Raid difficulty and tanking
We definitely wanted to make tanking, especially 5-player dungeons and the introductory raids, a little easier. We also wanted to improve the AE-tanking capabilities of all tanks.

We don't think the threat game is what is fun about tanking. It's a largely invisible and confusing number that traditionally required a mod in order to be tracked. We do want tanks to care about threat (or else they just stack mitigation and blame threat on the rogue) and we want them to care about dps too.

Remember that the old Naxx was the pinnacle of 40-player raiding. The new Naxx was designed to be more like Karazhan, or even a litle easier, considering that some of the Kara fights (the dragons, Prince and Aran in particular) required a lot of coordination.

Ulduar and subsequent raids will be a step up in difficulty, and I would also expect to see a lot more of the "hard mode" challenges, like "3 drakes up." We want to give players a chance to really test their mettle and have "server first" mean something and all that. We just want to do it without shutting 90% of players out of the instances -- arguably one of the coolest aspects of the game considering all of the customized art and sound -- and especially not the first couple of raids.

If we're having this conversation about Icecrown, then I would admit we have a problem. (Source)

Raid composition and upcoming dual spec
It would be elegant if a 5-player run took 1 tank, 3 dps, 1 healer and a 25-player run took 5 tanks, 15 dps and 5 healers.

It just doesn't work out that way. We don't think we can offer enough interesting encounters if they all have to require 5 tanks and we would have to severely punish stacking healers if the encounters were designed for 5, otherwise you'd probably be able to trivialize the encounter. (Usually we do that in the form of berzerk timers.)

It's just two competing design goals and we're pretty okay with how it has landed. We did try and make it so that non-tank specs can tank 5-player dungeons, and dual spec will help as well.

Our goal with dual-spec though is more that you can tank heroics on weekends and raid as dps during the week, not that you tank the trash then switch to dps for the boss. Doubtless players will still do the latter, but we aren't designing raid encounters knowing that players have access to dual spec. Don't expect to see 12 tank fights or that sort of nonsense. (Source)

Itemization and class diversity
It is not our goal to make sure that every piece you can get is perfect for your class or spec. A lot of the game's depth comes from those tough decisions when you're not sure if a piece is really an upgrade or not, or if that wasted stat is worth the other enormous stat on the piece, or if you are better off passing a minor upgrade to someone else for which it is a huge upgrade.

Upgrades are also boring if every piece = your previous piece but with +2 on all of the stats.

If someone just can't do their job because they lack critical gear, that's a slightly different issue. There have been cases where a critical item (say a tanking shield) was too rare, or upgrades were too hard to come by (say druid or paladin tanks in Sunwell). We think there is a little bit of that going on at the moment, but not too much, and of course we like to add more drops, vendor items, craftables and enchants and gems over time (and need room to do so). (Source)

Death Knight (Skills List / Talent Calc. (9095))
Tanking gear and defense cap
I think DKs may end up stacking a lot of dodge and parry just because they can't benefit from block percent or block value. They aren't designed to be avoidance tanks though -- they do have a lot of armor and some very strong active abilities for mitigation.

DKs may have a harder time hitting 540 defense than warriors or paladins just because they don't have the shield slot, which often has defense on it. (Source)

Druid (Skills List / Talent Calc. (9095))
Tree of Life and other forms not being able to move for a few seconds after a stun wears off
We'll look at the stun issue.  (Source)

Parry as Feral
These are all interesting ideas. We're probably less excited to make parry into a useful stat for druids just because one of the interesting things about druid tanks is that they don't care about parry. But that isn't to say we wouldn't do it. Healability, damage reduction or some other ideas nobody has come up with yet are all possible too. This one is going to take some discussion to figure out though. More input is certainly welcomed. (Source)

Hunter (Skills List / Talent Calc. (9095))
Spirit Beasts and additional pets
We wanted to have a difficult to get pet for those hunters who enjoyed the challenge of it in the old days. We wanted to make sure the Spirit Beast was not absolutely the best pet for that reason. We will probably add more over time. (Source)

Paladin (Skills List / Talent Calc. (9095))
Retribution nerf and PvP
We said before that if toning down Ret burst made them no longer very good at Arenas that we would be willing to give them additional utility. We just don't think the proverbial writing on the wall is that clear yet. We'll know a lot more in a few weeks. (Source)

Priest (Skills List / Talent Calc. (9095))
Mind Flay "bug"
If I had any more information, I would give it. We changed the way Mind Flay worked, which introduced the problem you referenced. It is not technically a bug, but it's still annoying and we'd like to get it fixed. We're not sure if rebuilding the spell is the right answer or if there are other things we can do.

It is going to be really hard for me to continually repost on the same topics just to say "We haven't forgotten." (Source)

Due to the high quality of the items attainable through the Archavon encounter in Wintergrasp, we are going to be making some changes. To keep the encounter in line with the rewards, we have changed the Raid Lock from a 3-day to a 7-day timer.

Additionally, we have raised ArchavonÂ’s hit points, in heroic, to keep the quality of item on par with the challenge of the encounter. 

DreamHack Winter is back, and Blizzard Entertainment will be there! We've partnered with TeliaSonera to give this year's attendees a chance to play Blizzard's upcoming StarCraft II and the recently released World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.

You'll find us next to the DreamArena, where Blizzard representatives will be on hand to answer questions, chat with players, and demonstrate the games. We'll also be running several contests featuring great prizes, including the Lich King's legendary sword Frostmourne -- though don't be surprised if Arthas himself shows up to try to stop you from winning.

