Welcome to QJ.NET's very first World of Warcraft Weekend Warrior feature! This week's news snippets include updates on the ongoing holiday events in the public reams and the Test realms.

L70TC's also made it to the big time recently, as their new hit single goes on a multiplatform tour on the Xbox 360 and PS3. There's also the matter of a new licensing deal that'll make it easier for Europe's WoW gamers to obtain the MMO's official comics, and talks of how WoW was intended to be a free game.

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Europe in particular gets a break this week thanks to a new licensing deal between Titan Books and DC. This agreement will entitle the territories of the U.K. and Ireland to their own release of the World of Warcraft graphic novel, eliminating the need to purchase the book via imports.

Link: Titan Books obtains rights to DC's World of Warcraft comics

Guess what - GLaDOS isn't the only game-character whose song is now available as a playable track. This week sees the announcement and subsequent release of Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain's "I Am Murloc" to Activision's Guitar Hero 3 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Link: WoW's 'I Am Murloc' becomes Guitar Hero 3 downloadable track

WoW's Midsummer Fire Festival is well underway. While this will be introducing some new quests and enemies for your enjoyment, expect the occasional bug to be in tow. It's a good thing we have Blizzard's trusty devs looking out for our welfare.

Link: World of Warcraft: Clarification on Bonfire's Blessing "bug"

It may still be a while before October arrives, but that hasn't stopped the Public Test Realms from introducing their own brand of fun with an early run of the Brewfest. Let's hope the testers have the fortitude to endure some of the possible issues that may arise - and we're not talking about alcohol intake.

Link: World of Warcraft PTR: Brewfest testing underway for new tweaks

Determined to keep your precious account data safe from opportunists and cutthroats? In this weekend's World Wide Invitational, Blizzard's introduced their new Authenticator tool, which should offer you another level of security to keep your purples and other rare trinkets safe.

Link: Blizzard introduces Blizzard Authenticator for enhanced WoW security

 

World of Warcraft by far has one of the largest populations ever recorded for an MMORPG. It's a  feat made even more impressive when you consider its relatively restrictive monthly fees. However, did you know that the Blizzard actually planned to make WoW a free-to-play setup back then?

Link: Rob Pardo reveals World of Warcraft originally designed as free-to-play

Lest we forget, there's also the matter of the ongoing Worldwide Invitational. With everybody fired up over Diablo 3's announcement, the WoW devs are playing it cool with some Q&A sessions revealing new details for their plans for Wrath of the Lich King.

Link: Blizzard WWI 2008: Dev panel on Death Knight and new job class abilities
Link: Blizzard: Europe's Nihilum guild to conduct live raids at World Wide Invitational 2008

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Blizzard's pretty keen on keeping the game updated, and it shows in the additions that you're experienced in the Midsummer Fire fest. That just appears to be the proverbial tip of the iceberg however, with the testing in the PTRs hinting at even bigger updates for the next few real life holiday-inspired events in the game.

Then there's the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational. The Death Knight revelations aside, Blizzard's panel was quick to point out some new abilities WoW's character classes will be getting. Some of these abilities were inspired by player suggestions, which speaks volumes about how close the devs are to the rest of the community.

With more sessions lined up over the next several hours, it'll be interesting to see what sort of surprises Blizzard has up its sleeve.