**READ FIRST: I openly acknowledge that some of the information in here may be false, uninformed, or stupid. I encourage criticism. Hell, flame me if you want, but do so while pointing something out.
-------------------------------------------CHANGELOG!-------------------------------------------
EDIT 5:00 PM 12/2/08: Added Chaoticnature's talent spec and modified Oblit blood.
EDIT 5:30 PM 12/9/08: PvE Unholy AoE and PvE Unholy Elemental Farming added. PvP Deep Frost overhauled.
EDIT 5:45 PM 12/9/08: Readability improved; should be able to find what you're looking for.
EDIT 5:50 PM 12/9/08: Minor changes done to LOL WHAT'S A CASTER
EDIT 9:10 PM 12/20/08: PvE DPS opening updated
EDIT 10:45 PM 12/20/08: MAJOR changes to the guide! Glyph suggestions added, basic macros added, and work done to make the specs better. Howling Blast Hybrid removed from PvP, DW Tri-Spec added to PvE.
EDIT 11:08 PM 12/20/08: Rune suggestions added AND Fact Sheet added at the end. Will be fleshed out later.
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Along the way to 80 on my Death Knight, I ran into so many fellow Death Knights will horrible talent choice. I'll provide some cookie cutter specs in this thread to at least give you an idea of what you should do. Also, I'll point out some of the worthwhile glyphs we have. Specs will be divided into three sections: PvE DPS, PvE Tanking, and PvP. Along with the specs, I will list some variants which you may choose to take or not to take, depending on your style.
Glyph Suggestions Added! Note that there will be only one open minor slot. This is because it is assumed that the Death Knight will be using Glyph of Pestilence and Glyph of Blood Tap.
PvE TANKING
GENERAL NOTES
-It's not a good idea to DW when tanking. Higher miss rate means there is higher chance for your rotation to get messed up, on top of a whole lot more melee swings, which means more parries, which means more parry hasting, which means you're going to get hit MUCH more. Killing Machine is good enough with a two hander, trust me.
-Normal tanking plate should be fine, but look out for Expertise a bit more, especially once you reach the crit cap (540 defense). Weapons may be the solution to get the extra expertise you need (A fine example from Naxx trash: Inevitable Defeat - Item - World of Warcraft). Be sure to get +hit when you can, as well.
-DK tanking is unique in that you'll need to micromanage your cooldowns a bit more than any other tank; namely, that of Unbreakable Armor, Anti-Magic shell, and Icebound Fortitude, or even Lichborne if you took it. Using your runes and CDs efficiently is the key to tanking well.
-For enchants, I find that Cinderglacier or 4% parry (forgot the name) is the way to go. You'll get much more use out of Cinderglacier than Blood, because of those delicious howling blasts. However, you should have enough threat without CG, so 4% parry usually wins out.
"Classic" Frost Tank
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
Good old frost tank. Not much to say here.
VARIANTS:
-Trade Butchery for Two-Handed Weapon Spec (I took butchery because of those few, but pivotal moments where you only need a bit more RP to get off a frost strike or something else.)
-Trade Vicious Strikes and Morbidity for Anticipation (If you need avoidance, this is the first place to go.)
-Trade Improved Icy Talons for Lichborne (ImpIT has the same effect as a talented Windfury Totem, which you will probably have in a 10 man raid, and will definitely have in a 25 man raid).
GLYPH SUGGESTIONS
-MAJOR-
Glyph of Obliterate
Glyph of Dark Command
Glyph of Rune Strike OR Icy Touch
-MINOR-
~Personal Preference~
Rune
Rune of Swordshattering
All the other tanks can tank fine to an extent with Frost Presence up and appropriate gear, but Frost is really the way to go if you're serious about tanking.
PvE DPS
GENERAL NOTES
-9% hit is needed to stop missing against a boss, but 17% hit is needed to hit all the time with spells (14% with morbidity).
