This is from the official site, outlining the class roles that Blizzard is striving for at release.
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Many of you have asked about your role in groups. I'd like to address that question today. The developers have attempted to make as few rock-hard “roles” as possible; all classes should complement each other. A priest is not just a “heal-bot”. When there are classes that can tank and classes that can heal, however, role definition does appear in some form. Please don’t take this post as the One True Way to Play. Explore all the abilities open to your class. Experiment with different class combinations in groups. We’re not telling you how to play the game – one of the fascinating practices of this genre is the ingenuity exercised by the players every day!
Druid
The Druid has three potential roles in a group. When in their normal, biped form, they act well as a healer and can give support in the form of buffs and debuffs; they also have limited crowd control against dragons. Their Bear form gives them offensive and defensive power enough to step up to a monster and take the hits (we’re looking into aggro management for the form). In Cat form, the Druid becomes a damage dealer. This trio of roles in one class gives the Druid a diverse feel and allows them to perform nearly any role perceived as “needed” in a party.
Hunter
The Hunter is a vicious damage dealer. With their ability to pull extremely well and hit monsters hard from far away, they certainly help take down monsters more quickly. Their pets add to the damage count and can aid somewhat in managing monster aggro. The variety of traps allows the Hunter to control crowds to an extent, as well. The combination of their extreme range, decent damage, and trap capability, Hunters are the perfect pullers for any group.
Mage
When seeking someone to introduce monsters to a world of pain, the Mage is a good choice. With their elemental and arcane attacks, it’s a safe bet something they can do won’t be resisted by your chosen enemy. Damage is the name of the Mage game, and they do it well. Their arsenal includes some powerful crowd control spells, also, giving them the ability to keep hordes at bay -- in fact, these abilities can be used on the most common creatures in the game, thus making them extremely valuable for this purpose.
Paladin
Paladins are the consummate knights in shining armor, meant to be in the thick of things. Their defensive abilities allow them to stand toe to toe with monsters and take a beating – they are tanks overall. This is not the sole purpose of a Paladin, of course; their auras, seals, heals and rez give them the chance to act as a support healer. (Keep in mind that the Paladin will be seeing much love in the form of Talents and other improvements soon – the above is the spirit behind the Paladin.)
Priest
With their dedication to their faith, the Priests of Azeroth mend and defend their fellow man. Healing and support is most assuredly the Priest’s main draw. Additionally, they have crowd control abilities against the Undead that can save lives. Their Shadow powers are not to be ignored, though; a Shadow-specialized Priest can cause considerable damage if played well.
Rogue
The stealthy Rogue is an up-close damage dealer. Like the Mage, they can rip through mobs quickly and brutally using their wide range of combination moves. They are also worthy scouts, being able to sneak past monsters if they are skilled enough to see what lies beyond. And there’s no one better than a Rogue at the end of a dungeon when a locked chest or door stands between you and hard-earned riches.
Shaman
The old phrase “jack of all trades, master of none” is an excellent way to describe the Shaman; they are the only real “hybrid” class in World of Warcraft. While they do not excel at any one aspect of their repertoire, they function passing well when performing most tasked called upon by a party. Need a support healer? Looking for a secondary tank? After another damage-dealer? Have an empty slot that needs someone to support the group in general? The Shaman can provide. They have a number of utility spells as well that help make life easier for any party.
Warlock
Warlocks have both powerful damage spells (primarily dealing over time) and debuff spells that work well in conjunction with each other and with the abilities of their groupmates. They have Curses for many occasions; in fact, they can easily be considered the best debuffers in the game. Their pets, too, help with the damage dealing and grant the Warlock extra abilities to put to use. They can also control crowds well with Seduction and Banish, and provide limited support in the form of their summoned stones.
Warrior
The Warrior can be a defensive, shielded tank, a damage-dealing powerhouse, or a mixture of the two. Their abilities obviously pertain to the art of close combat; their stances carry with them different moves for different situations and party setups. All in all, the Warrior is one of the prime candidates to capture and hold the attention of creatures while they die to sword and spell.
Please keep in mind that there is not meant to be one "master" of any role. In a game with this many classes, our goal is to make the classes roughly equal in efficiency when filling the roles they're meant to fill, though the gameplay experience may vary between classes. Tanks are not meant to be carbon copies of each other, for example; they should all fill that role efficiently, however, enough so that they are viable and wanted in groups for that role. Each crowd control class should be able to manage small groups at times; they may simply be more effective in certain situations. We are aware that some classes do not currently fill the roles given to them; the development team is hard at work bringing them closer to their planned purpose.
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