[How To][Horde] Level a DK and Optimize Your Endgame DPS.

[Xyborg]

By Special Request... WWS reports!
http://wowwebstats.com/3oc2wxyqcbff1
4122 DPS on Three Level 80 Test Dummies (Which means Necrosis and Wandering Plague both only do 1 damage as opposed to their usual 200+ nor can I use Corpse Explosion. This also isn't raid buffed.)
http://wowwebstats.com/h4bhosjnpvl5e
2173 DPS on Level 80 "Boss" Dummy attacking from front. (Again, Necrosis doesn't hit as hard as it should all the time and not raid buffed)

In 3.1 I'll likely be dropping the 1 point I have in Dirge in my spec to get Gargoyle. Haven't done enough testing on PTR, but unholy DPS IS getting buffed so these numbers will go up when 3.1 hits.


So. You're making a DK and just starting to get into it. The new mechanics and action is so fun, you cleared the starting area and want to delete and do it again! Do it! Take it in, learn the ropes, and play to your hearts content!

Now, I have several 70+ DK's and two 80 DK's. This is my class of choice and I've deleted the other 17 characters I had at level 70 plus before WotLK. Here, I will teach you everything you need to know to be the best DPS DK you can be!

Disclaimer: I play horde, and only horde. I dislike alliance not because "they're all kids" or "because they're noobs" but because I dislike character models, attack/casting animations, speech, and many other cosmetic things. Therefore, if you are not horde, this will do you absolutely no good.

Beginner Tips:
- Questhelper is a memory hog. You can use it if you want, but I highly recommend using Carbonite quest instead.
- Start your professions IMMEDIATELY!!! I can't stress this enough. My first DK I got to 80 and then started my professions. It was frustrating as hell because I was doing heroics and constantly putting off my professions.
- Please, PLEASE do not grind. If you're killing stuff on your way from point A to point B or Killing while waiting for something to respawn, that's all good. Otherwise NO! (And, of course, if you have skinning. Feel free to grind if you feel the need to do so.)
-If you DO NOT have rested experience, avoid instances. If you're going to do some instances, do it first thing when you log on and burn your rested exp.

Leveling Preparation:

Since you're likely using QuestHelper or Carbonite, I'm not going to go into detail as to where to go for quests. I will merely explain which quests you should or should not complete.

Before you're done the starting zone, you should be level 58. If you aren't, just do a quest or two at Light's Hope Chapel quickly and hit 58.

This spec here is what you should have at 58.
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft (0/0/49 Unholy)
Why? Because, as a DK, your focus is to kill of course. And I mean a LOT! Otherwise "Death Knight" is a silly name for the class.

STOP!

Now for the rotations of this spec. While you do not have Death and Decay or Unholy Blight yet, you'll be slightly modifying your rotation from the one you'll be using at 60.

Level 58 Rotations:
Single Target:
Cycle 1 - Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Blood Strike, Scourge Strike, Blood Strike, Death Coil.
Cycle 2 - Scourge Strike, Blood Strike, Scourge Strike, Blood Strike, Death Coil (twice if you have the Runic Power)
AoE:
Cycle 1 - Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Pestilence, Scourge Strike, Blood Boil, Corpse Explosion.
Cycle 2 - Scourge Strike, Blood Boil, Scourge Strike, Blood Boil, Corpse Explosion (Followed by Death Coil if you have the Runic Power.)

Now go level your professions to 275+ so you're ready for Outlands. You'll be sorry if you don't (Especially gatherers. As I stated previously, I was angry I didn't level mine early on my first DK (Miner/Herbalist) as I was finding Khorium and Herbs everywhere due to the low population in Outlands now.)

Leveling 58-62:
Talent Placement:
59 - Rage of Rivendare
60 - Unholy Blight
61 - Rage of Rivendare
62 - Rage of Rivendare

Note: There is NOT a single quest reward in Hellfire Peninsula that you will keep! The first quest reward you will keep is in Zangarmarsh, therefore, vendor or disenchant all gear aquired in this zone. (Though you don't have to if you don't want to, this is just my advice.)

Start in Thrallmar. Accept and complete all quests here other than instance quests (Unless you can easily get a group with friends on guildies.) Arrazius the Cruel CAN be soloed at level 61 as I did it myself multiple times. I do not recommend this however as I didn't solo him the first time around on my first DK. Every other group quest in Hellfire Penninsula can otherwise be solo'd without much difficulty.

Once you're out of quests in Thrallmar, you'll be heading to Reavers Fall for a few quests which are easy to complete. Bombing, and a couple grinding quests. Pretty simple stuff. (For Abyssal Shelf, get the Moarg Overseers asap!)

Now it's off to Spinebreaker Post. Bunch of random quests here. Depending on congestion you may want to skip the quest "The Eyes of Grillok." Other than that, complete everything you can.

To the Zeppelin Crash Site! This is one of my favorite areas. Especially the quest "In Case of Emergency." Since the chances of you being 60 at this point are good, you'll love it too! The Buzzards around some of the pieces of Zeppelin Debris are great for grinding if you're on this quest.

STOP!

Since you're likely 60 by now, you should have trained Death and Decay and put a talent point in Unholy Blight. So now I shall teach you your new and improved rotations!

Single Target:
Cycle 1 - Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Blood Strike, Death and Decay, Unholy Blight.
Cycle 2 - Scourge Strike, Blood Strike, Scourge Strike, Blood Strike Death Coil (twice if possible)
AoE:
Cycle 1 - Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Pestilence, Death and Decay, Unholy Blight.
Cycle 2 - Scourge Strike, Blood Boil, Scourge Strike, Blood Boil, Corpse Explosion (Followed by Death Coild if possible.)

