Flood of info as WOW patch 3.1 hits test

World of Warcarft's first major patch since Wrath of the Lich King has been released on Blizzard's public test servers - and with it arrives a deluge of new information via the official patch notes and inquisitive players.

The headlines are as expected: the huge Ulduar raid has arrived along with dual talent specs, class changes, and the ability of all mounts to swim.

There are a number of sizeable surprises, however. The biggest must be the Argent Tournament, a new event with two components - mounted combat and a Coliseum-style battle. The event is associated with the Argent Crusade faction and will reward players with Achievements, titles, tabards, pets, banners, and what appear to be new versions of the classic racial mounts.

Dungeon maps - for the Lich King dungeons at least - have now been added to the game, something that most players have been crying out for for over four years now. There are some significant changes to Glyphs, as well as a few tasty new recipes for most professions.

Accessing dual talent specs will be costly - no less than 1000g. But they're not only available at maximum level, as Blizzard said they would be (and as the patch notes still suggest). Players are reporting that they can access the feature at level 40 at the moment; it seems that Blizzard is considering relaxing the requirements.

You can find tons more information over at WOW Insider and MMO-Champion. Expect the patch to go live in the next month or so.