World of Warcraft patch 2.0 is now available on public test realms. Dubbed Before the Storm by Blizzard, the patch was originally planned for the Burning Crusade release, but when the expansion was pushed back to January this patch stayed behind to give players something to be excited about before the end of the year. Public test realm releases generally mean that the patch will hit live within a couple weeks unless something goes terribly wrong.

Highlights of the patch include an entirely revamped PVP ranking system where honor is spent on items instead of titles, new PVP arenas, new talents and abilities across all classes, and the all-new amazingly versatile Looking for Group tool, which should completely do away with WoW players' unhealthy dependence on meeting stones.

I'd totally be on the test servers this weekend with my 60 undead mage if not for the fact that there's a couple of new products coming out that I might have to report on. Michael Fahey

Click here for World of Warcraft Public Test Realm Signup - Requires active WoW account
World of Warcraft Public Test Realm Patch Notes