Some questions about the game

[Camalott]

1) Yes. There are the deserts of Thanalan which range from craggy rock formations and mountain ranges - to more wide open dunes. There is the occasional wasteland (or desolate) sections up north. Black Shroud is the forest environment with dense forested tracks littered with the occasional open clearing. A little bit of verticality in some areas along with some rock quarry type environments. Several creeks and smaller bodies of water. La Noscea is the costal plains biome with a ton of wide open land. Lots of open water and cliffsides. A small patch with a more rainforest oriented layout. Coerthas is the snow biome. There isn't a whole lot you can do with snow. Wide open plains, mountain formations, and the occasional deep crevice you keep accidentally falling in.

2) The population is still going strong, though heck if I know the exact numbers. With the 3.0 expansion due out in the spring timeframe, expect that number to boom as games normally do when named expansions come out.

3) Crafting and gathering are cyclic in nature - with one feeding into the other(s) like a big circle of creation. Crafting and gathering are relatively engaging (more so crafting) which require strategy and a gameplan at the higher levels. Despite this, they are easily accessible for all players regardless of budget and the amount of time you have to invest into it. They also level relatively quickly.

4) This game is very heavily aimed at the casual player. However, the ultimate goal of the game at this time is to focus you for raids which can be quite time consuming. You can, however, completely avoid these if you wish and still be just fine while finding a great amount of content and enjoyment out of the game. Truth be told, only a small fraction of this game is raid material. I've actually never been in a raid (yet) and I'm doing just fine.