-Your stat distribution should be just like that of an Arms warrior. Try to get to or near the hit cap, while stacking on crit and strength (Preferrably not AP, because many talents scale off of strength). However, things like Haste (unless you're a DW tri-spec, then it's slightly better) and Armor Penetration should be avoided as much as possible.
-You should ALWAYS use Blood Presence. While the Unholy GCD reduction is pretty hot, the 15% damage always wins out. Don't be worried about not using your abilities fast enough, you're still better off than using Unholy Presence.
DW Tri-Spec
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
A very interesting alternative to Blood and Unholy. This spec works best when you have tons of +Hit. Howling Blast, since weapon damage does not affect it, is the centerpiece of this build, with Blood-Caked Blade and Necrosis also doing a big part. It's too early to tell if this will edge out the 2H specs, but I'd say it has a chance.
VARIANTS:
-Drop Deathchill for Lichborne: Lichborne, on top of the obvious, means you can heal yourself with Death Coil.
-Drop Impurity, Gargoyle, and Outbreak for 3/3 Annihilation, 2/2 Frost Aura, 1/2 Merciless Combat: I'm uncertain how much of a difference this will make, but it could be better.
GLYPH SUGGESTIONS
-MAJOR-
Glyph of Icy Touch
Glyph of Obliterate
Glyph of Rune Tap OR Plague Strike
-MINOR-
~Personal Preference~
Rune
Rune of Cinderglacier/Rune of Razorice (MH/OH)
Unholy AoE Farming
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
Your best choice, I think, for AoE Farming. Between diseases, Wandering Plague, Unholy Blight, and DnD, you have some pretty sick AoE going on. If you're killing humanoids, or have corpse dust to spare, you can use Corpse Explosion on your ghoul to deal 25% of his health, which makes the talent totally worth it, in my opinion. Note that this is designed solely for the purpose of AOEing.
VARIANTS:
-Drop desecration for Anticipation (If you're getting hit too hard)
-Drop Rune Tap for Reaping
GLYPH SUGGESTIONS
-MAJOR-
Glyph of Death and Decay
Glyph of Icy Touch
~Personal Preference~
-MINOR-
Glyph of Death's Embrace
Rune
Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Unholy AoE ELEMENTAL Farming
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
My favorite, by far, for elemental farming. Since Anti-Magic Shell and Anti-Magic Zone affect elemental melee swings, you have 7 seconds of elemental immunity (Please, PLEASE get Glyph of Anti-Magic Shell if you're doing this spec, 7 seconds is a TON, you won't regret it.), not to mention the insane RP generation you'll get during that time. This spec will serve you will in farming. Also, see what I said above about Corpse Explosion.
VARIANTS:
-Drop desecration for Anticipation
GLYPH SUGGESTIONS
-MAJOR-
Glyph of Death and Decay
Glyph of Icy Touch
Glyph of Anti-Magic Shield
-MINOR-
Glyph of Death's Embrace
Rune
Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Cookie Cutter Oblit Blood
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
Many raiding DKs favor this spec because you can now cast Obliterate instead of Death Strike freely to get death runes for Heart Strikes, since with Annihilation diseases are no longer consumed. Note that Black Ice is the better choice in stead of Toughness. Black ice still affects Icy Touch AND Frost Fever, which beats out the ~50-60 AP you will be getting from Toughness.
VARIANTS:
Drop Mark of Blood and Blood Aura for Bloodworms- Hardly a good idea, unless there's another blood DK in your raid with BA. Bloodworms, while looking good on paper, really doesn't do that much.
GLYPH SUGGESTIONS
-MAJOR-
Glyph of Icy Touch
Glyph of Obliterate
Glyph of Plague Strike OR Death and Decay OR Rune Tap
-MINOR-
~Personal Preference~
Rune
Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Chaoticnature's Raiding Blood
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
An alternative to 51/13/7. Gargoyle is a very efficient RP dump, which is what makes this spec stand out. However, "wasted" death strikes will still need to be cast to get death runes.
