Ghostcrawler would like to clarify. I'd like to think he did a /facepalm when he saw this thread. :)

[Ghostcrawler:] I said "Spellsteal" and I meant "Counterspell." Duh. They are like TOTALLY different. We would like all dispels to be in the 20 sec cooldown and 10 sec duration range. Some variation among that is fine. Dispels with very short cooldowns aren't decisions and completely neuter classes with a lot of magical mechanics.

As part of the buff consolidation plan, Improved Soul Fire is no longer a part of the 5.0 Destruction Warlock. The damage gained from the buff has been rolled into the Infernal Ember mechanic.

We're trying to improve the quality of life for this spec, and removing Improved Soul Fire seemed like a good place to start.

You know, we just didn't get a chance to discuss Demonology's changes in depth at BlizzCon. Here are some tidbits that we've picked up about Demonic Fury and Demonology:

• Shadow Bolt, Corruption damage, Pet Abilities and Drain Life will generate Demonic Fury.
• While in Metamorphosis, abilities will consume Demonic Fury.
• There may be some abilities which consume Demonic Fury outside of Metamorphosis.

We aren't ready to get into details, but Demonology will have some new spells. Here's one example:

• Wild Imps [PH]: Summons a group of wild imps. Each time a wild imp attacks, the Warlock receives Demonic Fury.

I'm not sure how much more clear we can be about the rumor being false. And yes, I pointed to the other thread to make it clear as well that we hold to respecting individual privacy and do not discuss individuals (as Bashiok clearly said.) I'm going to close this thread so that we don't continue to perpetuate falsehoods.

I passed this along to Xelnath, as he's the one who made the statement you're referring to. Here's what he has to say:

I'll own up to this one. Our players are incredibly creative, dedicated and focused on maximizing their classes' effectiveness. That said, I've seen some incredibly talented Subtlety rogues pull off damage nobody thought was possible. Sometimes the truth is hidden out there – when a majority of players are drawn to the current theorycrafted max-dps spec – there's fewer eyes to find the tricks to maximize the effectiveness of another spec.

I don't know how to play your class – you guys are the masters there. Sometimes an "underpowered" spec is actually just underloved.

Thanks for the passionate discussion.

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When looking at the big picture of class design and performance, the answer is kind of both. I think the point is that specs not played nearly as often as others aren't necessarily underpowered. Our data may show a much smaller percentage of players using certain specs, though a good amount of the people who do use them competitively tend to do very well.

Here's a follow-up from Celestalon:

Unholy and Survival are definitely underpowered in 4.2, and are getting buffed to compensate in 4.3. However, the point that Xelnath was trying to make, I think, is that they're not as far behind as people think they are. With just a couple minor buffs, these specs are able to be competitive, in at least some encounters. Subtlety is a good example of this already: Subtlety is a very difficult rotation to play, and suffers quite a lot of drawbacks. But in some encounters, those drawbacks can be mitigated, such that it becomes the optimal spec. For example, the top Subtlety rogues are beating the top Combat and Assassination rogues on Baleroc, since that fight plays to Subtlety's strengths. Will Subtlety win on every fight? No, probably not. But they're not nearly as far behind as most players think, and sometimes can even be better. We're hoping the changes to Survival and Unholy (and Destruction, and Beast Mastery) in 4.3 will help push those specs into a similar situation. We really hope people give these specs a chance.