As the majority of the World of Warcraft community predicted last week, the long-awaited patch 3.3—the final bookend of the Lich King saga—will go live on public servers later today, according to WoW.com and other sources. We originally began hearing rumors that patch 3.3 was imminent as early as last week, but it wasn't until late last night that many fansites finally announced they had received confirmation. The patch will push to live servers during this morning's regular maintenance downtime, which is scheduled to last from 1:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PST, according to Blizzard's latest forum post.

For many players, the introduction of Icecrown Citadel in Northrend is the most-anticipated event of 2009. It's the massive dungeon where Arthas will eventually make his last stand, bringing an end to this chapter of WoW's history, which began more than a year ago with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. However, Blizzard is staggering the release of Icecrown Citadel's raid content, opening one wing at a time, beginning with The Lower Spire. Check out Wowhead's release schedule blog for more details. Patch 3.3 will also introduce the cross-server LFG system, which should make it easier for all players to find more dungeon and raid action.

What are you most excited to see in today's new content patch? On the other hand, is there anything you're not too thrilled about, like the infamous Paladin nerfs? Drop us a comment below, or discuss it in our forums.