Blizzard viewed Wrath of the Lich King as a "Coming Home" expansion after testing the boundaries with The Burning Crusade.
Northrend was actually one of the first areas prototyped during World of Warcraft's original development, and that area eventually became a part of the Northrend you see now.
Death Knight was not the only hero class Blizzard speced out for the expansion. They also came up with ideas for Necromancer (caster dps) and Rune Master classes (more of a melee, monk-type class). Death Knight fit with the theme though, so they went with that.
There are around 140 people working on World of Warcraft's development. About 10 of those work specifically on the game's lore and quests, including Lead World Designer -- Alex Afrasiabi.
Major lesson from TBC: Don’t dump the entire server into Hellfire Peninsula the second the expansion ships.
Phasing is pretty much entirely intended as a story telling technique, and will likely be used more in the future.
Wrath Gate, its quest chain, and the cinematic ends "Chapter 1" of Wrath of the Lich King. Chapters 2 and 3 will be introduced in future patches.
Wrath of the Lich King isn't the "end of the road" as Arthas is but one villain in a pool of many.
Sargeras and Deathwing were used as examples of future villains, as they're both "still out there."
Blizzard is using Varian Wrynn to bring back the clash between the Horde and the Alliance. Characters like Garosh Hellscream will also contribute to this.
Yog Saron could potentially be directly tied to the Scourge and Lich King, as well as the current plight with the five Dragonflights.
Yog Saron's story will not end in Northrend. (They seem to be building him up as the next major villain)
It's unlikely we'll ever seen Medivh introduced through new story elements, as he's been "played out," Metzen feels.
Medivh aside, Metzen really likes the story of the Order of Tirisfal and the Guardian concept, so this could be explored more in the future.
The next "Guardian" may not come from the human species.
The Order of the Ebon Blade's origin really took off with the Ashbringer comic series.
The Order of the Ebon Blade and its leaders may play a larger role post-Lich King, once Arthas is defeated.
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