Having reread the class descriptions and sample abilities , and having watched the recent streams i am very impressed by what the Pantheon team has done. The abilities are a clear amalgamation of former eq and wow class abilities, that draw the best from both. Where the eq class worked well (e.g enchanter) the abilities very closely reflect the same functionality, but where they were lacking (e.g. warrior) the abilities are very close to those of the wow counterpart(Charge, sunder armour, shield block etc). This really does draw on the past to create a game that incorporates the best of both and learns from the past, and i am incredibly excited to see the finished product.
It's refreshing to see wow paid back for stealing so much of eq's core functionality as pantheon now mirrors it's best mechanics, although i remain undecided on the gap closing abilities, i agree with most of the ones they have pilfered (frost mage > wizard) for example!
I am not a big WoW fan, however as a huge fan of class design, and I have to say that I find WoW's class design to be extremely well done.
All their classes are very flavourful and are rooted with a very strong identity that most players can easily identify with.
Also all their classes can be played as a DPS with the adequate spec and I just love that simply because a group usually needs more DPS slots than the other roles (There are other reasons as well I'll stop here for now).
Wow encourages you to pick your class by following an idea of a character you want to play instead of forcing the role.
You can play warrior as DPS not just to get hit in the face. And it's normal Nobody sees a legendary warrior as someone that can't kill their enemy.
You're playing a Paladin you can be Healer, Tank or DPS. Once you a locked with you spec you can't change without respec and you'll also need to change your gear. So it's no easy to switch.
I just love how they made the role more permissive and defined by your specialisation instead of only being locked in your class and leave you a broader choice of the class based on your preference in term of what kind of character you want to incarnate in its ideology.