One of many interesting from the official FAQ that nobody spotted in advance:

I like this quite a lot, particularly as it will resolve the open storylines we've been waiting for with questing content rather than having us charge in, kill bosses for epics, and worry about the lore implications after the fact. I'm sure we'll hear more in the panel.

As for terrain phasing - I don't know about you, but the first thing I'll do is charge around in a bike or a Tundra Mammoth with a passenger in a different phase, and see if they fall through the world.

Leveling is going to quite different for new characters with this expansion. I can't even imagine all the quest changes that need to be done...

Q: Will I need the expansion to be able to experience the Cataclysm changes?

A: When the Cataclysm occurs, it will occur for all players, whether they have purchased the expansion or not--you will no longer be to play in the original version of Kalimdor or the Eastern Kingdoms. However, certain features such as the new zones, new races, and new level cap will only be accessible to players who purchase the expansion.

I'm curious what the post-Cataclysm leveling curve will look like. Part of me was sad about seeing the constant leveling buffs being rolled out, but I understood why that was being done... but we'll probably see a lot of those rolled back for Cataclysm.

They showed a Orgrimmar being rebuilt so will be nice to see the city revamped. The reasoning behind the 85 level cap was due to the amount of zones to be re-done and since they wanted more end-game content.

I'm very interested in the alternate leveling system, I can't wait for them to release more info on the "Path of the titans" thing.

Goblin Mount -> It's a sort of a bad-ass dune buggy.

7 New Zones, in addition to the redone zones:
- Mount Hyjal
- Uldum
- The Lost Isles (start zone Goblins)
- Gilneas (start zone Worgen)
- Sunken City of Vashj'ir (underwater zone)
- Twilight Highlands (east of Wetlands, featuring Grim Batol)
- Deepholm, underground zone, apparently no direct physical entrance, although it erupted south of Dun Morogh.

- Guild Levels, 1-20, advanced by doing stuff, dailies, raids, quests.
- Grants access to 'perks' via a Guild Talent Tree. Cheaper repairs, less durability loss, mass ressurection, no word yet on ponies.

People booing the Holy Cow. Girls screaming at the gnome.

- Phasing of terrain now possible. Example given of coastline receding in a Kalimdor looking zone.

Path of the Titans
- New way of customizing characters.
- 51 Talent Trees will not get extended, you will get 5 extra points.
- "Paths" are not class limited.


"Mastery System".
- Designed to remove complexity from talent trees, will be explained later at the "PVP" panel (which has the wrong title on the schedule, it's the Game Systems Panel now).

Alternatively, the new 1-60 content could be designed with the new levelling curve in mind - i.e. with quest chains that you don't out-level before you get to finish them, but using the current pace and XP gains. This way they maintain a similar progression from level 1 to being a raid-ready 85. The factor we can't account for yet when thinking about this, of course, is what the 81-85 curve is going to be like. I read a strong implication that there will be less questing content than usual that is (gear-wise, challenge-wise) relevant to currently level-capped toons - that the emphasis at the new level cap will be on raiding and group play. People who like questing are going to be hunting for Loremaster-like achievements on their mains anyway; people who don't like questing have a smoother transition from Tiers 9/10 to Tier 11 without running out of stuff to do too soon.

I am making a lot of assumptions here, I know, but this is the impression I get from the FAQ and other reported materials.

51 talent points staying and they are giving you 5 more points. Path of the Titans is a new path type thing you choose to customize your class. New mastery system which will improve your character as you put points into a talent by increasing crit or other things.

Talents trees aren't being expanded. You will simply get 5 more points to spend.

New 1-60 leveling:

New World
- Not all zones will get same level of change
- 5 levelling zones 78-85
- 2 starting zones
- Fly everywhere
- Elwynn for example will not change a lot, new quests and new flow, but basically same zone.
- New level flow all the way 1-60
- The Alliance has lost Southshore.
- New neutral port in eastern EK, between hinterlands and EPL.

The Barrens
- Split in two. "What about the chat!?" called from the audience.
- The Druid in WC was able to regrow parts of the Barrens.

