I'm quoting MMO-champ's summary on GC's interview with
All Things Azeroth podcast:
A rough idea of how long patches will take: 2 months for a content patch and 4 months for a patch with a new raid and PvP season. This is just a rough target, as there are many factors involved in determining when players are ready and the content is ready.
Patch 5.2 will add some new architecture, geography, and a new story. A new raid is planned that will hopefully be similar in quality to Ulduar. There will also be more daily quests!
Patch 5.2 will bring more talent changes than Patch 5.1, but they will mostly be number tweaks. Rogue talents were mentioned as something that needs to be looked at.
Raids may not see progressive nerfs this time around, as there are multiple difficulties and catch up mechanisms. It is likely that raids will not get any easier until at least Patch 5.2.
Patch 5.2 might make the current Lesser Charms less valuable to discourage hoarding and the need to farm them before the patch.
One idea being considered is not allowing upgrades of Patch 5.2 gear until Patch 5.3.
