A blue post in the official technical support forum seems to suggest that patch 3.3 isn't scheduled to launch for at least another month. In response to a player complaining about how long it takes to complete the 448MB background download, Datth said, "We only provide mirror links for full client patches. Background downloads do not count. You have around 1+ month to download this file so we're not really worried about your speed."

This comment certainly shouldn't be taken as any sort of official confirmation of the 3.3 launch window. After all, Datth could have just been talking about the timetable for background downloads in general. Regardless, it's just something to think about while we all wait for 3.3 to hit the live servers on one of these upcoming Tuesdays.

Blizzard posted its official preview of the lore surrounding the legendary weapon Shadowmourne a couple days ago, but our friends over at Wowhead have posted something even better: the stats. The two-handed axe can be used by warriors, paladins and death knights and deals 344.1 damage per second at a speed of 3.70. It has +233 Strength, +198 Stamina and three red sockets for a bonus of +8 Strength.

Players who are lucky enough to equip this weapon will also have their critical strike and armor penetration ratings increased by 114. Oh, and "your weapon swings have a chance to drain a Soul Fragment granting you 40 strength. When you have acquired 10 Soul Fragments you will unleash Chaos Bane, dealing 1900 to 2100 shadow damage split between all enemies within 8 yards."

Do you want to get your hands on Shadowmourne? Wowhead has posted the details of the quest chain in their Patch 3.3 guide. You can also discuss the weapon in this thread in our WoW general forum.

Look out World of Warcraft PTR players - Fony is on the loose! The second episode of The BFF Report's sneak peek of WoW's Patch 3.3 is now live, and the hilarity only continues as Fony chronicles his escapades through Icecrown Citadel.

So what's in store for viewers in this episode?

Three words: Pit of Saron. Delving into the next five-player dungeon on his tour, Fony takes a crack at Forgemaster Garfrost, Krick and Ick, and Scourgelord Tyrannus. Last but not least, Fony takes a crack at a gunship battle... but things don't go quite as planned.

Check out all of Episode Six - WoW Patch 3.3 Part Two by clicking here!

Blizzard announced its plan to implement a brand-new "Looking For Group" (LFG) system for World of Warcraft last summer, at BlizzCon 2009, built on a similar mechanic used in PvP Battlegrounds. Developers told the crowd they had finally worked out a way to bring cross-server instances to WoW, allowing players from different servers the ability to run the same dungeons together. Although Blizzard originally stated it would be limited to 5-player dungeons in the beginning, it has since announced that a "Looking for Raid" system will accompany the new system.

The new LFG system is already being vetted on the public test realm, set to roll out to the public in the upcoming patch 3.3. Blizzard designed the system with incentives in mind, offering higher rewards to players that group with more randomly-chosen teammates. Many players already support the idea of the new system, especially casual players who don't get the opportunity to run through as many dungeons as regular, "connected" players. Others have their doubts, anticipating even more failed dungeon runs from the inherent pick-up group (PUG) design of the system.

Lead Encounter Designer Daelo has published a lengthy post on the official forums that outlines Blizzard's plans for access progression in the Icecrown Citadel raid. The citadel will be broken up into four sections, and all of them won't immediately be available when patch 3.3.0 goes live.

"We believe a staggered release of the content will allow players to experience Icecrown Citadel at a sustainable, measured, and ultimately more enjoyable pace," Daelo said. For example, Plagueworks will become available several weeks after the Lower Spire opens. Other elements that will block access include various prerequisites, such as needing to defeat the Lich King in a regular raid before attempting the Heroic versions.

More details on the Icecrown Citadel access progression can be found in the full post after the jump.