This year's DreamHack Winter takes place from 27 to 30 November at Elmia in Jönköping, Sweden. For more information on the event, visit the DreamHack website. We look forward to seeing you there!

DreamHack website:
http://www.dreamhack.se/dhw08

Naxxramas - Four Horsemen chest
We're not happy with the need for everyone in the raid to individually open a dungeon and raid chest to grab their badge inside, and currently examining possibilities for making this easier. (Source)

Violet Hold - Door Blocked
I'm examining possible solutions for how to get players who die and release back into the event area. What seems simple in concept can sometimes be really tricky to implement. (Source)

Spells with knockback effects
We understand the problem here and have heard it from many players, especially tanks. The knockbacks can be useful when leveling or in PvP, but they do annoy some dungeon and raid groups. We are talking about adding minor glyphs to the spells with knockback effects. They would add some small benefit, cooldown reduction perhaps, in return for removing the knockback. (Source)

Parry Hasting removed?
The reduced swing time for a creature's next swing after it successfully parries an attack still exists in the game, and the vast majority of all creatures in WoW use the mechanic. Note that we have the ability to flag specific creatures to not be affected by this mechanic if we so choose for balance purposes. An example of such a creature would be Patchwerk, a very high melee damage dealing raid boss. (Source)

[EU] Free Character Migration (Source)
The following Free Character Migration will be available from November 26th to December 2nd:

Al'Akir => Dentarg, Xavius
Argent Dawn => Darkmoon Faire, Steamwheedle Cartel, The Sha'tar
Burning Legion => Ahn'Qiraj, Daggerspine
Crushridge => Bladefist, Karazhan
Drak'thul => Burning Blade, Deathwing
Grim Batol => Dentarg, Xavius
Magtheridon => Zenedar, Haomarush (Horde only)
Neptulon => Ahn'Qiraj, Daggerspine
Outland => Bladefist, Karazhan
Ravencrest => Burning Blade, Deathwing
Sylvanas => Auchindoun, Lightning's Blade
Twilight's Hammer => Auchindoun, Lightning's Blade

Additionally please note we also have free character migration from some realms to the new realm Chamber of Aspects. For more information, please check the following thread: http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=6848456286&sid=1

Hunter (Skills List / Talent Calc. (9095))
Spirit Beast vs Devilsaur
We're aware of the Lovegevity bug. We'll get that fixed and then adjust the dps as necessary. It should be a choice equivalent to a Devilsaur, but we don't want the Spirit Beast to be far and away the best pet choice. I don't think any of you are asking for that, but sometimes my quotes have a way of being taken out of context. (Source)

Paladin (Skills List / Talent Calc. (9095))
Why the removal of auras cooldown didn't happen
I posted some time ago that we weren't sure we were going to go through with this change after all. We really didn't like the idea of a paladin having to (or being asked by the group to) keep say Devotion Aura up but swap to the fire resist aura just before an incoming PoM Pyro in PvP or a dragon breath in PvE.

Auras are supposed to be something you generally choose before a battle, not a reactive ability like Spell Reflect that you swap in and out of depening on what is happening in the fight. Getting rid of the GCD makes them feel like you are supposed to use them reactively. (Source)

Shaman (Skills List / Talent Calc. (9095))
Upcoming Elemental Shaman changes
The Unrelenting Storms change was less about trying to fix (non-existent) mana issues and more because that talent was pretty severely underbudget. You can't always compare talents between classes, but in this case you could find similar talents that gave a lot more for only 3 points.

We still have some plans to do more with totems, but those will be a little longer coming.

We'll have to monitor the LB vs. CL choices. It's not a bad situation if you favor CL more on group pulls and LB more on single targets. This will be a good thing to evaluate on the PTR.

As always, I'm just reporting changes that the class designers came up with as a group. Feel free to give them the credit for anything you like and me the blame for anything you don't.

We don't want to announce when this patch will go live for the reasons we usually don't announce such things. But you will see the changes in the next minor content patch, which is not the same as a hotfix or weekly maintenance, but isn't the same as a major content patch with a new raid either. (Source)

Achievements
Player achievements and statistics are now viewable on Armory character profiles. These new pages are designed to appear and function much like their corresponding interface in-game, with some additional features unique to the Armory.

• To navigate between categories, simply click on the category or subcategory name on the left-side menu.
• The ability to compare achievements and statistics between multiple characters is expanded to allow you to compare up to four characters, even across realms.
• To compare multiple characters, simply click the tab labeled “Add Character to Compare” at the top right of the Achievements or Statistics interface. Enter the name and realm of the character you wish to compare to the one you are currently viewing. The second characterÂ’s portrait and achievements will appear next to the original one. You can add multiple characters in this manner, and can compare up to four characters at one time.

Wrath of the Lich King: Armory Design Changes
The Armory has undergone changes to its design, affecting its overall look and functionality. Here are some of the notable changes:

• The main Armory page now has a new, more streamlined look. A news feed displays recent Armory news as well as region-first achievements. After logging in, the news feed also displays realm-first achievements on the main characterÂ’s realm.
• Armory logins now persist for two weeks before expiring, and closing the Armory window no longer logs out of the Armory.
• New drop-down menus under the main search field direct you to common search categories, such as for Arena rewards from a particular season, items from tradeskills such as gems and glyphs, and so on.