GLYPH SUGGESTIONS
-MAJOR-
Glyph of Icy Touch
Glyph of Obliterate
Glyph of Plague Strike OR Death and Decay OR Rune Tap
-MINOR-
Glyph of Raise Dead
Rune
Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Scourge Strike Unholy
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
This is another dominating spec. Scourge Strike hits for about the same as Oblit, since it does shadow damage (Not affected by armor). The AoE capabilities of this are staggering. Probably the best spec for 5 mans.
VARIANTS:
Drop Veteran of the Third War for Mark of Blood- Might need it if your tank keeps on finding himself in touch spots.
Drop to 1/5 Desecration for Unholy Aura- Good for fights where you have to move.
GLYPH SUGGESTIONS
-MAJOR-
Glyph of Icy Touch
Glyph of Scourge Strike
Glyph of The Ghoul OR Death and Decay
-MINOR-
Glyph of Death's Embrace
Rune
Rune of the Fallen Crusader OR Cinderglacier
NOTES
-Keep Bone Shield up 100% of the time. 2% damage adds up in the long run, and AOE damage doesn't affect it, so you shouldn't run out of charges.
-Take advantage of reaping by using the blood Death Runes to get in an extra Scourge Strike, or refresh diseases.
-Part of the challenge of this spec is micromanaging your ghoul pet. If done well, your ghoul can add a lot to your damage.
PvP
GENERAL NOTES
Ah, here's the fun part. Death Knights will take a while to get used to, since you have so much to micromanage (Runes, RP, cooldowns), on top of dealing with human players. There's a lot of specialized builds I've come up with.
-Unholy Presence should always be up. 0.5 GCD reduction means bigger burst, and 15% movement speed is a must.
-Fallen Crusader is, imo, the superior enchant. I haven't done much PvP, however, and the 50% reduction to disarm might become necessary, in which case you should pick up Swordbreaking.
"LOL WHATS A CASTER"
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
A prime illustration of how well DK talent trees work together. You'll be a pain in the ass for casters with this build, with the damage capabilities of Blood combined with the ghoul utility and Anti-magic zone. Keep in mind this build is just for dicking around, you're missing a lot of crucial end-tier talents, namely, a hard-hitting strike.
VARIATIONS
-Lose 1/3 Imp rune tap for Mark of Blood- Your call on this one, it might be useful if you run into a rogue or feral.
GLYPH SUGGESTIONS
-MAJOR-
Glyph of Death and Decay
Glyph of Icy Touch
Glyph of Rune Tap
-MINOR-
Glyph of Death's Embrace
Rune
Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Deep Frost PvP
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
A deep, 51 point frost build. It makes for some pretty nice burst damage, with some good long range abilities (Howling Blast, Icy Touch and Chains of Ice with Icy Reach), while still keeping Shadow of Death and other essential unholy talents. This would be best, I think, with a mage for shatter/Ice Lance combos.
GLYPH SUGGESTIONS
-MAJOR-
Glyph of Death and Decay
Glyph of Icy Touch
Glyph of Frost Strike
-MINOR-
~Personal Preference~
Rune
Rune of Cinderglacier
Solo Blood PvP
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
The emphasis here is solo pvp, whether it be in the world, in a BG, etc etc, where a healer is not available. Death Strike will be your primary source of healing, and I've gotten some pretty sizable heals from it. Rune tap, if you're desperate, should get you out of that tight spot.
GLYPH SUGGESTIONS
-MAJOR-
Glyph of Death and Decay
Glyph of Icy Touch
Glyph of Strangulate
-MINOR-
~Personal Preference~
Rune
Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Scourge Strike Unholy PVP
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
The best PvP spec. This, along with a paladin, rocks the 2v2's. Unholy Blight, while seeming like a waste of points, is useful in some instances, like when you need to find a cloaked rogue or kill mage images. Improved Rune Tap is a MUST, along with Bone Shield. Those, combined with IBF, will make you a very slippery fish.
