The leaves are turning which means a new season of butt kicking is upon us.

Apparently the crew at World of Warcraft knows that the fanatics will be getting to max level in short order once Wrath of the Lich King ships (in less than a week, woohoo!). With the announcement of two new arenas, Blizzard has also announced the start of the next arena season which will be December 16th. I'm sure there will be plenty of characters at max level in that first month ready willing and able to jump into both the Circle of Blood and the Dalaran Sewers arenas. For some added info on the arenas from the official WoW site:

The Circle of Blood:

Once the gates open, your team will have to make a decision: go for the left ramp, the right ramp, or the center. Gunning for the ramp near your pit will present early access to the bridge, as well as a terrific view of what the opposing team is planning. Of course, this also means that if you're running toward the other side's ramps instead of your own, they'll be able to see you coming.

Things will invariably become a little chaotic once you're on the bridge. Ranged classes such as hunters and mages often try to reach the relative safety of one of the pillars or hang back at their ramp, while melee fighters such as warriors and rogues do their best to close the distance. There's usually a lot of fighting going on at the bridge, because controlling this landmark often means your team controls the arena.

Dalaran Sewers:

When the match starts, teams will likely head to the center platform to establish a favorable strategic position that is tailored to their team makeup. Ranged classes can circle the perimeter to break line of sight from melee attackers and other ranged attackers, or venture onto the platform to obtain high ground and control most of the playing field with clear lines of sight. Healers can kite melee around the platform and up the two stairways, using the two piles of crates or jumping down when necessary to break line of sight from ranged attackers.

However, no one should get too comfortable trying to control the platform's center. Even though it offers a strong strategic position, the center of the platform is also where the waterfall makes its periodic appearance, throwing a dynamic, impassable line-of-sight element into the mix, and knocking back anyone standing too close to the downpour. Players can take advantage of its potentially game-changing nature to attempt high-risk, high-reward gambits such as bringing all cooldowns and burst DPS to bear on a single target that may have been momentarily cut off from support.

The official arena insider information shows some screenshots and key ingredients from each of the new arenas.

So get ready because as soon as the gates to Northrend go up next week, you know players will be sprinting to the level 80 finish line so they can be ready to pwn in the new arenas. How long will it take you to get to max level?

I have been saying that I'm not in a hurry and hope to enjoy the travels to level 80, but in reality I will be running around like a chicken with no head gobbling up content as fast as I'm able. It's not that I'm in a hurry, it's that the game is so blasted fun I keep going. And then I'll level my alt. Yes, I'm that guy, are you? Bring your answer to the forum.