4.0.6 New Dig Sites,

I found an old notebook in a box and so I wanted to share some changes we're expecting to come through.

In patch 1.10 we're going to make it so that when you're at level cap completing quests will turn XP into gold. So that should be a good change, there will still be a reason to complete quests at max level. We're also going to update some items. In BRD almost all items are going to become blue quality, so that should be a nice upgrade for people. Also all bracers, belts, and gloves will be BoE. Which should help get more people geared up through the AH to tackle this difficult dungeon.

We'll keep you updated should we find any other old notes that are no longer new or exciting.

[...] To expand on Bashiok's feedback, we'd also like to note that we're happy right now with priests feeling unique via their racial abilities. It's compelling gameplay for dwarf priests to get to keep Fear Ward to themselves.

These are some good changes, but can we get a better way to manage keys? I hate having to cripple my inventory space by making room for keys, there should really be a keychain or keyring of some kind...
We like the physical nature of holding keys in your bags and bank. That said we are trying to reduce the number of keys given by attunements and required to enter dungeons and the like. In the future we hope that keys will be mostly temporary items, although that is subject to change. We're also trying to keep better tabs on the number of equippable items we're creating that dual-purpose as keys.

Item Level Requirements in Instances
The item level requirement was added to help players better gauge whether or not they might be ready to take on that content. We were seeing a lot of issues before where people were upset that someone was in a group that just didn't have the gear to take on the encounters. Or conversely they (personally) were upset that they didn't seem to be able to overcome an instance despite thinking they were ready for it. So, we've sort of baked in a system to better identify "readiness". It's merely a tool to indicate possible preparedness, not an indicator of skill or lack of skill.

We've mentioned it before, but it doesn't hurt to repeat, that we have been putting some thought into easing the requirement for premade or guild groups in the dungeon finder since those groups may want to help carry a lesser geared player through the encounter and generally have better overall coordination for achieving the completion of the dungeon. (Source)

Low level balance
The designers are actually actively looking over some of the lower level balance to try to ensure that those who either actively play those brackets or level up through them are having a good, balanced time. Most of the changes made were to serve the questing experience and introduction of abilities to new players, but certainly there's a possibility for some changes to be made and still keep that goal. (Source)

Heroic gear should drop randomly!
That's kind of the point of ... points (justice/valor). Even if you're not getting what you want you're eventually getting what you want. More or less. You'd also be blowing out drop tables to a pretty insane degree. Not too bad for a game like Diablo. Pretty bad for a game like WoW.

Also that system of allowing any boss to drop any item in Diablo II really encouraged some very bad forms of gameplay. It devolved into doing 'runs' of the easiest or most efficient bosses. Not exactly interesting. It's something we're actively trying to avoid repeating with Diablo III, and not something we'd want to encourage in World of Warcraft. (Source)

Bug - Treants sharing the same texture
The issue where all treant models share the same texture (including Withers and the Teldrassil Sproutling) is something we're aware of and we're hoping to resolve soon. (Source)

White Talbuk "bug" in 4.0.6
Correct! We discovered that the wrong texture had been applied to the White War Talbuks horns n hooves, but since we liked it, and you guys liked it, and it felt like a good fit for the art design in Outland, we decided to keep it.

[...] As it happens, you'll get to enjoy the new textures for a bit longer. Since this issue isn't something that can be hotfixed, we currently expect the talbuk to return to its former state with a future patch. (Source)