GLYPH SUGGESTIONS
-MAJOR-
Glyph of Death and Decay
Glyph of Icy Touch
Glyph of Rune Tap
-MINOR-
Glyph of Death's Embrace
VARIATIONS
-Drop Unholy Aura for 4/5 Dark Conviction- Should be done if you find yourself soloing most of the time, or if your PvP partner already has a 15% run increase (EG, Paladin)
Rune
Rune of the Fallen Crusader
GLYPHS
Glyph of Anti-Magic Shell - Item - World of Warcraft ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE for PvP. 7 seconds of nigh immunity against a caster cannot be passed up. Very useful in PvP and PvE.
Glyph of Blood Boil - Item - World of Warcraft Might have potential in PvP for a build without Chilblains or frost runes to spare for Chains of Ice. The snare, as I hear, is undispelable by normal means, which is pretty nice.
Glyph of Blood Strike - Item - World of Warcraft Note that his affects Heart Strike as well, which makes it amazing in conjunction with Chains of Ice or Desecration or Glyph of Blood Boil for some hot damage.
Glyph of Blood Tap - Item - World of Warcraft A must have for your minors. It's excellent when you're in a pickle; note that Rune Tap activates the blood rune if it is on cooldown, so it's like a mini Empower Rune Weapon.
Glyph of Bone Shield - Item - World of Warcraft A pretty good glyph, I suppose, if you're unholy.
Glyph of Chains of Ice - Item - World of Warcraft It's pretty good if you're using this with Endless Winter, effectively making Chains of Ice replace your Icy Touch in PvP.
Glyph of Corpse Explosion - Item - World of Warcraft It's pretty good if you're leveling with Unholy AOE. I'd say it's worth the minor if you haven't found better.
Glyph of Dark Command - Item - World of Warcraft Excellent. This essentially means your taunt will never be resisted, which is critical in a raid if some DPSer decides to be stupid, or in cases where you cannot afford to miss, like Four Horsemen.
Glyph of Death and Decay - Item - World of Warcraft VERY VERY OP. 10% to cower for 2 seconds (cower is essentially a stun) is awesome not only in PvE, but in PvP as well. Death Knights lack a stun (aside from ghoul), and this gives them one.
Glyph of Death Grip - Item - World of Warcraft Incredibly stupid glyph. The only reason you'd want a 1 second stun is to interrupt casting, and the movement associated with DG accomplishes that. Don't bother with this.
Glyph of Death Strike - Item - World of Warcraft Not bad for any spec if you find yourself needing the healing, I'd say. Consider it.
Glyph of Death's Embrace - Item - World of Warcraft Very useful if you're Unholy. Keeping your ghoul alive is a priority, and this helps a bunch.
Glyph of Frost Strike - Item - World of Warcraft See: "Deep Frost PvP"
Glyph of Horn of Winter - Item - World of Warcraft An alright minor if you constantly find yourself forgetting about Horn of Winter, but other minors are of more use than this.
Glyph of Icebound Fortitude - Item - World of Warcraft Some people like this, but personally I don't. You don't need it at the very beginning of a fight, you can just run in, apply diseases, and put it on since it's off the GCD. If you absolutely MUST have it before the fight, just put up Death and Decay twice and get the RP you need. This is a steaming pile of crap for a major, I would like this is a minor.
Glyph of Icy Touch - Item - World of Warcraft Even frost DKs will find this useful. Your icy touch will generate RP out the butt, and you can never have too much.
Glyph of Obliterate - Item - World of Warcraft MUST HAVE for ALL obliterate Death Knights. You can look up the math for this item, but it will result in a DPS increase in all rational instances (IE, you're using a level appropriate weapon, even a green one.)
