworks
• Episode 3 of the Blizzard Watch podcast
• WoW Archivist: The rise and fall of Wrath‘s death knights
• Arcane Sanctum: Mage changes in patch 6.1
• Locked and Loaded: Hunter buffs in patch 6.1
• Zen Meditation: The monk in patch 6.1
• Plaguebearer: The Challenge (Modes) before us
• Lightsworn: Return of the ret
• The Warrior’s Charge: Going from Pandaria to Draenor
• Know Your Lore: What is the story of Warlords of Draenor?
• Know Your Lore: Draenei
• Role Play: Choosing the right name for your character
• Officers’ Quarters: Little more than peasants
• Explaining stats in Warlords of Draenor

World of Warcraft News and Miscellany

• Method snags world first Mythic Blackhand
• Patch 6.1 adds new colorblind support UI
• Apexis Crystal changes  coming in patch 6.1
• Chorister puts a Warcraft spin on Hey There Delilah
• Daily Quests hits 100 comics
• Slightly Impressive retells Wrath of the Lich King… in reverse

Other Blizzard Titles

• New Hearthstone, Overwatch, and Heroes of the Storm content to be previewed at PAX East
• Hearthstone‘s February 2015 ranked play season ending soon
• The paladin deck that won 33 Hearthstone games in a row
• A peek at Diablo 3’s patch 2.2.0
• 10 tips for new Diablo 3 players from HazelNuttyGames
• Beware of the creep in Carbot’s latest StarCrafts video

If you’re looking for MMO news beyond World of Warcraft, look no further than our friends at Massively Overpowered. Here are some OP highlights from the past week.

• Elder Scrolls Online adds more loyalty rewards
• Minsc and Boo will headline Neverwinter’s sixth expansion
• A guide to starting new in Final Fantasy XIV
• Final Fantasy XIV unveils more about the Gold Saucer
• Kickstarted title The Stomping Land seemingly abandoned by its developer

Keep an eye on Blizzard Watch all morning for more on patch 6.1 and beyond!