Desolace
- Regrown like Barrens.
- New terrain appearing on shores as an affect of the Cataclysm

Darkshore
- Terrible long runs were a pain, Auberdine is destroyed, Night Elves set up a new quest hub.
- Garrosh is fortifying Horde positions all over the place.

Charred Vale
- Even More Charred Vale

Azshara
- Goblins mined away the mountains, it's a giant quarry.

Flyable Azaeroth
- The ruins above Undercity is completely there now.
- Stormwind and other cities are flyable.

Capital City is now going to be fully in-game. Deepholme is where you go to any zone from and is the central hub.

We will be going into the Abyssal Maw where 2 dungeons will be.

Everything but druid and paladins.

Worgen will have everything but paladins and shamans.

Ragnaros is attacking Hyjal and trying to destroy the World Tree and is pissed that he got banished back in Molten Core and Malfurion will be here. Terrain phasing will be used a lot in the zone.

New Zone Flow
- Deepholm is a kind of Dragonblight-like hub, access to it from and to all new zones.

Bunch of of the typical rough zone layouts like we got last year.

Sunken City of Vashj'ir
- Lady Vash's home before the Sundering
- On the sea floor
- Two instances
- Sea floor is basically same as on land
- Jumping = start to swim
- Gateway to the Abyssal Maw
- Underwater mount, like the turtle. Basically flying mounts for underwater zone.

Deepholm
- Not physically connected to Azeroth, it's an elemental plane
- Twilight's Hammer serves Deathwing. They're bad ass and a major villain faction.
- Subterranean zone.
- Flying is allowed
- Troggs are back.

Uldum (I'm stoked this is a zone and not an instance!)
- Two dungeons
- It's Egypt, big river ending in a delta, Titan temples.
- Uldum was hidden by a Titan machine, essentially cloaked.
- Brann is first in line to get in.
- Rumored to hold a super weapon.
- Horde, Alliance and Twilight Hammer want that weapon.
- Uldoomsday Weapon.
- New NPC race. the Tol'vir, Titan stone cat people.
- Part of a larger, long term Titan storyline, could eventually involve Northrend again.

Mount Hyjal
- This is the Hyjal that we wanted.
- Under siege by Ragnaros (whoah!)
- Burn the world tree.
- He's pissed. Last time we banished him it "was too soon".
- Malfurion Stormrage is back to fight Ragnaros. Barrow Dens and the Armies of Cenarius.
- Terrain phasing will be major here.

Twilight Highlands
- Grim Batol is sheared in half
- Deathwing landed here and oops burned GB in half.
- Headquarters of the Twilight Hammer, Deathwing is here.
- Two new port towns with boats.
- Red Dragons are still here, pushed back.
- Twilight Dragonflight are based here.
- Very WIP at the moment.

Dungeons/Raids
- The Firelands: Super-pissed Ragnaros
- Uldum, two instances, City of the Tol'Vir and the Halls of Origination.
- Blackrock Caverns, a new dungeon in Blackrock Mountain 2.0. Completely new zone, sounds like a redux of all previous BR instances. It's Deathwing's lab.
- Grim Batol
- Skywall raid/dungeon
- Heroic Deadmines, Heroic SFK: Same art, but new bossfights. See dungeon panel.

PvP
- Tol Barad PvP Zone.
- It's an Island, with a prison. H/A want control over it. Isle of Quel'Danas meets Wintergrasp. Main daily quest hub in downtime, PVP battle over the prison will grant prison-related daily quests with extra special profit.
- More battlegrounds than ever. Gilneas Battleground, urban warfare in Gilneas.
- New Arena Maps, no further info.
- Rated BGs.

Any word on whether or not Azshara will make an appearance in the expansion?

A few more slides from the stream, linked for size:

New zones overview

The Sunken City of Vashj'ir
Deepholm
Uldum
Hyjal
Twilight Highlands

The leaked info, and the map posted above, allude to it being a level 10-20 zone now.

None, which presumably means no. There are only so many antagonists in Warcraft who have some sort of backstory; maybe they didn't want to blow two of them in one expac.

Edit: Or maybe she will!

I think he was referring to Queen Azshara. So far it is not confirmed but the underground naga city seems to allude to her.