Once you're done there... Falcon Watch.

I can't remember which quest it is, but it requires "Cenarion Spirits" which you'd have to run all the way to Zangarmarsh to get. Skip this as it's a complete waste of time. And don't forget to set your hearthstone here!

Now to Cenarion Post! Do everything here (If you've learned anything about your class, it's that you can solo damn near anything at this point, including "Colossal Menace.") Simply exchange "Sourge Strike" in your rotation for "Death Strike" when needed.

Time to head to Zangarmarsh!

Leveling 62-65:
63 - Rage of Rivendare
64 - Rage of Rivendare
65 - Butchery (Blood Tree will be your focus now)
You will also have Horn of Winter at 65 which you will want up at all times!

Swamprat Post is your new location. Get all the quests here and head to Cenarion Refuge and get all the quests there. Set your hearth! Now work your way to Zabra'jin. Be sure to kill anything you see on the way that pertains to a quest! Get all the quests here and then fly back to Swamprat post and start questing!

Important Quests Rewards:
The Biggest of Them All - Quest - World of Warcraft
Fhwoor Smash! - Quest - World of Warcraft - For the 2H Axe. (Mainly for Orc DK's)
Now That We're Friends... - Quest - World of Warcraft - For the 2H Sword.
Saving the Sporeloks - Quest - World of Warcraft - For the Helm.

There isn't really any quests you're going to want to skip here. But once you're done here, head to Garadar in Nagrand and you're on your way to the next step.

Leveling 65-68:
66 - Butchery
67 - Subversion
68 - Subversion

Get all quests in Garadar and set your hearth. Now, before you even do another thing, get a group for the Ring of Blood chain.
The Ring of Blood: The Final Challenge - Quest - World of Warcraft Has that badass Axe that you will use until Northrend.

Get the quests you can at the Throne of Elements and then head over to Nesingwary's Camp and get all those quests (Yes, lots of killing, but as a DK, these go by pretty fast when you can AoE 3-5 mobs up to 4 levels higher than you.)

Do all these and you should be 68 or damn close to it! If not, dig up a few other random quests you find along the way and get 68.

Important Quest Rewards:
Bleeding Hollow Supply Crates - Quest - World of Warcraft - For the Trinket.
Murkblood Leaders... - Quest - World of Warcraft - For the Legs.
Vile Idolatry - Quest - World of Warcraft - For the Chest.
Bring Me The Egg! - Quest - World of Warcraft - For the Nomad's Cloak.

Northrend!

Yes yes, you're still wearing most of your starting gear, but that doesn't really matter. You can still easily breeze through Northrend (My first run through was 68-80 in 5 days and 22 hours /played. I've since lowered it to 3 days 5 hours /played.)

But, I'm tired of typing and staring at this small little edit box, so I'm going to stop for now. Depending on feedback, I may add more stuff. If you have any questions, feel free to ask here.

[Xyborg]

Since I'm not sure about how much info I can put into each post, I'm going to reserve just one more. Post #2 will be the separate "Endgame" section of the guide and this post will be the FAQ.

[Kyiz]

or just go here for better info on endgame dps Death Knights - Elitist Jerks

[Xyborg]

Actually, I was there previously and found that I could be doing so much more damage. With some work (and a lot of gold for respecs) I found that with my spec, I do more DPS than any current DPS spec listed on E-J.

They're a great source for information, but there is almost always room for improvement. That's what this guide is for.

[Dunnomyname]

This has some nice stuff for both factions. ++Rep

[s3ph1roth]

Waiting for the rest to come ^^

[Wetop]

With some work (and a lot of gold for respecs) I found that with my spec, I do more DPS than any current DPS spec listed on E-J.

Show me WWS.

[Xyborg]

With my current spec, I pump out about 4k DPS in about 60% Naxx gear. Is there a way to hide my name using WWS? Otherwise I'd rather just post a screenshot of my recount.

Nevermind. Seems they anonymize reports unless otherwise specified. Never knew that so I learned something for the day. I'll add WWS links at the top of my first post.

WWS reports up at top of first post but will probably move them to the FAQ section at a later time.

[cyianos]

I am having trouble getting used to melee dps, I have a hunter mage warlock and shadow priest. and i want to start a melee dps. Any tips on getting used to being up close to a monster instead of being far away?

(for FAQ)

[Wetop]

Just level one, thats enough

[asbest0s]

do you mean 68-80? cause 68-70 in 3 days is pretty damn slow

[Xyborg]

do you mean 68-80? cause 68-70 in 3 days is pretty damn slow

I'll change that right away lol. Didn't even notice that typo lol.

[Wetop]

This is not a bad guide, and EVERY dk should read these guides since the truth is that almost every DK is just plain retards that have no idea how their class works... Playing as a disc priest in outlands is a pain in the ass when you try to heal a DK that attacks 1 out 5 in a group, and you get the rest on you...

[Xyborg]

Oh, I plan on doing a tanking guide in the future. Still working on mastering the tanking aspect of the class, so I don't want to do it yet. Once I get it down pat and I can start tanking 25 man Naxx without much issue, then I'll do the tanking guide. For now, DPS is what I know and live by lol.

[Wetop]

Yup, i suck at tanking atm aswell, but people make such obvious mistakes it makes me ANGRRY, and big and green... Out of what i have healed / dps'd, i can say that tanking is the hardest part of the game, by far... But thats me, not everyone agrees with that...