There has been a thread about exp rates for Onixya where the moderators defended the increased exp rates, everyone could just tone them down if they wanted to.
As the one doing that (can't recall if others did as well), let me clarify something for you: I play Devil's Advocate for both sides all the time. You will find posts from me also defending the point of view of people who wanted it to be x1 and how being able to change your rates isn't really a solution. Neither side is is wrong, they simply want conflicting things that can't all happen at once, and I just can recognize that.
Regarding the decision to make it x3, we had many weeks of data to look at trends, at the pace things were progressing with x5 available, compare it with the pace of people using lower values, and reach a conclusion for what worked out best with the server we wanted to offer. It isn't just a middle ground, but a pace that encourages people to engage with the content and other players, that let's players rush using optimal leveling strategies if you like, but still have you play a decent amount of the content's duration, and to dedicate themselves to progressing their characters without it being just a major chore.
What about x3 xp. But once you have a max level, x5 or x7 for alt?
I don't know, perhaps it could be something to study.
Personally it doesn't give me a good feeling about it. People already have all the support from their main character to make leveling smoother. To me it's counter-intuitive to make it even easier than that by letting them level that much faster than everyone else.
You can probably assume that roughly anything that isn't mentioned in the announcement works as usual in the base game.
There might be exceptions, sure, the post isn't all-encompassing, but it's a good rule of thumb.
Awesome. I'd expand the phases though. 10 months for Vanilla seems not enough even if the drop rates are increased twice. At least, the last phase should last 3-4 months.
3x is about the right experience rate.
Not sure about opening raids one week after launch. Depending on what the raw exp requirements are (if they're changed from Wrath levels to Vanilla levels, or not), it could be tough to get ready for that. But it's not a big deal. Could also be fun to rush.