The final patch for pre-expansion WoW is here. Nethaera and Greyson, two of Blizzard's community managers, posted two different announcements for this latest patch, which sets the scene for the arrival of the long-awaited expansion.

Within the update, perhaps the biggest expansion-related addition is the arrival of Kazzak's subordinate, Kruul. Kruul and his own small platoon of monsters will be appearing near the major cities, as well as in the Azshara, Eastern Plaguelands, Hinterlands, Searing Gorge, Silithus, Stranglethorn Vale, and Winterspring regions. Be sure to look out for these guys and to either avoid them entirely or chase them down to fulfill a new pre-Burning Crusade quest.

In the meantime, here are the patch notes for 2.0.3, which Greyson also calls "The Burning Crusade". Expect the real Burning Crusade next week, and make sure you have a fresh quiver of arrows. You're definitely going to need them.

General

• A stirring of events has begun throughout Azeroth and rumor points to the Dark Portal as its source.
• Mazk Snipeshot in Booty Bay now sells bullets.
• The Auction House now sorts by buyout price first, then by current price. This should filter all of the items with outlandish buyout prices to the bottom of the list.
• Players will now need to be level 58 to pass through the Dark Portal. (The Burning Crusade Expansion must be installed.)
• Collector Edition pets are now blue items and a confirmation dialogue will appear to prevent accidental deletion.
• Pets will no longer attack targets that are under the influence of crowd control (sheep, banish, etc.).
• The title "Scarab Lord" can now be chosen in game for select players.

More patch notes for the humble warrior after the jump. Note: It's 174 MB.