Glyph of Pestilence - Item - World of Warcraft OMGJAGNGAEGAEGJ for a minor, you should be picking this up, no matter what you do.
Glyph of Plague Strike - Item - World of Warcraft I don't like it. PS doesn't hit for much, 20% isn't going to help with that, but this does result in a damage increase, however little.
Glyph of Raise Dead - Item - World of Warcraft Excellent way to generate RP on demand, EG, a blood DK wanting to hit RP Cap before releasing Dancing Rune Weapon.
Glyph of the Ghoul - Item - World of Warcraft Must have for unholy PvE, a waste for anyone else.
Glyph of Rune Strike - Item - World of Warcraft It's fairly good, I guess, since 5 RP is negligible. However, you might find better glyphs to fill this spot.
Glyph of Rune Tap - Item - World of Warcraft Absolutely AMAZING for PvE and PvP. 10% can make the difference between life and death. If you have rune tap, you MUST have this!
Glyph of Scourge Strike - Item - World of Warcraft A nice glyph for PvE, less so in PvP since you need to PS to get Desecration. This rune can save you from having to refresh diseases, which is very nice.
Glyph of Strangulate - Item - World of Warcraft Remember when that druid travel formed away and was casting Regrowth? No more. Seriously, though, this brings the range up to 50 yards. I'd recommend it for PvP.
Glyph of Unbreakable Armor - Item - World of Warcraft Excellent, since threat isn't really an issue with frost tanks. You would need >10K strength for this to be a nerf (Because of Forceful Deflection) to your parry rating. Nice glyph.
Glyph of Vampiric Blood - Item - World of Warcraft Trash. Don't even bother.
BASIC MACROS
Blood Tap + Rune Tap
Code:
/cast Blood Tap
/cast Rune Tap
I replaced my Rune Tap button completely with this. I find it hard to actively use Rune Tap, so folding it in with another ability was the natural choice for me.
Blood Tap + Anti-Magic Zone
Code:
/cast Blood Tap
/cast Anti-Magic Zone
Amazing, because using AMZ can seriously screw your rotation over.
Blood Tap + Bone Shield
Code:
/cast Blood Tap
/cast Bone Shield
Same idea as AMZ. Casting an unholy ability can **** your rotation, so there's a death rune to compensate.
Death Coil "One Size Fits All"
Code:
#showtooltip Death Coil
/cast [nomodifier] Death Coil; [modifier:alt,target=pet] Death Coil
If you cast normally, you cast Death Coil. If you cast with alt down, it heals your ghoul WITHOUT losing target. Very useful.
Gargoyle Doom
Code:
/cast Summon Gargoyle
{/cast or /use} Trinket/Racial A
{/cast or /use} Trinket/Racial B
/cast Empower Rune Weapon
I'm in love with this macro in PvP. I've found it cumbersome to reach for a keybind or to click Empower Rune Weapon, so I folded it into a macro. I usually start a match with dropping down a DND, apply diseases, and doing something with a blood rune, and drop a death coil. I then hit this macro, and all my runes are back up! Remember to edit your /use abilities into the macro.
Super Death Strike
Code:
{/cast or /use} Trinket/Racial A
{/cast or /use} Trinket/Racial B
/cast Death Strike
Gives you a souped up Death Strike. If you're stupid like me and constantly forget to use "on use" abilities, this is awesome.
FACT SHEET
(All information taken from Wowwiki, if any of these are wrong, please dispute it.)
9% chance to miss with a two hander
28% chance to miss DWing (25% with Nerves of Cold Steel)
17% chance to miss with spells (14% with Virulence)
6.5% dodge chance against a boss on average (26 expertise needed)
540 defense to be crit immune
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Need further reading on DKs? Here is another guide I made just for leveling them, along with a basic introduction answering common questions.
http://www.mmowned.com/forums/wow-gu...-grinding.html
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SPECIAL THANKS TO
CHAOTICNATURE
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